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Perhaps one of the greatest eras of RPGs has to be the SNES era of classics. Games that are often listed as the greatest RPGs of all time are from this time frame. While many of them may be hard to acquire in physical releases, they are worth a revisit.
It is important to note that the choices made by the writer will vary from reader to reader, and there is a wealth of important, pivotal, and worthwhile roleplaying games to play on the SNES, from the beginning of the console’s lifetime until the very end.
What SNES RPGs are the best to give another playthrough?
The oldest known RPG for the SNES is perhaps Dungeon Master from 1987, which was a remake or port of a computer game. However, there are many important games in the library. Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom was released in 1989, and more RPGs have followed over the years.
There are plenty of honorable mentions, though. Breath of Fire 2 would have made the top 10 as a classic fantasy “the Church is evil” game, as well as the hilarious nonsense that came from Robotrek. It also let players create a trio of combat robots, which is just a delight.
While many pan Final Fantasy Mystic Quest as a boring game for babies, it did a lot to introduce RPGs to an audience that was not familiar with them, and had a banger of a soundtrack to boot. There are too many games that could have been on the list, but the best SNES RPGs to play in 2022 are as follows:
SNES RPGs
- Final Fantasy II
- Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals
- Final Fantasy III
- Chrono Trigger
- EarthBound
5) Final Fantasy II
The first Final Fantasy game to hit the SNES is a tried-and-true classic. A story of love, loss, betrayal and giant spaceships, Final Fantasy II is one of the best RPGs on the platform, without a doubt.
Most of the characters experienced character growth over the course of the game, and it was the first time that the main protagonists of an RPG had depth to them. From Cecil’s journey of redemption to Edward overcoming his crippling cowardice, everyone grows and becomes a better person.
It is also a rare RPG in that the character stats also tell a story. Dark Knight Cecil slowly loses wisdom and willpower as he levels up, and the elderly Tellah loses physical stats as he grows in character level. It is an RPG that must not be missed.
4) Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals is a prequel to Lufia and the Fortress of Doom. Set 90 years before the previous game, fans already know how the story is supposed to end. Shouldn’t that make it a bad game? Of course not!
It is all about how the heroes get from the beginning to that tragic ending. Because yes, Lufia 2 is a sad game, with a heartbreaking but still hopeful ending. The beginning of Lufia 1 shows the final battle of Lufia 2, which was special.
The game is filled with puzzles, fascinating characters, funny moments, challenging bosses, and is an unforgettable tale. Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals is an oft-overlooked title, but it is one of the best RPGs on the SNES.
3) Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy III’s division of the story into a normal world and a world ravaged by the madman Kefka were new things on the SNES.
Each character finds a reason to live after Kefka succeeds in his plan to break humanity, and they bring the fight to god on top of his tower. A deep game with tons of secrets, beautiful musical scores, and gorgeous visuals, FFIII does not disappoin. It even had secret characters to unlock and a way to customize every character, despite each of them being unique out of the gate.
Final Fantasy III’s writers and composers did a wonderful job of invoking a wide variety of emotions in their players as the cast of characters travels this vast world. With optional bosses, powerful weapons and magic, and a full opera scene, Final Fantasy III has it all.
2) Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. The Dream Team of Hironobu Sakaguchi (Final Fantasy’s creator), Yuji Horii (Dragon Quest’s creator), and Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball creator, Dragon Quest character designer) blew away everyone’s expectations.
It is one of the best games of all time, not just on the SNES, but out of any era of gaming. Combining the above team with Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu’s composition work, they created an epic that cannot be matched by nearly any game. With multiple endings, deep side quests, gorgeous pixel art, and a unique ATB combat system, Chrono Trigger delivered on all fronts.
It was a revolutionary game involving Chrono, a regular boy with a sword who gets swept up in a whirlwind, time-traveling story to save the planet. He starts off fighting nobodies in the woods and ultimately brings the fight to Lavos, to prevent it from ruining the future. Chrono Trigger is easily one of the best games of all time, and just giving it a try will make that clear.
1) EarthBound
A game that sadly did not do so well at its original launch, EarthBound is a game that has become a cult hit and is regarded as one of the best RPGs of all time. Sequel to Mother, which did not initially get an American launch, it tells the story of a boy, his dog, and his bat. He winds up meeting three friends, and together, they go to fight the ethereal Giygas.
One of the many reasons players love EarthBound is because it does not appear to take itself seriously at first. Colorful and irreverent, it starts off as a relatively normal JRPG on the SNES. It quickly shifts tone when Ness realizes that the fate of the world is at stake.
Despite how serious the story is, it also brings hilarious dialogue and heartbreaking moments. It even has its moments of ultra seriousness. From a son and father who grew apart to strange cults obsessed with the color blue, EarthBound has everything. A compelling story, worthwhile difficulty, and a unique combat system featuring a rolling HP counter, EarthBound/Mother 2 is brilliant.
It has an art style that some can say is silly and too cheerful, but behind that belies a serious, dark story, and it all comes together to make one of the best SNES games of all time.
There are so many RPGs on the SNES, and it is hard to pick just a few that are the best. It is a collection of some of the greatest games of all time, many of which still hold up in 2022.
