Seeking adventures from the archives of the past, one story at a time. I love taking a look at the history of RPGs, the tales they spin, and in shining a light on these from time to time in my threads. Let's explore together!
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Dark Seal (1990) | hack 'n slash with light RPG elements | arcade | Data East Laying out the lore with its attract mode, this isometric adventure also served up bios and blood types for heroes "summoned by the Force Divine" that players can choose from to save the Kingdom of Etrulia!
King's Field (1994) is an action RPG by FromSoftware for the Sony PlayStation in Japan. An ancient sanctuary has become infested with evil, and the King has tasked your father to cleanse it. Now it is up to you to take up your sword when your father goes missing within... (a launch dungeon thread)
A 1994 ad for Robotrek, a turn-based RPG for the SNES by Quintet In Robotrek, players get a chance to build bots and use them in battle while navigating a lighthearted, humorous story against pirates calling themselves "Hackers". In Japan, it was known as "Slapstick"!
A teaser page for FASA's launch of Earthdawn in 1993, a fantasy TTRPG that imagines a world scourged by unearthly creatures referred to as "Horrors". Now that they have "left" as magic wanes, it is up to those emerging from centuries of life within "kaers" to rediscover what was lost!
Ushio & Tora: Great Demon of the Abyss (1993) was a turn-based RPG for the Nintendo Famicom by Pixel and Tom Create. Taking place in contemporary Japan, you play a temple keeper's son, Ushio, who find themselves followed by a demon named Tora after having freed him! (a demon's soul thread)
A two-page campaign ad from 1991 for TSR's post-apocalyptic Dark Sun RPG setting In the ruined world of Dark Sun, the reckless use of magic has laid waste to all, turning its once lush forests and oceans into desert where cities ruled by cruel, and immortal, sorcerer-kings are all that is left.
With its unique combat system (and save anywhere system), this adaptation sought to offer more than just the usual for Ushio & Tora fans thanks to the solid efforts of fan translators opening these titles up for a wider audience. Just keep that spear close by...
Though it closely hews towards a traditional Famicom RPG, it has a unique combat system. With no easily available (purchasable) items, you can set your attacks to not just do damage, but refill some HP or MP (magic points) during battle turning each encounter into more than just another fight.
An unofficial English patch by BlackPaladin actually came out in 2022 for the Japan-only game, opening it up to a new generation of fans. It follows the early stories of the manga, revealing Ushio's lineage and his reluctant partnership with Tora, the demon he freed.
The game was based on the popular manga by Kazuhiro Fujita that ran during the 90s covering the adventures between the temple keeper's son who, to fight demons emerging in the area, frees a demon imprisoned for five centuries. Though the two are initially at odds, a partnership evolves over time.
Ushio & Tora: Great Demon of the Abyss (1993) was a turn-based RPG for the Nintendo Famicom by Pixel and Tom Create. Taking place in contemporary Japan, you play a temple keeper's son, Ushio, who find themselves followed by a demon named Tora after having freed him! (a demon's soul thread)
Magic Sword (1990) | hack 'n slash | arcade | Capcom Capcom's arcade adventure was an action packed blender of sword upgrades and hungry bosses wrapped inside a multi-floor tower filled with bizarre biomes, traps, and moai heads. Players could even make new friends with allies freed along the way!
Debuting in 1985 on the Famicom as an action platformer, Jaleco's JaJaMaru series took a top-down RPG take with JajaMaru Gekimaden: Maboroshi no Kinmajou, shown in this early 1990 two-page ad from Japan. As his village's best ninja, JajaMaru quests Zelda-style to stop the Great Demon!
A two page ad from early 2000 for Icewind Dale, an RPG for PCs by Black Isle Studios Shifting from the cozy intrigues of Baldur's Gate, this standalone adventure pit players against a new, shadowy evil encroaching in the distant, and chilly, far north of TSR's Forgotten Realms campaign world!
