Why the SNES is the King of RPGs

The Super Nintendo is often hailed as the greatest system in the history of gaming. Spawning countless franchises and an insane number of timeless classics, it's easy to see why. With the anniversary of this epic console fast approaching, we thought we'd give some attention to one area where the SNES especially excels: role-playing games.

While there's some debate as to whether the honor of best RPG console goes to the SNES, the original PlayStation, or the PlayStation 2, we're here to explore the argument that Nintendo's 16-bit system takes the cake. Check out our reasoning, and whether you agree or disagree, don't forget to share your own thoughts in the comments section.

While consoles eventually moved on to incorporate HD graphics and high tech hardware, there's something to be said for the almost raw simplicity of the 16-bit generation. Working within the constraints of the hardware propelled many of the most celebrated developers of our time to push their creativity to the limit, making for some of the most inspired RPG experiences of all time.

SNES RPGs improved upon the bare bones (though still revolutionary) offerings of the NES, and with the new console developers were finally able to realize their visions without having to strip them down to the bare minimum. In other words, they were creatively challenged without being too creatively inhibited -- which turned out to be a recipe for pure genius.

What made SNES RPGs so masterful was not just the unique constraints of the hardware, but the end products themselves. These titles -- from Chrono Trigger to the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series -- represent gaming at its purest and finest, with no extraneous frills (we're looking at you, Xenogears) to distract from the true heart of the experience: the gameplay.


This generation of RPGs was the first time game creators could fully convey their stories and characters. There's something about minimalistic representation of the characters -- the collection of pixels and text that defined who they were -- that in a way was so much more compelling than it is today.

Rather than being spoon fed a hero's appearance and personality via a lengthy cutscene or hyper-realistic character model, the characters were instead personified by our imaginations. They were intimately related to who we believed them to be based on the scenarios depicted in the game. You can chalk it up to system limitations, but for whatever reason, retro RPG characters are just plain endearing, perhaps even more so than those that followed in their footsteps.

Sure, the depth to which you can explore story and character has been outdone with the modern innovations of larger disc space and improved graphical capabilities (and it's worth noting that PlayStation set the standard for cinematic cutscenes and greater emphasis on story). But even still,there's something about those old SNES RPG gems that has never since been outdone. And what better proof than the games themselves.