SNES | ActRaiser | Quintet | A strange mashup of city-building simulator and 2D platformer, where population functions as XP and you must protect your people |
JP SFC | Alcahest | HAL Laboratory | ARPG featuring item-based stat growth and a password system rather than traditional saves |
JP SFC | Ancient Magic: Bazoo! Mahou Sekai | Hot-B | Generic turn-based affair with male/female protagonists with an emphasis on magic |
JP SFC | Arabian Nights: Sabaku no Seirei-o | Pandora Box | Apparently rushed toward the end of development |
SNES | Arcana | HAL Laboratory | Card-focused 1st-person dungeon crawl |
JP SFC | Aretha | Japan Art Media | A sequel to the Game Boy trilogy of the same name, neat multidirectional turn-based combat |
JP SFC | Aretha II - Ariel no Fushigi na Tabi | Japan Art Media | Pretty similar to the first |
JP SFC | Bahamut Lagoon | Square | Square's oft-forgotten SRPG child, divine spritework |
JP SFC | Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Another Story | Angel | Adorable digitized voices, Senshi combo attacks, what's not to love? |
SNES | Brain Lord | Produce | ARPG featuring dungeon puzzles and little monsters that follow you |
SNES | Brandish | Falcom/Koei | Top-down dungeon crawl, the only entry in the series to be localized |
JP SFC | Brandish 2: The Planet Buster | Falcom | Similar top-down dungeon crawling as the first |
SNES | Breath of Fire | Capcom | Capcom's take on the traditional JRPG with a lot of dragons |
SNES | Breath of Fire II | Capcom | Direct sequel to BoF I |
JP SFC | Bushi Seiryuuden: Futari no Yuusha | Game Freak | Zelda-like exploration; combat is 2D platformer-like, but still turn-based (enemies only act when you do); pretty spritework |
JP SFC | Chaos Seed: Fuusui Kairouki | Neverland | Lots of resource management! Multiple endings! |
JP SFC | Chou-Mahou Tairiku Wozz | Red Company Corporation | 8 playable characters, branching storylines, invention systems- this game truly tries to do it all! |
SNES | Chrono Trigger | Square | A shining example of the genre as a whole, a time-travel story done right |
JP SFC | Crystal Beans: From Dungeon Explorer | Birthday/Hudson Soft | Straightforward ARPG gameplay, hidden playable characters, leveling stats through gems |
JP SFC | Cyber Knight | Advance Communication Company | SRPG/turn-based hybrid combat, also: SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE exploration |
JP SFC | Cyber Knight II: Chikyuu Teikoku no Yabou | Atelier Double/Group SNE | Similar gameplay but massive graphical leap over the first |
JP SFC | Dai-3-Ji Super Robot Taisen | Winkysoft | First in the series to have a branching storyline |
JP SFC | Daikaijuu Monogatari | Birthday/Hudson Soft | Hidden characters and adorable sprites! |
JP SFC | Dark Half | West One | Item-based leveling system; also, spoiler alert (not really): You play the antagonist! |
JP SFC | Dark Law: Meaning of Death | Sakata SAS | Super duper hard! Also featuring rudimentary 3D! |
JP SFC | Der Langrisser | NCS | Remake of Langrisser II, with branching storylines |
JP SFC | Dokapon Gaiden - Honoo no Audition | Earthly Soft | Leans more heavily into comedy than previous games in the series, with greater board variety |
JP SFC | Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu | D&D Corp/Tose | Combo of two of the FC DBZ games, still with card-based battles |
JP SFC | Dragon Quest I + II | Chunsoft | Combined, debatably definitive version of DQ I and II |
JP SFC | Dragon Quest III | Heartbeat | Arguably the definitive version of the game |
JP SFC | Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome | Chunsoft | Monster capture and marriage/children ahoy! |
JP SFC | Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi | Heartbeat | Third game in the Zenithian trilogy, return of the class system |
SNES | Dragon View | Kemco | Sequel to Drakkhen, interesting pseudo-3D overworld system |
SNES | Drakkhen | Kemco/Infogrames | Sparsely populated, customizable characters that attack using AI, and lots of water to hilariously drown in |
JP SFC | Dual Orb II | I'Max | Ultra-high encounter rate, a difficult game without grind dedication |
