The 10 Most Ambitious NES RPGs

Sometimes it seems like the NES era of games was all about the JRPG coming into the spotlight with gamers in the US. However, there were a ton of titles making a name for themselves with a more traditional RPG experience. I mean, after all, it was Gary Gygax and his love of fantasy novels like the Lord of the Rings series and tabletop games that brought Dungeons & Dragons to life. It would make sense that a genre all about magical worlds full of wizards and monsters would translate to an interactive visual medium like video games.

And the NES had some of the most interesting, unique, and ambitious games to hit the 8-bit market in the 1980s and early 90s. Despite the more limited technology of the time, developers were able to give players everywhere amazing and in-depth games that really pushed what was capable with the consoles of the time.

Even to this day, there are a number of classic NES RPGs out there that really show how far devs were trying to take things back in the day. It was also a great time to experiment and try new things as game genres and their characteristics were still being fully fleshed out. These are just some of the best games that really went out on a limb to try something new and creative, even if they didn’t always hit the mark.

10 Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest

Whip It Good

While the original Castlevania was a very straightforward action experience, Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest took a whip crack at expanding the series into RPG territory. It fleshed out the world of vampire hunter Simon Belmont by making it a non-linear game full of villages and NPCs. It also introduced a day/night system that would become a hallmark of many action-oriented RPGs.

It was a pretty massive expansion overall, especially when compared to the first game. It really showed how deep a game could get on NES hardware too. Although Castlevania 2 is an RPG in and of itself, it would go on to be one of the titles that inspired the Metroidvania genre.

9 Little Ninja Brothers

Kung-Fury

Although American audiences wouldn’t know it, Little Ninja Brothers was another action game sequel that went full on RPG. For the time, it was a pretty rare blend of top-down open world exploration mixed with beat-em-up combat similar to the Tales of RPG series. It also threw in the more standard turn-based RPG fights for its boss battles.

But the most ambitious aspect of Little Nina Brothers was the fact that it could be a 2-player experience. A friend could hop in and help you with all the fights, including the turn-based ones. It’s still rare to see a multiplayer co-op RPG in modern times, putting this classic title in rare air even today.

8 The Magic of Scheherezade

Arabian Nights

If you take the action and exploration of The Legend of Zelda and combine it with sprinklings of Final Fantasy’s turn-based RPG combat, you end up with The Magic of Scheherezade. The middle eastern-influenced game took its queues from A Thousand and One Arabian Nights and let players choose between three character classes before heading out on their adventure. You could also jump, which is something Link couldn’t really do until he went 3D. Which may sound trivial now, but you have to consider how rudimentary most game mechanics were back then.

The Magic of Scheherezade had a compelling story and plenty of variety for its time. For a number of years, it was reported that a sequel of some sort was in the works, but unfortunately, nothing ever came to be.

7 Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II

Time Traveler to the Stars

While the first StarTropics was an island adventure, Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II took players on an adventure through time and space, expanding the narrative and depth of the game’s stories. One of its more interesting features was the fact it featured two top-down styles of gameplay. Players would start out in a traditional RPG town full of NPCs before making their way down into dungeons where the gameplay was more of a Legend of Zelda experience with larger character sprites.

Zoda’s Revenge came out towards the tail end of the NES’s lifespan and really showed off how much games had evolved for the console over the years. The series would end here, as it was one of the most underrated franchises on the system, but it remains a fan favorite RPG for oldschool fans.

6 The Battle of Olympus

Going Greek

Borrowing heavily from Greek mythology, The Battle of Olympus took players on a journey to hell and back. Players took on the role of Orpheus and had to explore the game’s non-linear world and bow before the pantheon of gods to discover more and more powerful items to increase their chances of defeating Hades and rescuing their beloved Helena.

In many ways, it was a more rudimentary version of Zelda 2 without the overworld map, but its story was rich and intricate. Its scale and the scope of its story make this one of the more ambitious RPGs to launch on the NES.

5 The Goonies 2

Doing the Truffle Shuffle

If you were a kid in the 80s, odds are you were a huge fan of the Goonies, so it was a bit perplexing that the first game only came out in Japan. Regardless, The Goonies 2 ended up being one of the most interesting and ambitious RPGs to ever launch on the NES. The game combined side-scrolling action and first-person dungeon crawling with non-linear gameplay exploration.

If all that wasn’t enough, it also featured a chiptune version of Cyndi Lauper’s “Goonies R Good Enough” that was a total banger. At the time, it was very rare to have a video game tie-in with a movie that was more than just a cash grab, which makes this even more of a rare gem and one of the best NES games out there. If you enjoyed the movie and have never played this NES classic, you should check it out. It’s way better than Atari’s E.T.

4 The Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link

Not What You Expected

The first Zelda game went on to be one of the NES era’s best and most iconic titles, so it was a bit perplexing when The Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link came out, and it was nothing like the first one. You still traveled around on an overworld map, but all the action took place in side-scrolling environments. It was a truly dramatic departure from the first Zelda’s structure, which was both an ambitious and bold lateral movement.

However, it failed to resonate with players at the time, and the series went back to its roots for its SNES follow-up. It just goes to show that sometimes trying to innovate or do something to shake up the system doesn’t always work out. Not to say the game is entirely worthless, I’d only recommend it for hardcore fans of the Zelda series who need to play them all.

3 Ultima: Exodus

Movement of the People

You could almost think of Ultima: Exodus as an Americanized RPG version of Japan’s Drag Warrior series. Although Ultima was much more of an open, if not sometimes tedious RPG experience. Although it was the third game in the Ultima series, it was the first to abandon the first-person dungeon crawling for top-down overworld exploration. It also lets you put together a party of four characters based on the traditional D&D classes and races, like clerics and Elves, giving it a hint of table-top fantasy role-playing in the mix.

Ultima: Exodus had the trademark depth of story and openness that would become hallmarks of the franchise and gave home console players a taste of what PC gamers were up to in the 80s. It still remains an example of a truly classic NES RPG.

2 Willow

Are You Really A Great Sorcerer?

Depending on who you talk to, Willow was one of the best fantasy films of the late 80s. But no one expected that its NES RPG tie-in game would go so hard. Taking cues from Zelda for its top-down open-world action-RPG experience, Willow went even further by adding XP and leveling features, giving it even more depth than the iconic NES series. Your combat skills would even improve as time went on thanks to a sword mastery system.

While the plot of the NES Willow game didn’t have much to do with the film itself, it’s an inventive and all too appropriate tie-in for the film thanks to RPGs and fantasy being so complimentary. If you enjoy classic action-RPG’s and this one hasn’t made your list yet, be sure to add it to your must-play queue.

1 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Hitting the Mark

Beyond giving us one of the most amazing Bryan Adams songs of all time, the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves also gave us one of the most in-depth NES RPG games ever. While much of the game takes place in a top-down open world, there were also events like side-scrolling sword duels, daring escapes on horseback, and even strategic military battles. You could also band up with your merry men and equip them with items and weapons in a manner similar to titles like Diablo.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves may be one of the best movie game tie-ins to ever hit the NES. There’s just so much depth not only to RPG elements, but to the gameplay itself. The team really managed to give players an exciting and truly ambitious experience and hit the arrow in the bullseye with yet another arrow, splitting it in half.