Top 10 Best NES RPGs OF ALL TIME

[@davidvinc]

Want to see more? www.twitch.tv/davidvincstreams

[@skins4thewin]

Your mom was pretty darn cool, doing the whole "I lost it" thing for you.

[@lordtryforce]

Not cool when your a victim of it. Happened to me twice when I loan games out both said they got stolen. I suspect they both lied to keep my Dragon Warrior/Metal Gear/Super Tecmobowl. 3 of my favorite NES games.

[@feyisthey]

@@lordtryforce then don't loan your loved games to people you don't trust, or just ask to hold their money for it until they give it back

[@lordtryforce]

@@feyisthey this is about 30 years ago when I was still in high school. Lol, I've learned this lesson a long time ago.

[@feyisthey]

@@lordtryforce all the things I loaned to people and never got back will stay in my memory until I die 😔

[@axel8728]

@@lordtryforce man, haven't we all. People can be scum.

[@shignificent]

"Can I buy this game, for my son?" No. "Okay, well I just lost it. :)" Lmao, your mom is a hero

[@prolaeusmorris6540]

Seriously, his mother deserves a medal for that!

[@jessiehogue.]

Best gamer mom.

[@SuperNintendoZach]

friday nights at blockbuster.....I WANNA GO BACk.

[@mikicerise6250]

She's a hero, but she's also why our generation is so fucked up. xD

[@Sesshomaru474]

@@mikicerise6250 What do you mean? Liberal/SJW agenda is why it's fucked up.

[@theFado96]

1) Gotta praise Mother for having an (almost) open world, where nobody would really tell you what to do. You'd get out of your home, told you had to save the world, then it was up to you. The huge world map is almost all avaiable to explore right off the bat (provided you can handle the monsters). Even when I was stuck and didn't know what to do, I'd look at my map, see the dots scattered around and challenge myself to reach those places to see what was there. 2) Gotta praise David's mother too. Such a awesome mom!

[@amerk6601]

You included Crystalis! Such a masterpiece that never quite took off, unfortunately, and shamed by the awful GBC port. The story, music, puzzles, dungeon design, and the game play mechanics (like jumping shoes, being able to run in all directions, various power levels to your sword attacks, thinking about which weapon to use against your enemies) were practically unheard of for the NES. It had Legend of Zelda beat by a long mile, and I loved and played the hell out of both NES Zelda games.

[@Thorn99855]

The part about your mom going back and telling the rental store you lost it so she could just pay them for it is both awesome and hilarious. Love it. Very cool mom.

[@silokhawk]

Glad I stumbled upon this video. Don't see a lot of NES love these days so this was really refreshing. Great work man!

[@wschippr1]

... because the library has really started to age.

[@kekeke8988]

@@wschippr1 Go play Fortnite kiddo.

[@BrickNGamesTwitch]

@@wschippr1 nah

[@owenwexler7214]

DW4 had the most epic story of any game on the NES, it was definitely a harbinger of deep RPG stories to come in the future. I gotta play the DS remake sometime.

[@orenges]

100% really inspiring

[@gregoryblasengame8740]

Do it. You won't regret it

[@davidvinc]

Like this page and what I do here? Consider supporting me on patreon! www.patreon.com/davidvinc [​0:32] - 10) Star Tropics [​1:26] - 9) Glory of Heracles 2 [2:16] - 8) Destiny of an Emperor [3:04] - 7) Silva Saga [3:55] - 6) Just Breed [​4:52​] - 5) Earthbound Zero [5:54] - 4) The Guardian Legend [6:51] - 3) Crystalis [​7:57​] - 2) The Final Fantasy Series [8:44] - 1) The Dragon Warrior Series

[@TheGunmanChannel]

That's cool that you wrote a few walkthroughs back in the day.

[@beatriceacosta9791]

I wonder if he was able to get his over the top gay voice conveyed properly through text. Good videos, horribly distracting voice.

[@jodymcdougle8810]

Are any of the guides still available?

[@RetroRogue.]

Beatrice Acosta then just don't watch but I bet you aren't perfect.

