(BTW this article is 100% human-written using actual human memories and real human nostalgia. Just so you know.)
Like a lot of gamers of a certain age, Dragon Warrior was the first NES game I actually owned, along with Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt and a brand-spankin’ new subscription to Nintendo Power. If you remember the promo I’m talking about, we’re already friends. And if you don’t know about it, go read my article on Final Fantasy vs Dragon Warrior and then maybe we can still be friends.
TL;DR: Dragon Warrior became extremely popular despite its poor sales because you’d get a free copy, along with a robust suite of maps and guides, with your purchase of a Nintendo Power subscription. I had tried to play Dragon Warrior before and just didn’t get it. But with Nintendo Power’s guidance I was able to parse through the game and really enjoyed my time with it.
I imagine a lot of gamers in 1990 were collectively discovering a love for the deep gameplay and unfolding stories of console RPGs. I know I was. And yet…
With an attention span like mine (and yours, too. Don’t worry; this is a safe space.), the tedium of turn-based combat can be a dealbreaker. Especially in grind-heavy titles like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. It’s only fun for so long. And remember, . How many good RPG stories have I abandoned because my patience ran out faster than my HP/MP?
But fear not, friends! There is another way.
Action RPGs—or ARPGs to the nerdiest among us—combine the best of both worlds. You get all the satisfaction of a slow-burn storyline and cumulative character development without the repetitive menu selections and the same little combat animations over and over and over. It’s nice, friends. Very nice.
And remember, this is a time before Dark Souls, Diablo or even Secret of Mana. It was a simple time and we were simple folk, looking for entertainment with depth and action. You kids these days with your fancy fandangled Switch 2 consoles will never comprehend the subtle satisfaction these games could bring.
Anyway, here they are: The best ARPGs for the NES.
- Faxanadu
I saw this game in a lot of magazines as a kid but never could find it in person. And I’m not sure I would have fully appreciated it anyway. More recently, however, I gave this gem a thorough playthrough and was extremely satisfied with the whole experience.
Sure, the controls are a bit clunky. The jump feels clipped and the action can take some getting used to, but once you’ve mastered the mechanics of Faxanadu, the whole experience starts to gel into something really unique and fun. The music is great, too. And the graphics (brown as they might be) really pushed the envelope on what the NES was capable of at the time. Highly recommended.
- Gauntlet 2
I’m feeling generous today so let’s add this one.
I won’t try to make a case for Gauntlet 2 being a “true” RPG. It’s a multiplayer arcade dungeon crawl without any character development and no story to speak of. But I think the fantasy setting and nonstop action scratch the ARPG itch.
Where Gauntlet 2 really shines is in its multiplayer capabilities. The NES didn’t have a whole lot of games that used the NES Four Score or Satellite. And the ones that exist are almost all sports games. But Gauntlet 2 is one of the few fantasy/action games that accommodates up to four players simultaneously. I don’t have three friends, so I haven’t tried this. But it seems like a blast!
…having friends, I mean. I’m sure playing 4-player Gauntlet is also a blast though.
- Star Tropics
To be honest, Star Tropics is on almost every NES listicle I write. I love it.
My favorite listicle featuring this game is my post 10 NES games to try if you like Zelda 1. Go check it out if you want. I invented something called a Zeldometer just for it.
Big deal, right? Zelda isn’t an RPG…
Well, we can get into that. And I’m not sure I’d count Star Tropics as a true RPG either. But between the story progression, character levelling, item discovery and top-down overworld map exploration, I think it’s close enough.
More importantly, Star Tropics is really fun. The tile-based movement in dungeons is still unique (Star Tropics 2 got rid of it unfortunately). The music is vastly underrated and catchy. The weapons are unique, the graphics are top-notch, the NPCs are lovable. There’s a good reason Star Tropics makes it onto so many of my lists. I love it. And somehow it’s still very cheap. You should get a copy!
- Castlevania 2
Some of you might fight me on this. It’s whatever, honestly. You’re allowed to disagree with me on stuff. But hear me out first.
Castlevania 1 and 3 are, yes, definitely not RPGs. They are platformers through and through, pretty much defining the genre. Even if they do have a depth that most games their age lack. Especially Dracula’s Curse, which lets you choose different routes through the world map.
However, Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest did something different!
It took me a while to even realize that the hearts Simon picks up are not just used as money, but earning him XP as well! Your health bar grows as you level up. So nanny-nanny booboo. Grind for experience? Check. Talk to NPCs? Check. Deep storyline? Well… I mean…
It’s close enough, alright? And the music is some of the best the NES offers.
And it’s cheap.
- Jaws
Okay, now I’m just trolling you! Hahaha!!
Or wait…
Am I?
Well, no. Looks here like Jaws has a surprising depth of RPG elements. Yeah, I’m not going to defend this game. But friend of the site and Jaws advocate hyp3rblue has written a pretty deep review for it. Decide for yourself.
- Willow
This was a time when it seemed Capcom could do no wrong. And like so many movie and TV tie-ins, they crushed it here, too.
Willow is a different sort of RPG. It uses a password system like Faxanadu which is both cumbersome and convenient. If you’ve ever soldered a fresh battery onto a NES game board you’ll understand. The action is top-down and takes place on single screens without scrolling. You know… like Zelda. But Willow is also unique enough to stand on its own as a pretty decent RPG.
- The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
I promise I’m not trolling you this time.
Most Zelda games are decidedly not RPGs. But this one actually is! The addition of an overworld map goes a long way to drive this point home, but it takes more than an overworld map to make an RPG.
The big element that most Zelda games omit is bigly present in Zelda 2. Link actually earns XP as he defeats enemies. You grind for it, then level up individual stats. It’s an RPG, I say! Just ask any of the multitudinous NPCs throughout the sprawling game world!
- Crystalis
You knew it was coming. It’s the obvious choice. And by most accounts, one of the best RPGs on the NES.
The game’s combat system plays a lot like Secret of Mana, letting you charge your equipped weapon to release devastating attacks. The game world sprawls like you expect from a good RPG, but Crystalis does a good job of intuitively getting you to the next area.
Honestly, this feels much more like a Super NES RPG in the way it presents towns, environments, dungeons, and all the transition areas to connect them. The story of Crystalis is actually pretty rich and nuanced, by NES standards. You can tell the devs put a lot of love into the game and it’s paid off in a really rewarding way.
As I write this, Crystalis is still relatively affordable. I’m not sure why. It’s such a cool classic that people should be hoarding them like they do Faria or Dragon Warriors 2, 3 and 4.
