Quick, name the first video game RPG ever. If you guessed Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, or Zelda, well, you were laughably wrong, and I am laughing at you. If you guessed something like Ultima or a Dungeons and Dragons adaptation, you were closer to the truth, and I am not laughing at you. I am just telling you you were wrong still.
While there is no way of knowing if it was the first one, one of the games that holds claim to being the first popular video game RPG ever is Akalabeth. The grandfather of all RPGs, the game was created by Richard Garriott, of Ultima fame, for Apple II. And today, it is available to download, for free, from Good Old Games.
I mean, man, these guys are really living up to their name here, aren’t they. I’m not sure how well the game holds up- my guess is it doesn’t at all- but it’s a piece of history, so I say go ahead and get it.