Dungeon Master II: The Legend of Skullkeep (1994)
Genres:Role-playing (RPG), Puzzle
Themes:Action, Fantasy
Game modes:Single player
Story:Dungeon Master established several new standards for role playing and computer games in general. Dungeon Master was a realtime game instead of the traditional turn-based approach that was prevalent until then. Instead of using text-based commands to interact with the environment, players directly manipulated objects and the environment by clicking the mouse in the enlarged first-person view. Abstract Dungeons and Dragons style experience points and levels were eschewed in favor of a system where the characters' skills were improved directly via using them.
It also introduced some novel control methods including the spell casting system, which involved learning sequences of runes which represented the form and function of a spell's effect. For example, a fireball spell was created by mixing the fire symbol with the wing symbol. This kind of attention to detail and focus on the user interface was typical of the game and helped create an often captivating sense of craft and ingenuity. Other factors in immersiveness were the then-revolutionary use of sound effects to indicate when a creature was nearby, and (primitive) dynamic lighting.Show more
Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.2 101
For a fan of the original Dungeon Master this is a win by taking everything from the original and taking it a step further in the presentation side. Unfortunately, the game arrived a little too late for a sequel to have an impact with so many similar games competing for player's time. I still have a boxed copy on my shelf and think a digital version may bring in some new fans to the series.
Not sure why there are two versions of this on here.
Man, I loved this game. The friend I played it alongside and I nicknamed all the monsters since we didn't know what they were called, "mud puppies", "MINE!s", and of course Sandaldude the merchant. He was the coolest thing ever, being able to haggle with him, watching the character think about the offer, the fact that he'd give you the small change possible if you traded your money box. We loved the Sandaldude Stomp, the "dance" he did when you tricked him into buying tons of items, and he's animated to take stuff off the table and stash it in his inventory. THUMP THUMP thump THUMP thump thump THUMP. Finally an organized money box spun over to us.
The strategy guide was great too; a narrative about the last party that almost won. With the beautiful joke that they made it to the end boss, suffered a near-total party wipe, and the cowardly wizard grabbed the bodies and fled. He was absolutely going to resurrect them but he deserved a night at the tavern before they stormed off to get revenge and save the world. And he got so drunk he forgot where he buried his teammates.
Just a fantastic game.
god damn, i love this rainy weather, my golden trident, traders of the round table, walking in the sky, eating dragon steaks well done by a lightning storm, mixing my potions in the dark with broken legs, cheating a pack of wolves with a bone, crawling in the caves under the castle, there is something nameless and i can feel its presence. this is the best good old game of all time, and its absolutely shameful that you dont have it on the store called Good Old Games. maybe its too good for you, and we have to wait for a store named Absolutely Gorgeous Old Games. anyway, lets find it elsewhere and play, im trapped again :D
This was hands down one of the best RPG's on the market at the time of release. The story was fun the characters we intriguing and added a lot to the replay value. I spent countless hours making potions to level up while listening to music way to loud! This is a game that should be brought back so that everyone into retro games gets the chance to enjoy it.
Drakensang: The Dark EyeDrakensang is a third-person party-based RPG based on the pen & paper role-play rules of The Dark Eye. Drakensang is the first PC game for over 10 years to be based on Germany's most successful and popular role-play system.
Drakensang builds on the pen & paper rules as applied in version 4.0. The developers have optimized the rulebook specially for the PC realization in order to make the game more accessible. But the essential qualities and the depth of the original rules have not been compromised.Open world Fantasy Historical Sandbox
Dungeons of DredmorThe roguelike games are back! enter in this amazing adventure as an giant eyebrow boy or girl, your quest is defeat the lord dredmor and save the kingdom from the forces of dark! Each level is a floor randomly generate made of interconnected rooms, filled with monsters, traps, loot, and various objects. The game is based in turns and have a huge skill tree! u can combine 7 diferent skills to make your own combos and strategies, the resistance and damage sistems are really great.
The quest sistem is a bit different than the other games, u can pray to (aproximate) 3 shiny statues per floor and theey will give u missions (like defeating a boss of the same level of the floor or searching for secret items) and when u finish a quest you will get an artifact (special item).Action Fantasy Comedy
Shining Force IIAs a student of Astral the wizard, you and your friends study all the usual subjects: reading, writing, and sword fighting. As your time at school draws to an end, dark events are taking place on the island of Grans. The two Jewels which seal the Door to Darkness have been stolen, allowing a creature of awesome power to be unleashed. Finding where the Jewels were taken, and why, is a task only the bravest of adventurers can undertake.Fantasy
Death GateDeath Gate is a classic adventure game from the much revered Legend Entertainment. The studio is known for developing games that include exceptionally well crafted puzzles and a wacky sense of humor which frequently breaks the fourth wall and plays to a wide assortment of offbeat puns. Moreover, the company has emerged with a winning streak of fantasy and sci-fi games based on popular literature adaptations. The most famous of these are Frederick Pohl's Gateway and Terry Brooks' Shannara.
