8-Bit RPGs

Aquillion · 11-19-2003, 05:18 AM

'k, we all know about the NES Dragon Warror games and Final Fantasy games. They eventually spawned a horde of sequels and clones, and now most of the RPGs we get look just like them. What about other 8-bit RPGs, though? With less source material to draw on, many games from that era are quite original. I've been playing a few of them lately, and they're as good as or better than most of the RPGs made today. So, here are a few:

Chronicle of the Radia War
This game is amazing. It sort of reminds me a bit of an 8-bit Tales of Phantasia or Secret of Mana -- the battles are done in realtime from an overhead perspective, but you only control your main character directly. The other characters -- you can have up to a 5-person party -- dash around doing their thing. You can give them orders, but the AI is very good, so you usually don't have to. (You can also have them cast spells from the menu.) The game has a good plot, too.

Sweet Home
A "survival-horror RPG". Your group of five people is trapped in a huge cursed mansion, and must find a way to escape. Oh, there's no inns in this building, of course, and no magical healing powers or anything like that -- in other words, the only way to heal is with the limited supply of one-shot items you can find. Also, anyone on your party who dies is dead and cannot be brought back by any means (short of loading a saved game.) This game has an excellent horror feel to it.

Rainbow Silkroad
A trading-RPG? Yes. You're the lost heir to a far-eastern kingdom who must make your way there across the fabled Silkroad, stretching from the Middle East all the way to China. To do this, though, you have to make a large amount of money on the way, hire warriors to protect you, and generally build up the power you'll need to reclaim your birthright. This game has a very nice feel to it, and it contains a huge amount of interesting stuff; items and treasures are just really, really original.

Legend of the Ghost Lion
You're a little girl whose Afrikaner parents were killed by a mythical Ghost Lion. So, when you're old enough the village elders give a spear and a knife and send you to avenge their deaths. However, this isn't just any spear -- it contains the spirit of a hero who fought the lion in life and protected your village, and you can summon him in combat to fight beside you. Your quest takes place in the spirit world, and you'll quickly find more items that contain spirits you can summon along with many other kinds of magical items. A very unique game.

(Incidently, you can get all these games from this site. The first three were fan-translated a while back; the versions on that site are prepatched.)

11-19-2003, 07:12 AM

That first one sounds interesting. I'll have to dl it once my queue of sci-fi/anime is empty and I have bandwidth.

Aquillion · 11-19-2003, 08:30 AM

Oh, I knew I forgot something:

Destiny of an Emperor 1 & 2
The "Romance of the 3 Kingdoms RPGs." You play the role of Liu Bei in the war over China. Your party members are generals; their armies are their HP (and yes, your 'army' gets recruited back to full when you stay at an inn.) The person you designated as your tactician stays out of combat, but all of your generals can implement his techniques for their action. It's wierd, but it works. These games follow the plot of the Romance of the 3 Kingdoms fairly closely, so as one might expect they have a very good and complex plot as well as a huge number of characters.

...you can get it at the same place as the others.

11-20-2003, 11:28 PM

a great 8-bit rpg is the legend of zelda(duh). all games have a story... but only 1 is a legend

11-20-2003, 11:32 PM

You mean Link to the Past, of course.
Possibly Ocarina of Time.

Both are certainly better than the first.

Anyway, for a true "role-playing" experience in the truest sense of the word, my money's on text-based adventures, alternately called interactive fiction. Zork is probably the best-known of this game type.

Gerad · 11-21-2003, 01:10 AM

Link to the past isn't 8-bit, by the way. Legend of Zelda IS the greatest 8-bit Zelda game, though. I even prefer it over any game boy Zelda I've played.

Faria is also a pretty good Action-RPG, it has a FF or DW-style world with Zelda 1-style battles. I found it to be fun until I got hopelessly lost in the huge dungeons with the terribly hard enemies. There is something to be said for the instant gratification of pressing the swing button on the controller and defeating an enemy, rather than simply pressing a menu "Fight" command and watching it happen.

11-21-2003, 01:14 AM

I'm checkin' out that Chronicle of the Radia War game ASAP.

Joe Falco · 11-21-2003, 01:16 AM

Isn't Mother (prequel to Earthbound) 8-bit?

I would go for that. Simply because of name recognition...

Jagos · 11-21-2003, 07:46 AM

I believe Friday the 13th should be considered an RPG...

Thing is you went around collecting items, fought with Jason, gained exp for your counselor and tried to save the children. Pretty fun and I gotta find it and play again...

Red Mage20xx · 05-17-2004, 07:17 PM

Harvest moon thats a very fun rpg well its not as fun as the ones we have now but its still fun. (and yes there is a harvest moon 8-bit game, i have it!!! and its not 16 bit!!!)

