What's the Shortest RPG you've ever played?

[Aussie2B]

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is the quickest one that I can think of from my own personal experience, but considering that some don't have in-game clocks, I may have played shorter. I consider it a nice little game to casually play through over the course of a weekend. If I remember correctly, it takes me about 12-15 hours.

Chrono Trigger has always taken me about 20-22 hours to do everything, even on my first time through.

I'm actually one of the few RPG players out there who thinks less is more. Nothing kills an RPG more easily than when it's too long for its own good. Considering that a lot of RPGs are too easy and repetitive, a long length can just be brutal. Don't get me wrong, I can put hundreds of hours into an RPG if I have fun the entire time (such as with the Star Ocean series), but man... games like Lunar go from being enjoyable to miserable once you pass the 25-30 hour mark.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

I also beat Final Fantasy 3 repeatedly in under 12 hours.

May I ask how you where able to bet it in that amount of time? I myself beat it at around 34 hours with all the sub-quests complete and I thought that was pretty fast, but 12 hours?! Holy shit guy!!

[Lord Contaminous]

Exile (Sega Genesis). So short I could beat it in one sitting. It's usually just 2 hours.

[devilman]

Shortest I've played would be Sword of Vermillion for the Mega Drive. I remember getting it on the Friday night and trading it back in on the Monday after finishing it in a matter of hours - I forget just how many... too long ago.

[Jorpho]

Come to think of it, it is said that AD&D Pool of Raidiance (NES) can be beaten in ten minutes if you map out the maze.

[Crush Crawfish]

Of all the RPG's I've played...Suikoden 1 is still the shortest. 15 hours is all it took to get all the characters and beat the final boss. Brilliant game though.

Also, the first Shadow hearts wasn't too lengthly, clocking in at about 30 hours for me.

Illusion of gaia was pretty short as well, though I'm not sure if that even classifies as an RPG.

[vulcanjedi]

Hmm

Let's take this back 10 years.
Shortest game in total game time that I have finished is Loom.
There is a spot about 4 hours in on game time that will drive you crazy and take a few days real time to get past but then the final 3 hours can be done at one sitting.

Still one of the top 10 games EVER

VJ

[Jorpho]

Loom is definitely not an RPG.

(I agree, the pixel hunting gets a little crazy at that one spot.)

[8bitnes]

Final Fantasy Legend 1 on Gameboy took me about 6 hours the first time I played it. However, I had already played and beaten FFL 2 and FFL 3 a couple of times each.

Secret of Evermore for SNES took less than 10 hours the first time through.

Legend of Zelda 1 on NES took less than 5 hours the first time through.

Of course, my first time playing any of these wasn't until I was in my 20s. I imagine that they would have taken much longer if I had bought them in my youth when I had much less RPG experience.

[MegaManFan]

I think the one I beat the fastest, first time through, would be Chrono Cross on PS1. My wife was really into it though and she bought the player's guide, which in some cases sped things up (having the right party or equipment at the right times) and at other times slowed things down (you forgot a treasure back there) so I'd say it split the difference. The fastest one I re-beat was Final Fantasy VII, but I was only going back through to look for hidden things I missed when I hardcore chugged my way through it the first time (skipped all my classes for 2-3 days and didn't leave my dorm room except to eat and shower).

[PDorr3]

I would Imagine the PS1 version od chrono trigger taking longer to beat because of the hideous menu load times. You gotta wait like 5 seconds before you can see your stats

[Damon Plus]

Short rpgs?

Willow (Nes)- 6-8 hours at most
Beyond Oasis (Genesis) 2-3 hours, I liked to beat it every day

[tylerwillis]

Under 20 hours for me:

Growlanser II
Suikoden I
The Bard's Tale (recent version)
Sword of Mana
Thousand Arms
.hack (individually)

Not played (not mentioned in thread already), but heard to be short:
Brave Fencer Musashi
X-Men Legends

[Haoie]

Sadly, Terranigma. I finished it clocking less than 13 game hours, and I'm sure it can be done in under 10.

Terranigma, I wish it was longer.

[Snapple]

Last time I played Final Fantasy 4, I ripped through it in 10 hours and still managed to get all of the treasure chests and side quests. I wasn't even trying to do a speed run either, it just kinda happened that way.

So yeah, short game.

[-hellvin-]

The original Shadow Hearts for PS2.

Awesome story and really fun gameplay, but damn is it short. I think I finished it in around 20 hours which for me, seems very short. The sequel I played for about 56 hours.

[UnInformer]

Parasite Eve is the shortest one I have played.

I beat it in under 10 hours the first time without breezing through it and letting it sit without playing it.

[Daria]

I beat Rhapsody in a single night. Super Mario RPG in a single weekend.

[slownerveaction]

Not played (not mentioned in thread already), but heard to be short:
Brave Fencer Musashi

Yeah, Musashi is probably 'round 8 hours. Threads of Fate is about that long too. Action-RPGs in general tend to be on the short side (with a few notable exceptions).

[roushimsx]

Another vote for Panzer Dragoon Saga (on of my favorite games ). Casually playing, you can beat the game in under 12 hours. Speed running? I've heard of people beating it in under 4 hours and 15 minutes.

Of course, by the speedrunning criteria then Morrowind and Fallout 2 would also qualify as being monster short...

Rhapsody was really short (then again, it was geared towards mentally challenged preteen girls), as was Parasite Eve (which I found to be one of the easiest games I've ever played...I beat it without dying the first time I played it). Quest 64 was another bite-sized rpg...

Terranigma, I wish it was longer.

I agree. I ended up playing through it in just under 10 hours and was left wishing that there was more. Way more.