Summary
TheSuper Nintendois one of the greatest consoles of all time. Some might say pixel art peaked with the system as a lot of indie games still trace back their work to that era. It was a console full of firsts and it had games aplenty. One of the biggest genres on the system was RPGs.
A lot of the classics could be considered open-world games as well, although the definition has changed over time. Today, true open-world games have virtually no boundaries whereas there certainly were limits on the SNES. Still, that shouldn’t deter from the incredible exploration moments in some of these examples.
Updated June 24, 2025 by Ritwik Mitra:The Super Nintendo was an amazing console for JRPGs to flourish on, even if the genre peaked in popularity on the original PlayStation. There are many great genre-defining titles on this console that players can’t get enough of to this day, with the vast majority of these titles featuring overworlds that players could explore after being set loose.
While calling these open worlds may be a bit of a stretch if compared to the modern context of that terminology, there’s no denying that connecting points of interest via this massive overworld did a great job of lending a sense of scale to the world and making it feel large and awe-inspiring.
10Metal Max Returns
Metascore: N/A
This is a 1995 remake of a 1991 NES game and the first one in this series.Metal Max Returnstakes place ina post-apocalypseand players take on the role of a young kid trying to survive in the wastes. Battles are turn-based and players can eventually find tanks and other vehicles to ride around in.
This is great for both exploring the world and for combat. Most of these games were only released in Japan but one of the latest entries,Metal Max Xeno, was released in the West. Despite the official support, there have been English patches made by fans andMetal Max Returnshas one.
TheStar Oceanseriesbegan on the SNES in 1996. It was only released in Japan, and Western fans couldn’t play it officially until the 2008 remake on PSP. There was, of course, an English fan patch floating around online for years.
The game follows Roddick and his two friends who encounter a spaceship while on a journey for medicine. This clash between fantasy life and futuristic life is a central theme in the series. The action combat through random encounters is also a core mechanic. The overworld of this title may not be revolutionary, but it did a decent job of connecting major towns and dungeons together, along with other points of interest.
Tales of Phantasiais another action RPG series that started on the SNES although this was a year beforeStar Ocean. This game wouldn’t hit the West until a remake was made for the Game Boy Advance in 2006. However, like most SNES import games, there was an English fan patch.
The story follows a warrior, Cress, who is joined by several others on a quest to bring peace to the world. It’s a common trope in RPGs of this time. As cliché as the story may be, the character interactions will make players fall in love with their party. What’s interesting about this game is that it was the firstTalesgame to introduce an overworld, which did a great job of lending a sense of scale to the world.
Capcom is more known nowadays for their action games. They used to have a few turn-based RPG series going andBreath of Firewas chief among them. There were two games on the SNES and they both have equal value as RPGs on the system.
Every entry in the series followed a young warrior with blue hair named Ryu who could turn into various dragons. It’s similar to how there is always a Hero of Time reborn via Link inThe Legend of Zeldaseries.Breath of Firemay be a lesser-known series, but these simple RPGs are still worth a look and there’s no better way to start than with the beginning. This simplicity houses some amazing music and execution, with the seemingly regular overworld becoming memorable courtesy of an amazing theme that shows how classic JRPGs can still be elevated to new heights if the quality of what is being put on the table is astounding.
It’s a shame theLufiaseries doesn’t get the love it deserves. Featuring great stories and worldbuilding across the board, the generic trappings of theLufiagames prevented them from reaching the heights that other games in the genre did across Eastern shores.
Lufia 2is a game with an amazing premise that focuses on the conflict between humans and Sinistrals, a group of gods. The combat may not be all that challenging, but the unique art style and some strong writing help this game stand out as a fun JRPG with an overworld map that lets players explore the game world to their hearts' content.
Players looking for a classic JRPG experience will findBreath of Fire 2to be right up their alley. This series features some classic JRPG goodness that players love, and the second game is no exception.
Going on an epic journey entails that the party explores the world and its many corners, which is enabled via the use of an overworld that makes for a great time. It may not be an innovative title by any means, but the solid execution of JRPG tropes and themes helpsBreath of Fire 2stand out as a great game on the SNES that fans of the genre should check out.
Dragon Queststruggledto gain popularity for several years. In particular,Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bridebecause it was never released in the West until 2009 via a DS port. This was seventeen years in the making. This is the one to check out of the many classic games in this series.
One, it featured aPokemon-like monster-catching mechanic for recruiting party members. This meant players could do a lot of grinding and exploring in the world for rare monsters. Two, it gave players character choices that affected the story. Third, it takes players through multiple stages of the main character’s life and most modern RPGs don’t even do that.
After dropping the story-heavy focus ofFinal Fantasy 2, Squaresoft decided to go back to the drawing board and released anotherFinal Fantasygame with a focus on gameplay and an Active Time Battle system to make combat more fast-paced in a genre that struggled with the slow pace of battles.
This led toFinal Fantasy 4being one of the most beloved games in the series, with Cecil’s transformation from a Dark Knight into a Paladin being one of the series' biggest highlights. This, coupled with some strong writing and an overworld that made the player’s adventure as epic as can be, has helped contribute to the lasting legacy ofFinal Fantasy 4.
Chrono Triggerwas revolutionary in the genre at the time but it had an odd map system that shrunk character sprites down to a minuscule level. Also, locations were rather obvious and it didn’t leave for a lot of exploration initially. There wasn’t even random battle on the world map although this was a good thing as the game did away with random combat overall.
Once players could time travel, the exploration and experimentation leveled up. Also, side quests became much easier once the wings were put on the Epoch time machine and players could fly around in classic 90s RPG fashion.
Final Fantasy 6is one of the classic go-to RPGs that almost everyone has played on the SNES. It pushed the series forward in a lot of ways and not just with the open-world design. Like most RPGs of the 90s though, it was linear at first, even with some of the branching paths.
Eventually, players were given more momentum to explore the world, especially after acquiring the airship in the late-game sessions. There were extra characters to recruit, rare pieces of Magicite, weapons, and so much more to acquire through deep exploration.
