Phantasy Star II: Nei's Adventure (1990) | adventure | Sega Game Toshokan | Sega

Phantasy Star II's Nei rescues a kitty from a rabid dog in this neat adventure-style game. It was a downloadable MegaNet title in Japan with RPG-like combat that even had dice rolling across the screen as added flavor!

Moldorian was an outstanding RPG for the Sega Game Gear packed with an epic, and charming, adventure. And thanks to fans with a talent for translation and coding, it lives on for a new generation curious to quest through what may be one of the Game Gear's best "hidden" gems.

Your quest can often feel like a traditional RPG in the best sense of the word with plenty of monsters to bash, gear to earn, and a reasonable encounter rate to keep you sane. Being able to save anywhere is also a huge help, especially right before its pretty vicious boss fights.

But combat keeps moving and if you forget to enter a command in time, it might give the enemy time to attack -- or move to the next character in your party. Fortunately, you won't be alone for long as others eventually join you along the way as more of the world opens up.

Its combat distinguished Moldorian even further with a twitchy, real-time element. Characters able to act would move into position which would be your cue to quickly use the D-pad and buttons to issue actions such as attacking, defending, casting spells, or using items.

Moldorian was something of a beast of an RPG on the Game Gear featuring a huge world, detailed graphics, interesting characters, a solid storyline, and an impressive soundtrack by none other than Hitoshi Sakimoto - a grand adventure that did its best to push Sega's portable to its limits!

Moldorian: The Sisters of Light and Darkness (1994) is an RPG by Rit's for the Sega Game Gear in Japan. In a world split between humans and Magi, a monster has taken your childhood friend, Miria! Your father vanishes trying to find her, leaving the quest to you! (a quest for friendship thread)

The Game Gear's Rayearth adaptation offered a deliberately lite RPG recipe. But for the manga fans in Japan, and as one of the first titles based on the popular series, it managed to be a neat (and portable) way to revisit the world of Cephiros alongside their favorite characters.

Hit points are represented by the bars around each portrait and spell points by a gauge. You can buy up heals and other supplies, too, in addition to resting at an inn. For the most part, the game doesn't require players to remember classes or worry about pesky things like gear.

The game is unusual in that instead of stats, characters comment if they are close to leveling up (or how much damage they do). Attack strength is also determined by how fast you "spin" the portrait bar; when their face became 'big', they were ready to go with a button press.

Fan translators, filler and ded302, worked on an unofficial English patch which was released in 2011 but was incomplete (but still playable) at the time. In 2018, a complete version by filler and Supper was made available!

Magic Knight Rayearth was a serial manga published by Kodansha in the pages of Nakayoshi from 1993 - 1995 written by the all-female team, CLAMP. The "magical girl" series proved quite popular in Japan with a transmedia presence in video games and, of course, anime. Those 90s vibes!

Magic Knight Rayearth (1994) was an RPG for the Sega Game Gear by Sega and was released only in Japan. Three schoolgirls are whisked from Japan to the magical world of Cephiro by a princess' wish, becoming the legendary Magic Knights who quest to save the land! (a portable isekai thread)

Magic Knight Rayearth was the last licensed Saturn title for North America released in the platform's waning days there, much like Panzer Dragoon Saga was (which also arrived in 1998). A treat for Rayearth fans that, despite its age, still holds a special sort of enduring magic.

It was also packed with story, a big plus for Magic Knight fans in addition to the extras Working Designs included with their release (such as the sticker sheet that came with the manual). Areas only touched on by the manga and anime were expanded on by the game.

Much of the top-down gameplay was filled with puzzles, Heart Jewels that expanded a chosen Knight's health (and a corresponding one for magic), and boss battles. No experience to grind! Enemies dropped jewels that could be traded for supplies like heals.

As a top-down action RPG, players could freely swap between all three Magic Knights throughout most of the adventure, using their individual magic skills and combat abilities to both battke beasts and solve puzzles along the way to an amazing soundtrack.

Sega went big on the Saturn with this version of Magic Knight Rayearth which adapts the first arc of the manga. It took full advantage of the Saturn's powerful hardware packing in voice acting, anime cutscenes (from the anime series), and other features to create an immersive experience.

The Sega Saturn wasn't the only system to receive an adaptation of Magic Knight Rayearth, either. There was also one, also by Sega, for the Sega Game Gear in 1994 that was released only in Japan with an unofficial English translation by filler released in 2018 with very different gameplay.