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Bloodwych is a classic Dungeon Crawler which features a split-screen two player mode in which each player controls a party of its own.
Ys Book I & II follows the adventure of Adol Christin, a traveler who embarks on a quest to locate the fabled lost floating continent called Ys. The game is a enhanced compilation of the first two Ys titles and was one of the first games to demonstrate the potential of the TurboGrafx-16's CD-ROM add-on.
An action RPG designed by Yu Suzuki for the Sega Genesis. The original advertising for this game claimed that it had "over 300 hours of gameplay".
The third installment of the Gradius series, pitting the Vic Viper against Bacterian forces yet again. It introduces the "Edit Mode" system, allowing players to fully-customize their weapon loadout.
Square's Tom Sawyer is a role-playing game based on Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It lets players assume control of Tom Sawyer and his companions as they search for Injun Joe's treasure.
A fantasy adventure game for early Windows operating systems, Castle of the Winds was notable for its randomly generated dungeons, which were populated by monsters "borrowed" from Dungeons & Dragons, which was possible thanks to its simplistic graphics.
16-bit sci-fi RPG originally released on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in 1989.
A post-apocalyptic RPG taking place in the Southwest United States shortly after the end of WWIII, the player took on the role of a group of Desert Rangers defending the last of humanity as they investigated mysterious disturbances within the desert and the surrounding ruins such as Las Vegas.
A BBS door, or online game, Legend of the Red Dragon is a text-based, multiplayer online RPG. Players fight monsters, duel each other, and level up, with the goal of defeating the Red Dragon which is threatening the town.
Exile, also known as XZR II, is the side scrolling, action RPG sequel to XZR. It was first released for Japanese computers in 1988. Both North American releases, especially the Genesis one, were censored due to the heavy religious, adult and drug-related themes.
Final Fantasy II follows four heroes who join a resistance group and try to stop an empire from taking over the world. Its gameplay deviates greatly from the first game by utilizing a usage-based growth system.
The Inner Sphere will never be the same for Jason Youngblood, who must fulfill his destiny as a MechWarrior if he is to save his planet and find his father.
First Queen (PC, Super Famicom, etc) was a unique hybrid RTS/RPG/action game first released in 1988. It was one of the first games by Kure Software Koubou and helped establish their eventually popular Multiple Character gameplay system that they went on to use in many later games.
An action RPG developed by Telenet Japan and released in 1988, it is the first part of the XZR/Exile trilogy. The game was controversial for its references to religion, politics, and drugs. Unlike its sequels, XZR was never released outside of Japan.
The Scheme is an action RPG released by Bothtec (later known as Quest) for the PC-88 in 1988. It features Metroidvania-style open-world exploration, side-scrolling run & gun shooter combat, and chiptune music by Yuzo Koshiro.
A shoot 'em up spanning four diverse levels. Players control a ship that can morph between a ground based tank and air attack ship.
A unique hybrid RTS/Action/RPG game first released in 1988. It was the first game by Kure Software Koubou and introduced their eventually popular Multiple Character gameplay system that they went on to use in many later games.
The direct follow-up to Konami's arcade shoot-'em-up classic Gradius, introducing customizable Power Meters with new power-ups. It had no official release in North America for 18 years.
A sequel to Renegade, Target Renegade was a sidescrolling beat 'em up. Featured the classic "Flying kick dudes to knock them off motorbikes" mechanic.
The second game in the Last Ninja series, this time set in modern-day New York.
An isometric third person action adventure game that mixes melee combat, platforming elements and puzzle solving. Its control scheme is notorious.
Phantasy Star is an 8-Bit console RPG released for the Sega Master System. Featuring hours of story-driven dialog, first person dungeon exploring and an epic quest, Phantasy Star spawned numerous sequels and spinoffs.
Sorcerian, also known as Dragon Slayer V: Sorcerian, is an action RPG released by Nihon Falcom in 1987. It was considered unique for its party-based action combat, magic combination system, and open-ended multi-scenario system that could be extended with expansion packs.
Final Fantasy was the first entry in the now widely recognized Final Fantasy franchise, originally developed on the NES by Square (now Square-Enix).
An action game created by Casio for the MSX in which the player character searches a house infested with Youkai: Mischievous Japanese spirits. Irem later published an enhanced version for the Famicom Disk System.
The original game in the Megami Tensei franchise. Based on a novel by Aya Nishitani, it introduced many of the elements the series is known for such as demon bartering and fusing.
Simon Belmont must rid himself of a horrible curse placed upon him by Dracula in this action-adventure platformer and sequel to the original Castlevania.
An early example of a "Metroidvania"-style platformer, Legacy of the Wizard tells the tale of a family of adventurers who must use their combined abilities to seek the Dragon Slayer sword and defeat a powerful dragon deep in a twisting labyrinth.
A Japanese role-playing game originally released in 1987 where the player character must investigate the death of two boys who were found near the entrance of a mansion.
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