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Can we talk about old-school first person dungeon crawlers?

cicero

cicero

Member
StoppedInTracks said:
Here's a list of some of the old First Person RPGs. I have finished all of the below except one that is mentioned (RoA1). I did not post about the most famous ones (M&M3-5, Wizardry, EotB etc.) as everybody knows them and has played and loved them :)
Click to expand...

Honestly, I think it would be nice to see you comment on M&M3-5, Wizardry, and EotB as well! Go all out!@#
 
D

Dead Man

Member
Amazing thread. EotB was one of the games that got me seriously into gaming back when, so many here that I need to try. M&M6 looks amazing.
 
Alexios

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Why aren't the wizardry games on gog or anywhere, I wanted to try one (VII or Wizards & Warriors) :/

Anything comparable I can buy?

I don't like the look of the M&M games.
 
L

Ledsen

Member
Alextended said:
Why aren't the wizardry games on gog or anywhere, I wanted to try one (VII or Wizards & Warriors) :/

Anything comparable I can buy?

I don't like the look of the M&M games.
Click to expand...

Get Arx Fatalis if you don't mind playing only one character. It's pretty modern and a good way to see if you like the general feeling of the genre.
 
Xander51

Xander51

Member
This is a fantastic thread. The first of these games I played were the older Might and Magics. I wasn't very good at them as a kid, but I still enjoyed them, and also Wizardry.
 
M

magicalsoundshower

Member
Awesome thread. I honestly had no idea Might & Magic 6 was that good, I thought the common concensus was that it didn't really approach 3,4 and 5. Too bad it doesn't really look as charming as they do nowadays. I've only beaten 4 and 5 and got somewhat far in 3 even though 3 seemed like the best game out of the three. All of them are awesome games, though, the visuals, gameplay and mechanics feel so... right!

By the way, was it the Sega CD or the Turbo Duo port of MM3 that had the super out there space age soundtrack?

Oh, and one more thing: I don't think the Ravenloft games had Super VGA graphics, instead they used the somewhat uncommon 320x400 resolution which still counts as VGA.
 
Alexios

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Ledsen said:
Get Arx Fatalis if you don't mind playing only one character. It's pretty modern and a good way to see if you like the general feeling of the genre.
Click to expand...
But it's not like Wizardry, it's real time and stuff. I've played it. And I don't mind outdated graphics if they're pleasing and a bit consistent, hence why I wanted to try those Wizardry games mentioned (and have a few tens of games on gog, other older games on Steam, loads of retro low budget indie games, etc), the M&M games just seem to be quite ugly regardless of the tech.
 
T

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Whats the general consensus on Wizardry 8? How does it compare to all the other Wizardries? Its the only mainline wizardry I've played and I loved it to hell and back. Tried reinstalling it a while back but it looks so ugly now :( Maybe I'll try one of the others.
 
D

Danne-Danger

Member
Toma said:
Whats the general consensus on Wizardry 8? How does it compare to all the other Wizardries? Its the only mainline wizardry I've played and I loved it to hell and back. Tried reinstalling it a while back but it looks so ugly now :( Maybe I'll try one of the others.
Click to expand...
You're ugly! I think it looks pretty great from time to time if you add a lot of AA. Though Trynton always makes me feel a bit nauseous.

Anyway, it's one of the best games ever made so I'm sure it stacks up quite nicely!
 
H

HylianTom

Banned
magicalsoundshower said:
Awesome thread. I honestly had no idea Might & Magic 6 was that good, I thought the common concensus was that it didn't really approach 3,4 and 5. Too bad it doesn't really look as charming as they do nowadays. I've only beaten 4 and 5 and got somewhat far in 3 even though 3 seemed like the best game out of the three. All of them are awesome games, though, the visuals, gameplay and mechanics feel so... right!
Click to expand...

6 was and still is absolutely wonderful. The music is great, the towns are varied enough, there are tons and tons of sidequests, the landscape is dotted with really fantastic caves, dungeons, tombs, mines, etc.. many of which are gigantic and easy to get lost within. The character creation and development process is probably in my top three favorites.

I could gush about 6 (and 7, to be quite honest) for a long time. And I still replay them about every four or five years, usually when the weather turns cold and it's nasty outside. It's the kind of game where you start at 8AM, and when you look up at the clock, it's midnight. Not many games do that to me any more.
 
Sentenza

Sentenza

Member
How did I miss this thread?
Subscribed.

Anyway, I still consider Ultima Underworld II one of the most compelling experiences in my whole gaming "career".
It was enormous, challenging, enthralling, filled with details and it had mind-blowing level design.
Even just the dungeon under Lord British's castle had so much content that it could be an average dungeon crawler by itself... And it was just one out of many other dungeons in the game.
 
