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| Almost. |
It's that time again! Take "upcoming" with a grain of salt as games seem to take longer and longer. I could easily see getting stuck on the Star Trail/Arena pairing for a couple of months.
As a reminder, this discussion is to offer:
- Opinions about the game's RPG status. While applying your own definitions to such a discussion is fine, what really helps is if you apply mine. The FAQ (7th question) covers my definition.
- Tips for emulating the game
- Known bugs and pitfalls
- Tips for character creation
- Trivia
- Predictions for my reaction and/or the GIMLET score (without specifics that will spoil the game).
- Sources of information about the game from around the web, particularly obscure ones that I might otherwise miss during my pre-game research.
These are the next six titles:
- Dark Designs: Passage to Oblivion (1994 | Apple II | Softdisk). As the series transitions from John Carmack to Peter Rokitski, it adopts a new plot, a new party, and a new platform, abandoning the Apple IIGS for the older Apple II. I liked the previous three games' blend of Wizardry and Phantasie elements. We'll see if the magic continues.
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| They've got curved swords. |
- Cursed Chambers (1981 | Sharp MZ-80 | Kuma). For the hundredth time, El Explorador de RPG turned up a lost oddity, this one a weird combination of The Wizard's Castle and The Devil's Dungeon. It ought to be quick, at least.
- The Elder Scrolls: Chapter One - The Arena (1994 | DOS | Bethesda). I was doing some research on Bethesda in preparation for this game, and I came across this unintentionally hilarious quote in the company's Wikipedia article: "In 1994, the company released its best-known project at the time, The Elder Scrolls: Arena . . . Several sequels have been released since including The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, which was released in September 1996." I wonder if the page has been updated since then. In any event, I'm really looking forward to this one. I get to see which of my favorite Elder Scrolls elements were there at the beginning, and the folks over at RPG Codex get another excuse to call me a "Bethestard." Everybody wins.
- Buio! (1984 | ZX Spectrum | Editoriale Video). The first known Italian RPG has what I would have said is a very Italian-sounding name, though it turns out it means "dark." (I thought it was a contraction of buongiorno or something.) I don't know what to expect from this one, as I haven't been able to get it running past the title screen. Hopefully, I'll have fixed that by the time it comes up.
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| Ciao! |
- Yendorian Tales: Book I (1994 | DOS | SW Games). I have no history with this one. It appears to be an Ultima VI clone.
- Arena of Death (1991 | Commodore 64 | Hibbs). This is such a simple game that I'll probably BRIEF it or combine it with another review. I doubt I could get 1,000 words out of it. A single character fights a succession of battles in an arena.
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| Imagine this for a couple of hours. |
I await your thoughts. Please remember to keep the discussion spoiler-free.
Been a long time since I played Arena, but one piece of advice is that you probably do not want to play a pure fighter, you want to have at least a little protective magic. There's one difficulty wall I remember distinctly about halfway through the game and it's on the first room of the first floor of a dungeon that you really do not want to enter if you lack Spell Reflect or Spell Absorb.
ReplyDeleteI haven't visited RPG Codex in many years, I see the community is apparently as delightful as always. Wonder if No Mutants Allowed is still as bad as it used to be? Before the 4chan days, that was probably the biggest toxic waste dump on the internet.
Another Codexer here.... I agree with the above comment. Do not go pure fighter for Arena. The magic system makes the game entertaining and creating spells is a fun part of the game. I played a pure mage and created some spells that made the final dungeon both ridiculously easy and a rollicking good time.
ReplyDelete