First-person dungeon crawlers

[Edmond Dantes]

So here's an odd circumstance... I was watching a "true horror stories" vid on Youtube, and one of the stories involved two people exploring an abandoned school and going into the basement, where they encounter crazed homeless people.

Oddly, this awakened in me a desire to crawl some dungeons.

So, what are some favorite dungeon crawlers of yours? Particulrly of the first-person variety, like Eye of the Beholder or Wizardry (to name some more popular ones). In particular are there any you like but don't seem too well-known?

[celerystalker]

Well, these are console, as I didn't have a PC growing up, but...

Shining the Holy Ark (Saturn)
AD&D Slayer (3DO)
Super Black Onyx (Famicom)

[bb_hood]

Dragon Warrior

[Ze_ro]

Dungeon Master is always my go-to game in this category... but if that's too well-known, then I'm going to go ahead and recommend either of it's sequels: Dungeon Master II: Skullkeep, or Chaos Strikes Back.

Chaos Strikes Back was only ever released for the Atari ST for some strange reason, but here's a version that was disassembled and remade for modern operating systems. I was playing it on my Pandora earlier and it works great.

If you have an Amiga handy (or don't mind emulating), I'd also recommend Black Crypt. It's very much a Dungeon Master ripoff, but it's a very good one.

--Zero

[Edmond Dantes]

Dragon Warrior

1) not first person

2) arguably not a dungeon crawler

3) I'm actually already playing it

Actually, I did find a rather interesting dungeon crawl game for the NES.... Swords & Serpents. Its apparently by the same guys as The Bard's Tale but its an NES exclusive. Not sure how that happens.

Chaos Strikes Back was only ever released for the Atari ST for some strange reason, but here's a version that was disassembled and remade for modern operating systems. I was playing it on my Pandora earlier and it works great.

Wasn't CSB also on the Amiga? I could swear that it had an Amiga-only intro animation even...

I actually downloaded two remakes/ports--CBSwin (which emulates the original Atari ST versions of Dungeon Master and Chaos) and Return to Chaos... I keep forgetting I have them. Was actually really into Dungeon Master due to being like "Ah, so this is what inspired Eye of the Beholder!" I've got a journal of all the rune combinations I've found...

Got lucky and found DMII at Goodwill, PC version. Apparently the Sega CD edition has different music. There's also a Saturn-exclusive game in the series that is totally "I must have that" levels.

If you have an Amiga handy (or don't mind emulating), I'd also recommend Black Crypt. It's very much a Dungeon Master ripoff, but it's a very good one.

--Zero

Oh hell yes I could use more Amiga games (even though I do have to play them emulated)!

[sfchakan]

The aforementioned Shining games and the Shin Megami Tensei series.

[bb_hood]

1) not first person

2) arguably not a dungeon crawler

3) I'm actually already playing it

Sorry. I totally failed. Ive been playing Dragon Warrior II lately and Ive got DW on the brain.

[Daria]

Sorry. I totally failed. Ive been playing Dragon Warrior II lately and Ive got DW on the brain.

Makes you feel any better I was recently playing through DQ1 in Japanese.

[Scissors]

Actually, I did find a rather interesting dungeon crawl game for the NES.... Swords & Serpents. Its apparently by the same guys as The Bard's Tale but its an NES exclusive. Not sure how that happens.

Swords and Serpents isn't bad. I thought the combat was pretty unique at the time. It allows you to target different parts of your enemies (heat, body, and feet). It uses passwords that are pretty long that don't even save everything, so you may not want to turn the game off until you finish it (or just don't want to play anymore).

Although I haven't played them yet, I've heard good things about Orcs & Elves and The Dark Spire on DS.

[celerystalker]

If you like Swords and Serpents, check out Dungeon Magic on NES as well. It's from Natsume and Taito, and uses battery save.

[Ze_ro]

Wasn't CSB also on the Amiga? I could swear that it had an Amiga-only intro animation even...

Huh! You are correct, sir! In fact, I have it installed on my Amiga 3000 now that I think of it... I think it's the fact that there was never a *DOS* port that always got my goat, and I just got mixed up.

Apparently the Sega CD edition has different music. There's also a Saturn-exclusive game in the series that is totally "I must have that" levels.

