Favorite Dungeon Crawlers?

[BHvrd]

Those games that trap you in their corridors, and only allow you limited space to move. When attacked there is nowhere to run. The great genre known as Dungeon Crawlers.

So what are some of the best, or your favorites? Right now I am enjoying AD&D Eye of the Beholder on Sega CD immensely.

[Ed Oscuro]

Never really got a chance to play EoB much, I've got the PC version somewheres.

I played a great deal of Phantasy Star Online (offline) until a few months ago; I think I've just about worn it out. Making time and space for other things.

At the moment I guess that means I'm looking for a new crawler :P

I suppose Castlevania: LoD (the second N64 title) would be similar to a crawler at times, but aside from some boss battles, enemies are very easily dealt with. They're annoyances and the real struggle is against the geometry...*sigh*

[Bighab]

I love Dungeon crawlers. I have all the console Wizardry games. D&D Warriors of the Eternal sun is another I'd recommend(part of it is a "top down" RPG) I have both the snes and SegaCD version of EoB. I found the control kind of frustrating. In one level(I forgot which one) you fought giant spiders. You had to back up and fire your ranged weopon before the spider could bite and poison you. How far are you in it?

[Melf]

I love EotB on Sega CD. The fact that you can set the control to mode B and move around with the D pad helps iimmensely.

[VACRMH]

It sounds boring as hell sometimes, but I love maping out some of those dungeons.

Except everything gets fucked up when you get teleported :angry:

Eye of the Beholder is one of my faves as well.

[Bighab]

I love EotB on Sega CD. The fact that you can set the control to mode B and move around with the D pad helps iimmensely.

You can do that! @_@ Where do you change the mode for the control sceme?

[Ze_ro]

Nethack. Definitely Nethack.

--Zero

[esquire]

Diablo, Diablo II and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.

[davidbrit2]

Nethack. Definitely Nethack.


Agreed. Zangband isn't too shabby, either.

[macabre26]

Well I'd have to say that I put the most amount of time into diablo 1 and 2, 1 getting about 900 hours and 2 getting 20,000 hours... then moving onto what I'd have to say to be my favourite of all time... Sangband. I haven't seen a game go to the degree that sangband took the angband/moria series. Oh, and The Unreal World, while not exactly a dungeon crawler, incorporates some of the same ideas, but with a reallly nice damage system and beautifully large world.

[RJ]

Champions of Norrath(!!!)

Diablo

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

[Sotenga]

Do the dungeon scenes of Phantasy Star count? Those were THE most impressive graphics back in the day, I swear. That was the SMS? Unbelievable...

[EnemyZero]

Stonekeep (PC)

Evolution (DC)

[pookninja]

yeah,i love dungeon crawlers.my favorites are,diablo 1+2 for pc.fatal labyrinth for the genesis,evolution worlds for gamecube.

[Daria]

o.O

Baulder's Gate?
Diablo?
Evolution?

We're not talking games where you go into dungeons. We're talking dugeon crawlers. First person RPGs.

Anyway my true favorite Dungeon crawler was Albion but I got seriously bad motion sickness while playing it, which got steadily worse as I got farther into the game. Eventually I just had to give up. :/

I also quite liked Shining in the Darkness (genesis) it was pretty, simplier then the Might and Magic series, and I just had fun playing it. Normally I can't stand dungeon crawlers.

And then there was Swords and Serpants which well probably wasn't all that good but I enjoyed it when I was a kid. The overhead map helped ALOT I can't stand games where all the corridors look the same and I get lost constantly.

Warriors of the Eternal Darkness... Wasn't completly first person -like Albion- but all the dungeons were. Just had fun playing it.
________
EXPERT INSURANCE (http://xpertinsurance.com/)

[Bighab]

What system was Albion on? I have never heard of it.

[Daria]

What system was Albion on? I have never heard of it.

It's an old PC game. The underdogs might have it but I think it was one of their protected games.
________
SJ (http://www.dodge-wiki.com/wiki/Jeep_SJ)

[calthaer]

Easy. Mine are:

Bard's Tale
Bard's Tale II: Destiny Knight
Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate

[ianoid]

How about Ultima Underwear? I mean Underworld.

I've been meaning to kill some monsters and time with that...

ian

[Cantaloup]

I have to say Dungeon Master (http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?gameid=1658) and its sequel, Chaos Strikes Back. These were extremely impressive, both in terms of sound/graphics and gameplay, at the time they were released. There is also a Java remake (http://www.cs.pitt.edu/~alandale/dmjava/index.html) available.

[Nature Boy]

I've rediscovered my 8bit lately and as such I've rediscovered my 'first' favourite dungeon crawler series, Warriors of Ras.

Of the modern era I would definitely choose Diablo as my favourite. I can still go back and slash my way through another game or six...

[Ze_ro]

I have to say Dungeon Master (http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?gameid=1658) and its sequel

Excellent choice... both are amazing games. If you liked those two, you might also want to try out a game called "Black Crypt" on the Amiga (and possibly Atari ST). It's probably the best Dungeon Master ripoff I've ever played.

--Zero

[Cantaloup]

Excellent choice... both are amazing games. If you liked those two, you might also want to try out a game called "Black Crypt" on the Amiga (and possibly Atari ST). It's probably the best Dungeon Master ripoff I've ever played.

I haven't seen Black Crypt, but I remember a couple other games that were Dungeon Master-like: Bloodwych and Captive. If I ever get a chance, I will check it out.