In 1994, Legend Entertainment has chosen to adapt not 1 book but the whole series of 7 books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman known as The Death Gate Cycle. The original release of the game even includes a special gift for fans of the book series, namely an exclusive short story written by the same authors that tells some of the history of the mysterious Assassin's Guild from the series.
In Death Gate, the player is cast in the role of a freshly freed Patryn—a young, brave wizard named Haplo. By his deeds in the Labyrinth, he has gained Xar's trust to be sent as a scout to the other 4 realms. The way between them leads through a mystical portal known as the Death Gate. For his journey, Haplo is handed not a single but several quests to complete. He must first explore the realms, learn about the new lands, and find the pieces of the World Seal that will allow the reformation of the world to its original whole. He must also retrieve as much of forgotten magical lore as he can, and find runes that will allow him to enter all the other realms. Finally, and most importantly, he must find out what has happened to the Sartan who seem to have vanished somewhere long ago, so that Xar will be able to bring them to the proper Patryn justice.
The game, by taking inspiration from the first 4 books, creates a certain unique experience for the player that stands out among other fantasy adventures. There is an unusually layered structure based on the initial premise of the 5 separate realms, since the consequences of the sundering run much deeper than mere differences in landscapes. From realm to realm life conditions vary enormously, including geography, history, fauna, flora and astronomical bodies. For each realm, the population is divided into very specific societies, although many attributes of each race remain common. Several royal families, powerful guilds, and wealthy, independent merchants all have their own specific goals and ambitions that are not at all connected to the grand schemes of the Patryn and the Sartan, which they mostly are unaware of at this time after centuries of their absence. The distinctiveness of each culture's circumstances and the individual diversity of the larger and smaller schemers within the cast of characters give a special magic and wonder to the proceedings in the game, especially when the player visits a new realm for the first time and starts exploring it. The worlds possess a mysterious, intriguing flavor, but with a touch of whimsical surprises from nearly everywhere. Each encounter with Xar between travels reveals more information concerning the whole mechanics that connect these realms.
Death Gate contains some exceptionally good voice acting. This is especially true for Henry Strozier who plays the role of Xar. He carries a low, charismatic, and authoritative voice that perfectly befits a character with a brave heart, long experience, deep wisdom, but a good share of arrogance. He shines for good measure too, since the player will spend more time conversing with his character than any other in the game. Haplo, who is only heard in conversations, voiced by David DeBoy, does not have a plain, uninteresting voice either. He sounds slightly arrogant and lordly like his master, but also rather youthful, yet manly enough to give an air of independency.
The MIDI music in Death Gate is very well done. The compositions are perfect for an epic fantasy setting. The tunes are often light and comforting, but they can change dramatically to a more majestic tone when visiting the king's palace and to a darker motif when exploring the undergrounds of Abarrach, the vicious Labyrinth, or the deadly Assassin's Guild.
Aside from Haplo and Xar, several other characters from the books also make an appearance in the game. Many of them, however, have been greatly simplified and reduced to only episodic roles with little development. Many major characters from the books are missing altogether, most notably Alfred, whose role is crucial in bringing out Haplo's characterization in the literary originals. On the other hand, some of the memorable archetypes from the books are used in new, interesting ways. For example, a boy named Bane has been recast into a different child with a different life and social standing, though both share a very similar personality. The character that stays most true to the canon is the whimsical, crazy wizard Zifnab, who appears in all his pun infested glory. In general, the plotlines are less violent and happier than those in the books, and the characters show less moral ambiguity.
Death Gate plays like a traditional point-and-click adventure game, but like a role-playing game it is as much about being free to explore the fictional world as about following a foreordained storyline thread. There is quite a bit of narrative text, diaries, historical documents, and dialogs to sieve through. They are all well written and are rather fascinating, since everything is directly connected to the quests the player needs to complete or the puzzles the player needs to solve. There is a fine dose of humor in the game too, but nothing so unsubtle that may distract from taking the main conflicts of the story seriously. From this stance, Death Gate is actually quite a departure from the largely comical gallery of previous game titles from Legend Entertainment.
The puzzles in Death Gate are a bit on the easy side, but the enjoyment they give is very well balanced by their ingenuity. The wealth of subplots, quests, plot twists, and deceptions add a lot of tension to the player's own proceedings. There is a certain logic and buttons based puzzle that is rather hard to beat. However, the player can ask for help from the game to solve it (or even skip over it). In general, the difficulty level of the game lies somewhere between easy and medium. The player can die in the game, but there is an option available to undo the player's last fatal action.
Comparison with the books quickly reveals some of the obvious budgetary or time constraints the developer must have faced during Death Gate's development. Pryan, the realm of fire, is build of elements taken not only of this realm in its original form but also of Chelestra, the realm of water. Consequently, the latter realm has shrunken to a very limited scope in the game. The smallness of Chelestra comes in the game as a particular disappointing revelation, since it is the last of the elemental realms that the player visits.
