Chrono Trigger should be everyone's first answer. Though, some might just call it my opinion. RPGS were a strong love of mine and still are. Final Fantasy series, Shadowrun, Zelda, Ogre Battle.

Sonic, Mortal Kombat, Lost Vikings, Killer Instinct, Rampage, Paperboy, TMNT: Turtles in Time, Battle Toads. I still play a lot of Starfox. Mega Man X is a game that a friend of mine gets together with me to speed-run every year to keep it fresh.

There are just so many wonderful titles of the years past, and to try and pick out favorites is a far larger list than just finding the ones that I really didn't enjoy! I just know I'm missing a number of games... Perhaps I should go back and review the catalogs of titles, for old time's sake.

Although they get unfairly shat on a lot by general geek consensus, I find the later 8-bit Mega Man games (4, 5, and 6) to be very smooth and pleasant experiences that I enjoy revisiting more than the better regarded 1, 2, and 3.

Speaking of Megaman, Megaman X-1.

Lets see. Mostly SNES games. Sticking to just the RPGs.

Shadowrun: I know one of the designers for that game.
7th Saga: Played that to death, mapped the world.
Drakkhen: For an early walkearound RPG-lite it wasnt bad.
ActRaiser: Neet little game and an early god sim.
Eye of the Beholder: STILL have not finished this one.
Final Fantasy IV(II on the SNES) Fun game and good story.
Final Fantasy VI: The epic.
Final Fantasy USA/Mystical Quest: Much maligned but not bad in and of itself.
Tenchu Muyo RPG: Wierd but fun.

For the arcades played to death
Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystarra. Really good translations of D&D into a sidescrolling fighter. Lots of items to find, branching paths even.
Dungeon Magic: Multi path adventure.

Too many to list.  I stick with a top RPGs.

Super Mario RPG
Earthbound
Final Fantasy (as in 1, 4, and 6 when they were just called 1, 2, and 3)
Final Fantasy Mythic Quest (OMG I completely forgot about that.  Basic and made for newbies to gaming in general, but for some reason I love that game.  In fact I still own it in wii console.)
Chrono Trigger
Secret of Mana
Dragon Quest Series
Breath of Fire 1 and 2
Illusion of Gaia

I had notice that super nintendo was pretty much the golden age of rpg games.

Some of my highlights and most memorable include:
All of the Zelda games on (S)NES
River City Ransom NES
Castlevania I/II NES
Rygar NES
All of the Final Fantasy on (S)NES
AD&D Pool of Radiance NES
Faxanadu NES
Nobunaga's Ambition NES
Kid Icarus NES
Shadowgate NES
Ultima III/IV/V NES
Super Mario Kart SNES
Secret of Mana SNES
King Arthur's World SNES
Super Ghouls and Ghosts SNES
The Lost Vikings SNES

I had a Sega Megadrive (or Genesis).

All the Sonic games were good. I remember playing a lot of brawler games like Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and the more obscure Alien Storm. Shinobi was pretty fun, only that one jump (you know which one ) I never made was frustrating.

Ecco the Dolphin was frustrating as well and the level sequencing didn't make any sense. If you took the wrong turn in one level they send you back right to level one!?! I never was able to find out the level sequence, maybe I try to find it online somewere.

Mickey Mania was really cool with levels based on Mickey Mouse cartoons like Steamboat Willy and the Prince and the Pauper. Fantasia was fucking hard. God, what a difficult game. I also played the more obscure platformer named James Pond (codename Robocod) which was actually pretty good.

I love the Lost Vikings. Brilliant puzzle platformer developed by a company that would later become Blizzard. I finished the game with two controllers, playing one with my hands and one with my feet. That was pretty much the most epic gaming I ever did. I switch character fast enough in the final level, that's why.

Quackshot was pretty epic as well. Donald Duck shooting different plungers all around the globe. I also had fun with Bubsby, another platformer.

Quote from: JamesV;736923A few that fit that description on SNES were Magic Sword, and Knights of the Round, but I'm guessing King of Dragons?

The one and same!

The local arcade bought a machine a few months after my dad got me the 1991 D&D Introductory Game. A synergy of awesomeness, as it were. God, the memories.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;737016Although they get unfairly shat on a lot by general geek consensus, I find the later 8-bit Mega Man games (4, 5, and 6) to be very smooth and pleasant experiences that I enjoy revisiting more than the better regarded 1, 2, and 3.

Classic Megaman is my one true love (nobody tell my wife).

I had a Genesis first but got an SNES later on. I still remember getting the Genesis on the morning of m 5th birthday, truly it was glorious.

As far as games go

Streets of Rage 2
Vectorman
Golden Axe
Samurai Showdown
Street Fighter 2 Turbo
Final Fantasy 3
Chrono Trigger
A Link to the Past
Earthworm Jim 1 & 2

Most of the best 8 and 16 bit games have already been touched on, here, but I would like to draw some out that are less obvious, and I think deserve special attention.

"River City Ransom" for the NES. The graphical sensibility of the game helps it be more playable on the NES than other beat 'em up games of the same era, like Double Dragon. It's a funny game and requires a lot of skill. I highly recommend it.

"Punch Out" for the NES. An excellent fighting game, before really there were fighting games. In my opinion the original Nintendo game is better than its SNES sequel. In the NES game, you have to conserve your energy through the match, so it really feels like you have to "go the distance".

These games are also notable for not breaking your bank trying to acquire them, unlike some obviously great games - like Ogre Battle, Chrono Trigger and the like, that while wonderful had better damn well be at the price they command. You should be able to find River City Ransom and Punch Out for under $20.

//Panjumanju

And here are some of my NES recommendations.  These are more affordable overall than my SNES and Genesis recommends.

Dragon Warrior = pure grinding satisfaction
Ultima: Quest of the Avatar
Castlevania
Contra = surprisingly difficult to find
Lifeforce
Balloon Fight = a Joust rip off, but a good one
RC Pro Am
Cobra Triangle
Gyruss
Heavy Barrel
Jackal
Kirby's Adventure
Vice: Project Doom

All these consoles....

I was an Atari ST man.

Xenon
Dungeon Master
Bubble Bobble
Dizzy
Llamatron
Loderunner
Rainbow Islands
Elite
HHGttG
Turrican
Silkworm
Speedball
Double Dragon
Millenium 2.2
Oids
Shufflepuck cafe

Quote from: Piestrio;737130Classic Megaman is my one true love (nobody tell my wife).

Which one's your favorite and why?

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;737279Which one's your favorite and why?

2.

It has the prefect difficultly level, spot on music and the absolute best end game of any of the classics. Music, atmosphere, pace, bosses, everything.

1 is good but has some rough edges.

3 feels like a retread of 2.

4, 5, and 6 are all fun but get a bit repetitive and are often too easy. They're fun and light but missing the punishing difficulty of the earlier games.