[@sameash3153]

Bro imma need some updates on those guides. Gamefaqs or was it on one of those old shrine websites from the early 00s?

[@karebushmarebu233]

no it isnt you fucking nerd

[@flyinghippo5767]

I'm always happy to see Earthbound Zero get some love on KZbin. As rough around the edges as it was compared to Earthbound, it still had so much heart for an NES game, especially an NES RPG. If you ask me, what makes it so special is how Shigesato Itoi wasn't even a game designer; he was just someone who thought of a great story, and found that a JRPG would be the best way to tell that story. As someone who started his online social life on Earthbound fan sites, finally seeing an official Western release for it was unbelievable, and I'm so glad that the game's available to people who aren't aware of - or avoid - emulation.

[@RicoLen1]

I loved Final Fantasy 2. It's honestly my favorite FF of the NES era. It had an emphasis on story telling that neither of the other 2 had, and the use it and it grows philosophy works for me because that's how you grow in games like The Elder Scrolls. I also really enjoyed having guest party members, too. Conversely, FF3's class system was nice, but the game itself was completely shallow, and while I love FF1 and the class change quest line, FF2 still nudges it out as the best game in the series for me. I really think it has more to do with taste in how RPGs should work, because FF2 had a more western RPG feel because of the fact that it didn't use EXP to suddenly boost your characters stats. That said, Dragon Quest 4 is far and away the best RPG of the NES era, DQ3 was very replayable, but 4 was way more advanced technologically and the story was also great. I've never heard of Guardian Legend, that looks like it could be awesome. I would have loved to have played that when I was kid.

[@frankcastiglione7410]

Dude!! That story about Crystalis, your mom is awesome. I remember how mi dad gave me a few unknown games back in the day, like simon's quest, timelord and much more games, that were not sold in my country (Chile). He worked abroad so he bought games that were cheaper outside, but it was cool, becouse if it wasnt for him, i would not know of their existence.

[@uhtyp1]

Magic Of Scheherazade is probably the only RPG I played back in the Nintendo days. My little brain at the time couldn't figure out how to beat it, but it was quite enjoyable. And to be honest I didn't know what a rpg was until ff4 came out for the snes. But I'll definitely play some of these games on this list when I get a chance they look interesting.

[@tim18wheels76]

Some of you may want to consider Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (NES), Ultima III: Exodus (NES), or one of the other games in the series spanning NES, Sega Master System, SNES, Gameboy, Playstation, Apple, and PC.

[@WarrenCBennett]

I love that you included the guardian legend. One of my favorite NES games of all time.

[@prolaeusmorris6540]

ditto.

[@jordanwoods728]

I had a lucid dream about this game some 5 years ago. They were obscured memories from a childhood experience coming back to me. I remembered playing a game that a former friend lent me, where you play as a cyborg going around solving puzzles and leveling up equipment, and randomly you morph into a fighter ship that fights from an eagle eye perspective against enemies and bosses Gradius style. I always thought this memory was some kind of embellishment of a gaming experience, if not completely made up. After my dream, I woke up and started googling “nes game where you fight as robot and turn into ship...” hahaha! Never thought it would work, but I bought the game on eBay that day for just a few bucks. Dreams are a very strange phenomenon.

[@sybmike]

If you have never tried it, you should play Willow. It is one of the rare movies turned video games that I actually consider good.

[@akualung]

Perhaps it was more a Zelda clone than an rpg, but yes, it was a very good game.

[@chrisstone-streetlightinte5629]

I loved the hell out of that game.

[@UpIrons777]

The game is far better than the movie was.

[@perrymeril]

@@UpIrons777 almost unheard of for game adaptations of movies.... But true

[@brucemckinlay9739]

Destiny of an Emperor is my favorite NES game, and one of my favorite games period. It's got a cult following with some very polished ROM hacks which tell the story from a different Three-Kingdoms perspective.

[@WalterFaddoul]

One RPG that never left Japan that I loved to no end you all should look into is Sweet Home =) grandaddy of all survivor horrors. Aged as well as Earthbound did. Definitely check it out!

[@jenniferpruitt6534]

Resident Evil started out as a remake of Sweet Home....

