20 Best SNES RPGs of All Time

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Murillo Zerbinatto

Murillo is a dedicated gamer and RPG enthusiast that has been in around the world of games and content creation for many years. He has a particular love for Final Fantasy and has absorbed all the content that this long-running series has to offer. When not playing RPGs or Final Fantasy XIV, Murillo reads high fantasy books and watches superhero series or anime. He started studying Japanese and hopes that he will be a scriptwriter for Final Fantasy XVII in a few years.

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I got my first video game when I was 6 years old. A Super Nintendo with Super Metroid. It’s a visceral, unforgettable experience because years later, I’m still playing games with an almost-unhealthy frequency and working in the field.

Although Super Metroid is a wonderful game, it wasn’t the one that captivated my eternal appreciation for video games. I don’t remember exactly when, but my older brother rented Final Fantasy III from the video store (which was Final Fantasy VI).

At first, we understood naught. Lots of text, battles with lots of text where you had to choose text to do an action, to then have more text. What a mess.

Luckily, my brother didn’t give in. He rented the game once more and then another, and before I knew it, we were completely hooked. To this day, the RPG genre is my favorite, especially the JRPG, which has found in the Super Nintendo a place to call home.

This is why many players consider the Super Nintendo the golden age of RPGs. Not because of its catalog, which is not vast compared to other consoles, but because it was the ideal gateway to the genre.

It was a time to innovate, create new features, explore uncharted lands, and tell stories in the entertainment world that we had yet to see.

But amid so many games, there are always those that stand out. So this list of the Best SNES RPGs of All Time tries to narrow down just the cream of the crop – based on my personal opinion, mind you.

I used three criteria to create the list

• Gameplay: how fun, seamless, and innovative the gameplay was;
• Story: RPG is primarily a storytelling adventure where we follow the journey of our hero and the development of the world;
• Novelty: SNES boasted 16-bit technology; thus, every new game had the potential to reveal some fantastic innovation that still inspires us today.

Bottom Line Up Front

The SNES launched at a time when games started to get their space in the sun due to the 16-bit technology allowing for several innovations and graphical improvements.

The games listed here show those that stood out in the genre and serve as the basis for releases until today. However, ultimately, it is still my personal list, and the selection may differ from your opinion.

Breath of Fire II

Breath of Fire is my favorite series of all time, but even I accept that the first game was incredibly bloated and dragged. Fortunately, Breath of Fire II has made several improvements on the quality of life of the first, starting with the story and dialogs.

Set 500 years after the first game’s events, Breath of Fire II focuses on religion. It shows how, on the surface, not everything is what it appears to be. Ryu, the protagonist, is more inherently involved with the plot and his party motivations, while still shallow introduces some backstory.

Although the random encounters are annoying at times, the turn-based battle system is fast and fun. Each character has their own specialty, either as support, offensive mage, or a mix of the two. They also have personal action out of battle: removing traps, reaching distant areas, or rolling around the map on Rand’s croup.

The game also has a township minigame where you can recruit villagers for your village, each with their own forte, cooking items, or selling the best armor in the game.

This township management has become a staple in the franchise. And, of course, the staple fishing minigame, which, though tedious after the fifth attempt, contains some interesting items.

Final Fantasy IV

There is no way to leave out Final Fantasy when talking about RPGs. Final Fantasy IV is known to many as the gateway to the franchise.

Unlike its predecessors, the fourth game presented a robust character plot, narrative arcs more depicted, and the introduction of the Active Time Based (ATB) battle system, which to this day graces the players with its innovations.

The plot of Final Fantasy IV was the first to venture into a denser script, with an uneasy protagonist, betrayals, and deaths. The game starts with Cecil, a dark knight and captain of the Red Wings, stealing the Water Crystal.

He begins to question his orders and is stripped of his ranks and enlisted to minor missions. That is when he begins to witness the true intentions of the Red Wings and repentantly goes on a quest for redemption.

Final Fantasy IV was the first in the mainline to deliver ready-made characters, each with their own job. The magic system changed, and you no longer buy spells, but each learns their specialty by leveling up or acquiring it in side-quests.

During the adventure, different party members join and leave the group. Unfortunately, in the SNES version, you can’t swap them, but they complement into an efficient party.

Tales of Phantasia

The Tales of series holds its own till today. Based on a novel of the same name, Tales of Phantasia was published by Namco (Bandai Namco nowadays). The game was developed by Wolf Team, which became Namco Tales Studio before the merger.