Wild Arms 2 (1999) is an RPG for the Sony PlayStation by Media.Vision. A trio of would-be heroes find themselves unexpectedly united in a fight against a worldwide terrorist organization called "Odessa" while an ancient, apocalyptic legacy reawakens to herald the end. (a new horizons thread)
A 1999 ad from Japan for Wild Arms: 2nd Ignition, an RPG for the Sony PlayStation by Media.Vision Wild Arms brought sunsets, jeans, and an imaginative "wild west" touch to a post-apocalyptic world where guns and magic fought together. And on September 2nd, the sequel aimed to surpass expectations!
Wild Arms 2 (1999) | RPG | Sony PlayStation | Media.Vision Renowned anime studio, Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor), aided Media.Vision's efforts in celebrating the next chapter of Wild Arms' saga with a gorgeous intro giving players a brief taste of the world and its characters!
The King of Dragons (1991) | beat 'em up with lite RPG elements | arcade | Capcom The attract feature for this arcade classic not only set up the lore but also laid out the bios for the characters you could pick to play as like the Fighter who left spells to "the guys in the bathrobes."
MegaTraveller 2: Quest for the Ancients (1991) | RPG | PC platforms | Paragon Software A mysterious, 300,000 year old ruin awakens and runs amok threatening to drown a world in toxic slime. But for a half-billion credit reward, your crew will explore the stars facing the unknown to try and save it!
A two-page ad from late 2004 for Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, an RPG for the Sony PlayStation 2 This interstellar adventure made its way out from Japan where it debuted in 2003 as the third title in tri-Ace's Star Ocean series, blending fantasy and sci-fi as Fayt quests to find his family!
A 1994 ad for Shadowrun on the Sega Genesis by BlueSky Software, an adaptation of FASA's Shadowrun tabletop RPG where magic and cyberpunk collide in a dystopian 2050s Larry Elmore's cover for Shadowrun's 2nd edition was also used on the cartridge case for "the ultimate psycho-cyberpunk fantasy!"
Dark Seal II (1992) | beat 'em up with light RPG elements | arcade | Data East Localized in English as Wizard Fire, this isometric dungeon crawler raised the ante on how much background lore arcade adventurers could absorb along with its returning character bios (sans blood types this time)!
Farland Story (1993) is a tactical RPG by TGL that was released for the PC-98 in Japan. Mysterious forces have kidnapped the priestess, Ferio! Now Arc, a heroic knight, and his allies in pursuit must battle against the minions of the wicked Black Knight to rescue her! (a turn-based tactics thread)
Magic Castle (1998) | roguelike RPG | Sony PlayStation | TEAM KAIGA This roguelike indie RPG challenged players to explore a randomly generated castle to defeat a warlock! In this run, I managed to push to the 15th floor until an armored foe demonstrates their juggling act on my poor wizard. Ouch.
Toki O: King Colossus (1992) is an action fantasy RPG by Sega that was only released in Japan for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Raised by an old wise man, you head into adventures across the land taking you to distant kingdoms quaking beneath the shadow of a wicked god. (a Colosseum of Battle thread)
Colossus had its own share of annoyances depending on who you asked. Do you hate platforming puzzles? This probably won't make you a fan. It was also very linear. But when what worked came together, it still manages to deliver exciting, 16-bit flavored slices of dungeon smashing adventure!
King Colossus' world was explored by picking destinations on a map. Levels are gained by bashing beasties and with no convenient stores, powerful gear and life saving items are found hidden in the game's many dungeon areas. Fortunately, you can save nearly anywhere at any time.
An unofficial translation by M.I.J.E.T. was released in 2006 along with an extensive readme detailing the issues they had worked through in opening up this fun Mega Drive only adventure filled with bosses, a menagerie of monsters, and an arsenal of dangerously sharp weapons!
The Japanese ad for this action RPG noted the participation of manga artist, Makoto Ogino, who supervised its story and character designs. With no memory of your past except for a strange symbol on your hand, players will hack 'n slash their way to meet their unknown destiny.
Toki O: King Colossus (1992) is an action fantasy RPG by Sega that was only released in Japan for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Raised by an old wise man, you head into adventures across the land taking you to distant kingdoms quaking beneath the shadow of a wicked god. (a Colosseum of Battle thread)
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes (1989) | RPG | Various platforms | Nihon Falcom The sixth title in Falcom's Dragon Slayer series was localized into English and brought to the TG-16 CD in 1992 whose intro made the most out of the medium featuring anime stylings and an amazing opening score.