SNES | E.V.O.: Search For Eden | Almanic | Evolution: the game! |
SNES | Earthbound | Ape/HAL Laboratory | AKA Mother 2, a more modern-themed game with some surprisingly heavy themes |
JP SFC | Emerald Dragon | Alfa System | Breath of Fire's cousin with a unique battle system |
JP SFC | Energy Breaker | Neverland | SRPG with town exploration and an action point-based economy for combat |
JP SFC | FEDA: The Emblem of Justice | Max Entertainment | SRPG developed by some of the Shining Force team, features a morality-based system |
SNES | Final Fantasy II | Square | Actually Final Fantasy IV, Introduced the Active Time Battle system and removed the ability to customize party members |
SNES | Final Fantasy Mystic Quest | Square | Baby Final Fantasy! |
JP SFC | Final Fantasy V | Square | So many jobs- |
SNES | Final Fantasy VI (on cart as III) | Square | Features a more tech-based story than previous entries and a train to suplex |
JP SFC | Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo | Intelligent Systems | Divided into 2 "books": Book 1 is an abridged remake of FE1, Book 2 is a direct sequel to FE1 |
JP SFC | Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Intelligent Systems | Introduced the marriage/children mechanic that would be seen in later FE entries |
JP SFC | Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 | Intelligent Systems | Takes place during the middle of FE4, initially distributed as a Nintendo Power ROM cartridge |
JP SFC | Front Mission | G-Craft | Mech-focused SRPG with a ton of units and customizability |
JP SFC | Front Mission: Gun Hazard | Omiya Soft | Side-scrolling ARPG with incredible graphics, separate universe from mainline series |
JP SFC | Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Fuurai no Shiren | Chunsoft | Follow-up to Torneko no Daibouken, a roguelike before they were cool |
JP SFC | G.O.D.: Mezameyo to Yobu Koe ga Kikoe | Infinity | If Earthbound had a child with Phantasy Star IV's battle system, this would be it |
JP SFC | Galaxy Robo | Copya Systems | SRPG with mechs |
JP SFC | Heracles no Eikou III: Kamigami no Chinmoku | Data East | Standard turn-based combat like the rest of the series, but also has a day/night cycle for NPCs to follow |
JP SFC | Heracles no Eikou IV: Kamigami Kara no Okurimono | Data East | A multitude of different avatars to play as, each with its own attributes and perspectives on storyline events |
JP SFC | Hero Senki: Project Olympus | Winkysoft | A bit of Gundam, a bit of Kamen Rider, a bit of Ultraman, a bit of traditional JRPG! |
JP SFC | Hiouden: Mamonotachi to no Chikai | Wolf Team | Point-and-click style SRPG, made by Team Wolf of Tales of Phantasia fame |
JP SFC | Holy Umbrella: Dondera no Mubou!! | Earthly Soft | More of a sidescrolling platformer, but does have some stat increases via items, very cheeky tone |
JP SFC | Hourai Gakuen no Bouken!: Tenkousei Scramble | Dynamite | High school: the JRPG! Join clubs to gain abilities! |
SNES | Illusion of Gaia | Quintet | Part of the Quintet trilogy, ARPG with non-traditional stat increases |
SNES | Inindo: Way of the Ninja | Koei | Part of the Nobunaga's Ambition series; recruiting party members is crucial |
JP SFC | Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken | Winkysoft | RPG adaptation of Part 3, quite abridged; a very short game overall, point-and-click elements |
JP SFC | Jutei Senki | TamTam | SRPG with circle-limited movement and neat cutaway battle animations, high difficulty |
JP SFC | Kidou Senshi Gundam: Cross Dimension 0079 | Bandai | SRPG based on OG Mobile Suit Gundam, utilizes button combos to use attacks |
JP SFC | Kouryuu Densetsu Villgust: Kieta Shoujo | Winkysoft | Based on an anime of the same name, ridiculous stat levels before Disgaea made it cool |
JP SFC | Kuusou Kagaku Sekai Gulliver Boy | Amble | Very short ARPG with ungodly levels of hair spikiness on the protagonist |
JP SFC | Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei | Atlus/Opera House | Enhanced remake of Megami Tensei 1 and 2 |
SNES | Lagoon | Kemco | Dollar-store Ys |
JP SFC | Laplace no Ma | Humming Bird Soft | Lovecraftian spooky JRPG |
