The Arabian Legend of Zelda
The story begins as the main characters awakens in a Mosque, suffering from amnesia. An evil wizard has kidnapped the King and his daughters, and it is up to you to travel through different lands and through time itself to defeat him.
On your journey you will change classes from a warrior, a wizard, and a saint. The Warrior excels with weapons, the Wizard is best with magic rods, and the Saint can wear armor that will make traveling across the landscape easier. Also you will meet NPCs who will join your party and assist you in overcombing obstacles and helping you in combat as well.
Most combat is done in an overhead screen similiar to the Legend of Zelda. However, occasionally you will find yourself in turnbased RPG combat scenes. In these situations you can choose 2 of your companions to join you in battle. By chosing the right combination of allies you can perform special combos that annhilate your opponents much quicker.
The graphics and music are both quite good. Characters are large and well detailed. Overall the developers, Culture Brain, did a very nice job with the Arabian settings and music.
The only real negative attribute to the game is it's horrid translation. Magic spells that your character learns are a bit confusing as the names do not make much sense at first. A spell for opening hidden doors is called "Oprin." A lightning based magic spell is called "Boltor." Bad translations aren't an uncommon problem in NES games, and it doesn't detract from the gameplay too much, so there's no real need to get hung up over it.
The game is, by NES standards, absolutely brilliant and very much ahead of its time. The game can be played through quickly in about 12 to 15 hours. However with additions like a casino, and side quests that are offered during special eclipses, you can add a few more hours to the gameplay. If you've missed out of this game, try and track it down. You'll regret not having played it earlier.