[@WalterFaddoul]

@@jenniferpruitt6534 oh wow! Learn something new every day

[@kekeke8988]

Exhilarating experience, even to this day. Sweet home is the shit.

[@perrymeril]

Brutal and unforgiving

[@rstar7770]

I’m my opinion sweet home aged way better than mother 1 tbh

[@fmthebaron]

Crystalis was most people's favorite.

[@DrCasey]

10/10 mom. Great story. I've always wished that Final Fantasy II had a ROM hack that turned it into a traditional JRPG with experience points and levels; I've never enjoyed SaGa's gameplay at all. FFII is a perfectly good game otherwise. Charming NES graphics, fantastic Final Fantasy music. Just change the gameplay style and you have a solid game.

[@wolfwing1]

hehe best thing about FFII was you cheapen the first half of the game in the first hour, esepcially on roms :> By going to the peninsula where it just goes far enough into the near end game area, and just fight the enemies there, they will kill you, but often 1 guy will survive, and get big boosts, head back to town heal, rinse and repeat till all your guys are buffed.

[@wolfwing1]

@D core oh? I don't recall anything like that, with 2 how leveling progresses just beating up enemies and being hit levels you.

[@briansmith8361]

Yes, Final Fantasy 2 is flawed (the development took under a year), but it also held a ton of improvements and innovation over the first one. I appreciate that Square tried to do something different, even if not all of their experimentation was well received. I actually like Final Fantasy 2 better than 1, but FF3 is by far the best of the first three games in my opinion.

[@matthewturcotte5079]

I have such love for StarTropics. I got it as a gift for Christmas 1991 and loved it. I still remember being so happy that I had the foresight to save that letter!

[@jamesr123]

I like all of these, but I'd like to give a shout out to Magic of Scheherezade. Part Zelda and part...I'm not sure there was another game like it at the time on the turn-based aspect. It allowed you to hire mercenaries to use for fodder, included party combos and had a pretty expansive collection of party members by NES standards. The world felt big, though in going back to it, it's more compact than it seemed to childhood me. The middle eastern setting also gave it a unique flavor. It's one that's always stuck with me and would make my own top 10.

[@luminozero]

*Isfa and his companions combined their powers to use the Moniburn! *Enemies turn into tiny rocket ships and fly away.* Man, that game was an absolute treat.

[@Mr3DLC]

The bosses can hang though :(

[@TheKisekiNut]

This is great man! I've unfortunately never played any NES RPG's, it was an era that passed me by, so watching stuff like this is always enlightening.

[@willhobson5179]

Back in the mid 90s, I remember watching my mother try for 15-20 minutes to destroy my first Playstation memory card as a punishment for something I said/did (can't remember what). That memory card was a beast, she tried breaking it by hand, then tried slamming it with a door. She eventually found my stepdad's hammer and after a minute or two whacking at it finally broke it. I wasn't even upset at that point anymore, because she made such a fool of herself trying to break a tiny piece of plastic. Anyway, get your mom something nice for mother's day for being such a great mom.

[@glennrugar9248]

Hey david. Been trying dragon quest 3. Its definitely different than modern rpgs. Really heavy encounter rate and im kinda lost in the first dungeon but your videos always inspire me to keep at it

[@jc.1191]

No harm in a walkthrough for cryptic stuff imo.

[@nathanieldonley5502]

The really kind way you say, “have a good day” helps remind me to like every video of yours I’ve been watching. Can’t believe I’m just coming across your channel, great content!

[@Hereticbliss322]

Ahh man I love Guardian Legend. That should’ve become a franchise for sure. Great list David!

[@retluoc]

I'd love to be the writer and creative mind behind a Guardian Legend reboot or offshoot. But I'd need a team and a lot of Kickstarter money.😏

[@Hereticbliss322]

retluoc Nier Automata actually has A LOT of similarities with Guardian Legend. Judging by the success of that game, and the current successes of retro style games, I think the market is there.

[@retluoc]

@@Hereticbliss322 Looked it up, got a sense of deja vu... but yes, that game's play style is similar to how I envisioned the modern/reboot style. It's been a year, but I think someone mentioned that game before, that or another very similar game.

