dungeons and dragons games

[AlexKidd]

I've never played any of these games and i've never played the pen and paper d&d games either. So how are they, and what games are they comparable to? I'm thinking about picking up either Warriors of the Eternal Sun for genesis or Order of the Griffin for Turbo. How are those ones? And any others you'd recommend?(8 and 16 bit only)

[Sothy]

Heroes of the Lance for NES is the best game ever.

[Mianrtcv]

As for the titles you listed I have not played them. I have played many dungeons and dragons type video games as well as pen and paper ORIGINAL d & d. Too many games in the d & d genre are basically hack and slash, which some are a hell of a lot of fun but don't really give you the full dungeons and dragons feel. I don't know public opinion but I have played Dungeon Magic on NES (completed multiple times) and that game was fun. It had you create spells and adventure in decent detail for 8 bit. The graphics are nothing to brag on but still worthy. Even the NES game Willow sort of fits the bill (more hack/slash though). That was a pretty fun game as well. Try Phantasy Star for genesis. There are some easy to google rpg sites that have some good insights as well.

[Lady Jaye]

I like the Neverwinter Nights series myself (available on PC and Mac). I just like how customizable your character can be. :)

[maxlords]

Best D&D games ever:

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (CPS2 arcade)
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystaria (CPS2 arcade)

[Satac]

The best D&D games are on the PC. Just try these:

-Planescape: Torment
-Baldurs Gate I + II
-Neverwinter Nights & Addons
-Icewind Dale

There are also some old DOS games (Ravenloft, Pools of Radiance etc.), but I don't know if you can run them with Windows XP.

[Mayhem]

Gold box games for the C64 :)

One emulator, one set of disk images and away you go heh...

[Daria]

Yeah for the PC the best are:

PlaneScape Torment
Baulder's Gate
Baulder's Gate 2
Icewind Dale
Neverwinter Nights

Although for console Warriors of the Eternal Sun IS a pretty neat game. If you're picking it up for cheap it's definately worth playing. Just keep in mind it does have first person dungeon crawling bits.

Wans't Bard's Tale orginally a D&D license? And if f it wasn't the new one's like the bestest game EVAR so you should play that too. :P

[fishsandwich]

Best D&D games ever:

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (CPS2 arcade)
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystaria (CPS2 arcade)

These are available in nearly arcade-perfect form for the Saturn. Very easy import. Shame about the loading times, though.

These are pretty simply hack and slash games, though... if you like complexity, they may not be your thing.

http://www.geocities.com/opcfg3/dndsscover.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/opcfg3/dndtod.png

http://www.geocities.com/opcfg3/dndsom.jpg

[Slimedog]

I used to be big into the pen and paper D&D so I make it a point to grab all the D&D titles I can for a system. I'm missing a few for the current generation, the two for intellivision and Order of the Griffon, so I can't comment on those.

Pool of Radiance (NES) is a good RPG in the traditional gold box format of the old PC titles.

Dragonstrike (NES) is a decent, if slightly slow action title.

Hilsfar (NES) is an ambitious and unique actionish/RPG that fails in execution.

Heroes of the Lance (NES) is absolute poo.

Warriors of the Eternal Sun (GEN) is a very solid RPG with a great story and beautiful graphics.

Eye of the Beholder (SNES/SegaCD/GBA) 1st person dungeon crawl that really is a lot of fun. Don't foget the graph paper. Sega CD version was the best, GBA version was horrible.

Slayer (3DO) is a really fun 1st person rouge-type RPG thats much more forgiving and enjoyable than others of this sort.

Deathkeep (3DO) 1st person RPG with nicer graphics than Slayer, but not quite as fun.

Iron and Blook (PS1) is a somewhat under rated fighting game. The characters are great, the campaign mode and artifacts are an excellent idea, but the actual fighting engine is pretty bad.

Balder's Gate (PS2/Xbox/GCN) Amazing diablo clone with graphics that stand up years later. Have not played the GBA version.

I think thats everything I've played. Hope this helps.

[Lady Jaye]

Actually, the Baldur's Gate you mentioned is called Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance. Contrary to the PC game, BG:DA is a hack n slash game (the GBA port is like that, but shorter and a bit simplified).

On the other hand, the PC Baldur's Gate is a lot closer to being a full-fledged RPG, although Bioware improved on some of the ideas in BG when they did Neverwinter Nights.

[Lothars]

PlaneScape Torment
Baulder's Gate
Baulder's Gate 2
Icewind Dale
Neverwinter Nights

I would agree with all of these

especially Neverwinter Nights and it's expansions

but also defintly play Baldurs gate 2 and it's expansion throne of baal I believe is what it's called

I've never played Planescape Torment but I've only heard great things about it,

for console im not as sure, sorry.