A 1989 teaser ad from Japan for the PC Engine CD version of Ys I & II by Hudson Soft Falcom's Ys I & II were compiled into a vast, remade adventure by Hudson with enhanced music, graphics, and became one of the earliest games on CD-ROM. It later came to North America by way of the TG-16 CD in 1990!
Quarterstaff (1987) by Simulated Environment Systems was a Macintosh exclusive CRPG. It was a menu and keyboard driven quest to discover the fate of a druid colony as our party recruited (or slaughtered) NPCs with a smile, solved wicked puzzles, and tried not to starve to death. (a gooey thread)
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (2004) | RPG | PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox | Electronic Arts YOU SHALL NOT...fight alone??? Third Age had a few "what-ifs" like helping Gandalf fight the fearsome Balrog. It was also where players got a chance to wield his wizardly power as a temporary party member!
Tomb of Setmoth also continued Infocom's tradition of "feelies" to fuel your imagination beyond the text, extra items that included an "arcane parchment" and a coin. Scottish artist, Ken Barr, was also called on to provide the incredible box art. Fierce! (original image found at mocagh.org)
Infocom created new graphics, tweaked the text with the help of Amy Briggs (Plundered Hearts), and kept much of what made the original Quarterstaff a hit with Mac fans such as the automapping and clever NPC behavior such as what allowed one to trap a party member during a fight. Ouch.
A year later, it woud get a re-release as Quarterstaff: The Tomb of Setmoth in 1988. Infocom was so impressed by this text-filled adventure that they elected to enhance it and publish it as their first RPG offering.
In its GUI driven dungeon crawl, players took on the pre-made role of Titus could send party members on their separate ways, parser their way through combat and exploration, and engage an adventure part interactive fiction and part RPG with the help of the Mac's GUI menus.
Quarterstaff (1987) by Simulated Environment Systems was a Macintosh exclusive CRPG. It was a menu and keyboard driven quest to discover the fate of a druid colony as our party recruited (or slaughtered) NPCs with a smile, solved wicked puzzles, and tried not to starve to death. (a gooey thread)
A 1990 ad series from Japan for Actraiser, Quintet's hybrid action platforming god sim with light RPG elements on the Super Famicom "Another side from ENIX" was shown with both two-page spreads describing both sides of the same game -- one focusing on action, and the other, creation!
Obitus (1991) was an action adventure with light RPG elements by Scenario Developments for PCs like MS-DOS platforms. As medieval history teacher, Wil Mason, you take shelter in a ruin from a storm only to wake up later in a fantasy world that you must somehow save! (a visiting offworlder thread)
A 1998 ad for Elemental Gearbolt, a light gun shooter for the Sony PlayStation by Alfa System It featured a neat mechanic where points earned can be exchanged for a better score (towards a title) or for RPG-like leveling XP. It also features animated scenes directed by anime veteran, Rintaro!
One interesting note concerning PC games in this early time was that a few of them had software guarantees that often sounded like personal promises. When it came to Crown, in case your floppy disk met a bad end, the devs offered to replace it with very generous terms. How nice!
Death wasn't an end (unless you died inside the mountain!) as there was always another heir to continue the fight (one who was hopefully not as morally questionable as the prince they replaced!). But in competition with a friend, that delay could cost you the crown and the kingdom!
And in true CRPG fashion, Crown's manual included a considerable backstory adding color to its gameplay since there wasn't much exposition during the combat heavy adventure. It also noted that each player could even set their own difficulty (affecting monster attack speed). Or go solo.
It was a goal also shared by games such as The Missing Ring (1983), also on the Apple II, in which up to five players could take turns controlling five members of an adventuring party.
According to the manual, the designers hoped that Crown would be the "two player adventure game" that brought would-be adventurers together in friendly competition as opposed to another solo dungeon crawl.
While exploring the hex map, players will also face combat with various monsters for experience to beef up their defense and attack. A separate combat screen showing you on the left and the monster on the right (with life bars!) pops in as you shield yourself, hack away, or try to run for dear life.
