Game 558: Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom (1993)

 

          

Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom

France

Silmarils (developer and publisher)
Released 1993 for DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST; 1994 for Macintosh 

Date Started: 28 July 2025 

     

I found Crystals of Arborea (1990) and Ishar: Legend of the Fortress (1992) both pretty but underwhelming mechanically. Nothing seems to have changed much in the opening hours of Ishar 2. It's perfectly pleasant to roam its hills and valleys, listening to the croaks of bullfrogs and the splashing of . . . something . . . but it breaks no new ground in combat tactics or NPC interactions. I guess that's fine. We really only get one revolutionary experience per year, and the rest of the time, "pleasant" is a superlative. Ishar 2 is nothing if not pleasant.

    

Crystals of Arborea had a party led by an elven prince named Jarel save the small land from a demonic being named Morgoth. Ishar, set some time later, had a party save the land, rechristened "Kendoria," from Morgoth's son. Ishar 2 opens some unspecified time later, when Kendoria is part of a larger archipelago of seven islands, all but Kendoria named after one of Jarel's original companions. "Named after" is done amusingly, in that the islands named after, say, Irvan and Zach are not something like "Irvania" or "Zachistan," but rather, quite literally, "Irvan's Island" and "Zach's Island." In any event, these islands have entered something of a golden age.

        

Great. Not only do we have to deal with this "warm tear" nonsense, but now there's a new nonsense word that everyone's going to use.

        

I guess after the good guys conquered Ishar, they turned it into the capital of Kendoria—no reason to waste a good fortress. The current ruler is named Zurbaran. One day, he's sitting around his castle when the head of "Jon, Alchemist of Arborea" appears as a vision above his desk. Jon greets him with "warm tear," so I guess that's still going to be a thing. Jon warns Zurbaran that "Arborea is tyrapped [sic, though kind of a cool one, like "trapped by a tyrant"] like a rat in a cage . . . Leave Kendoria and sale [sic] across the seas, for even Ishar, your fabulous fortress, may fall in the coming tempest." The brief opening cinematic transitions to the title screen and credits.

     

Zurbaran apparently listens, because as the game begins, he's alone in a field on Irvan's Island with a sword and a bagful of 1,000 coins. Immediately, you can undo the backstory by importing your winning party from Ishar. You get five characters at twice the level with twice the overall gold, but no equipment. As VladimIr V Y predicted, the spellcasters have no spells. Anyway, I tried it just to see what would happen but then reverted to just having Zubaran.

        

This would be too easy.

       

The interface uses a blend of the mouse and the keyboard. It's complicated enough that I'll have to capitulate and read the manual eventually, but the basics are the same as Ishar, which of course are drawn from Dungeon Master: Tiled movement, real-time combat, a cool-down period between attacks, and so forth. I have a taste of combat almost immediately, as there are some hostile dudes hanging out in the direction that Zubaran is facing when the game begins. The battle does not go well.

   

In a few reloads, the best I can do is kill two of them before my health meter gets so low that I need to find some succor. One of the warriors drops 3,500 gold. 

      

These guys are tough for a single character.

      

The automap is completely filled in for two islands, including the one I'm on. It shows that Irvan's Island is heavily forested to the east and less so to the west. The only thing that looks like a human structure is to the northwest, so I head in that direction. Thankfully, the numberpad replicates the GTFO cluster, so traveling isn't a pain.

         

The detailed automap.

     

Graphics and sound make the Ishar series stand out for its age. As I move through swamps and fields, listening to burbling water and animal noises in the background, it occurs to me that this is perhaps the most immersive fantasy game in a while. I say "fantasy" because Pathways into Darkness was immersive in its own way, but its graphics and sound effects were more functional than decorative. Here, the natural features are pretty, the buildings are imaginative, and the sky turns lovely colors (and that's coming from me!) at dusk. 

    

Twilight in the unnamed town.

      

"Ah, civilization is not far away," Zubaran says as we approach a town of huts, long stilts keeping them dry from the surrounding swamp. I seem to remember that towns in Ishar had separate interior maps, so that's one change. I soon find that I can't enter or interact with most of the huts (unless I'm missing something). There are also a couple NPCs I can't find any way to interact with. One says, "Warm tear, presumptuous messengers." There's only one of me, and why am I "presumptuous"?

