SNES and Super Famicom RPG List

[ExedExes]

This will finally put to rest all the "name all SNES RPGs" threads (not that they were bad, but there were quite a few!) I had no idea there was a sequel to Drakkhen, and that Ogre Battle *did* receive an American release.

This also shows -

- the US was fortunate to get a good chunk of these games, we may not have got all the truly top shelf titles, but at least the publishers of the time were realizing how much RPGs were growing as a genre

- we are truly fortunate to have hard working people working on translation patches & repro carts to make those games that didn't come here available

- if you were to play all these SNES RPGs, you'd add a thousand more pages to the RPG Progress thread and you'd probably die before you finished

Bravo to BSD, this will help the community out immensely.

[MrPopo]

While the list is awesome, for having Zelda in it I stab at thee!

[Menegrothx]

Great work. Any idea why the dialogue in the DBZ RPGs is in English? Are those screenshots from a fan translation or what?

In addition to your information of release date, localization, etc. I would love to see a recommendation.

Must Play-Highly Recommended-Recommended-For the Fans. Possibly some notes too that offer information like what series or spiritual sequels...anything!

This. I'd like to know which Top 5 or Top 10 J exculsive (fan translated) RPGs you recommend playing

[AppleQueso]

While the list is awesome, for having Zelda in it I stab at thee!

Well he did say that he's going out of his way to use as loose and inclusive a definitino of "RPG" as possible, so I'll allow it:

- I'm playing fast and loose with my definition of "RPG" here to be as inclusive as possible. Thus some decidedly non-RPG games are listed, so long as they are sequels/prequels to an RPG game or are otherwise influential to the genre.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Great work. Any idea why the dialogue in the DBZ RPGs is in English? Are those screenshots from a fan translation or what?

Yeah I used screenshots from whatever ROM I happened to have. So if a Japan only game has an English screenshot I was using a fan translation. Note that some games have partial translations that are quite competent - however, I only linked to 100% complete translations.

I took all my own screenshots so every pic had the same relative size and resolution - some of the ROMs had issues with screenshots taken during gameplay unfortunately, which is why some pics simply show a title screen.

About the Zelda thing - I consider the game influential enough and "RPG-ish" enough (for the time) to be listed. Despite the lack of leveling, it shares gameplay elements with Ys IV/V, Xak, Secret of Mana, and others (or I guess it would be more accurate to say those games were influenced by the Zelda franchise). There are several other "borderline" games on the list as well like Big Sky Trooper, King Arthur, and Young Merlin.

Separating strategy-RPGs from plain old strategy games was tough too - I made sure only to include those with RPG elements. Thus, "pure strategy" titles (like Romance of the Three Kingdoms II/III/IV) are not included.

I'll write more about my personal recommendations when I have time (I'm at work).

[Ack]

I admit, I went through the list with a mental checklist to ensure you got everything I could think of. I was also surprised by some of the inclusions(not just A Link to the Past, but also Violinist de Hamlin, Young Merlin, etc.), but since you said you were going for games with light RPG elements as well, I am willing to accept it. But what about The Legend of the Mystical Ninja? I didn't see it included in the list.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Not counting "Greatest Hits/Player's Choice" releases, the following games were released in different formats.

Angelique was essentially released three times - in a standard box, as a "premium box" with some extras, and as Angelique Voice Fantasy (which contains a bonus voice CD).
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 came as a standard edition or as a Deluxe Pack.
About a year after the initial release of Brandish 2, an Expert version hit shelves - this is basically just a Hard Mode version of the game.
Ys V, another Falcom title, also has standard and Expert variations.

@Ack - You're right about The Legend of the Mystical Ninja. I will add it when I get a chance.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Added Lord Monarch - a strategy RPG.

It's part of the Dragon Slayer series - so I listed it right after Dragon Slayer II (not in the L section).

I'll update this thread more this summer (will probably begin by adding specific genres - JRPG, action RPG, WRPG, strategy RPG, roguelike, etc).

[Ack]

Hey, here's a few more titles you might consider looking into:

Ball Bullet Gun
Gemfire
Ginga Sengoku Gun'yūden Rai
Konpeki no Kantai
Rise of the Phoenix
Stealth
Super Famicom Wars

And then there are a wealth of other strategy games which might interest you: Super Conflict, Zan 2, Liberty or Death, Operation Europe, Barbarosa, so on and so forth. I figure since you were playing a bit fast and loose with your list of RPGs, you might consider checking these out.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Thanks Ack - I'll look into those. Like I said, I'm trying to keep "pure strategy" games off the list (I don't want this to turn into the "RPG and Strategy game list") but anything that appears to be a strategy RPG (in the vein of Ogre Battle, Langrisser, etc) I'll add.