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 […]
Game 346: Deadly Towers (1986)
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 […]
Game 344: Bandor II (1992)
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) […]
Game 342: The Forgotten Island (1981)
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 […]
Game 341: Shape Shifter (1992)
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 […]
Game 339: The Magic Candle III (1992)
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 […]
SpellCraft: Aspects of Valor: Summary and Rating
What awaited me if I had won the game. SpellCraft: Aspects of Valor United States Tsunami Productions (developer); ASCII Entertainment Software (publisher) Released in 1992 for DOS; SNES port developed but never released Date Started: 27 July 2019 Date Finished: 25 August 2019 Total Hours: 26Difficulty: Hard (4/5)Final Rating: […]
Treasures of the Savage Frontier: Won! (with Summary and Rating)
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 […]
Treasures of the Savage Frontier: Confederacy of Dunces
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, […]
Treasures of the Savage Frontier: Red Menace
Imagine what the Zhentarim could accomplish with Twitter. Treasures of the Savage Frontier gives us a plot in which an authoritarian regime from far to the east collaborates with local plutocrats and religious fanatics to wage a war of mis-information, thus demoralizing and destabilizing the free people of the […]
Game 338: SpellCraft: Aspects of Valor (1992)
SpellCraft: Aspects of Valor United States Tsunami Production (developer), ASCII Entertainment Software (publisher) Released 1992 for DOS Date Started: 27 July 2019 I was recently reminded of a nine-year old entry in which I remarked on the considerable variances in spell systems between fantasy RPGs. A lot of the […]