[@Hereticbliss322]

retluoc I think the potential story for Guardian Legend is cool too. The whole “if you’re reading this then I’m already dead...” thing was really interesting and I feel like there’s a very rich world just waiting to be imagined there.

[@jordanwoods728]

I had a lucid dream about this game some 5 years ago. They were obscured memories from a childhood experience coming back to me. I remembered playing a game that a former friend lent me, where you play as a cyborg going around solving puzzles and leveling up equipment, and randomly you morph into a fighter ship that fights from an eagle eye perspective against enemies and bosses Gradius style. I always thought this memory was some kind of embellishment of a gaming experience, if not completely made up. After my dream, I woke up and started googling “nes game where you fight as robot and turn into ship...” hahaha! Never thought it would work, but I bought the game on eBay that day for just a few bucks. Dreams are a very strange phenomenon.

[@axel8728]

I'm loving mother. I had completed 3 just recently and I had gotten close to the end in 2 before my save file corrupted so I had to give 1 a try. It made me want to check some other really old rpgs out. Thanks.

[@jessiehogue.]

This guy knows where the good stuff's at. Dragon Warrior/Quest is an AWESOME series, always was. And yeah, 3 was amazing.

[@PLHouse]

Your mom is a real one.

[@MattiMood]

Never knew, how well NES RPGs look. I was never a NES Fan, but these Games look really good!

[@darthpaul99]

I had Startropics 1&2, all the DW games, and FF for my NES. Had the GBA remake of Crystalis. Great list!

[@DigiPen92]

I want to clarify in #5, Ninten's Game did finally gets localized to the West around in 2015 and ported to the Wii U Virtual Console as EarthBound Beginnings.

[@joshuaizzo8893]

totally agree with #2 and #1. I consider the Dragon Quest III SNES remake to be one of the greatest games of all time, on any system

[@Parallelepiped2]

Great to see this update! Startropics is one of my favourite games; I replay it once a year. Couldn’t agree more about Dragon Warrior at the top of the list.

[@thebossthusiast1960]

Great list! I found your Silva Saga guide on GameFAQs. Did you write any others for any of the games on the list? There were several on here that I've never heard of that I'm going to make an effort to play at some point. When I play Silva Saga I'll refer to your guide. It looks like it got a sequel on the Super Famicom as well that might be worth a look.

[@alucardvania986]

I recently played FF2 for the first time last week and really enjoyed grinding stats as a change of pace. Legitimately had a blast playing through it. I think the abundance of hate towards the game only served to pleasantly suprise me with how underrated I find it to be.

[@DustinBarlow8P]

Really enjoyed your list. Learned about some games I have never heard of on any other "NES" list out there.

[@XsoldoutX]

Nice little review of lesser-known rpgs right here, thanks for your efforts!

[@rayceeya8659]

I kind of feel like River City Ransom belongs on a list like this. I know it's more of a beat-em-up but it had some really cool RPG elements that me and my friends loved.

[@HaydenTheHistorian]

Have you ever played Sweet Home? That's easily my favorite JRPG on the NES; tied with Mother.

[@perrymeril]

While its an rpg, its also seriously brutal and unforgiving

[@JMFSpike]

Yes, Sweet Home is an amazing(and quite innovative) gem of a game. The fact that it was never released outside of Japan is an absolute travesty! Just bought a repro of it a few days ago.

[@HaydenTheHistorian]

The fact that it never got an international release is truly a shame, indeed. Although, there's no way in hell Nintendo would allow a game like Sweet Home to be released overseas. It's a miracle we even got Monster Party. At least we can play it via emulation these days.

[@JMFSpike]

@@HaydenTheHistorian I think it could have easily been released overseas. I'm sure there would have been a few changes here and there, but that would would have made it no different then many other games released back then.

[@AVeryHappyFish]

@@perrymeril I've played it and honestly it was not brutal. Not easy, but not brutal.

