So, I've been playing through some Genny RPGs...

[2600Lives]

Wow, though I own a bunch of Genesis RPG games, I've never had much time to actually go through them. Lately, though, I've had time and have been playing them in the order they are in my box. Holy CRAP are some of them fantastic!

 

Beyond Oasis

This game is AWESOME, though I will say it's HAAARD. Damn, you get swarmed at every turn in this one, with enemies coming at you from all sides and just unmercifully beating the hell out of you. Your character has a ton of moves at his disposal, which is kind of rare for this type of game. Though there isn't much story, and it's kind of short (5 hours was all it took for me to get through the first time), it's a great gaming experience with some very novel ideas (summoning spirit helpers from the various elements. Want help from the water spirit? Shoot your little summoning thing into some water. Fire spirit? Shoot at a lit torch, or a bomb). Great Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack, too.

 

Crusader of Centy

Just started on this one. So far, it's pretty good. You play a stereotypical young boy (14 years old in this case), but there's some unique mechanics. You get animal companions to help you that you can mix and match, and they all have unique abilities. Great graphics and sound, too (there were times the music almost reached SNES quality levels, which is damned impressive for the Genny's craptacular sound chip).

 

Landstalker

I went through this one all the way when it first came out, but I've fell in love with it all over again. One of THE best games of the 16-bit era on ANY system. Yet another game to push the Genny's sound chip to it's maximum.

 

I've got more after these, and I'm looking forward to getting through them. It's so nice to sit back with a colorful, simple game that doesn't make your eyes bleed from all the graphics or require you to twist your fingers into pretzels with complicated controller manuvers. Just good ol' spirte based, 3 button glory!

[Lord Thag]

Check out Traysha. It's an obscure Renovation title. Very playable in my opinion. I'm also very fond of Rings of Power and Fairy Tale.

 

I agree. Beyond Oasis and Landstalker are A+ titles.

[RJ]

I bought/began Light Crusader awhile ago but havent gotten much into it.

[Inky]

I never played any of the genny Phantasy Star games. How were they?

[2600Lives]

PS2 = One of the single best RPGs you're EVER going to play. That one seriously made us old-school RPG gamers lose our innocence (those who've played it know what I mean, and if you haven't, you'll find out). It's long, expansive, and HARD (though, like all early RPGs, all it took was a few extra levels to overcome most obstacles.) The battle music will never leave your head once you've heard it. Excellence defined.

 

PS3 = BLEH. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Whereas you had nicely animated enemies in PS2, here you get ones that look like they were lifted from the original Final Fantasy, where the most they do is flash when they attack. Virtually no character animation, ungodly weak story, and hideous, ear-rattling music. Avoid. The only cool thing about it is how your character can marry at the end of every generation, and whom you decide to marry determines the storyline for your offspring. Great idea marred by horrible gameplay.

 

PS4 = Take what made PS2 great and make it bigger and better. Though not quite as epic in my mind as PS2, it still manages a sweeping, huge storyline over several planets. Excellent game mechanics, the return of those great animated enemies, and some amazing graphics and sound make this a damn good game. One of my favorite parts was when you're traveling in a vehicle, you don't actually use your characters to fight, you use the vehicle, and each one has it's own arsenal of weapons to use. I haven't seen a mechanic like that used again until Wild Arms 3.

 

I finished Crusader of Centy tonight. Pretty easy overall, only took a few hours to get through, but it was enjoyable. Again, kind of weak in the storyline department, but some of the bosses were VERY clever (one was a giant eye that floated under the floor and you couldn't see it, so you had to keep throwing your sword to cut away part of the floor so you could see where it was). Very original and fun. These days, it seems only the Metal Gear games have any originality in their boss fights.

 

I think next I'm gonna try and tackle Brain Lord for the SNES. I've heard good things about it. After that, I may delve into some of my TurboGrafx collection and see if I maybe can't work my way through Neutopia.

[Gabriel]

I never played any of the genny Phantasy Star games. How were they?

 

I've never been able to get into Phantasy Star 2. All I can say is that it really drags at the start, and just comes across as boring. It also isn't much to look at.

 

Phantasy Star 3 was OK. I liked it enough to play to completion, and I've played bits and pieces of it again on the GBA, PS2 and PSP compilations. It's good light RPG fun, but nothing spectacular.

 

Phantasy Star 4 was good. It was supposed to be Sega's answer to Final Fantasy III on the SNES. The first strike against it was the $100+ price tag when it was released. The next problem was that the game felt a bit cheap. It could have used more polish. Ultimately, it was a solid game, but didn't have the qualities to be a true classic. I've played it through to completion twice, but nothing in the game is really memorable.

 

Did the Genesis port of Lufia ever get made?

[8th lutz]

I never played any of the genny Phantasy Star games. How were they?

Phantasy Star 2- it is a great game, but it rather dated. It is on the difficult side and I recommend using gamefaqs hints or Http://www.Phantasy-star.net for maps. This games storyline with throwa loop for gamers who will play this game for the first time.

 

Phantasy Star 3 is an okay game. It is rather different compare to the rest of the phantasy star games on the genesis. It is the worst of the 3 genesis Phantasy star game. It has a great concept, but it's major problem is part of the phantasy star series. The game has no tie in to the other Phantasy Star games at the time along with fact it was not developed by the people who did Phantasy Star 1, 2 and 4. The people who developed this game, also did Sword of Vermillion.

 

 

Phantasy star 4 is easier then 2 and, but it is a great game. It has a deep storyline buy having plenty of cut scences. It has great graphics, great battle system.

[8th lutz]

Did the Genesis port of Lufia ever get made?

Nope.

[Asaki]

I think next I'm gonna try and tackle Brain Lord for the SNES. I've heard good things about it.

 

I liked it. It's really short, but I remember it being pretty fun.

 

Did the Genesis port of Lufia ever get made?

 

One of these days, I need to play that game. I've got both of them downloaded (the original Sega CD versions), I just haven't burned them yet.

[2600Lives]

You're thinking of Lunar, Lufia 1 and 2 were SNES exclusives. Good games, but not as good as Lunar.

[Asaki]

Oh, yes I am =)

 

Lunar...Lufia...what difference does three letters make?

 

Need to play the Lufia games, too.

[2600Lives]

Lufia 1 was a pretty cut and dried RPG, good, but never great. It had pretty much every RPG cliche ever made in it, and though it's a long quest, it's never difficult in the least.

 

Lufia 2 on the other hand introduced a TON of new features. With the whole "raise your monster/pet" craze going on, it had these little helper creatures you had to take care of during the course of the game, feeding them old weapons and armor to increase their abilities. Excellent game.

 

One great RPG that totally defied convention was Robotrek. I still have fond memories of building my little robots and sending them into battle in my stead. Had a lighthearted, comical storyline and great characters. One of my fave SNES games.

[2600Lives]

Tried Brain Lord. HATED IT. Omg, this game is utter garbage. No storyline whatsoever, the WORST controls and clunkiest menu system I think I've ever seen in a game, and the most inane platform jumping ever in ANY Action/RPG (why in the HELL do developers think this sort of shit is fun? It's NOT in any way, shape, or form). Utter disappointment here. I'll go out on a limb and say the most generic game for the SNES, Lagoon, is far, far better than this piece of crap. Guess I'll move on to the next game.

[Asaki]

I liked it, but I wasn't expecting anything phenomenal. It's just a really short Dragon Warrior spinoff, centered around puzzles.