I actually have the Saturn version, but I have yet to actually try it out for some reason... it has 3D enemies which look decent, but otherwise looks pretty faithful to the original.

I also have the TG-16 Dungeon Master: Theron's Quest... it's a rather odd duck. It looks just like the original DM, but the levels are done totally differently. Instead of one big dungeon, it's split into several dungeons and your stats are reset each time you finish one of them. No idea why they did that.

--Zero

[Edmond Dantes]

Yeah, I never thought of Enemy Zero as a dungeon crawler either... it seems like its more like D or possibly Myst but with first-person-shooter elements. It's definitely not an RPG in any sense.

re Dungeon Master -- Theron's Quest really does sound just weird, though I would play it if I could find an inexpensive copy, as I have a Duo that needs loving.

Right now I'm playing Dungeon Master via CSBwin, which is a fan-made port of DM and CSB which apparently the author made by reverse-engineering the executable/data/whatever from the original Atari ST version, so its probably the most "accurate to the original" experience you can get short of emulation. The MS-DOS port of Dungeon Master seems to basically never appear on ebay or I would play that instead, and this thing is my only option for CSB in any case.

Another fan-made conversion I've messed with is called Return to Chaos. That one apparently is not 100% true to the original but it still has some nice features, not the least of which is you can make custom dungeons for it (you can do that for CSBwin too using something called CSbuild, and I'm not sure which is better), but as my interest is in just playing the games I would rather have "as close to the original as I can get."

Wondering if I should try the SNES version or if it has any censorship like some other PC-to-SNES ports do.

Also, the magic system... am I the only person who, when they're confronted with a magic system where you cast spells by combining runes, tries every available combination to see if they do something?

[Emperor Megas]

AD&D Slayer (3DO)

I know I already mentioned it the other week, but I freaking LOVE that game.

[Niku-Sama]

Enemy Zero


I think that's the name of the one I am thinking of I remember it being on Saturn and PC atleast and it was sort of more Sci-Fi but still a 1st person crawler

[Daria]

I really enjoyed the new-ish Grimlock games on steam. And the Etrian Odyssey series. Also Wizardy: Tales of the Forsaken Land. I have a hard time with older dungeon crawlers so I appreciate the presentation of the modern titles plus Etrian's mapping system.


If you want a good challenge though check out Megami Tensei 2 (Famicom) and Shin Megami Tensei. Great dark setting. Brutal challenge.

[Wraith Storm]

I really enjoyed the new-ish Grimlock games on steam.

The Legend of Grimrock games are fantastic. I bought them both on GoG and have played through quite a bit of the first game. They did a fantastic job of taking the best elements of the genre and eliminating the worst when making the first game. I haven't booted up the sequel yet, but from what I understand it's a rare sequel that builds and expands upon the first title and is basically a better game in every way. The first Grimrock is so good I can't wait to try the second!

Grimrock 1 is hard as nails, but fair. It has excellent level design and clever puzzles. Its character leveling system is also very well thought out. Its been a very VERY long time since gaining a single level and putting a few skill points into a tree have weighed this heavily on me.

[Gamevet]

Enemy Zero


I think that's the name of the one I am thinking of I remember it being on Saturn and PC atleast and it was sort of more Sci-Fi but still a 1st person crawler

Yeah, that game will put you on the edge of your seat.

The game experience is like the tracker scene in Aliens, where the space marines see the images on the unit and the thumping increases as the enemies get closer and closer. The catch is, though, that you cannot see the enemies when they are in front of you. You have to know where they are by using the tracker, and the only way that they will become visible, is when your gunfire makes contact with them.

[celerystalker]

Yeah, that game will put you on the edge of your seat.

The game experience is like the tracker scene in Aliens, where the space marines see the images on the unit and the thumping increases as the enemies get closer and closer. The catch is, though, that you cannot see the enemies when they are in front of you. You have to know where they are by using the tracker, and the only way that they will become visible, is when your gunfire makes contact with them.

Enemy Zero is probably my favorite Saturn game. I never though about it as a dungeon crawler, but I can see that impression. So good, and like Gamevet said, it really is tremendous at keeping you on edge. Some people can't get past its slow pace, but I freaking love the game.