You won't go wrong with the nes ports of avatar and exodus. Avatar's virtue system can be a little daunting at first, but its still a great game.

for exodus i'd recomend your first party consisting of the follwoing:

human or dwarf (if you want to rely more on fighting than magic) ranger
dwarf fighter
bobbit cleric
fuzzy wizzard

its a good starter party with decent magic and good fighting mix