tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post3284831038620552639..comments2024-03-29T02:34:55.592-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Game 153: The Return of Heracles (1983)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52056394955662816822022-05-29T05:41:54.954-04:002022-05-29T05:41:54.954-04:00Yes, I was also surprised by Chet writing it looks...Yes, I was also surprised by Chet writing it looks "pretty lame". While I agree the graphics aren't great in general, I also find that particular image not bad for a 1983 game - can't recall screenshots on this blog from other CRPGs of the era being much more impressive. I understand this blog looks at games from a current perspective, but this remark seemed to compare it to contemporaneous products.<br /><br />As an additional historical-etymological aspect, I assume the "gyms" at which you can increase (physical) attributes are the original Greek "gymnasions" from which the English short form originated <br />(see e.g. https://www.etymonline.com/word/gym).Buscanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35855315882990432362018-03-06T23:12:30.027-05:002018-03-06T23:12:30.027-05:00I also enjoyed Ali Baba, but that game lacked the ...I also enjoyed Ali Baba, but that game lacked the ability to speed up sound and movement, so it could be a slog as you waited for combat to resolve.<br /><br />One of the fun things I used to do with Heracles was recruit every Hero and all the extra characters, station one in each screen, and be the Police of Greece, slaying the random monsters as they spawned. We'd even go and kill the unkillable monsters like the Symplegades and Scylla and Charybdis. And the Sphinx. galacticjourneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02350935794214027433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35223677024332914542017-06-22T22:45:11.042-04:002017-06-22T22:45:11.042-04:00I put so many hours on this game when we had an At...I put so many hours on this game when we had an Atari 800XL. As dated as it is, I would love to find a version for PC or Mac. I suppose it's too much to hope someone ported it to work on modern computers?David Wanathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05772165652884803417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-83630484842877395552017-06-11T01:47:48.660-04:002017-06-11T01:47:48.660-04:00What you consider "far superior" is by t...What you consider "far superior" is by the standards of the early 1980s. By the standards of 2015, the differences you perceive wouldn't be enough to budge the score by even a point on my rating scale.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54387871263317255082017-06-07T16:22:28.098-04:002017-06-07T16:22:28.098-04:00It's a shame you played the Apple versions of ...It's a shame you played the Apple versions of this and Ali Baba, which is why you gave them such low marks on graphics and sound. The Atari 800 versions are far superior in graphics and sound. I found Heracles especially attractive and loved the music (which still plays in my head on occasion), but also adored Ali Baba's primitive look and sound. I've checked both games out on Apple and C64 emulators, and they pale in comparison. It's important to play the Age of Adventure re-release of Ali Baba, however. On the Atari 800, that version added in a game speed setting, which should be cranked to 5 (max), so that the game doesn't take forever moving monsters/NPCs and displaying messages. Return of Heracles already had separate monsters and messages speed settings.Jerri Kohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11032635160554411458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-55559230418997881362016-06-06T19:43:03.013-04:002016-06-06T19:43:03.013-04:00That was Me!
I am no longer the #1... someone bea...That was Me!<br /><br />I am no longer the #1... someone beat me by like 15 points doing a multiple hero strategy. Obsessive and awesome. My hat's off.<br /><br />P.S. I find it funny when someone reviews anything by its sound on the Apple II!Galactic Journeyhttp://galacticjourney.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-58908689874353486052015-06-09T17:20:52.300-04:002015-06-09T17:20:52.300-04:00Fallout 3 has quite a lot of this. The problem is ...Fallout 3 has quite a lot of this. The problem is that the radius in which it occurs around you is quite large, so there are a couple of area which you will arrive at and find a lot of the town already dead, or return to the same. <br />Big Town is the worst case of this. The town is totally open for plot reasons, and you can use skills to train them in how to stay safe. I chose small guns, which teaches them to fight. BAD idea. The script for that only gives them one gun each, so they quickly run out of ammunition. Same with using the explosives skill to set up mines; the mains run out and then bam, no more town. The only safe one is stealth, which teaches them to hide when dangerous people arrive, and then you can actually return. <br /><br />But yeah, playing the game on consoles is a joke, since you can't resurrect important NPCs when they die, or more commonly, rescue them from the staging room when they fall out of the world through a 1x1 px flaw in the map. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64867817511323313762015-05-12T08:19:31.636-04:002015-05-12T08:19:31.636-04:00The author of this guide claims to have a personal...The author of this guide claims to have a personal best of 9726, along with instructions on how to get it:<br /><br />http://www.gamefaqs.com/c64/567310-the-return-of-heracles/faqs/15138EriChanTheRetroGamerNerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10862547154849146963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-30460830242097785382015-05-12T08:03:38.811-04:002015-05-12T08:03:38.811-04:00In the 7th Saga (SNES), you choose from one of sev...In the 7th Saga (SNES), you choose from one of seven of the king's apprentices at the start of the game- and the others are all on the same quest as you. While none of them can fully "win" before you, it is possible to get to the end of a dungeon, find out that another apprentice has already gotten the macguffin, and have to defeat them to get it. There's also elements like being able to team up with another apprentice and, depending on your character's relationships (the priest and demon don't get along, naturally) having one of them pick a fight with you in a pub.