Now why would I take hours of time to create this page? Just to show how much I know about useless shit? No -- the reason is that there are more RPG players than ever. 30% of all current RPG players started because of Square's enticing Playstation/PC release, Final Fantasy VII. It wasn't until beautiful full motion videos made RPG's glamorous enough to play, that millions fell in love with the whole RPG system. So now that they crave this game genre, these are my suggestions for RPG's to play and not to play.

My favorite type is the RPG where it's a necessity to become obsessed with the game and play it compulsively so that you can make progress in it. Much love to Squaresoft, because with their superior writers, music compsers, and graphic designers, the task of falling in love with a game is not difficult.

Final Fantasy I (American) 1990 Square

Final Fantasy came out for the 8-Bit Nintendo, and began the American craze of Final Fantasy. Four "Light" warriors seek out the dying orbs of the Earth in order to save it from its premature destruction. Myriad quests and tasks are faced by the heroes not to mention hundreds of enemies whose nature is to stop their noble progress.

The gameplay is a bit slow, even for an RPG because the fight sequences can drag out forever even if your characters are overachievers. One reason for this is that if the enemy you target gets "terminated" by another member of your party, the player will attack empty space instead of taking out the next available monster.

Other bitchy points about this game is that "dead" party members have to be taken to healers in towns, and magic spells have to be purchased. The characters are essentially anonymous, leaving little room for plot involving the characters themselves, plus they only get four letters for their names. There's no way of knowing who can equip what armor and weapons, so lots of money can end up being wasted in the shops. You can also be attacked when you're riding on a canoe.

But enough bitching; this game does kick ass. Nobuo Uematsu composed the music, of course, and even for an 8-Bit game sets the moods of peaceful towns, raging battles, and dark temples. Hours upon hours of enjoyment can be achieved not only because the battles take a millenia to complete, but because there's not a lot of pressure to advance. You can go anywhere at any time, provided you have the transportation, either a ship, a canoe, or yes, even an airship. Enemies are pretty nifty and progressing in this game means you have a strong will. You'd have to if you were to play.

If you had a subscription to Nintendo Power when this game came out, you got a strategy guide from them all about Final Fantasy which helped a lot for gameplay, and let you remember all the points of the game when you sold you NES and all of your cartridges. No, no -- I did it, too, but you can redeem yourself now because system emulators and game ROMs are all over this anarchistic realm we call the internet, so it can be yours for free. I'd put them here, but knowing geoshitties, they'd probably shut down my stupid little page.

Dragon Warrior 1989 Enix
Also for the NES, Dragon Warrior was ignition for video RPG's in general. This one party, first person medieval setting game has you, heir of the legendary warrior Erdrick save the world from the ambitious and sinister Dragonlord.

There's not much plot; you know exactly who your enemy is. Basically you have two things to do: Destroy him, and become powerful enough to do so. For this latter, you gain experience fighting about a hundred different monsters, and finding treasures that help you out such as armor that regenerates HP with every step you take and artifacts that span bridges to unreachable areas.

All enemy battles are one on one, which is convenient. Leveling takes a bit longer this way, but that's okay because you can be at level 22 and kill the Dragonlord. Not that this is an easy game -- enemies can be tough and plentiful of HP. You can only save at Tantagel Castle, and inventory is limited.

It makes you wonder how a game can sound so tedious and still be amazingly enjoyable. Something must come from the satisfaction of realizing how much you character has progressed, and knowing that those drakkens in the northern plains that once took several rounds to slay have become extinguishable in one blow. Being strong enough to journey to new places and see the sites, to fight a new monster, to find a relic in a dark cave -- all of these things make the experience of Dragon Warrior a memorable one.

Sword of Vermilion 1990 Sega

This was the only RPG is ever played for the Genesis. Unfortunately, I've not yet played a game of the Phantasy Star series, though I admit that I am intrigued. Anyway, Sword of Vermilion had what we in the early 90's "amazing graphics". In this game you are the heir of Royalty with a mission to userp the evil kingdom that's about to take over the world and do nasty things to it.

Moving around the world in this game has been done in a really unique way, with both a first-person point of view and a map from above. Fighting enemies is done a-la Zelda without battle menus but rather hand to hand combat. Then, in fights with bosses, it works like a platform 2-D game.

Leveling is done at a decent rate, and because of the nature of the combat, it really shows. Bitchy points: Poison antidotes have to be performed at churches, which means you have to carry your wounded, dying ass back to town, only to go out and get tagged by another scorpion. Also, if you become cursed, you lose status points. This makes your leveling useless, and it takes five million years to get back to a level 5 strength and by that time you'll be at level 20. Also removed at church, but I reset the game if this happens (implying but not commanding that you do this, too).

This game is fun and has great music. Sound test is done by pressing A+B+C and then start on controller two at title screen. Towns are charming with their little general stores and log churches. The theme and mood of the game are wonderfully authentic, and though it is the only Genesis RPG I ever played, I can rightly say that this game is exceptional. Bravo, Sega.

Quest for Glory Anthology Sierra

Sierra has made one of the most underrated and unknown series of RPGs ever. Combining classic RPG puzzles, character building, and setting, the four existing episodes of Quest For Glory are wonderful members of the Role-Playing world.

You can be a fighter, magic user, or a thief, and depending on your character's profession, the game is different for each. Fighters, if they're honorable enough can become paladins in the sequels, which brings us to why this series is the utmost bomb-ass shit.

The absolute best part about QFG is the ability to save your character's data to transport it to the next game in the series. It gives the series a more "ongoing" feel to it, plus, if your character was skilled as hell at the end of the previous game, he'll be much better off for the sequel.

Quest For Glory incorporates old folk tales and classic mythology with good ol' RPG'n. Plus with the computer interface, the game allows more puzzles for you to solve. Intellect and wit are a good addition to the Role-Playing game, and with console system RPG's, the capability of this is limited.

Quest For Glory V is supposed to come out this winter, and I buffed up my fighter in IV just for the occasion. Are you ready for this momentous event?