Crown of Arthain tasked players to scour the land for treasures and the means to enter their father's kingdom held by an Elf and Dwarf somewhere on their side of the map. But players also needed gold and Crown took on an arcade-like mantle with its key mashing combat.
Crown of Arthain (1980) by Dan & Marilyn Meller for Micro Lab was a CRPG for the Apple II. One or two players take on the role of rival brothers exiled from their father's kingdom. But on his deathbed, he decrees if either one find his crown, they shall inherit the throne! (a rogue prince thread)
A 1991 ad for the Sega Genesis port of Might & Magic II: Gates to Another World, an RPG by New World Computing that debuted in 1988 on PCs. Poking a bit of fun at Sega's own Phantasy Star, this port (which dropped the "II" from the title) boasted "200 hours to complete (except for experts)".
Roadwar 2000 (1986) was a post-apoc strategy game with light RPG elements by SSI for PC platforms like the Amiga. Bacteriological warfare has torn America apart but a cabal of scientists may have the cure! Be your own Mad Max, build your gang, scavenge supplies, and find them! (an infected thread)
One of the things I loved about Obsidian's Avowed was how the art direction lured me into exploring every corner of its world. Sometimes I'd find something for my spellcasting, fungi braided Godlike (new wand? yesssss); other times it was an unexpected bit of lore adding more to Pillars' world.
SSI's post-apoc roadshow, and the ad for it, channeled the spirit of the Mad Max films, manifesting another dystopian "what if" borne from the Cold War angst of the 80s. Only this time, handing players the means to turn fear into fortune as they take everything from sports cars to limos into battle!
Ruined cities can be inhabited by mobs ranging from gangsters and National Guardsment to Satanists and Mobsters. Roaming can also bring you into contact with motley groups who might either eat your envoy or ask to join up, growing your party power! There are even a few surprises to be found.
Players can pick between manual, tactical combat or just toss it over to the PC to handle. With tactical, you can deploy your vehicles and engage in turn-based battles wondering whether a limo you found crewed with your best is better as a boarding platform or at ramming its point home.
This adventure tasks you to gather your own horde riding a fleet of vehicles into battle as you roam the highways of what is left of the United States when an act of biological terrorism tears it a apart, making it ripe for a nuclear attack by an unknown nation that leaves much of it in ruin.
Roadwar 2000 (1986) was a post-apoc strategy game with light RPG elements by SSI for PC platforms like the Amiga. Bacteriological warfare has torn America apart but a cabal of scientists may have the cure! Be your own Mad Max, build your gang, scavenge supplies, and find them! (an infected thread)
A 1992 ad for Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed, an RPG for PC platforms by SSI Jerry Bingham's slightly modified art illustrates the page and box for SSI's second game based on TSR's Buck Rogers XXVC setting. The piece earlier featured as the cover of A Matter of Gravitol, an adventure module, in 1991!
To all the brave students heading back to school, don't forget to double check your parachute!
Like a Psygnosis tradition, Obitus' PC ad (and box) also featured incredible art. This illustration by sci-fi artist, Tim White, accompanies screenshots of its visually impressive world. Unfortunately, a few years later, the SNES port opted for something a bit less 'unique' for this neat adventure!
Reviews for the console version didn't rake its manual over the coals as CGW's did with those such as Gamepro's Bro' Buzz left their face ratings largely on the happy side. They ended their own review by saying "If you like to lose yourself in your games, check this one out."
When it came to the SNES, the story also changed. The PC version spun a tale about the land of Middlemere and your modern day life driving through a storm before crashing your Volvo. In the SNES version, you weren't swept away to a fantasy world -- you're already living in it!
It was later ported to other platforms like the SNES in 1994 which streamlined its adventure interface (also used for picking up and using items) and its action oriented, button mashy combat. Sleeping restored your stamina (food was for your health) and you could save anywhere.
CGW's Allen Greeberg roasted the game's manual writing "One sure way to succeed in Obitus isto avoid reading the directions." in their May '91 review noting that the game's interface was easy enough to decipher. In the end, Greenberg found the game a "satisfying experience" with "plenty to see."