   

I skip a couple of stores for later and check into a tavern. I appreciate the option to listen to rumors, since I don't really know what I'm doing here or what I'm looking for. Someone talks about an old magician "prancing about to the east, along the coast." He apparently "knows how to psycho-analyze animals." More important, there are eight NPCs who will join my party (I can only take 4). 

          

The first batch of available NPCs.

       

I remember from Ishar that some NPCs can grate against others, causing them to leave the party, but I don't know how you tell ahead of time that a relationship isn't going to work out. NPCs don't have explicit alignments, but some of them look pretty dark. I find eight more in another tavern nearby. My overall options are:

 

• Amrifor, a male elf warrior of Level 4. High attributes all across but I don't like his expression.
• Azirek, a male human murderer of Level 6. High agility, low strength. I suspect his "class" will be a problem for party morale. 
• Bron, a male human barbarian of Level 4. He has a nasty sneer and almost no intelligence. 
• Dhrurhn, a male orc barbarian of Level 6. Good strength, constitution. Suspect he'll be controversial.
• Edelia, a female elf ranger of Level 5. Low statistics in general. 
• Eliandr, a female human scholar of Level 4. High intelligence, low physical attributes.
• Fandhir, a male elf archer of Level 5. Good numbers. Highest agility of the group. 
• Golnal, a male human hypnotist of Level 5. Very weak but also kind of dumb.
• Karorn, a male human knight-errant of Level 5. Great numbers. 

     

I'll be back for you.

      

• Khalin, a female elf magician of Level 4. Weak but highest agility and intelligence of the lot.
• Molgo, a male dwarf magician of Level 4. Very low agility, modest everything else. Looks mean.
• Olfren, a male elf mercenary of Level 7. Modest statistics. 
• Tiefon, a male dwarf ranger of Level 5. Relatively moderate in attributes.
• Unknown, a male human "occult monk" with very high intelligence but very low agility. He has a hood, a twisted face, and glowing eyes. I suspect if anyone is going to have a problem with someone, it's going to be him. 
• Yornh, a male human priest of Level 4. Looks somewhat imperialistic.
• Zeloran, a male elf magician of Level 5. High intelligence. Looks like Moses about to part the Red Sea. 

         

The second batch.

      

If you've been counting, that's 12 classes for 16 characters. The manual has nothing to say about classes except that only scholars, magicians, and druids can cast spells, which makes me wonder what a priest is for. There's a new "First Aid" skill, so maybe that's supposed to take the place of healing?

    

I decide to buck my usual tendency and assemble the most problematic party that I can. I take Azirek to start. When you go to add any character to the party, all the existing members get to vote. Zubaran voted "aye" for Azirek, so so far, so good. I add Dhrurhn next, and Zubaran votes no, the traitor. But I guess 50% is enough, because he's added. We're unanimous on admitting Unknown but unanimous against Molgo for some reason. I try Golnal next, and they're fine with him.

   

Added characters come with their own money—between 1,000 and 4,700—but no equipment, so we head off to the local store. I don't intend to spend a lot on this group, as the "Team Spirit" statistic, 100 when Zubaran was alone, is down to 23. And all of the new characters refuse to use their "Fist Aid" skill on Zubaran.

      

Way to be a team player. I don't think this party is going to last.

      

The business about only magicians, druids, and scholars being able to cast spells is apparently nonsense because Unknown the "occult monk" has three spells. I don't know what they are because I can only see symbols. 

     

I buy Zubaran some leather armor, food, and a rope. Everyone else gets a dagger. No point in overdoing it just yet. I head back to where the game began and try the party against the final marauder. He's tough, but he fixates exclusively on Dhrurhn, and we kill him before he takes any of us out.

       

A lone bandit is no match for the Suicide Squad.

       

Beyond him is a body. When I step into its square, I get a scene of a dying woman. Because she's dying, she can't tell a coherent narrative, but she mentions "Myrmidons of Shandar," a name that came up in one of the tavern tales (his minions have been seen about town). She also gives me some kind of pendant.