[bargora]

Eye of the Beholder (SNES/SegaCD/GBA) 1st person dungeon crawl that really is a lot of fun. Don't foget the graph paper. Sega CD version was the best, GBA version was horrible.
I was ogling the GBA version the other day, but didn't pick it up. What's bad about it?

[vulcanjedi]

Hmm

Most recently I have finished Eye of the Beholder on GBA. I was never able to do that on any of the original versions of the game I have for the PC or SNES. It's only about 15-18 hours of playing time to finish on average.

I spent days and days wandering around in the Intellivision version of Treasure of Tarmin when I bought it when it came out.

Cool

[mills]

Warriors of the eternal sun is one of my favorites, I remember there was a crazy secret in which you just walked into a normal looking tree and it went into a secret cave with tons of treasures, its so obscure most hint sites dont evne know about it.

[Daria]

Warriors of the eternal sun is one of my favorites, I remember there was a crazy secret in which you just walked into a normal looking tree and it went into a secret cave with tons of treasures, its so obscure most hint sites dont evne know about it.

Great now the next time I play the game I'm going to have to try and walk into every tree on the map. Luckily the world's not real large.

[Slimedog]

I was ogling the GBA version the other day, but didn't pick it up. What's bad about it?

There were a lot of problems in the design. Archery is useless, along with most of the feats. You hit the level cap long before you finish the game. Getting basic information out of the game is like pulling teeth. You never see the name or stats of any of the monsters you fight. It doesn't give you stats on any of the weapons or armor you find so I guess you should keep a D&D rulebook handy (not the useless instruction manual, its no help at all). Mainly the battles are very boring. I don't mind turn based battles, but these take forever. Both sides miss a lot, which just slows things down a lot and you are never in any danger. I beat the entire game without ever losing a character. And they killed what little plot was in the original. I beat the game and feel like a lesser man because of it.

[Daria]

I beat the entire game without ever losing a character.

I on the other hand continue to get my ass whooped on the first battle. Shelfed it after that.

[Slimedog]

I beat the entire game without ever losing a character.

I on the other hand continue to get my ass whooped on the first battle. Shelfed it after that.

I would submit that you are the wiser of us.

[vulcanjedi]

I beat the entire game without ever losing a character.

I on the other hand continue to get my ass whooped on the first battle. Shelfed it after that.

I would submit that you are the wiser of us.

Wow

Am I the only one that liked the game? :) I didn't lose any characters either.

VJ
p.s. Then again I was obsessed with my handheld 1982 computerized DnD game for months also :)

[Goodwill Hunter]

Pool of Radiance for the NES is one of the games that got me back into video gaming after abandoning my 2600 for AD&D back in the early 80's. It plays very closely to the original AD&D rules, using the same monsters, spells and character classes. It's also turn-based, not hack and slash. I still love that game, and pop in my copy from time to time to replay the final battle. Gonna be a sad day when the battery in that cart dies and all my familar characters vanish.

Warriors of the Eternal Sun is probably your best best for a similar 16 bit experience. And even though they're not strictly D&D, it hard to top the Shining Force series on the Genesis for turn-based, RPG fun. I envy you getting to play all of these for the first time...enjoy!

Rich

[SKVermin]

You're forgetting one :):

http://yosemite-sam.net/Boardgames/Dungeons-and-Dragons.jpg

I loved the Baldur's Gate games, but still think that the game which best captured D&D was Neverwinter Nights. Even if you just spend most of your time playing around with the Aurora Toolset that comes with it, you can get a lot of fun value for your $$.

[Trebuken]

I think you really need to be playing the AD&D games for the PC. All the new ones are very playable, with a variety of opinions on them. You can get lost in Neverwinter Nights for a long time (or wait for its sequel). Baldur's Gate rekindled AD&D from it's glorious gold box days. I honestly enjoy the gold box games the best, espeacially pools of radiance (someone already said Commodre 64!!!), but you should be able to play them on the PC with any C-64 emulator or play the PC versions with DOS Box. C-64 emulation might be best, I think you can find the games with the copy protection (wheel and manual thing) removed.

Whoever - I don't think Bard's Tale had any connection to AD&D, it was just grouped as a similar genre game. Everyone should play Bard's Tale as well though, if they can stand the dated graphics (not just the new one, it's good, but not in the same way).

Other games like Hillsfar, Heroes of the Lance, and the ones I'm forgetting may only appeal to diehard AD&D fans.

The Saturn AD&D games are Golden Axe clones, and they are awesome, and expensive. They are Action games rather than RPG's though.

Nothing beats Pen and Paper though...