<br /><br />Too bad that beneath a few brilliant ideas like this, it's a pretty mediocre JRPG...EriChanTheRetroGamerNerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10862547154849146963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-6021797936638990822015-03-30T17:04:44.709-04:002015-03-30T17:04:44.709-04:00For 1983, that is a staggeringly detailed picture ...For 1983, that is a staggeringly detailed picture of Zeus. It must have had quite an effect on gamers when it first popped up on the screen.<br /><br />I remember the Adventure Construction Set title screen being really impressive, too, when I first saw it. I wonder if the artist was the same?Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61658901658163360652014-07-31T08:42:27.284-04:002014-07-31T08:42:27.284-04:00I loved all of Ali Baba, Return of Heracles and Ri...I loved all of Ali Baba, Return of Heracles and Rivers of Light. They were great games to play multiplayer on the same computer. My friends and I had loads of fun with them as kids. I wish there were something similar today in a hotseat context. I did play through Ali Baba with my own kids, and we had a lot of fun. I once made a Doctor Who module for Adventure Construction Set, with the amusing result that the Doctor NPCs would be far more violent than in the TV show. How do we get Stuart Smith to make games again? Thanks as always for the great post, Addict.Scorpionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54342624762152321152014-07-15T00:17:37.094-04:002014-07-15T00:17:37.094-04:00Steven Peeler's (Soldak Entertainment) made a ...Steven Peeler's (Soldak Entertainment) made a career out of turning out variations on the Diablo formula that feature things happening independent of the player. Depths of Peril has you running a player hero guild ("covenant) against NPC covenants vying over the same quests. Din's Curse has a bunch of different factions of monsters that will fight each other (and gain experience from the kills) as well as monster plots that will create detrimental effects on the dungeon or spawn ravening hordes that attack the town, etc. (And the NPCs in town can steal from one another and starve to death for lack of funds.) Then there's Drox Operative, which is described as being a mercenary ship in the middle of someone else's space 4X game.malkav11https://www.blogger.com/profile/06785046340353526574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-33787471800198002862014-07-14T11:47:04.021-04:002014-07-14T11:47:04.021-04:00Yeah, I was amused by "Know Thyself" as ...Yeah, I was amused by "Know Thyself" as an option, too.Frynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-17515332134141659222014-07-14T07:44:17.462-04:002014-07-14T07:44:17.462-04:00Other old Japanese RPGs set against Greek mytholog...Other old Japanese RPGs set against Greek mythology (or at least with an ancient Rome flavor) include the Arcus series and Fantasian (1985). The latter in particular is a weird Anime-style Roman incarnation of Wizardry, with wireframe dungeons and all that.gboukenshahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12106689617071459570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36019237217624801372014-07-14T01:13:43.847-04:002014-07-14T01:13:43.847-04:00I don't think it's hard to set a game in a...I don't think it's hard to set a game in a greekish world, I'd say CRPGs are by default set in greekish worlds. <br /><br />D&D was more influenced by the Greek tradition than any other mythos. Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-75705542390607395282014-07-13T22:35:39.387-04:002014-07-13T22:35:39.387-04:00http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/know_someone_in_the_...http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/know_someone_in_the_biblical_senseKenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-8259289518835806902014-07-13T22:31:46.126-04:002014-07-13T22:31:46.126-04:00There's also God of War (with very light RPG e...There's also God of War (with very light RPG elements) and Rygar (also with very light RPG elements).Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-84723089775495584412014-07-13T10:47:00.559-04:002014-07-13T10:47:00.559-04:00Yeah, I was just thinking that this would make a g...Yeah, I was just thinking that this would make a great app game.Jonothanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06305455959377150878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-41128342596988331292014-07-13T10:43:38.464-04:002014-07-13T10:43:38.464-04:00There's a JRPG series called "Glory of He...There's a JRPG series called "Glory of Heracles" which are sadly just generic JRPGs with Greek names pasted onto things.Jonothanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06305455959377150878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34719649409877004772014-07-13T03:51:21.680-04:002014-07-13T03:51:21.680-04:00I think Dwarf Fortress' Adventure mode is the ...I think Dwarf Fortress' Adventure mode is the best example whee an RPG does it.Ragnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-47647280520932928822014-07-13T03:41:53.117-04:002014-07-13T03:41:53.117-04:00When you're a deer, what does the 'know th...When you're a deer, what does the 'know thyself' action do? It sounds racy.BruceLin42https://www.blogger.com/profile/18189830210921854962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-49201784881204541032014-07-12T20:26:50.074-04:002014-07-12T20:26:50.074-04:00Are there many games that do that, though? Offer a...Are there many games that do that, though? Offer a world that operates independently from the player? You see SOME of those elements in <i>The Elder Scrolls</i>, but I'm hard-pressed to think of others.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-47909687332846541032014-07-12T20:25:00.179-04:002014-07-12T20:25:00.179-04:00I've always liked this one: http://www.smbc-co...I've always liked this one: http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1308#comicCRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61590450311079802332014-07-12T20:23:52.230-04:002014-07-12T20:23:52.230-04:00There are a few outcomes like that. You just have ...There are a few outcomes like that. You just have to introduce a new hero.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-46750822129744982402014-07-12T20:20:59.337-04:002014-07-12T20:20:59.337-04:00Looks like it's time to mess with the "up...Looks like it's time to mess with the "upcoming" list a bit.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.com