              

There's that "Dwilgelindil" again.

         

As we move on, I start mapping the island, but I soon abandon the map. As much as I like mapping, I don't like doing it for no reason, and it doesn't seem any more necessary in Ishar II than in the original. Games of the Dungeon Master lineage rarely require you to step on every square because they show you encounters in the environment. You don't step on an empty tile of grassland and suddenly find a hermit's hut or a pile of treasure as in, say, the Might and Magic series. Thus, as long as you get near every square, you're bound to find everything. The automap assists in adopting an exploration pattern to make that possible.

   

Thus, starting in the northwest town, we find (aside from the inns and stores):

     

• The manor belonging to Gordbroeuf, lord of this area. "You can bustle and bluster on our lands," he says, "but beware, I'll have no dirty tricks!"

          

Does this engine even allow for dirty tricks?

           

• There's a well in the center of town. We hear a noise in it. Manipulating the crank, we pull up an emaciated man who asks to join the party. I take a save and kick someone out, then check him out. He's a human thief of Level 4 named Kudsac. So that's a thirteenth class. I stick with who I have. I discovered that I can amusingly keep plunging him back down into the well and then reeling him up again. He threatens a bit but never attacks.

       

Oh, no. Don't.

      

• A bit down the coast from the town, we find a promontory of land with a skull sitting at the end. Picking up the skull causes the two stones on either side of us to turn into stone golems. They swiftly slaughter us. I reload and try a few strategies, but it's clear we're going to have to wait until later to win this one. 

       

What kind of attack is that?

         

• In the southwest corner of the island is a dock with a boat, but we're blocked from getting to it by a beggar who keeps asking for change. I try giving him a few gold pieces, but he won't go away.

        

Someone did not live up to great expectations.

        

• As we explore, we pick up a few mushrooms here and there.

          

That doesn't mean it's not useful.

       

The eastern half of the island is taken up by a large cypress swamp (again, some really nice visuals here). We finally encounter some more enemies—some kind of lizard man or sahuagin. I adjust the formation so that Zubaran, who has no hit points, is towards the rear. (Characters share experience, so this doesn't handicap him when it comes to leveling.) We manage to kill them, but Dhrurhn takes a lot of damage. I lose him to the next battle. When a character dies, if you don't resurrect him right away, he disappears from the party the next time you move. Shortly after that, we meet a bunch of giant bees, and I lose Azirek, the murderer.

       

Is that an "S" or a snake?

      

Combat is all right. It's mostly a lot of clicking. I'm sure it will get more interesting when I have more spells. You can't do any of the fancy footwork that Dungeon Master allows (see "Combat Waltz" in the glossary), as adjacent enemies are always facing you. I tried attacking, backing away, and then attacking, but the timing of enemy attacks doesn't really support that kind of evasion.

          

Bees!

       

Eventually, we come to a clearing in the swamp where a large monster, wielding a blade in each hand, kills Unknown and Golnal. I flee before he can kill Zubaran, then head back to town for some "real" companions. 

     

This appears to be the island's "boss-level" creature.

       

Some miscellaneous notes: 

       

• Ishar made the player pay a little money to save the game. I actually liked that mechanic—it discourages save-scumming—but enough people hated it (it was mentioned in nearly every review) that they removed it for the sequel. 

• The game has a day/night cycle, with the sky colored appropriately. Shops are closed at night. Time passes in real time, irrespective of whether you've moved the party. Numbers at the top of the screen keep track of the day and hour. I'm wondering if there's any real penalty for time passing. I keep getting paranoid and reloading if I let too much time pass without making much progress. 

• Just as existing party members vote as to whether to allow new party members, they also vote as to whether to allow you to discharge existing party members. I got around this in Ishar by putting unwanted characters at the front of the battle line by themselves. The sequel offers another way to deal with the problem: there's an "assassinate" button that allows you to just up and kill any member of the party. When I tested it on the existing party, I expected it to lower team spirit, but it actually increased it.

   

That's about all the time I have for now, but I'm curious if anyone knows what variables go into whether party members like each other or not. Do they each have alignments that we're meant to infer from class and appearance?

   

Time so far: 2 hours