The interface used in Death Gate has evolved from the original Legend Entertainment's interactive fiction interface. There is an always available standard list of commands (such as Take, Look at, or Use) for the player to choose from, reminiscent of Lucasarts' SCUMM interface. In addition, extra action commands specific to an object appear when it is clicked. For example, when clicking on a door, apart from the standard list of verbs, there are added options to unlock, knock, or eavesdrop on the door. There are many actions which are not necessary to complete the game but which trigger funny responses specific to the situation. Altogether, the interface is a clever compromise between the sense of freedom achieved through a text parser and the simplicity of contemporary point-and-click style.
Gameplay in Death Gate draws on a few gimmicks that are typical of role-playing games. For some parts of the game, the player is able to have a party of several characters. There is also a process of collecting magical spells, even though they have been tweaked for solving puzzles instead of combat. A spell is constructed by connecting runes in a combination. After that, it is traced in the air by Haplo with his hands to bring the spell into motion. The player will be able to learn many spells in the game, mostly from the mensch. This is an important diversion from the canon, as the mensch from the books possess a different kind of magic altogether.
The high resolution graphics of the game will remind fans strongly of fantasy literature illustrated covers. The characters are beautifully detailed in high resolution, but rarely fully animated. However, their faces are always incredibly alive, especially in conversational close-ups. When exploring the game world, the player will notice many intricate but small animations in otherwise generally static sceneries. Major events occurring in the game are partially described in narrative text and partially presented as cut scenes. Sadly, the number of background illustrations in the game is a bit limited. All locations are shown from only a single point of view. Sometimes, the player is drawn to something interesting drawn at the edge of an illustration but is unable to look closely to find out more about it.Fantasy
Shining BladeThis is a Japan-only game in the Shining franchise.
The game's battle system is called "Concerto", and is a strategic real time battle system similar to the ones found in Sakura Wars and Valkyria Chronicles. The player make use of swords, bows and magic in a battle system that places importance on character cooperation—hence the name "Concerto".
The player forms a party of up to five for battle. The game will have damage based on character position, and items collected upon defeating enemies.
The songstresses are special members of the player's battle party. By performing their magic song, they can achieve various effects on battle—blocking enemies from moving, increasing characters' move count, making hasten the party's pace. Some songs can even be used for attack. Using the songs requires Mana Energy.
The game also has inter-character relationships. Depending on the player's selections during event scenes, movements and usage of group skills during battle, the characters' relationships will change.Fantasy
Shining Resonance RefrainA remastered version of the game Shining Resonance released in 2014 on the PlayStation 3.
It will include:
- All the DLC, more than 150 pieces,
- Refrain mode, a 'what if' story for the characters Excela Noa Aura and Jenius Aeon
- A higher resolution and runs at 60fps
- Rebalanced gameplay and UI in some places
- New Costumes
- A new theme songFantasy
Shining WisdomOnce, long ago, a fearsome giant known as the "Dark Titan" rose from the abyss and nearly destroyed all Palacia before being bound by magic. Now, the Black Elf Pazort is scheming to rule the world by returning the Dark Titan from the depths of the abyss! But, there is hope. Mars, the son of the legendary warrior Jiles, begins his service in the King's guard at castle Odegan this very day. Guide him through the terrifying traps and devious dungeons as you struggle to seal the Four Elementals that can power Pazort's scheme! Your journey will not be easy. The Lily Pads of Sudden Discomfort lie near every watery path. Rainbow Stinger Scorpions block critical junctions. And, Pazort himself waits in the dank depths of the Catacomb Marsh, guarding the rising Titan. To succeed, you must wield special weapons, items, and power orbs with skill never before witnessed in the land. And succeed you must, for failure will result in the end of all mankind, and the loss of that important victory smooch from the princess.Action
Shining Force Cross ExlesiaAn arcade game in the Shining Force series.Action Fantasy
Shining HeartsThis is a Japan-only game in the Shining franchise.
This portable title utilize classic turn-based rpg combat with beautiful hand-drawn character art both in battle and in the world.
The game was adapted into an anime miniseries called Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan.Fantasy
Shining Force Gaiden: Ensei - Jashin no Kuni heShining Force Gaiden is a turn-based tactical RPG. Battles take place in square grids, and each unit occupies 1 square. Units can belong to one of two sides: allies (controlled by the player) or enemies (controlled by the computer AI). Each unit can move up to a fixed amount of squares along the battlefield, determined by its Move statistic. Depending on its location relative to enemies and to allies, a unit also has the option to attack, cast a spell, use an item, search (if adjacent to a treasure chest), or stay and do nothing, all of which end the unit's turn.
Some commands, such as equipping or dropping items, don't count as actions, and the character's turn is able to continue. The order of the turns is determined by the unit's agility score and a random seed. Units can use offensive actions, such as physical attacks or offensive magic, only on units belonging to the other side and can use supportive actions, such as healing magic, stat-enhancing magic, and items, only on units belonging to the same side.
This game (together with Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya) was later given a remake named Shining Force CD, released on the Sega CD. This remake also saw a western release to both North America and Europe and the full english title was "Shining Force Gaiden: Towards the Root of Evil".
In 2013 the Game Gear original game got ported to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console (Japan only).Fantasy