The world of Tales of Phantasia brings elements and references to Norse mythology and time travel. In the game, we play as the swordsman Cress Albane, who journeys to take revenge on the villains that destroyed his hometown searching for his family’s pendant. In the journey, Cress discovers that his destiny is more convoluted than he imagined.

Tales has innovated its battle system with the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS), a battle in 2D format, like fighting games. Melee units must get close to the enemy to attack, delivering Artes (skills), while ranged and magician stays in the back.

At any time, you can pause the battle and enter the menu to use items or manually pick which spell to cast. It’s a deft combat system that evolves to this day and shall not be mistaken for a mindlessly hack’s slash.

Star Ocean

Curiously, Star Ocean was created by former employees from Wolf Team, developers behind Tales of Phantasia. Due to creative disagreements, said employees formed tri-Ace, and Star Ocean was born there.

Star Ocean has a mixed setting between sci-fi and fantasy. The game begins in a medieval fantasy world, with three friends searching for a cure for a disease.

Then our protagonist, Roddick, crosses paths with intra-stellar members of the Earth Federation. They tell him that the disease has been spread by a race the Federation is at war. It’s at this point that the path between fantasy and sci-fi converges and the appeal of the world (or universe) of Star Ocean emerges.

The battle system is reminiscent of Tales of Phantasia, but the battlefield is 3D with an isometric view. It is real-time, but you do not freely control your character’s actions.

In auto mode, pressing the attack button makes your character runs to the focused enemy and strike him. The same is true if you use a Special Art that varies according to the distance.

But the most significant differential in Star Ocean is the private actions and skills. Private actions are personal dialogs with each party member that can be activated in cities.

This helps to cherish the relationship between you and provides different endings. In total, the game has 10 characters, but you can only have 8 at the party. This means you need two playthroughs if you want to try them all.

Besides increasing stats and learning Special Arts, you earn skill points at level up. Skills can give you more stats, lower exp requirements for the next level, or combat bonuses. But even better, skills unlock specialties and item creation.

Specialties can help you get fewer random encounters, discounts at stores, and even steal from NPCs, while item creation does precisely what the name suggests. Star Ocean has many features for a SNES game that greatly expand your playtime without becoming boring – despite the usual running back and forth to complete quests.

Super Mario RPG

SquareSoft’s then-strong partnership with Nintendo led to the former creating Super Mario RPG, a turn-based RPG along the lines of Final Fantasy, but featuring our favorite jumping hero.

Super Mario RPG broke many tropes of the franchise. The game introduces us to Bowser kidnapping Peach and Mario rescuing her. Soon after, raises a twist that changes the entire narrative.

The antagonist for once is Smithy, a being who fell into the protagonist’s world and steals seven Star pieces from the Star Road, preventing people from having their wishes come true.

It was the last Mario for SNES and the first to have a 3D environment for exploration. Platforms and puzzles are also part of the gameplay and reward curious players with items and coins.

The turn-based combat has timed inputs for every attack, defense, special, or item that expanded or enhanced the command. This made the battles more dynamic and skill-based, not relying on luck for the enemy to miss or our characters to get a critical hit.

Super Mario RPG only reinforced the power of the partnership between Square and Nintendo. It’s worthwhile for anyone who wants to experience a distinct side of the Mario universe.

Final Fantasy VI

Suppose Final Fantasy IV is the gateway to the franchise’s universe. In that case, Final Fantasy VI is the lock on the exit door because after you play it, it will be too late to escape the crystal claws of Final Fantasy.

For many, Final Fantasy VI is considered the best of the franchise. And I am not including the nostalgia factor. Anyone who plays it today can feel the appeal, get emotional, have fun, and be mesmerized by the plot. It has everything. Charismatic characters, sprawling world-building, and an epic soundtrack worthy of a wedding.

The plot of Final Fantasy VI shows the Gestahlian empire on a hostile hunt to garner the magic of the world for themselves. Mind-controlled Terra, a mysterious girl who can use unaided magic, scours the world for the mysterious espers.

A fateful encounter causes Terra to free herself from the empire’s mind-control, and she joins the Returners, a resistance opposing the iron hand of Gestahlian.

The game presents an ensemble cast, in which some characters have their protagonism and a narrative arc to be told. Terra, Locke, and Celes all play a vital role in the plot, which eventually intertwines with the world’s fate.

