Age of Empires, ah, yes. The classics.
The SNES (Super Nintendo) is one of the only consoles I've ever had, but I always had a wide range of games thanks to a 'Copy-Box.' In many, many years I've finished all RPG's I've had, which were still quite an amount, especially when you were young.
Breath of Fire II was the very first I've played. A game I've considerd to replay some time soon again. Not only did I like the story of the game, I was extremely fond on the music of the game. But making a search for it is a waste of time as there are too many results.
Because it is the first RPG I've played, I can't give a good rating about it because one of the first always has a special feeling. It counts for everyone, everything that is heavily liked, will always be rated higher. I remember myself being scared for the final-boss of the game
Final Fantasy VI and V came afterwards, which VI is still one of my favorite games of all time. I liked the sound track of both games as well, and I still play some music of FF VI from time to time. I have glorious memories of both games, especially VI because it was multiplayer
But I'm not the one to rate a FF game. =)
RoboTech (RPG), was one of the harder RPG's I've played. The game itself wasn't too hard, but considering the age of me when I started it, it was hard to understand. They used several terms I was not familiar with and I had no idea what to expect. Somewhere midway during the game, I lost interest because I didn't understand it anymore. Slowly, but surely, I got the urge to continue and at a certain time, I finally finished the game.
When I look back at the game, the sound-track was bad, the game play was bad and it had a very average story. The looks and story became quite childish at some parts, though it took a very serious twist near the end of the game giving it a very serious mood, though too late for the real fans. What kept me addicted to it, I'm not sure. I guess I couldn't be satisfied with leaving a game unfinished.
Paladin's Quest, except for one other RPG I've played on the SNES, probably one of the hardest I've played because of the many limitations. It's a game I'll probably replay some time
soon again. I only finished the game once, because I never managed to finish it more often. When you play the game for the very first time, the many (bright) colors can be a shock for the eyes. The dialogs are not interesting, the (two) main characters are not interesting either and it is quite confusing near the start because nothing (at all) happens after you've done the first 'quest.'
But after you get a hold of the story, it is easily visible that it is an interesting story with many hard to solve puzzles and the quests getting harder and harder. Unfortunately, there is very little dialogs between the side-kick-characters who you can pick up throughout the game. I learned that they play a role at the very end of the game, but it isn't worth paying a big sum of money to take them along.
Paladin's Quest takes a lot of time when you decide to play it. Especially because the game remains quite easy for a long time, giving the impression that it is a very easy game. They also give a good impression that you can hire a very strong side-kick/mercenary to help you, which is very true. The guy has a giant (rock hard, literal) defense and is quite strong in combat. Unfortunately, the enemies of that time are heavily boosted without any warning and you easily find yourself too weak to fight them one by one, which is a little downside. During the start of the game, many enemies are quite weak and the only (big) surprise is the boss of a certain area, which usually are up for a good fight.
Near the end of the game, the game is at its hardest part. A lot of GIANT dungeons to cover, a lot of questions get asked which you could only find the answer of near the
start of the game and creatures that you don't even want to fight. Old friends
and enemies that take a visit to you, and the traveling through time can get you easily mixed up with other stuff. It's extremely chaotic (which it is supposed to be) and hard near the end of the game.
The final boss remains one heck of a fight. Right before you meet the final-boss - who is hard enough on his own, mind you - you have to fight an "old friend" who is quite hard on his own. After you think you've beat him, he boosts himself a bit and becomes even stronger. After you've killed him, you get no real chance to heal but you can restart the entire fight. He joins the 'final-boss' of the game to fight you. After a while of fighting him I got the impression of: "Does he ever die?" Considering you only can heal yourself 39 times.
The music of the game is quite bad, mind you. Though I absolutely loved the music of the final/start-dungeon of the game.
Yeah... the game is still fresh in my memory.
BrainLord is an adventure/RPG with only a decent story. Not to mention a story that stops making sense at a certain moment. The moment it starts making sense again you come to the conclusion that it is one of the worst possible stories you could possibly imagine. Quite a shame, since it has a lot of potential. The music of the game is bad, but very fitting to its surroundings and not annoying to hear. But as I recall, the background music during a boss was quite good.
Brainlord is without any hesitation the hardest game I've played in my entire life. Mind you that I started on this game at a reasonable young age and didn't understand fully what the characters in the game meant just yet. The battles in the game are not too hard, as a matter of fact, except for a few bosses, they are quite easy. Except if you don't pay enough attention, since there are some surprise factors in it.
What makes the game hard are the puzzles and riddles. It's what the game rellies on the most... puzzles, riddles and common sense. It is... or was the only game I wasn't able to finish at the SNES of all games I own. I tried the game over and over again, but I either couldn't handle the amount of things I had to remember anymore so I stopped, or it was because it just became too hard. There was one time which I was literally in front of the final boss when I stopped. I was in front of a giant door, with a giant lock on it which a good sign next to it with some scary stuff written in it. I can't remember what it said, but it was clear that the final boss was not far behind that door. Unfortunately, I had everything ready to face him... except the key to open the door. I took months of time to find the key, but after searching for so long without any result, I gave up.
I recently installed the game on an emulator here on the PC and replayed the game and reliving a bit of my youth. I forgot how bad the graphics were though
Again, I got stuck at the same door as last time. This time, I did found the key - and yes, it was at the place I would search the least... quite classic
- and managed to open the door. I was also quite right that the final boss was nearby. Behind the door was a hallway with no enemies and a locked door at the end of the hall. That was the key I did have from earlier and there it was the final boss, which was quite easy.
It's a game that'll stay in my memory for a very long time. Something I won't forget easily...
Phantasy Star II is not for the SNES and it has been on many different consoles and PC's before too. But the old classic Phantasy Star II for the Sega has a memory of mine that I could never fulfill. Before we had a copy box here for the SNES, my brother already had a Sega and played Phantasy Star II. I could barely read English back then, so I understood very little of what they said. It probably is the first RPG I've played in my life though, so it'll always have a very special place in my heart, just like Breath of Fire II, the first RPG I played on my own.
I never got much of the story of Phantasy Star II, but I knew how much my brother struggled with the game at a certain time. I'm not sure why, but he had a manual for the game too. Not much of a walkthrough, since it doesn't really help but gives hints now and again. It was quite shocking what it said on the final page though. Giving a great walkthrough of the final dungeon it leaves you to the very final point, when the walls are only a little bit apart, just enough to let one person walk at a time. To block the way, there is a (treasure)chest between the two close walls, forcing you to open it.
The manual had only one comment/hint/advise about it, which was on the last page.
"Open the box. We dare you."
Of all I can remember of the game, I remember I was fond on all characters - except one - and I really liked the song. As a matter of fact, if I could play an
instrument, I'd gladly would've played some of the tunes of the old game.
The graphics are horrible nowadays, but they helped me through my youth. With an emulator, they are still quite playable, and without a single doubt, I'll play all of them someday again, though I'll probably think twice before playing Brainlord again.