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RPGs go back to the pre electronic gaming era when they were
playing using paper and dice. Tunnels and trolls was the first but
Dungons and Dragons quickly became the standard. RPG's instantly
became an established genre in video gaming. Key elements like
character development, exploration and quest solving offer more
depth than most other genres and keep RPGs popular to this day
with epics like Zelda and final fantasy.
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Adventure
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Platform: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Released: 1978
Number of Players: 1
Considered by many to be the first graphical Adventure game. Adventure
introduced the idea of movable objects that could be picked up by
the player and moved around the game world which was one of the first
video games to include a multi-screen game world.
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Multi-User Dungeon
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Platform: DECSystem-10
Developer: Essex University
Released: 1978
Number of Players: Online
Multi-User Dungeon, or MUD for short, was the first game to include
a persistent online world where players could interact with each other
through a text interface. Originally developed in 1978 at Essex University,
England, MUD ran for many years on the University's computers.
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Dungeon Master
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Platform: Atari ST
Developer: FTL Games
Released: 1987
Number of Players: 1
Dungeon Master was seen to be a revolution in the way players could
explore and interact with a dungeon maze in a 3D type first person
perspective. It also combined role playing with real time action.
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Ultima 7 Black Gate
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Platform: PC
Developer: Origin Systems
Released: 19??
Number of Players: 1
Ultima 7 is a huge RPG and one of the best in the ultima series.
It has numerous subquests, sideplots, and small diversions all with
the usual Olde English dialog. Allowed a great deal of freedom.
Also notable for the addition of the Speech pack and Serpents Isle
expansions.
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Ultima Underworld I and II
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Platform: PC
Developer: Origin Systems
Released: 1992
Number of Players: 1
Ultima Underworld - The Stygian Abyss took the dungeon master style
of game to the next level. Featuring an advanced 3d engine, real-world
object physics, a role-playing enviroment and real time combat.
Surprisingly, it predated Doom by a full two years and Wolfenstein
3D by two months.
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Shining in the Darkness
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Platform: Mega Drive
Developer: Origin Systems
Released: 1991 (US)
Number of Players: 1
An epic tale with tough riddles, seemingly endless labyrinths and
involving storyline. Know as Shining and the Darkness in the US. The
first in Sega's Shining series with the latest one "Shining Soul"
being released for the GBA on march 2002.
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Secret of Mana
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Platform: SNES
Developer: Square
Released: 1993
Number of Players: 3
Secret of Mana or Seiken Densetsu 2 as it was known in Japan is a
very popular game mostly because it combines a great story line with
some of the best music and graphics seen on the SNES. The ability
for 3 players to play with a multitap distinguishes it from Zelda.
Perhaps a little to easy for regular rpg players but with loads of
secrets to find it has a lot of replay value.
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Chrono Trigger
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Platform: SNES
Developer: Square
Released: 1995
Number of Players: 1
Never released in the UK, often touted as the best rpg on the snes.
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Legend of Zelda
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Platform: SNES
Developer: Nintendo
Released:
Number of Players: 1
Many peoples' first intro to RPG games this is a true classic. Combines
realtime combat and a superb storyline.
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Zelda Ocarina of Time
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Platform: SNES
Developer: Nintendo
Released:
Number of Players: 1
Zelda on N64 is a successful translation into 3D. It uses a single
action button which, while saving a lot of time, can make things
a bit easy at times. Combat is well designed with a nice "lock-on"
feature which has been copied in many games ever since. The plot
is the usual find 7 crystals and basically involves making your
way through 7 different dungeons.
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Baulders Gate
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Platform: PC
Developer:
Released: 1993
Number of Players: 1-6
Perhaps the first game to capture the kind of story and combat dynamics
once associated with its pen & paper counterpart.
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Ultima Online
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Platform: PC
Developer: Origin Systems
Released: 1997
Number of Players: 1000's
Origin's online version of Ultima is a ground breaking rpg with
a persistent world where literally thousands of players could interact
with each other. Players can even buy houses or castles. Two main
drawbacks; cheating and it is subscription-based. Origin charge a small monthly fee of about $7.
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