The gameplay persists with the glorious ATB and specialized party members. The espers system allows us to customize our characters. Each equipped esper increases a specific attribute when leveling up and enables members to use magic. After acquiring a set of magic points, characters can conjure the magic without the esper.

Secret of Mana

The Mana series was born as a spinoff of Final Fantasy but soon gained its own branding. Secret of Mana is a high fantasy action RPG played with a top-down view. The game follows our hero Randi, the girl Primm, and the sprite Popoi. Officially these are their names, but the characters came unnamed in the SNES version.

Secret of Mana begins with our hero, Randi, unexpectedly finding a sword implanted in a rock. As he removes it to cut through the tall grass that prevents his return home, monsters inadvertently begin to appear around the village.

The villagers blame Randi, claiming he has brought misfortune and cast him out. Soon, Randi meets a knight who says that his sword is the Mana Sword, and he must visit eight temples to restore it.

We eventually meet the other two party members in the adventure, who are controlled by competent AI (finally!) or other players. The battle is real-time, but you can open a Ring Command that pauses the game and allows you to use items and spells.

Each character has a gauge, and when attacking with one of eight weapons – each with its own strength – this gauge resets to zero before recharging to 100%. If you attack before it restores, the damage is reduced.

Saving elementals unlock spells for Primm and Popoi. The first focuses on healing and support, and the second focuses on devastating enemies. Upgrading weapons unlock new skills with them.

Secret of Mana may not have one of the densest and most elaborate narratives. Still, its colorful scenarios, the eclectic environments, and the real-action combat were a delight for the time, even more so if you get a friend to pair with you.

Chrono Trigger

You saw this one coming from a mile away, hey.

Chrono Trigger is not only one of the best SNES RPGs but also one of the best RPGs on all platforms.

Games that involve time travel are delicate as jewelry engraving, but the result is marvelous when done right. As expected, Chrono Trigger hits the nail.

From the start, our protagonist Crono gets involved in a contraption that sends Marle into the past. He follows her, given his heroic demeanor. While going back and forth through time, the group discovers that the future is doomed, and it is up to them, time travelers, to prevent this.

And it’s in this time-traveling we discover more about the world of Chrono Trigger and shape it, altering something in the past to see its results in the future. Exploring the different eras also helps uncover the backstory of the supporting characters. And so much more.

The first time I played Chrono Trigger, I gave them a standing ovation for removing the random encounters. Although you can’t avoid every battle, knowing that I was about to enter one gave me a certain relief. But even when I did get into a battle, no complaints.

The animations, the vivid enemies, and the ATB system harmonized to make a sublime battle system. The addition of double and triple tech was the holy grail of the game. Using all the characters to unlock the combined techniques is a delight.

Not to mention the timeless soundtrack of the game that often serves as an aid when I want to focus and write. In this case, now. Chrono Trigger is undoubtedly the most praised SNES RPG and raised the bar for the genre standards.

Front Mission

There is a world of RPGs outside of fantasy. Front Mission is a mecha-filled sci-fi series in strategy-RPG gameplay. Our characters move through grids in battle and must use cunning tactics to achieve victory.

The game is set in 2090, and the plot takes place in our supposedly real world in the future. The United States of the New Continent, a joint between North and South America, enters a struggle against the Oceania Cooperative Union (OCU) to take control of Huffman Island, where the plot unfolds.

The protagonist is Royd Clive, an OCU captain involved in the Huffman Conflict war. Like any good contemporary war game, expect a lot of politicking and betrayal.

The game’s highlight is its strategic mecha gameplay, called wanzers in the Front Mission franchise. Each wanzer has four parts that can be crushed separately. Body, legs, left arm, and right arm. Destroying the body eliminates the pilot, while destroying the other parts reduces the wanzer’s functionality by stealing its movement or attacks.

The game was a success and spawned several more within the series. If you want to change the fantasy feel a bit or prefer a more realistic setting, Front Mission is a stellar choice.

Dragon Quest V

And just as we link Final Fantasy to RPGs, many said that about Dragon Quest, a direct competitor to SquareSoft’s franchise in the SNES era.

Dragon Quest V is a franchise that may be synonymous with a bread and butter RPG but changes the seasoning to give it a distinctive taste. Since the first game’s release, the franchise has kept the turn-based gameplay and the mute protagonist, the hero, predestined to face the world’s darkness.

However, Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride stands out. The game has a robust time passage. We follow the protagonist’s birth through to his marriage and the creation of a family. Dragon Quest V was the first in the franchise to introduce monsters in the player party. The level system remained the same.

The story begins with the protagonist traveling the world with his father, Pankraz. The latter is in search of the legendary hero. However, his father is murdered, and the protagonist is destined to a life of slavery.

Until, ten years later, he manages to escape. Carrying on his father’s journey, the protagonist eventually marries and has a son – who becomes a playable character and a pivotal point in the story.

This extensive narrative is a delight. I freak out at RPGs that have a time skip like Breath of Fire III. Accompanying our protagonist through his journey as an ordinary person all the way to saving the world is satisfying. It makes for a much more charming and relatable experience than many RPGs.

Bahamut Lagoon

Who doesn’t love dragons, right? Especially an army teeming with those majestic scaled beasts. Bahamut Lagoon takes the form of a tactical RPG. Our squad of humans is accompanied by their army of dragons in a grid-based arena, and we must wreak havoc upon our enemies with fiery breath and razor-sharp fangs.

We control only humans. Dragons receive simple orders and act as they please. We can feed the dragons to transform them into more powerful versions or even creatures resembling everything except a dragon. Unfortunately, Bahamut Lagoon never spread its wings beyond the East and was stuck in the Super Famicom. So I had to employ some, let’s say, unofficial tactics – which I’m not sure I can officially comment on in this article – to play it with a marvelous fan-made English patch.

Earthbound

Irreverent and original. When someone talks about Earthbound, that’s usually how they describe it. Earthbound’s setting parodies the USA, which might not mean much if you’re not from there – like my experience. Nevertheless, it was incredible to play an RPG that prided itself on being authentic in a genre that, let’s face it, was still in its infancy in the industry during the SNES era.

The gameplay is traditionally turn-based. We choose our actions, and they are executed in order of speed, similar to Dragon Quest. The equipment consists of everyday items, like baseball bats for the protagonist Ness, a frying pan, guns, slingshots, and yo-yos. Despite its comical tone, Earthbound is one of the deepest RPGs of the SNES era.

Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu

My adolescence was filled with many Kamehamehas and mimicry at Goku’s transformation into a Super Saiyan. So, when I stumbled upon this game – and I’m not even sure how I did – I knew I had to try it. I played the first version of Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu in Japanese, so I didn’t understand much of what was happening. Since the story retells everything from Vegeta’s arrival on Earth to the end of the Frieza saga, and I was already familiar with it, I brushed it off.

But the game’s turn-based battles were still elusive to me. In them, we choose cards to take action. Each card has an effect, ranging from simple attacks to the anime’s hallmark moves. It took me a while, but I understood that the more spheres on a card, the greater the damage. Defense worked similarly. The most enjoyable aspect of the game was watching the Z warriors grow stronger and seeing our battle power increase until we broke Nappa’s scouter.

Final Fantasy V

For me, Final Fantasy’s most vital points are its cast and story. So, I confess I was slightly disappointed when I noticed that Final Fantasy V was subpar in both aspects compared to Final Fantasy IV. However, the game brought back the Job system from Final Fantasy III and elevated it to its highest excellence, creating a lasting and immersive gameplay system.

Final Fantasy V truly stands out for its Job system. In addition to adding numerous new ones to the franchise, this entry at least told us what each ability did. Learning new Job techniques and discovering combinations among them was a delight that kept me hooked for hours and hours in the game. However, as fun as Final Fantasy V was, I still can’t swallow that one of the biggest villains of all time cosplayed as a splinter to fool our party of legendary Warriors of Light.

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals

At first glance, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals seems like your typical RPG. The second game serves as a prequel to the first and tells the tale of the protagonist, Maxim, who receives a mysterious warning and embarks on a journey to become a hero and confront the Sinistrals with a cast of other heroes. Nothing too different from other SNES games. The story is endearing but presents the classic dichotomy of good versus evil.

But it’s in the gameplay that Lufia II shines. Exploration is filled with dungeons reminiscent of A Link to the Past, featuring various puzzles and usable tools to solve them. Battles aren’t random. Enemies appear on the map and can be stunned with a bowshot, for example. The battle system is turn-based, with up to four party members plus a fifth CPU-controlled monster that can evolve based on what we feed it. Overall, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals is a pretty solid entry and one of the best RPGs on the SNES.