[@dlmoore08]

Always a glorious day when David posts new videos on RPGs :)

[@MiamiSunrise]

Some thoughts on this video: - Destiny of an Emperor is one of my top 5 games that Capcom ever made. I have played it through and beaten it 3 times and have considered doing so again. It to me was an absolute gem and I love the historical time period it takes place in. - I would classify Guardian Legend as an action RPG and its fantastic. The fact its also a shooter just gives that game so much charm. I loved that game as a kid and have played it since, honestly, its still just as fun but I have become terrible at the shooter sections haha - Crystalis was so hard for me and cryptic as a kid that I tried probably 6 or 7 times to really play the game and just kept getting lost on what to do or angry at the gameplay. It deserves a lot of historical credit, but it had me pulling my hair out at times and I never was able to ever get that far into it. - When I was a kid and found out there were 2 Final Fantasy's we didn't get it blew my mind. In recent years I played 2 and frankly regretted it, just awful. I started 3 and thought it was a huge improvement but did not beat it and one day I will go back to it. Awesome list, very nostalgic for me!

[@jordanwoods728]

I had a lucid dream about Guardian Legend game some 5 years ago. They were obscured memories from a childhood experience coming back to me. I remembered playing a game that a former friend lent me, where you play as a cyborg going around solving puzzles and leveling up equipment, and randomly you morph into a fighter ship that fights from an eagle eye perspective against enemies and bosses Gradius style. I always thought this memory was some kind of embellishment of a gaming experience, if not completely made up. After my dream, I woke up and started googling “nes game where you fight as robot and turn into ship...” hahaha! Never thought it would work, but I bought the game on eBay that day for just a few bucks. Dreams are a very strange phenomenon.

[@perrymeril]

I had the same obsession over a Game called Double Dungeons. Could not for the life of me for 20 YEARS OF SEARCHING figure out the title of the game... Then my bro got a retro pi and I went into tg16 stuff and just messed around in some the games listed .. 12 games in, I freaked out as a 35 year old because by then I mostly gave up and it felt like the second coming of Jesus and that I wasnt mad. .. I only played double dungeons as a kid for a total of 30 minutes.. .. .. And it was because the mom was selling their Nintendo for a 'better system'.

[@jordanwoods728]

Jonathon Kociuba, great story! I have also been searching for a certain turbo graphix game I can’t recall the name of, and which was sold by my brother to make way for another console. Maybe it has secretly been double dungeons this whole time and you are an instrument of fate!

[@rancidlion7125]

Got to say Dragon Warrior on the NES series is at the top of my list of RPGs of ALL TIME. Surprised to hear the reviewer give such a luke warm thumbs up to Dragon Warrior IV. DW III is great, but IV has a great story, fantastic music (best of ANY Nes game), insane character development (you actually CARE about each party member), and the biggest city in the world has a casino with fun mini games. I really enjoyed the chapter system, btw. Everything else you said about the series I agree with except I believe, even though DW III did a couple of things better than IV, Dragon Warrior IV is superior to III when you add it all up

[@SuperHitman55]

I love your chill presentation!

[@TheFarmersLife]

I have still never played StarTropics, but I do still remember reading the Nintendo Power walkthrough and really wanting to pick it up.

[@windmage0168]

Dragon Quest 3 is definitely going to be on this list. It'a a beloved classic that's too good to not include

[@REALTachikomaia]

Im looking for ones in which you can choose what to increase, like strenght or vitality, like Diablo 2, Seiken Denketsu 3, Robot Taisen OG, or that you can customize your characters like Final Fantasy 5 or Tactics. I know FF2 and FF3 are like these (FF1 too, a bit), and Downtown Special, but which else? I also like Captain Tsubasa 2 but cheating, replacing players by others. I like to try things, like using the characters who have more HP or using only a type of attack (Romancing Saga SNES). Thanks for giving me info!

[@dekky3908]

I loved Crystalis as a kid, the bug boss in the poison bog always reminded me of another childhood favorite, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

[@zosxavius]

I feel like they were heavily inspired by that movie when writing that game.

[@13shark77]

Star Tropics! A Zelda like game with yoyo as main weapon! Love it! Silva Saga, looks like FF one lol! Never heard so far some of these games. Number 3! Crystalis! Fun game! Storyline was good! Now we getting to somewhere with FF! Dragon Worries series! hmm. I can see that topping FF because for NES there a lot more series. Of course at that time, no one knew about other FF series that was over seas. So I can see how Number one game is number one on this list!

