Summary
Nintendohas released some of the best RPGs on their consoles, from giant franchises likeFinal FantasyandPokemonto smaller titles likeGolden Sun. However, there is, without a doubt, an easy winner in terms of which RPG is the best one on each Nintendo console.
It’s a bit harder to determine whatthe best-looking RPG is on each Nintendo console and handheld,though. Graphics are one thing, but then there is also the art style. The following RPGs will take into consideration the console’s graphical abilities at the time, and not just if they hold up today. At the time of release, these were some graphically out-of-this-world RPGs.
River City Ransomcombined the fun of brawlers, which were all over theNES, and added RPG elements. Players could beat up thugs, collect money, and then boost their stats by going to diners around the city.
What still makes this game impressive for an NES game is the expressive sprites that react naturally when they get hit and the decently sized city to traverse, albeit from screen to screen instead of in seamless zones.
Pokemon Yellowwas the third game that North America got on theGame Boy, a rehash ofPokemon BlueandPokemon Redbut withtropes from the animethrown in, like a Pikachu that doesn’t like hanging out in its Pokeball.
This made it a hit, as players could talk to Jesse and James from Team Rocket and get all three starter Pokemon, rather than just their choice at the game’s outset. The star of the game was Pikachu, who said its name, followed players around, and could be cared for with little emoticons.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Starsis an example of a game that was impressive on theSNESbecause it used faux 3D graphics, but is not as timeless today. This game was released months before the N64 debuted in Japan, and while it did not fully support 3D environments, it still looked unbelievable.
The music, interactive battle system, and expressive characters also helped it go beyond other RPGs on the SNES from a visual standpoint, and it was a fineRPG debut for Marioand crew.
ThePokemonseries debuted in 1998 in North America, and while fans could see the Game Boy sprites brought to life in the anime adaptation, it was not the same as seeing them on a game console.That is, untilPokemon Stadiumwas released in 2000 for theN64, which was a wild moment forPokemonfans.
The Pokemon behaved and moved so freely, and this was further enhanced in 2001 with the release ofPokemon Stadium 2.While it wasn’t a big open-world RPG like the Game Boy games, it did feature hundreds of Pokemon, with intricately detailed moves that are still fun to watch.
8Star Ocean: Blue Sphere (Game Boy Color)
A Lost Looker
Star Ocean: Blue Spherewas not released in North America, but fans have since translated it for Western audiences. This is great news, because it’s one of the best entries in theStar Oceanseries; even on theGame Boy Color, it outdoes the SNES original in some regards, which also admittedly still looks good.
The characters move more fluidly, for example, there is more gameplay variety, and the colors add an extra sense of pop to the action-based gameplay.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memorieswas a direct sequel that folloowed thefirst game, wherein Sorawanders into Castle Oblivion, a fortress that is actively stealing his memories, one Disney-based film after the other.
These Disney worlds from the first game are recreated surprisingly well in abstract ways, but they are still recognizable without a doubt. Perhaps the most impressive thing is the game’s few cutscenes, which look like they came straight off of the PS2, albeit in a very compressed manner.
The Lord of the Ringsfilms were a cash cow in the early 2000s, and the direct movie tie-in games sold well, looked like the films (more or less), and were well-reviewed. That’s why it made sense for EA to make an original game, and they made a looker at that.
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Agespanned the course of the movie trilogy, albeit from a different party’s perspective, and it also took liberties with the narrative. The turn-based battle system was similar toFinal Fantasy 10’s,which made sense since that too was a big blockbuster. While the environments were a bit brown, the character models—particularly the game’s enemies—looked fantastic on theGameCube.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memorieshad impressive cutscenes that were PS2 quality, butKingdom Hearts 358/2Daysactually looked like a PS2 game, paired down to match the screen size of theDS.Instead of Sora, players learned more about Roxas and how he gotinto Organization 13.
With multiplayer, players could even play as other characters, and missions were bite-sized, going through several familiar Disney zones. The only thing that wasn’t PS2 quality was the controls.
4Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
It’s Still Impressive That Monolith Soft Pulled This Off
Xenoblade Chronicleswas a late entry to the dyingWiilibrary, which didn’t exactly have a ton of RPGson it. This game felt like Monolith Soft used every ounce of the Wii’s power to make it look impressive and to have it play like it was designed for another console, like the PS3 or Xbox 360.
The size of the open-world environments and the monsters that roamed around in them did not make the game chug on the Wii at all, and that wasXenoblade Chronicles’greatest achievement.
Monster Huntergamesalways thrive on portable systems, withMonster Hunter Generationsbeing the last core franchise title released on a handheld.
The zones were still sectioned off into smaller areas, but the details and monsters that Capcom packed into these key areas were beyond belief for a game on the3DS. Whether alone or with a party, battles could be epic to the point that players would sometimes forget they were playing on a handheld.
