An amazing Atari 2600 game if you can find it
Dragonstomper was a "true" RPG game back in the early 80's on the Atari 2600. To my knowledge it was the only one of its kind. There were many adventure games (such as Adventure of course!) that featured walking around, collecting items, etc. However, none of them were "true" RPGs in the sense that you had hit points, you did turn based battle, you won gold, etc. Dragonstomper did it. At the time, only PC games brushed this time of gameplay. Shortly after, the Intellivision and the Coleco systems may have as well.
The game featured 3 "levels". The first one was the countryside, wherein you spent most of your time. You (represented by just a dot on the screen unfortunately) walked around in a top down view, and you walked across grass, swamp, forest, etc. Random monsters could generate for you to fight. You could also go into (only the outside) of buildings such as castles and churches. There were a few types of items to collect, and a good variety of monsters. It also featured music (a feature many Atari 2600 games did not have), such as the creepy "dum, da dum dum" theme when an enemy appears, and the "we're in the money!" them when you acquire gold. The goal of the countryside (although not explained to you), is to acquire papers to cross the bridge into the next level. Along the way you should fight and explore a lot and gain items. You will need them later. Some of the items if used would even increase your strength and dexterity (the only two abilities of your character).
Level 2 was the town. You could not die in the town, just shop. There were 3 shops to choose from - the hospital, the general store, and the magic shop. You could also recruit 3 warriors to fight with you within the town. Despite the lack of battles, the town was actually very enjoyable. Throughout, it plays an awesome "wind" sound effect.
From the town, you can enter the cave of the dragon which is your final stage. When entering the cave, it asks if you are sure, as there is no turning back. It even plays a familar scary tune while the gates rise. Within the caves, bones lie everywhere. You do not fight actual monsters, but you must contend with 2 types of traps. If you make it through (it is very difficult), you descend into a pit for the final battle with the dragon. This may be the first boss battle I have ever known. He is tough to say the least. To defeat him, you can either take the hard road of simply fighting him and doing enough damage to kill him. An easier route is to slip by him and steal his amulet which therefore destorys him. Both are very difficult, however, as he does not just let you sneak by.
At the time this game came out, it was groundbreaking. I had never known anything like it. Looking back now, I believe there were early PC games such as Ultima which were probably more in depth. However, for an Atari 2600 game, you cannot get anymore in depth than this one. Of course, by today's standards there really is no reason to play this game any more. It has no real appeal today. But back in 1983, we were blown away.
Note - when I rate games, I give them fair ratings as if I were an official critic. Just because I like a game does not mean I give it a 10 as some others do. In this case, I believe the 9.8 rating is true and fair.