MegaDrive RPG Favorites

[Honey_Ogre]

I know that SNES is known for having the lion's share of classic RPG titles, but I think the MD had some really strong RPG rep back in the day. I don't hear people mention it very often, but Sword of Vermilion is one of my all time favorites. The music was super moody and great and the boss monsters are fantastically disgusting.

 

[Sayo]

I would have to go with the Sega CD release of Lunar: The Silver Star, in spite of its awful localization its truly a fantastic game and no posterior releases come close to it for me. There's a certain je ne sais quoi to playing it on the good ol' Mega CD.

 

[Gorse]

I hate first-person dungeon-crawling RPGs, but even a miserable curmudgeon like me can't deny that Shining in the Darkness is excellent. The gameplay is fast and fluid, with battles only taking a few seconds each, the party size is perfect, with every character (even the main one!) getting a ton of entertaining characterization, and working through the in-game economy to juuuust squeeze enough for the best items is extremely addictive and fun.

But what really entices me is the presentation. Cutscenes are gorgeous, with huge, detailed sprites and unique bleeps and bloops for every character voice. They're animated fantastically, too, with loads of charming poses and designs, and I ADORE the way enemies enter battle. The game's script is also very funny (I say this as someone who never finds game dialogue funny), and the sound design is completely engrossing. It has that "cinematic" quality that Shining Force has – it feels like you're playing something special. Take it from this genre's #1 hater – Shining in the Darkness rules.

 

[Sayo]

I hate first-person dungeon-crawling RPGs, but even a miserable curmudgeon like me can't deny that Shining in the Darkness is excellent. The gameplay is fast and fluid, with battles only taking a few seconds each, the party size is perfect, with every character (even the main one!) getting a ton of entertaining characterization, and working through the in-game economy to juuuust squeeze enough for the best items is extremely addictive and fun.

But what really entices me is the presentation. Cutscenes are gorgeous, with huge, detailed sprites and unique bleeps and bloops for every character voice. They're animated fantastically, too, with loads of charming poses and designs, and I ADORE the way enemies enter battle. The game's script is also very funny (I say this as someone who never finds game dialogue funny), and the sound design is completely engrossing. It has that "cinematic" quality that Shining Force has – it feels like you're playing something special. Take it from this genre's #1 hater – Shining in the Darkness rules.

Dude this game is absolutely gorgeous, the visuals are quintessential Mega Drive era SEGA in all its dithered 64 color glory.

 

[StMil]

If we're just talking about Megadrive (not CD), then for me it will always be Shining Force 2.

And I know this is a bit controversial, but my second choice would be Phantasy Star III.

If we're including CD games, then Eternal Blue... As it's still one of the best oldschool RPG's ever made. And also one of the best sequels ever made, since it improves upon the original in pretty much every conceivable way.

 

[Ajderniz]

I'm gonna be the generic one, but Phantasy Star. Liked them. But it's been a while since I played them, so I don't remember the one that sucked.