[Xantan the Foul]

Favorites:

Wizardry: Tales of the Forsaken Land (any of the Wizardy games, actually)
Azure Dreams
Dungeon Hack
Moraff's World
Dragon Warrior Monsters
Nightmare of Druaga

Honorable Mentions:

Torneko: The Last Hope
Lufia: The Legend Returns (only listed because it has random dungeons)

[jdc]

My favorites have to be Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance and any of the Gauntlet games, whether on NES, N64 or current systems. There's something simple, fun and pure about the Gauntlet games.

"Red Warrior has gained a level"

I love the insanely high replay value that crawlers give you for your money.

[digitalpress]

I don't think of games like Baldur's Gate or Gauntlet when I think of "dungeon crawl". By "crawl", I always think of the games where you trudge step by step, with each step offering a possibility of a random encounter. Items are acquired within the dungeon and your levels (if this is available) go up as well. There's usually the need to map the games, too.

I think of games like Bard's Tale, Ultima, Wizardry, AD&D gold box games and the like. Naturally, everyone has their own interpretation of this genre.

With that preface, I'm putting Bard's Tale down as my official favorite dungeon crawl game (series). I also loved the TSR gold box games. Someone mentioned Fatal Labyrinth for the Genesis, I like that game too for a quick fix.

[digdug]

Ah, my favorite genre.

Bard's Tale I, II, III
Eye Of The Beholer I, II,III
Dungeon Master I, II
Questron, I, II
Wasteland
Times Of Lore
Pools Of Radiance
Curse Of the Azure Bonds


SOOO Many more I have beaten that I can't think of them now.

[RangerG]

Don't forget Dungeons of Daggorath :) !

[Iron Draggon]

I really wish that Black Crypt had been released for the Genesis like it was supposed to. I dunno why it was cancelled, but I was really looking forward to it, and just waiting for it to be released so I could buy it. I think it did come out in Japan, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know the story on it?

I'd say that the best dungeon crawlers are probably the Dungeon Master series. I think Dungeon Master invented the genre, but I'm not sure. I know that the method of control in DM games was patented though, so no other game could use it. Which is just as well too, because they used the most indirect method of control possible. That's the only thing that I don't like about them. I keep wanting to control them normally, but it's impossible. Anyhow, I have Dungeon Master on SNES and Dungeon Master 2 on Sega CD. I'm not sure which one I like better though. They're both awesome.

Next I'd say the Might & Magic series. I have M&M 2 on Genesis and M&M 3 on SNES. Both are great games, and I can't decide which one of them I like better either. I wish that M&M 3 had been released on Genesis like it was supposed to also though. I almost missed it on the SNES, just waiting for the Genesis version to come out. I'm glad I finally gave up on a Genesis version and went ahead and got the SNES version though. It's hard to find now.

Then I'd say the Wizardry series. I have Wizardry 5 for the SNES. I always wanted to get a NES so I could play Wizardry 1-4 too. They always looked so cool to me. I don't think the SNES version is really all that great though, so I'd probably enjoy it even less on the NES. But it's still a really cool series.

Moving ahead into the 32BIT generation, I'd have to say Slayer & Deathkeep for the 3DO for sure. But you really can't go wrong with the AD&D license, and I'd put Eye of the Beholder on Sega CD right up there with these two. So really any AD&D game, and any D&D game too. The dungeon crawling in Warriors of the Eternal Sun for the Genesis was totally awesome, but then that whole game was totally awesome. I still can't believe the scope of it.

It's a shame that dungeon crawlers now are really nothing more than just a standard FPS with a fantasy theme. None of the new ones really have the same feel as any of the classics do, and I don't really care for them. It all falls flat on me somehow. So IMHO, the classics are the only ones worth playing.

[jslithy]

I like any Roguelike game, especially Nethack and Slash'em. Another good one is Dungeon Hack, a Roguelike game using the Eye of Beholder engine.

[Flack]

Sometimes I think Joe sneaks into my window at night, pokes around in my head, and sneaks back to the board to post my thoughts.

My favorites are also Bard's Tale, Ultima, Wizardry, and the AD&D gold box games. My favorite of those would be Wizardry, simply because it's the one I played the first/most/longest.

[NESVIDIOT]

Dungeon crawlers...hmmm
Definately- Swords and Serpents-NES
The Bard's Tale
Wizardry
Ultima
and there was a couple more that I used to play on the old apple 128 but I can't remember the names right now...

[Daria]

There's only two I really like. Wizardry for the PS2 and Shining in the Darkness for the genesis. I think the fact that both games focus on NPCs helps a lot. It breaks up the otherwise mindless monotony of dundeon dwelving and random battles. The graphics of both are also good enough that the dungeons themsevles don't get repetative and boring.

[MarkM2112]

I personally have a soft spot for "Shining in the Darkness". While it IS a very good, but simple game, the music really set the tone for this game (even though it got a bit repetetive in the dungeon...). I can still hear the dungeon music going in my head...

[ghostangelofcky]

I only own 2,
AD&D Slayer (3DO)
Might & Magic (GEN)

Slayer was a shit load 'o' fun, that Might & Magic game though, -_-

[retroman]

i have fond memories of Dungen Explorer on the TG16...

[digdug]

I Loved Dungeon Explorer

Also Neutopia

Slayer
Deathkeep
StoneKeep
Might & Magic (Except for 8)


I know alot of companies are trying new things just wish they would try to reiinvent this genre, with great storyline, with a MMORPG settings (never ending)

Dig Dug