10. Beyond Oasis-- "...graphically it's one of the best looking games on Sega's 16-bit console. It looks even better in motion, with some superb animation and effects. Sonically, things are great too - Yuzo Koshiro, the talented chap behind the music on Revenge of Shinobi and Streets of Rage created the epic soundtrack..."
"If you're an RPG fan you might find this a little lightweight, but for those of you that turn pale at the thought of indulging in a role playing adventure, this should serve as a gentle introduction to the genre. Regardless of your stance you'd have to be pretty sad and shambling not to enjoy this game. It represents one of the finest VC games yet seen and deserves to downloaded."
09. Dragons Curse--"Dragon's Curse plays very much Zelda 2 on the NES - it's a side-scrolling platform affair with slight RPG elements. The 'hook' of the game is the ability to change into several different forms - ranging from a fire-breathing dragon to a tiny mouse (ideal for getting into small openings). The game world is fairly open-ended, and there are no 'levels' as such. Each enemy defeated yields cash, which can be exchanged for various useful items to aid your quest."
"All in all, this is a cIassic that has dulled ever so slightly over time - the aforementioned Metroid and SotN do this kind of thing on a much grander scale - but it is still most definitely worthy of your attention."
08. Light Crusader-- "Treasure turned its talents to the Action RPG genre with this 1995 release. Published in the twilight years of Sega's 16-bit machine, Light Crusader is often overlooked, and quite unfairly too. Thankfully, a VC release will rectify that situation."
"The similarly to Diablo is not merely cosmetic -- Light Crusader also operates from a central 'hub' (in this case a town) from which characters venture off into deep dungeons. (It's worth noting that Light Crusader predates Blizzard's influential RPG by a year - maybe Blizzard were fans of Treasure's work?)."
"Light Crusader caught people by surprise when it was first released; it simply could not be any less akin to Gunstar Heroes. Treasure are famed for their action games and while their first (and to date, only) foray into the world of fantasy RPGs isn't 100% successful, it's certainly worth checking out if you're a fan of this sty-le of game. Perhaps it will attract a whole new legion of fans thanks to this VC release?"
07. Breath of Fire 2-- "...Compare this to the fanfare that followed the release of the first BoF game all those years ago. Capcom's first 'serious' RPG, the game was a massive success and paved the way for the release of the sequel, which amazingly improved on its predecessor in every way imaginable."
"The combat system is your standard turn-based affair, with the only unique twist being the ability to fuse your character with various shaman-types, thus granting your character additional powers during battle."
"Where BoF2 really excels is the standard of the story. A very clever take on modern religion, the plot has plenty of twists and heart-wrenching moments (it never ceases to amaze me how attached you become to cartoon-like sprites with only a handful of animation frames)."
06. WonderBoy in Monster World-- "Behind the simplistic visuals and crude audio is a neat little action-RPG. If you've played Wonderboy III: Dragon's Trap on the Master System you will know what to expect. The RPG elements are slight, but they're enough to elevate this above other platformers. Being able to purchase additional weapons and armour for your character is a nice touch, and the puzzles succeed in taxing your brain - but not too much thankfully, as that would spoil the enjoyment. The quest is pretty big too, which means you'll get a fair few weeks worth of entertainment."
05. ActRaiser-- "The game concept is genius and you have to wonder why no one has tried this since. The platforming sections are as good as any other game you could mention, and coupled with the brilliant 'God Sim' portion of the game it made for a cIassic title."
"A special mention must go to the music - composed by Yuzo Koshiro (of Streets of Rage fame), it really is a generation apart from some of the Megadrive music around at the time."
04. Neutopia and Neutopia 2 -- "If you're looking for an experience similar to the original Zelda (There's never truly been a Zelda like it since) then look no further, you would do well to check out this game. It copies Zelda well while adding loads of unique touches of it's own and makes for a very interesting game, perhaps even better than it's forerunner! This is easily the best game of it's kind..."
"Well, except for Neutopia II."
"If you loved the first Neutopia - which is also excellent - then this is a must-buy."
03. StarTropics-- "On first sight, StarTropics looks eerily like Zelda (in fact, when you start it up, there's the same name entry screen!). So you might be thinking, what's all the fuss about? StarTropics is about a typical American teenager, Mike Jones, who heads to the tropics to meet his archaeologist uncle after receiving a letter. When he reaches C-Island, the location of Dr. Jones's lab, he finds his uncle missing and sets out in the lab's submarine to search for him. Eventually he learns that alien invader, Zoda, is threatening to destroy the Earth and there is no one else to stop him!"
02. LandStalker -- "Landstalker's a great, big game, and you'll certainly get your money's worth if you choose to buy it. A first-timer usually won't beat the game before 15, maybe 20 hours or so have passed, especially not if they're collecting stuff. This is one of the finest games in its genre (perhaps the best) and not one to be missed. Check it out: you will definitely not be disappointed."
01. Paper Mario -- "Paper Mario was, much like Super Mario RPG was to the SNES, the swansong of the N64. It was followed by a sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, in 2004. It's still a frequent debate which of the two is better, though I would have to go with the sequel. Still, the original Paper Mario is also brilliant! Since the Wii can play GameCube games, you can just buy Paper Mario on VC and hunt down a copy of the sequel if you don't already own it. Any self-respecting Nintendo fan should play at least one of them."
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