11-19-2003, 05:18 AM	#1
Aquillion Goomba Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 3	8-Bit RPGs 'k, we all know about the NES Dragon Warror games and Final Fantasy games. They eventually spawned a horde of sequels and clones, and now most of the RPGs we get look just like them. What about other 8-bit RPGs, though? With less source material to draw on, many games from that era are quite original. I've been playing a few of them lately, and they're as good as or better than most of the RPGs made today. So, here are a few: Chronicle of the Radia War This game is amazing. It sort of reminds me a bit of an 8-bit Tales of Phantasia or Secret of Mana -- the battles are done in realtime from an overhead perspective, but you only control your main character directly. The other characters -- you can have up to a 5-person party -- dash around doing their thing. You can give them orders, but the AI is very good, so you usually don't have to. (You can also have them cast spells from the menu.) The game has a good plot, too. Sweet Home A "survival-horror RPG". Your group of five people is trapped in a huge cursed mansion, and must find a way to escape. Oh, there's no inns in this building, of course, and no magical healing powers or anything like that -- in other words, the only way to heal is with the limited supply of one-shot items you can find. Also, anyone on your party who dies is dead and cannot be brought back by any means (short of loading a saved game.) This game has an excellent horror feel to it. Rainbow Silkroad A trading-RPG? Yes. You're the lost heir to a far-eastern kingdom who must make your way there across the fabled Silkroad, stretching from the Middle East all the way to China. To do this, though, you have to make a large amount of money on the way, hire warriors to protect you, and generally build up the power you'll need to reclaim your birthright. This game has a very nice feel to it, and it contains a huge amount of interesting stuff; items and treasures are just really, really original. Legend of the Ghost Lion You're a little girl whose Afrikaner parents were killed by a mythical Ghost Lion. So, when you're old enough the village elders give a spear and a knife and send you to avenge their deaths. However, this isn't just any spear -- it contains the spirit of a hero who fought the lion in life and protected your village, and you can summon him in combat to fight beside you. Your quest takes place in the spirit world, and you'll quickly find more items that contain spirits you can summon along with many other kinds of magical items. A very unique game. (Incidently, you can get all these games from this site. The first three were fan-translated a while back; the versions on that site are prepatched.) Last edited by Aquillion; 11-19-2003 at 05:27 AM.

11-21-2003, 01:16 AM	#8
Joe Falco Shades of Doom Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 160	Isn't Mother (prequel to Earthbound) 8-bit? I would go for that. Simply because of name recognition... __________________ :thief: "It's called 'Super Ultra Fine Print.' I own the copyright, you owe me a quarter just for reading it!" "And they'll follow me into the pits of Hell itself, or else suffer the wrath of my contract." :rmage: "My plans are always practical! It's the laws of physics that get in the way of my success!"

05-17-2004, 07:17 PM	#10
Red Mage20xx Red Magery Join Date: May 2004 Location: Place... Posts: 20	Harvest moon thats a very fun rpg well its not as fun as the ones we have now but its still fun. (and yes there is a harvest moon 8-bit game, i have it!!! and its not 16 bit!!!) __________________ :rmage: Says The Red Mage :rmage:

11-19-2003, 07:12 AM	#2
l33tm4st3r Guest Posts: n/a	That first one sounds interesting. I'll have to dl it once my queue of sci-fi/anime is empty and I have bandwidth.

11-19-2003, 08:30 AM	#3
Aquillion Goomba Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 3	Oh, I knew I forgot something: Destiny of an Emperor 1 & 2 The "Romance of the 3 Kingdoms RPGs." You play the role of Liu Bei in the war over China. Your party members are generals; their armies are their HP (and yes, your 'army' gets recruited back to full when you stay at an inn.) The person you designated as your tactician stays out of combat, but all of your generals can implement his techniques for their action. It's wierd, but it works. These games follow the plot of the Romance of the 3 Kingdoms fairly closely, so as one might expect they have a very good and complex plot as well as a huge number of characters. ...you can get it at the same place as the others.

11-20-2003, 11:28 PM	#4
crazdgenius Guest Posts: n/a	a great 8-bit rpg is the legend of zelda(duh). all games have a story... but only 1 is a legend

11-20-2003, 11:32 PM	#5
transcend Guest Posts: n/a	You mean Link to the Past, of course. Possibly Ocarina of Time. Both are certainly better than the first. Anyway, for a true "role-playing" experience in the truest sense of the word, my money's on text-based adventures, alternately called interactive fiction. Zork is probably the best-known of this game type.

11-21-2003, 01:10 AM	#6
Gerad Undercover King Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: A Rock, A Hard Place, Earth Posts: 61	Link to the past isn't 8-bit, by the way. Legend of Zelda IS the greatest 8-bit Zelda game, though. I even prefer it over any game boy Zelda I've played. Faria is also a pretty good Action-RPG, it has a FF or DW-style world with Zelda 1-style battles. I found it to be fun until I got hopelessly lost in the huge dungeons with the terribly hard enemies. There is something to be said for the instant gratification of pressing the swing button on the controller and defeating an enemy, rather than simply pressing a menu "Fight" command and watching it happen.

11-21-2003, 01:14 AM	#7
Dante Reborn Guest Posts: n/a	I'm checkin' out that Chronicle of the Radia War game ASAP.

11-21-2003, 07:46 AM	#9
Jagos FRONT KICK OF DOOM! Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Howdy pardner... Posts: 6,399	I believe Friday the 13th should be considered an RPG... Thing is you went around collecting items, fought with Jason, gained exp for your counselor and tried to save the children. Pretty fun and I gotta find it and play again...