Retro non-RPGs with character creation/customization?

[ommadawnyawn2]

Customization should happen when starting a new game, not from picking up or buying new gear or stat upgrades (such as heart pieces in Zelda) in-game or between levels/races for example. And it should be more than just inputting your char's name



Some I know about so far:

-Starflight (1986) and Pirates! (1987), which some would still consider RPGs of sorts

-Laser Squad (1988), a precursor to X-COM without experience point leveling

-Cocoron (NES, 1991) - Pick three body parts before beginning and each part has different looking sprites to pick from, gain more from bosses

Equipment and/or vehicles only:

-Ghostbusters (1984) - Start off buying a car and equipment for your crew

-Nemesis 3: The Eve of Destruction (1988) - Choose shield type and gun drone formation before beginning. The ship is kind of an extension of your character since it's only through it that you can interact with the game
-MechWarrior (1989) - Here you can start off buying/selling mechs and customizing them. Since they're how you interact with the game world during (combat) gameplay they're also more like an extension of your character

-Deathtrack (1989) - Pick a car then buy parts and weapons, it's a combat racer



Anything else?


Edit: Turned it into a reddit post, thanks again everyone. 

[grad]

[ommadawnyawn2]

Should've bought the anti-ignorance beam. Thanks!

[Snake]

Does Uncharted Waters count? It's more of a historical merchant/pirate simulation than an RPG.  You'll need to get a ship, customize how much crew, food, and goods you'll carry. If you'll arm the ship with cannons at all, etc.

Zero-4 Champ RR - Gotta choose which car to buy, and what parts you'll start with, before you enter the drag racing competitions.

[Natalie]

The ship customization in Nemesis 3 was expanded upon in Gradius III with the introduction of the Edit Mode, which gave you more granular control over your loadout.

[jorpho]

Auto Duel? That had lots of fans. I don't seem to hear much at all about it, though. Or maybe that counts as an RPG?

[dr_st]

Hexen: Beyond Heretic - an FPS from the 90s - has 3 classes to choose from at the start (Fighter, Cleric, Mage). This affects the weapons you will be using, and I believe there are also some differences in agility, damage resistance, etc.

[dsparil]

Final Soldier has weapon pick selection too.

The different classes in Hexen do have stat differences. Hexen II added in full leveling so it's technically an action-RPG.

[Natalie]

Some others that came to mind: Heisei Inu Monogatari: Bow Pop'n Smash starts by letting you choose one of four bat/racket types. Also, depending on your definition of retro and what you're looking for, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is a pretty iconic example of fully custom character creation, but it's entirely optional until THUG.