There's no XP and survival relied knowing when to sleep (and flee) as well as find key items in your quest. There were also side-scrolling action sequences featuring neat parallax effects showcasing your very history-teacher like acrobatics in jumping over foes that just die from jumping at them.
As you explore, you'll run into other NPCs that will provide hints and combat was as easy as using items against your enemies, like a convenient quiver of arrows. Defeated foes turn into a pile of bones though remember that you're not invincible, either!
Unlike many other grid-based, first-person dungeon crawlers, Obitus let the player turn in eight directions instead of four and move partway through a "square" as opposed to simply going block by block. A small display in the bottom center showed what exits were available along with other commands.
Obitus (1991) was an action adventure with light RPG elements by Scenario Developments for PCs like MS-DOS platforms. As medieval history teacher, Wil Mason, you take shelter in a ruin from a storm only to wake up later in a fantasy world that you must somehow save! (a visiting offworlder thread)
To all the brave students heading back to school, don't forget to double check your parachute!
Finished a run of Back to the Dawn, a neat indie RPG where you have 21 "days" to solve a mystery in a sketchy prison as one of two characters. Took me nearly 40 hours, each "day" is so dense with things to do interacting with its huge cast of characters or finding ways to survive. Really enjoyed it!
Knightmare (1991) | RPG | PC platforms | Mindscape Inspired by the popular British TV game show that cast a team of four children as questing, virtual adventurers, its rendition of the show's memorable theme song was only the first stop in this grid-based dungeon crawl!
Dungeons and Demons (1984) | RPG | ZX Spectrum | Richard G. Hurley This simple dungeon crawler was part of a series of typed-in programs from Richard Hurley's instructional book, Graphic Adventures for the Spectrum 48K, giving curious readers the chance to fiddle with, and learn from, actual code.
Knightmare (1991) was a CRPG for the Atari ST and the Commodore Amiga by Mindscape. This was the second video game adaptation of the popular British television show of the same name, now as a grid-based dungeon crawl with a four-person party as you quest to defeat Lord Fear! (a Frightknight thread)
A 1990 ad for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Vol I by Interplay, an RPG for PC platforms. The illustration in the ad also appears on the box and is a piece titled "Balrog" by the Brothers Hildebrandt (Greg and Tim).
Biomotor Unitron (1999) was an RPG for the Neo Geo Pocket Color! A meteor brings strange crystals to a medieval world leading to the creation of Unitron mechs, ending a world war. Now in an age of peace, Unitrons and their pilots are repurposed into new lives...and gladiators! (a bot battler thread)
The Japanese developer, Yumekobo, also has something of an interesting history. They were once known as Aicom and were responsible for games such as The Mafat Conspiracy for the NES featuring Golgo 13 before trading in their custom M-16 for armored battlers in Biomotor Unitron for SNK!
There were a ton of parts to pick through and develop in the course of the game making upgrades a fun feature for mech fans including elemental affinities for added strategizing. A portable dungeon crawler for mechs where learning magic was as easy as attaching a new arm!
In Biomotor, you play a young Unitron master who hopes to one day become the "Master of Masters" at the Arena! To get there, you'll need to develop parts for your Unitron, explore nearby dungeons for cash and materials, and fight a vareity of opponents in and out of the arena in turn-based battles!
Biomotor Unitron (1999) was an RPG for the Neo Geo Pocket Color! A meteor brings strange crystals to a medieval world leading to the creation of Unitron mechs, ending a world war. Now in an age of peace, Unitrons and their pilots are repurposed into new lives...and gladiators! (a bot battler thread)
It's 1985 and Cold War "what-ifs" surface in titles that range from SSI's PC-based wargames to Game Designers' meticulously detailed TTRPG, Twilight: 2000. Its attention to real-world military materiel and tactical combat were the foundations of a campaign set in the shadow of World War III.