JP SFC | Last Bible III | Multimedia Intelligence Transfer | Sequel to the Game Boy games, featuring monster recruitment and customization |
JP SFC | Lennus II: Fuuin no Shito | Fill-In Cafe/Copya Systems | Superior sequel to Paladin's Quest, more risque themes, loads of recruitable characters |
JP SFC | Live A Live | Square | 7 different scenarios in different time periods, shared action bar amongst party in combat |
JP SFC | Lodoss Tou Senki | Thinking Rabbit | Plot-wise is more of a side story to the main novels, tactical combat engine |
SNES | Lufia & the Fortress of Doom | Neverland | Standard turn-based combat, but targeting dead enemies will lead to a wasted turn |
SNES | Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals | Neverland | Prequel to and much more Zelda-like than the first |
JP SFC | Madou Monogatari: Hanamaru Daiyouchi Enji | Compile | Extremely unconventional attack and leveling system, but cookies are currency and it's cute! |
JP SFC | Magna Braban: Henreki no Yuusha | Lenar | Gambits and auto-combat long before FFXII was even a thing |
JP SFC | Mahou Kishi Rayearth | Pandora Box | Plays vastly differently than the Saturn version! Beginner-level JRPG, follows the OG story closely |
JP SFC | Majin Tensei | Atlus | SRPG SMT spinoff with (naturally) demon recruitment and fusion |
JP SFC | Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis | Atlus | More or less the same as the first, but with an isometric battle view as opposed to top-down |
JP SFC | Metal Max Returns | Crea-Tech | Remake of Metal Max, naturally much prettier but more difficult |
JP SFC | Monstania | Amccus/Bits Laboratory | SRPG featuring puzzles, a party size of two, and a progress-based leveling system |
JP SFC | Mystic Ark | Produce | A cousin to The 7th Saga, super grindy |
JP SFC | Nekketsu Tairiku Burning Heroes | J-Force | 8 scenarios to beat for the true ending, characters other than the protagonist are AI in battle |
JP SFC | Neugier: Umi to Kaze no Koudou | Wolf Team | An almost-localized ARPG with attacks that can level up, a rather short game overall |
SNES | Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen | Quest | Epic overarching story with RTS elements |
SNES | Paladin's Quest | Copya System | Utopian-themed turn-based game where casting magic costs HP instead of MP |
JP SFC | Power of the Hired | Masaya | SRPG where the party can summon monsters to help in battle; monster selection determines the party's available spells |
JP SFC | Princess Minerva | Atelier Double/Riverhillsoft | GIRL POWER ANIME-BASED ROAD TRIP! |
JP SFC | Ranma 1/2: Akanekodan Teki Hihou | Atelier Double | Based on the anime/manga, otherwise pretty standard |
SNES | Robotrek | Quintet/Ancient | Customize your robo-buddy party! |
JP SFC | Romancing Saga | Square | A very sandboxy JRPG; multiple playable characters, non-linear in fashion |
JP SFC | Romancing Saga 2 | Square | No complete English translation on this console, sandobxy multi-generation spanning story |
JP SFC | Romancing Saga 3 | Square | No complete English translation on this console, sandboxy, gorgeous spritework, but difficult |
JP SFC | Rudra no Hihou | Square | Create your own spells! Ultra-pretty sprites! |
JP SFC | Ryuuki Heidan: Danzarb | Pandora Box | Epic sci-fi story marred by lackluster graphical presentation |
SNES | Secret of Evermore | Square Soft | An ARPG featuring a boy and his dog traveling through different eras; never released in Japan |
SNES | Secret of Mana | Square | Actually the second Mana game, up to 3-player co-op |
SNES | Secret of the Stars | Tecmo | Super slow and super mundane |
JP SFC | Seiken Densetsu 3 | Square | The character you choose at the start determines your storyline, otherwise plays like SoM |
JP SFC | Shiki Eiyuuden | Outrigger Koubou/Be-On Works | A brutally hard turn-based historical JRPG set in the Warring States period of China; puzzles and quizzes found throughout |
JP SFC | Shin Megami Tensei | Atlus | 1st-person dungeon crawl with demon recruitment/fusion, only localized on mobile |
JP SFC | Shin Megami Tensei if… | Atlus | Like regular SMT, but in a centralized high school setting. This is Persona's daddy! |
