Author: CRPG Addict

I believe these characters translate literally as “not yet come,” which is as good as any way to say “the future.”       Mirai Japan Xain (developer and publisher) Released 1987* for PC-88, PC-98, MSX, and Sharp X1 Date Started: 13 November 2019 Date Ended: 17 November 2019 Total Hours: 6 […]

A literal treasure hunt in a game that plays a lot like a treasure hunt.              I started Challenge of the Five Realms over again for a few reasons. First, after I finished Farinor for the first time, I realized I probably had left Ballytogue too quickly, failing to stock […]

            Deadly Towers Also known as Mashou or Mashō (Japanese) Japan Lenar and Tamtex (developers); Irem (Japanese publisher); Brøderbund (North American publisher) Released 1986 for NES Date Started: 4 November 2019 Date Ended: 10 November 2019 Total Hours: 17 Difficulty: Hard (4/5) Final Rating: (to come later) Ranking at time […]

If you count the subtitle, I think this is the longest title so far.          Challenge of the Five Realms: Spellbound in the World of Nhagardia United States MicroProse (developer and publisher, under its Microplay label)  Released 1992 for DOS Date Started: 2 November 2019 I’ve been looking forward to […]

My inventory fills up as I continue with Camelot.             Since my first year of blogging, when I forced myself to win Wizardry while adhering to its implementation of permadeath, I’ve often remarked that I would never do that again. My adherence to “playing the way the developers intended” was […]

That’s a lazy title graphic.                 Bandor II United States Magic Lemon (developer and publisher) Released as shareware in 1992 for DOS Date Started: 26 October 2019 Date Finished: 28 October 2019 Total Hours: 14 Difficulty: Moderate-Hard (3.5/5) Final Rating: (to come later) Ranking at time of posting: (to come later) […]

Hardly anyone has won this game.            Camelot United States Independently developed in 1982 at the PLATO mainframe at the University of Illinois Date Started: 20 April 2019            As far as we know, and until someone comes along with evidence of earlier creations, the first computer RPGs were developed […]

This is not the one they’ll remember him for.               The Forgotten Island United States Liberty Software (developer); Crystalware (original publisher); Automated Simulations (later publisher) Released in 1981 for Atari 800. Rereleased in 1982 as Escape from Vulcan’s Isle Date Started: 23 October 2019 Date Finished: 23 October 2019 Total […]

Does that mean Guinevere is real?! Or have I just carried a robot out of the park?         Fantasyland 2041 United States Crystalware (developer and original publisher); Epyx (later publisher) Released in 1981 for Apple II and Atari 800 Date Started: 9 October 2019 Date Finished: 19 October 2019 Total […]

           Shape Shifter United States Independently developed and released as shareware Released in 1992 for DOS Date Started: 17 October 2019 Date Finished: 18 October 2019 Total Hours: 4 Difficulty: Easy (2/5) Final Rating: (to come later) Ranking at time of posting: (to come later) Some years ago, I modified […]

          Fantasyland 2041 United States Crystalware (developer and original publisher); Epyx (later publisher) Released in 1981 for Apple II and Atari 800 Date Started: 9 October 2019                I had already passed through the 1980s at least twice before someone recorded Crystalware’s catalogue on […]

            The Magic Candle III United States Mindcraft Software (developer and publisher) Released in 1992 for DOS Date Started: 7 September 2019        It’s something of a paradox that we take naturally to narrative material organized as trilogies–so much so that “trilogy” feels like a natural word, whereas the comparative […]

Reminder: It is possible to play this game with “evil” characters.              Treasures of the Savage Frontier United States Beyond Software (developer); Strategic Simulations, Inc. (publisher) Released in 1992 for Amiga and DOS Date Started: 20 July 2019 Date Finished: 2 August 2019 Total Hours: 31Difficulty: Easy-Moderate (2.5/5)Final Rating: (to […]

This session saw me kill four “minions,” some of whom cursed their masters.          One of the notable features of CRPGs in contrast to some other genres is that they almost always support a Plan B. When one way of playing doesn’t work out, you can almost always resort to […]

This should have been clearer a lot sooner.              Treasures consisted of three major phases. The first was the introductory section in Llorkh, Loudwater, and Secomber. The second was the foiling of the evil plots in the various Lords’ Alliance cities: Waterdeep, Daggerford, the Way Inn, Leilon, Triboar, Yartar, Longsaddle, […]

If you die, Garwayen is kind of a jerk.            At this point, one of two things is true about SpellCraft: 1. Almost the entire game is about you being a student of Garwayen, and in the last 10% or so, I’ll graduate and battle the wizards who want to […]