G

Gattsu25

Banned
Alextended said:
But it's not like Wizardry, it's real time and stuff. I've played it. And I don't mind outdated graphics if they're pleasing and a bit consistent, hence why I wanted to try those Wizardry games mentioned (and have a few tens of games on gog, other older games on Steam, loads of retro low budget indie games, etc), the M&M games just seem to be quite ugly regardless of the tech.
Click to expand...
If you want a newer turn-based dungeon crawler you can always play Wizardry 8.

If that's still not your style you may want to wait for Etrian Odyssey 4 which isn't out yet but it's a japanese dungeon crawler (meaning that, interface and gameplay wise, it is a Wizardry 1-6 clone with a gimmick) that sounds like it will have decent enemy animations. Based on what I've seen, you'll have to suffer through some of the industry's most reprehensible loli artwork, though.
 
M

magicalsoundshower

Member
TucoBenedictoPacifico said:
How did I miss this thread?
Subscribed.

Anyway, I still consider Ultima Underworld II one of the most compelling experiences in my whole gaming "career".
It was enormous, challenging, enthralling, filled with details and it had mind-blowing level design.
Even just the dungeon under Lord British's castle had so much content that it could be an average dungeon crawler by itself... And it was just one out of many other dungeons in the game.
Click to expand...

Amen, UW2 will always be my favourite game ever. Aside from some minor issues, it's just that well-designed and always a blast to play. I don't think anything else will ever top it, although I admit Fallout: New Vegas really impressed me recently.
 
M

Mr_Appleby

Member
yes, yes we can. this thread is awesome. i haven't even played half of these games. Thanks to GOG though last year I bought M&M I-VI, both Ultima Underworlds and Stonekeep. I'm inspired have a go at Mandate of Heaven after this thread.

kamorra said:
Are there any good dungeon crawlers for Android?
Click to expand...

i'd like to know this too. All the ones i've found so far have been fairly not great.
 
Alexios

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Gattsu25 said:
If you want a newer turn-based dungeon crawler you can always play Wizard 8.
Click to expand...
Where's that sold?

If that's still not your style you may want to wait for Etrian Odyssey 4 which isn't out yet but it's a japanese dungeon crawler (meaning that, interface and gameplay wise, it is a Wizardry 1-6 clone with a gimmick) that sounds like it will have decent enemy animations. Based on what I've seen, you'll have to suffer through some of the industry's most reprehensible loli artwork, though.
Click to expand...
No DS.
 
G

Gattsu25

Banned
Alextended said:
Where's that sold?
Click to expand...
I got it from Amazon in a Wizardry 1-8 collection.

Here's the standalone game: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKGT/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Edit: Whoops, bad memory. I bought the standalone game, as well.

fT57N.jpg
 
Alexios

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
So, back to square one since it's in the same situation as 7 that I first mentioned... Thanks...
 
bloodydrake

bloodydrake

Cool Smoke Luke
i think Microprose's The Legacy:Realms of the Haunting fits into this category pretty well.
Its a first person tile moment Real time RPG, but its a gaslight Call of Cthulhu setting.

Really was pretty damn amazing for a dos game back in the day being able to resize and move all the windows and everything.
256px-TheLegacy.JPG
127000-the-legacy-realm-of-terror-dos-screenshot-aghh-zombies-s.png
126998-the-legacy-realm-of-terror-dos-screenshot-character-generations.png
127054-the-legacy-realm-of-terror-dos-screenshot-it-s-all-cool-tentacle.png
 
U

UncleSporky

Member
I booted up M&M1 from the gog pack and wow, that game is way worse than the NES version! I actually enjoyed the NES one previously and was looking forward to playing the superior PC version! Guess I could've just looked at some screenshots, but also the music.
 
D

Dandare4444

Member
I started Dungeon Master 2 last night, i never did play it back in the day, but then again i played DM1 and never finished it, i'm enjoying is so far but i'm not even out of the first area yet, still got a few mudworms to kill yet. I must say thank god for xpadder though, i've mapped movement to my d-pad and turn to the shoulder buttons, my poor wrists can't handle keyboard dancing like they used to :-(
 
gunstarhero

gunstarhero

Member
UncleSporky said:
And of course, this classic:

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I know it's not Western and not extremely deep, but I loved this game so much back in the day. The art style is great, the music is great. I still break it out on the Virtual Console sometimes.
Click to expand...

Shining in the Darkness was my first real first-person dungeon crawler - loved every minute of it. Probably doesn't match up in terms of scale to the more western stuff listed here in the thread, but the character/monster design won me over. Easily in my top 10 of classic RPGs/adventure type games.

I seem to remember a sequel...Holy Ark? I remember that being a much bigger game.