JP SFC | Shin Megami Tensei II | Atlus | Similar to but easier than the first game |
JP SFC | Shin Seikoku: La Wares | J-Force | Based off a Japanese TTRPG, featuring mech combat |
JP SFC | Shodai Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun | Technos Japan | More or less River City Ransom 2, but you gain actual XP instead of using cash to buy stat upgrades (for better or worse) |
JP SFC | Silva Saga II: The Legend of Light and Darkness | Seta | Hire mercenaries to help in combat! |
JP SFC | Slayers | BEC | Based on the anime of the same name, plays typically for the era |
SNES | Soul Blazer | Quintet | Part of the legendary Quintet trilogy, an ARPG with some town-reconstruction elements |
JP SFC | Star Ocean | Tri-Ace | Look at that spritework! |
JP SFC | Super Chinese World 2 | Culture Brain | Super Ninja Boy sequel, has ARPG battles instead of its predecessor's turn-based combat |
JP SFC | Super Chinese World 3 - Chou Jigen Daisakusen | Culture Brain | Two different battle modes to choose from: ARPG or turn-based, each with their own storylines |
JP SFC | Super Famicom Wars | Intelligent Systems | Technically a digital-only title (released via Satellaview), units can gather XP in combat that does not carry between maps |
SNES | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars | Square | Fun little turn-based game with a cute artstyle and rhythmic button pressing to maximize damage |
SNES | Super Ninja Boy | Culture Brain | Can be played multiplayer, combat is done in side-scrolling ARPG format, sequel to Little Ninja Brothers |
JP SFC | Super Robot Taisen EX | Winkysoft | SRPG, branching storyline, uses the SRW3 engine |
JP SFC | Super Robot Taisen Gaiden: Masou Kishin - The Lord of Elemental | Winkysoft | SRPG, focuses on one of the original characters in the series, directional damage |
JP SFC | Tactics Ogre | Quest | Epic storyline, lots of important choices to make - even at the very beginning of the game! |
JP SFC | Tales of Phantasia | Wolf Team | Mind-bogglingly pretty, a technological marvel for the time |
JP SFC | Tenchi Muyo!: Game Hen | TamTam | Isometric turn and grid-based combat, based off the anime! |
JP SFC | Tengai Makyou Zero | Red Company Corporation | Utilized special technology to allow for a real-time clock, more dialogue |
JP SFC | Tenshi no Uta: Shiroki Tsubasa no Inori | Telenet Japan | Not only can you negotiate with monsters, you get special experience points for doing so! |
SNES | Terranigma (PAL/JP only) | Quintet | Strangely never localized, last in the Quintet ARPG trilogy; spells can only be cast via one-time use items |
SNES | The 7th Saga | Produce | 7 different playable characters, way harder in the US than Japan |
SNES | The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang | Red Company Corporation | Super cutesy ARPG |
JP SFC | Torneko no Daibouken: Fushigi no Dungeon | Chunsoft | First game in the Mystery Dungeon series, with a Dragon Quest coat of paint |
JP SFC | Treasure Hunter G | Sting | Another forgotten Square-published game, action point-based SRPG |
SNES | Uncharted Waters: New Horizons | Koei | 6 different protagonists with different careers to balance the books with in a mercantile JRPG |
JP SFC | Wonder Project J: Kikai no Shounen Pino | Almanic | Raise your robo-boy to follow commands, improve his stats, and rescue his creator (Think Pac-Man 2) |
JP SFC | Xak: The Art of Visual Stage | Micro Cabin/Tokai Engineering | Ys' cousin, but the story only covers the first half of the first game on MSX |
SNES | Ys III: Wanderers From Ys | Falcom/Advance Communication | Similar to the FC version, but with cleaner graphics and arguably worse hit detection |
JP SFC | Ys IV: Mask of the Sun | Tonkin House | Non-canonical to the Ys series after the release of Memories of Celceta |
JP SFC | Ys V: Ushinawareta Suna no Miyako Kefin | Falcom | Only game in the series to have never been localized (hopefully this will change?) |
JP SFC | Yume Meikyuu: Kigurumi Daibouken | Axes Art Amuse | First-person dungeon crawl; kill the enemies and take their costumes! |