Trebuken (off to visit the TOEE, Orcus is going down)

[maxlords]

No offense fishsandwich, but I may have to beat you within an inch of your life for saying that those are nearly arcade perfect. They're not even close. The load times DECIMATE those games. It's not that they're just bad, it's that they're so plentiful it's not even the same game. Plus, there's mad slowdown even with the 4MB RAM expansion for the Saturn. The graphics are ALMOST the same, but even those aren't as good. I own both the Saturn and CPS2 versions, and trust me...the CPS2 is FAR superior to the Saturn version. Never ever say that the Saturn one is nearly arcade perfect again. Ever. :texaschain: :rockets: :snipersmile: :devilish: :2gunfire: :whip:



Best D&D games ever:

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (CPS2 arcade)
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystaria (CPS2 arcade)

These are available in nearly arcade-perfect form for the Saturn. Very easy import. Shame about the loading times, though.

These are pretty simply hack and slash games, though... if you like complexity, they may not be your thing.

[Satac]

I've never played Planescape Torment but I've only heard great things about it,


Try it, the game is great. It is one of those few RPGs where you can get EP by talking to people and choosing the right options.
And the scenario is cool, too. In normal Fantasy-RPGs you always know the world. I saved the forgotten realms at least 10 times. Planescape is something new :)

[AlexKidd]

Based on your posts I think i'm going to going to go with pools of radiance for nes and warriors of the eternal sun. I know a lot of you mentioned the pc games and i'm sure they're good but I really prefer to play on a console.

Noone here has played Order of the Griffen? I'm interested in that one but can't seem to find a review or anything.

[calthaer]

The original Bard's Tale was not a DnD game, but it DID use a D20-type of system with lots of the same professions, races, etc. as the DnD games. The mechanics are very similar, which is why it often gets lumped in there with the Gold Box games.

Note that just about any DnD computer / video game is IMO radically different from the paper-and-pencil type of experience. There's just a world of difference between being able to do anything you can possibly imagine and narrate it and being limited to the few options they generally include in a computer-ized version.

The PC games are pretty cool. Note as well that many of them - if not all of them (except Torment) - allow you to import your guy from the previous game. I know you can take your Baldur's Gate guy into Baldur's Gate 2, and those guys can go into Icewind Dale (and probably into Icewind Dale 2), and those guys can go up into Neverwinter Nights.

[ianoid]

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and it's sequel are great Gauntlet-esque hack n' slash arcade renditions of the D&D world. Highly recommended if you like a more arcadey experience, as I do. Ball lighteningis the balls. BG: DA is available for $10 used for most consoles.

Eye of the Beholder - great first person perspective, and available in multiple formats, but any mouse friend format or computer format will be more playable than a console version.

I was into the gold box games, too. Hard to go back to them with the arcane menus. There is a PC discount disk set that has every gold box and then some on 2 CDs. I'd provide a pic but it's packed away. I still have trouble with most old progs because of PC speed issues.

Did anyone play the recent PC rehash (recent as in last 6 years) of Pool of Radiance? No one every mentions it.

I will have to jump on the Neverwinter bandwagon one of these days, as the reviews are rave. Mmmmm. Magic User.

[fishsandwich]

No offense fishsandwich, but I may have to beat you within an inch of your life for saying that those are nearly arcade perfect. They're not even close. The load times DECIMATE those games. It's not that they're just bad, it's that they're so plentiful it's not even the same game. Plus, there's mad slowdown even with the 4MB RAM expansion for the Saturn. The graphics are ALMOST the same, but even those aren't as good. I own both the Saturn and CPS2 versions, and trust me...the CPS2 is FAR superior to the Saturn version. Never ever say that the Saturn one is nearly arcade perfect again. Ever. :texaschain: :rockets: :snipersmile: :devilish: :2gunfire: :whip:



Best D&D games ever:

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (CPS2 arcade)
Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystaria (CPS2 arcade)

These are available in nearly arcade-perfect form for the Saturn. Very easy import. Shame about the loading times, though.

These are pretty simply hack and slash games, though... if you like complexity, they may not be your thing.


I shall bow to your expertise and experience. I played the arcade games at a Kmart years ago and I thought the graphics were spot-on, but you would know better if you own the arcade boards. I agree that the load times are atrocious. Please don't beat me.

:puppydogeyes:

[calthaer]

Did anyone play the recent PC rehash (recent as in last 6 years) of Pool of Radiance? No one every mentions it.

The reason nobody mentions it is because it was a bug-ridden piece of garbage. I have the game, but have to admit that I've never even bothered to install it - I got it on the cheap used. I'd never have bought it new. It got "poor" to "mediocre" ratings from just about every site out there.

It's also not part of the Bioware DnD canon.