[@the1ucidone]

Great list David. But I believe there is one game that everyone seems to just miss or overlook. Easily one of the best games on the NES. The Legacy of the Wizard. Holy Hell this game is awesome. Amazing music, wonderful dungeon design. I love how simple the story is as well. I don't wanna ruin it, but if you manage to beat this game. You'll be rewarded and understand why it's so freaking awesome. I realize it is a platformer, but there are tons of RPG elements so it's a weird hybrid. Faxanadu is also a great RPG/Sidescroller as well, though it's learning curve is challenging for some players.

[@nanoglitch6693]

I don't think I've ever met anyone else that played those two lol. I didn't like Legacy of the Wizard but Faxanadu was one of my favorites.

[@dougphisig]

Those were definitely a couple of my favorite early RPG style games before I really got into RPG's on SNES.

[@SeveredLegs]

I know this is an old video, but keep up the good work, David. I always appreciate your casual insight into rare games. Sometimes it's a replacement for playing the games themselves, I admit..... :D

[@akualung]

Madara was also a really solid nes rpg. I'm waiting for that game snes sequel's fantranslation to be completed to be able to play it as well. But, for me, the best nes rpg is Juvei Quest. If you haven't played it yet, do it. It's like a prototype to the snes Super Shell Monsters Story games, with the same system of calling "helpers" to do some tasks for you, such as deciphering old ruins, scouting the surrounding area, etc. And it has a fairly good story with some plot twists and story branchings for some party characters. I eagerly recommend every retro jrpg fan to try it

[@raxigar9176]

DQ4 is my personal favorite of this era, with DQ5 being my favorite of the franchise.

[@atmaweapon2803]

Great picks! I love Just Breed. It feels like an SNES RPG with NES graphics. One game missing from the list that I would have stuck in there would be Chronicles of the Radia War, which is such a great mashup of Zelda action and typical RPG inventory and character management. The random battles send you into a battlefield where you fight the monsters Zelda style. For a game that sounds like it should have been clunky, it plays so smooth. The definition of a hidden gem.

[@LightFykki]

Couldn't agree more on the DQ series. Also your mom is awesome! :D

[@slashingkatie7872]

Here’s hoping some of these show up for Nintendo online. I was so excited to see DQ 1-3 on Switch but then I’m like awww, it’s the mobile ports. You raised my hopes and dashed them quickly.

[@damikki]

OK so now I need to re-watch all of your top 10 videos because you have managed to identify 2 NES RPG's in this video that I had no idea existed and now I must have them. Really thank you for these videos, I shall enjoy watching them all over again.

[@HPRshredder]

Great video, David! A lot of these are on my list to play on my AV famicom. I didn't grow up with any of this stuff but I've been going through and playing the NES/Famicom library in chronological order (well, for the games I'm interested in, not EVERY game). So far I've only completed the first Dragon Warrior as far as RPGs go, but all of these games are on my list. I'll be playing Dragon Quest II pretty soon.

[@wannab009]

Dragon Warrior 2 is actually my favorite of the nes titles. I played that game for days.

[@fiuza78]

wannab009 I play it for years and still couldn’t beat it!

[@danielespeziari5545]

I played and beat Mother 1 (Earthbound) two years ago, and I didn't find it confusing at all. I was never stuck, except once late in the game, where you have to find some random tree or stone (I don't remember). You simply know that, if you find overpowered enemies, you're not supposed to go there yet. It's a tough game, but it already has the charm of SNES Earthbound. I also love many of the games in your list: Startropics, The Guardian Legend, Final Fantasy (especially the third one). Actually the job-based FF are my favorite. FF5 is definitely my favorite on the SNES. As for Dragon Warrior, I only played part 3, but didn't beat it. I think it was just too long and it dragged too much. I was frustrated when, after getting the airship late in the game, I was forced to go to another map and use a boat again.