It'll never happen, but I would love these games to get a reboot.
 
cj_iwakura

cj_iwakura

Member
gunstarhero said:
Shining in the Darkness was my first real first-person dungeon crawler - loved every minute of it. Probably doesn't match up in terms of scale to the more western stuff listed here in the thread, but the character/monster design won me over. Easily in my top 10 of classic RPGs/adventure type games.

I seem to remember a sequel...Holy Ark? I remember that being a much bigger game.

It'll never happen, but I would love these games to get a reboot.
Click to expand...

Shining The Holy Ark was on the Saturn, yes. A bit darker, fantastic game.
 
A

Acosta

Member
How did I miss this? Awesome thread, subscribed.

I'm an absolute pussy for Dungeon Crawlers I must say. I have always tried to get into them, but I hate puzzles with passion, getting stuck and doing circles without being able to do anything else or having a single clue of what to do, it makes me sick (for real!).

What are the most combat oriented that you would recommend?
 
F

fates

Member
For fans of Eye of the Beholder, there's a Neverwinter Nights module adaptation for it. It's not first person sadly, but it's an otherwise faithful adaptation.
 
D

Danne-Danger

Member
cj_iwakura said:
You have a PS2 or PS3? I recommend either Tale of the Forsaken Land or Labyrinth of Lost Souls. Might as well go after the namesake (J) titles.

They're damn close, especially Forsaken Land.



Heck, if you got some time, I'll show you why it's so good.
Click to expand...
It's horribly slow though. Everything about it is slow, menus, animations, post-stat screens. I gave up on it because I felt it was wasting too much time between the goodies. A real shame since it's a great game if you have the patience for it.

Coming off that and jumping into Wizardry 8 is such a relief. Fast pace, no nonsense and fifty times the depth. The interface design in W8 must be the best I've ever seen, barely anything comes between the player and the game. A thing of beauty.
 
cj_iwakura

cj_iwakura

Member
Alextended said:
Nope. Anything on PSP?
Click to expand...

The good ones never left Japan, like the Elminage games. All we got was Class of Heroes.

Persona 1 is a dungeon crawler, technically. You could do much worse.

It's arguably the best PSP FPDC available in the US.


But really, you need a DS.

Danne-Danger said:
It's horribly slow though. Everything about it is slow, menus, animations, post-stat screens. I gave up on it because I felt it was wasting too much time between the goodies. A real shame since it's a great game if you have the patience for it.

Coming off that and jumping into Wizardry 8 is such a relief. Fast pace, no nonsense and fifty times the depth. The interface design in W8 must be the best I've ever seen, barely anything comes between the player and the game. A thing of beauty.
Click to expand...

I agree, it can be pretty slow paced, but the story and atmosphere is so well presented that I'm willing to overlook it. TotFL is a game you block out the outside world for.
 
K

Ketch

Member
cj_iwakura said:
But really, you need a DS.
Click to expand...

What is the best one of these I can play on my 3DS? Just realized my 2 week vacation starts the day Grimrock comes out... =(

Edit: I have very little experience with the genre... played some old school one on Commodore 64.. boxart had a mean looking dude on a throne of bones or something... and then I played some Doom RPG on my phone some 15 years later. Looked up Etrian Odyssey and The Dark Spire on Amazon.... expensive.
 
T

Tain

Member
Excellent posts, StoppedInTracks. I was totally unfamiliar with a ton of these games. Cost me some cash on GOG! It's a lot of fun to try these out (The Might and Magic series, mostly), even if I don't see myself finishing them.
 
B

Benedict

Member
Have some old uk magazines with dungeon crawler reviews. Might try and scan them if I get the time and if there is any interest.
 
D

dock

Member
Shining the holy ark is my only real experience of this genre, and I really enjoyed it. I've always meant to get into Shining the Darkness.

I've generally struggled with the interface, and text heavy nature, of the PC games. I'm mostly a console gamer, however.
I tried the recent Wizardry demo on PSN and had a miserable time with it.

Are there any other console-style games in this genre?
 
N

Night_Trekker

Member
dock said:
Are there any other console-style games in this genre?
Click to expand...

Check out Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land (PS2). It isn't a "real" Wizardry game, but it's a damn good dungeon crawler. I wish someone would fan-translate the Japanese-only prequel :/

Of course, the Etrian Odyssey games are awesome, and they make really great use of the touchscreen for map-making.

I've always wanted to play Shining the Holy Ark. I gotta get my hands on a Saturn...
 
T

taoofjord

Member
Thanks a ton for this thread! I've been a massive fan of Lands of Lore 1 since I played it way back when. I recently started playing it again and it has also aged wonderfully. I highly recommend anyone interested in the genre to give it a shot. I think it's one of the best looking pc games from back then (shame about the ugly sequels). Fantastic art direction and a hell of a lot of fun.

I look forward to trying out a bunch of the others that I haven't played. :)
 
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