Classic examples of RPG good level design, Um, I can't think of any Options

[rewells]

I want to write a post about examples of good level design from classic RPGs (NES-Playstation 1), but none are really popping out in my mind. I think games that are primarily RPGs (final fantasy, shin megami, etc.) have a disadvantage when it comes to level design because characters generally don't jump, for instance, so map interaction is limited. What even makes a good RPG dungeon? The aesthetics of the map tiles? Non-linearity? Puzzles? Now that I'm writing this, I may write about the evolution of dungeon design (early FF games dungeons were ridiculous mazes but moved toward more structured ones and started to incorporate puzzles as the series progressed). Anyway - thoughts?

[Shaddow]

This is actually a really good topic and one that I, too, had been thinking on recently. I know that RM games tend to have the feel of old school and nostalgia for some of us older gamers. Given that, we tend to want to design our dungeons in that style.

Yet, given the tools we have with script editing and awesome art designers, as well as the influence of newer games, we almost want to build the best possible dungeons. I find myself trying to decide between the two styles, and making something in between.

The problem with this is, that it seems to lack the feel of either, perhaps this is part of my own inability to build dungeons well, or maybe the two styles simply don't mesh well. That's something I have yet to discover, anyone else have any thoughts on this?