Niahak's Place

Valkyrie Profile – RPG (PSX)
Tri-Ace / Enix

So here I’m going to start re-iterating part of what others have already said – but I truly hope it is only a part.

Valkyrie Profile is simultaneously one of the most well-known and rare games that there is. It’s been hailed nearly universally as an example of an RPG everybody should play and that should be remade (and it was!). Unfortunately, the game is not all awesome, but it is good.

Armored Core – Action (PSX)
From Software

Although I usually prefer multiplayer cooperative games, this game is surprisingly addictive.

If you’ve ever played the Mechwarrior game for SNES, you know more or less what the formula is: you are a mercenary pilot with a “Core” – or giant humanoid bot (as is standard). You are offered missions – usually between 1 and 4 are available at a time – and as you progress you find out more and more about what is going on between the two mega-corporations that are your primary employers.

Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom & Shadow over Mystara – Action/RPG (Arcade)
Capcom

This entry is somewhat diferent in that if you don’t own the game(s), you probably never will. Regardless, these are two excellent games that I highly recommend playing if you see them at an arcade near you.

Master of Magic – Strategy (PC)
Microprose

Precisely what it is that this game does that makes it incredibly good, I’m not sure. But I do know that it is an amazing game, and one that has yet to be surpassed in its genre although Age of Wonders has done a good job of getting almost there.

Suikoden Series – RPG (PS/PS2)
Konami

The Suikoden series, based loosly around one of the first novels in the world (Outlaws of the Marsh, called “Suikoden” in Japan), takes place in an original fantasy world of Konami’s devising.