[@SeppelSquirrel]

TOP 10 NES RPG quotes to put on the box covers: #10: "It's not actually an RPG." #9: "Dragon Warrior 2 knockoff" #7: "It's like, why bother?" #5: "It's ungodly hard." #3: "The game is infamously difficult. It is ridiculous." #2: "If you look at these three games, they all have the exact same graphics." #1: "It's the definition of basic." 👍

[@ShadowReaver573]

@pavo6503 they evaporated

[@perturbedsun5508]

Awesome! Hope you do more updates like this, David.

[@WaterArk]

I am SUPER happy you mentioned Just Breed!

[@JetblackJay]

Glory of Hercules is on the ds and it's a fine game actually using the ds bottom screen very well with its gameplay

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

I could have sworn the title screen said Heracles, not Hercules.

[@radiofreedom947]

I loved dragon warrior 4, Taloon was one of my favorite characters.

[@elmoisred616]

I always enjoy your videos dude! Lotsa retro greatness covered

[@deadwafflez9685]

Nice to see Guardian Legend get some love. I totally forgot about Ghost Lion until this video.

[@bemindful3315]

Thank you for making me aware of some hidden Japanese gems I didn’t know about. Subbed. And knowing you enjoyed destiny of an emperor tells me you have good taste.

[@SomeRPGFan]

Your mom sounds awesome!

[@keithbeard5337]

I can't believe this is mine first time hearing about Just Breed, incredible!

[@luvmenow33]

Trying to figure out how in the WORLD I EVER beat Dragon Warrior 2 without save states and a map of that last cave. Dear Lord.

[@backinthedaygamer]

Great list! No Ghost Lion? I guess that would b #1 if we were talking cover art lol. I’m dying to try some of those unreleased games. I’ve got the Hercules game imports but still need to patch them. What I did play I really liked. Keep up the good work.

[@Neocasturn]

Aw what a darling mom you have, thTs a really cute little kid story lol

[@Shottyninja]

Have you ever seen the Chronicles of the Radia War? Very enjoyable NES top down ARPG.

[@redmage777]

If you ever want to do a list of lesser-knowns Faria is right up there with NES RPG-type games. I'd describe it as a blend of Final Fantasy and the two Zelda games. It has a lot of that NES era quirkiness to it.

[@misterturkturkle]

Top 10 nes "rpgs" Shows startropics in title card Mfw 🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿

[@cookieskoon2028]

Right? It bothers me when people call games like that an RPG. It's an action game with a tiny twist of RPG flavor. But it's still an action game. There's no leveling, no HP, no numerical stats, you power up through the collection of items rather than battle, etc. Zelda is not an RPG, Star Tropics is not an RPG. If they are, then so is Megaman X.

[@patsfan4life]

Cookie Skoon then what is Zelda?

[@misterturkturkle]

@@patsfan4life zelda 2: the adventure of link was an rpg. All the rest are 3rd person action adventure

[@cookieskoon2028]

@@patsfan4life Action-Adventure

[@civilwildman]

I agree with this list. My dad initially played (and beat) FF1 and Dragon Warrior/Quest 1 and 2 back in the old NES days. I played DQ3 (but have yet to beat it) and have played and beat DQ4 on the NES. Loved them all.

[@jimmaloney1121]

My introduction to RPGs was through the Dragon Warrior Nintendo Power giveaway. It still remains my favourite RPG series. I'm also happy to say that I own all 4 NES games, and that the batteries in all of them still have the original save games!

[@jamescook16]

I’ve been looking for the Hercules game for almost 30 years

[@OzymandiasWasRight]

I just spent the weekend playing DW3 and can't believe I took this long. It's impressive what the NES was capable of.

[@42ndStreetMatthew]

A random thing I always enjoyed about the Dragon Warrior series was when you were a high enough level, lower level monsters would run from you. Just a minor thing, but I've always felt it was a nice touch.

[@dannyf9218]

By chance do you mean "Earthbound"?

[@42ndStreetMatthew]

@@dannyf9218 Nope. Does that happen in Earthbound, too?

[@dannyf9218]

It does. And I was mistaken. Please accept my most humble apology.

[@42ndStreetMatthew]

@@dannyf9218 Nothing to be sorry about, good sir. Cool that more than one game did that!