Spirit of Adventure (1991) by attic Entertainment Software was a grid-based CRPG for PCs like MS-DOS desktops. A mysterious drug is creating an epidemic in the fantasy land of Lamarge and a call for heroes is made to find and stop the mysterious mastermind behind it. (a medieval cartel thread)
As for attic and Starbyte, fans might remember them from their previous work such as their horror RPG, Lords of Doom, in 1990. They would also go on to create the Realms of Arkania CRPG series based on Germany's popular TTRPG RPG, Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye)!
SoA also had a few rough edges. Although it was also translated to English, a few commands were still thinking in the original German (the hotkey for "yes" was J for "ja"). But with its own turn-based gameplay mechanics and with plenty of beasts, SoA stood as a solid crawler with its own story.
..like Sean Connery?! Or rather, his likeness from 1986's Highlander. Someone was a fan!
SoA was, in some ways, a juiced up Bard's Tale-like with a few cues taken from Interplay's dungeon crawler and others like it. But it also added plenty of its own personality with unique classes, races, its own rune-filled magic system, day and night cycle, and even "conversations" with NPCs...
Spirit of Adventure (1991) by attic Entertainment Software was a grid-based CRPG for PCs like MS-DOS desktops. A mysterious drug is creating an epidemic in the fantasy land of Lamarge and a call for heroes is made to find and stop the mysterious mastermind behind it. (a medieval cartel thread)
Athough a port of the first Wizardry had already landed on the MSX2 in Japan in 1987 using floppies, a limited "special edition" for the MSX2 on a ROM cartridge (with battery backup!) arrived in 1989 with this ad hyping it up for the fans. It also included a miniature metal dragon by Bunka Kyozai!
Gunple: Gunman's Proof (1997) was an action adventure with light RPG elements by ASCII released for the Super Famicom in Japan. It is 1880 and alien fugitives invade the Wild West! Allowing yourself to be possessed by a good alien, you pursue the scoundrels! (a Good, the Bad, and the Alien thread)
Fan translators, Aeon Genesis, released an unofficial translation in 2002 sharing this gem with a wider audience. With a quirky sense of well-translated humor, fun gameplay, and a colorful playground of action and adventure, it's something of an unsung classic for the SNES.
Players can save and there's even an extra lives system (think of the extra lives like extra energy tanks, Mega Man style). Once you burn through those, you can opt to continue at the village or quit. To save, just head to your comfy bed at home especially after tackling a tricky dungeon.
The Zelda-like gameplay has few puzzles but plenty of rootin', tootin' shootin'. Its anachronistic cast of monsters and weapons (such as an Uzi) round things out. Coupled with colorful sprites, a charming cast, and a host of unusual twists and turns, it was an offbeat adventure in the West!
Gunple's story has been described as having Earthbound vibes to it (only taking place in the Wild West) with a young protagonist who encounters strange things (and stranger characters) in their quest to save the world. Whether it's exploring the overworld of its dungeons, adventure was everywhere!
Gunple: Gunman's Proof (1997) was an action adventure with light RPG elements by ASCII released for the Super Famicom in Japan. It is 1880 and alien fugitives invade the Wild West! Allowing yourself to be possessed by a good alien, you pursue the scoundrels! (a Good, the Bad, and the Alien thread)
In 1984, Iron Crown Enterprises launched their tabletop RPG adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth as described in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. It used a version of their fantasy-based Rolemaster system and sourcebooks statted out the world's secrets from Cirith-Ungol to the One Ring.
A 1994 ad for Secret of Mana, an action RPG by Square for the Super Nintendo This was the sequel to the action packed Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden released in 1991 for the Game Boy which came to NA as Final Fantasy Adventure. Mana expanded on the formula, now powered by the Super Famicom!
Thank you for opening it up to more curious players like me! <3
Golden Axe Warrior didn't stir the same impact on the Master System that Nintendo's Zelda did several years earlier on the NES. Still, as a curious tangent from its arcade roots, a number of fans still found plenty of adventure with Sega's attempt at swapping out the Master Sword for a Golden Axe.
The game had a range of colorful reviews. CVG's "Complete Guide to Sega" from the UK in 1991 wrote that it "has all the entertainment value of a 24-hour German opera." On the other hand, Bro. Buzz in Gamepro's May, 1991 issue called it "a great game" and gave it an excited FunFactor face.