Live a Live

You probably already know that Live a Live has received a full-fledged remake nowadays. But back then, during the SNES generation, SquareSoft was experiencing a golden age with its RPGs. It was a strange sensation when I discovered that a vast catalog of these games never made it out of the East. Live a Live was one of those games. I only learned about the game because I saw a friend streaming it.

In Live a Live, we choose a character related to their time and theme with an encapsulated story. Each storyline is relatively short. The battles are a mix of turn-based and strategy. We move and attack on grids. Each character has their uniqueness related to their theme, as do the enemies.

Because it’s an RPG practically forgotten by time and logistic issues, it was a pleasant surprise when the remake was announced, which is the ideal way to experience Live a Live nowadays.

Secret of Evermore

SquareSoft strikes again with yet another game involving different periods. In Secret of Evermore, we play as a boy accompanied by his faithful shapeshifting dog that changes appearance as we move through different eras in the fantastical world of Evermore. We start in prehistory and go all the way to the future in Omnitopia. I confess I never finished the game, so I can’t give my opinion on the overarching plot, but it seemed very whimsical.

Secret of Evermore plays almost identically to Secret of Mana, so we know it’s phenomenal. We control our protagonist from a top-down view and act in real-time while managing our stamina to maximize attack damage. We can level up, change, and evolve up to four types of weapons. Switching characters is possible, and we can control either the dog or the boy. Alchemy is the game’s magic system. Instead of using an attribute like MP to cast spells, we spend materials.

Robotrek

After playing Front Mission, I got into a wave of interest in robot customizations. That’s when I came across Robotrek, another obscure SNES RPG that never received the attention it deserved. Robotrek isn’t as dense as Front Mission. The plot puts us in the shoes of a boy skilled in building robots who witnesses his inventor father get involved with shady hackers.

Gameplay involves building new robots, altering their parts, and consequently, their combat abilities. Combat is turn-based but consists of moving the robot to get within range of the enemy to attack. We can create new abilities by combining our robots’ weapons and even give them unique names.

Romancing SaGa

The SaGa series was born as a spinoff of Final Fantasy but soon developed its own identity. It’s considered a successor to Final Fantasy II because of its system that replaces levels with attributes that evolve independently depending on our character’s focus. Coupled with the “glimmer” mechanic, where our party members learn new skills during battles, SaGa’s gameplay is among the most authentic in the RPG industry.

I chose the first game in the series because I played its remake, Romancing SaGa -Minstrel Song-. My curiosity was piqued, and I wanted to revisit the classic version. The plot is the same: we choose one of eight protagonists to face the evil Saruin. On our journey, we can meet the other protagonists and have them join our party as we explore the world as we see fit in what’s now known as the free-form scenario mode. It’s an RPG series for those weary of traditional ones.

Trials of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 3)

I know I already added Secret of Mana to the list, but what can I say if its sequel is just as incredible? In another mind-boggling move by SquareSoft, Seiken Densetsu 3 never made it to the West. It finally arrived with the game’s remake, titled Trials of Mana. However, you can still play the SNES version. You just gotta have the creativity of a pirate.

This action RPG allows us to choose from six characters: one protagonist and two who will accompany us on the adventure. The camera has a top-down perspective, and we can switch between the party members anytime. Each character has an individual story, but there are three main villains. So, a pair of characters share the same main villain. For example, Duran and Angela antagonize the Crimson Wizard.

The most significant difference between Secret and Trials of Mana is that each character has a class, which can evolve upon reaching a certain level. This guarantees extensive replayability, especially if you’re like me and want to see all the variations of classes offered by the game.

Honorable Mentions

There are other RPGs that didn’t make the cut, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be in here. Maybe it’s a game I’ve yet to play or one I didn’t hold close to my heart. Either way, here they are:

• Soul Blazer
• Terranigma
• Illusion of Gaia
• Emerald Dragon
• Fire Emblem
• Ogre Battle

FAQs

Conclusion

The SNES RPG catalog is not that extensive compared to the PlayStation 1. Still, it was undoubtedly a kind of beta lab to show how technology accepted new forms of gameplay and storytelling.

Luckily for us, the SNES did this majestically, delivering timeless titles that serve as a benchmark for releases to this day, either as a basis for comparison or inspiration. For retro-RPG lovers, it’s worth trying any of the games above, mainly since most of them can be found on current platforms in their digital store.

Looking for more interesting readings? Check out:

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