[@alexfamie5255]

They need a remake for the switch I'd buy it .

[@chrisbenson7532]

I loved the Dragon Warrior series as a kid, one of my happiest moments was when we went on a family vacation and I found the Dragon Warrior 2 game in one of the Nintendo stores, I was beyond excited I couldn't wait for the trip to be over so I could play it!

[@chadbaileyisawesome]

Excellent video as always. Thank you for giving me some ideas of Famicom games to check out!

[@hardcoor17]

Couple of comments here. First, you're the only person besides my brothers that I've ever heard pronounce Crystalis the same way I do so great job there! Also, if you haven't already you have to play Ghost Lion. A lot like Dragon Warrior, great underrated game that not many people know about.

[@im_cart8656]

just looked up dragon warrior 4 on ebay.. reminds me of earthbound in how they are both 10x as expensive as i remember them being before YT. I always thought it was AVGN that really influenced the stark increase in prices in cartridge games, but im not so sure anymore.

[@ggj1977]

These are your favorites? Then you must try Chronicles of Radia War on the NES!!! NOW!!

[@Christian-rn1ur]

The FF7 demake is honestly worth checking out as well.

[@joaonitro5149]

It's fan made.

[@serenavox5540]

Haha, your mum is awesome! My first JRPG was Dragon Warrior IV on the NES. My mum received a NES from a family friend because her son was absorbed in the Sega Genesis and no longer played it. It came with a handful of games, one of these being Dragon Warrior IV. I must have been 6 or so. I got a copy of the original many years later, but didn't get to experience II or III until they came to the Switch recently. I actually played Dragon Quest before Final Fantasy, so it's hard for me to say which I prefer really. I will say that Dragon Warrior IV has and always will be my favourite of any game. I did get the DS version later on, but admittedly after years of seeing the old localisations, the newer names for everything sort of put me off. Haha. I now have food for thought. Your content is great!

[@eddie8096]

Great video! Just found your channel randomly. Solid reviews. I really enjoyed this video. Hope to see more. 👍🏻🙂

[@waynegrey576]

Just discovered your channel dude it rocks, to this day i'm just turned 40 the only games i truly love are RPG games and living in the UK we had the same problem as you in the U.S . All of the best games tended to be Japan locked. I will always look back and remember the 8 and 16 bit era to be the best, although i gotta admit the Switch has lots of good old school RPGs. Kudos for the awesome content....P.S i tried out The Guardian legend it strikes me as a thinking mans Turrican

[@davidvinc]

Thank you Wayne!

[@OzymandiasWasRight]

No judgement on "losing" a rental. People don't know how hard it was back then, rpgs were few and far between, kids did what they had to.

[@Cosmicslopman]

Guardian Legend is my favorite nes game. Fantastic music and gameplay. There is a lot of strategy involved when it comes to figuring out which weapons are useful. Crystalis I picked up several years years ago. My brother and I were playing it before he passed away. Challenging game but very unique.

[@Metushalakh]

Comprehensive list. Lagrange point?

[@istrasci]

Love your lists, David! Have you ever shared your thoughts on Faxanadu with us? I never played it, and it always seemed so exotic and foreign to me. I'd like to play it some day.

[@ateliertohka7327]

Destiny of an Emperor is actually based on a manga. Tenchi wo Kurau. Kind of a short seven volume series by Hiroshi Motomiya(who founded the group that designed the titular character for Strider) that ran in Weekly shonen Jump form 1983 to 1984. But Capcom did two RPGs and two beat-'em-ups based on it.

[@paulrainey4990]

Crystalis is a highly underrated game. The constant need to go to the sub-menu to switch swords is tedious (nowadays, that would have be done with just a button click on the main action screen), but it's such a great entry.

[@tinyjester27]

Without a doubt Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy are best, but? Dude....I thought I was like one of the only people to own Crystalis and Guardian Legend! Man....I still have their music playing on my playlists at 40 years of age. I wish they would remake them. Loved Star Tropics too! Owned all of these except Earth Bound 1 :-/ but played the modded one later on in my 30's! Excellent game.