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The Codex’s Best Computer RPGs (pre-Diablo)

negator2vc

Scholar
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May 1, 2017
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4 points:
Hero's Quest (Quest for Glory 1): So You Want to Be a Hero (Sierra)
Quest for Glory 4: Shadows of Darkness (Sierra)

1 points:
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (SSI)
Champions of Krynn (SSI)

EDIT:
Didn't see QfG4 in the list. Sorry Wizardry 7 you will be missed ;-)
 
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Darth Canoli

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The top games as voted by the users mentioned in Deuce Traveler's opening post.

Some of these gentlemen have a dubious taste at best and a lackluster knowledge of what is a RPG.

iu


QfG I: "A breakthrough in adventure game design" --Computer MAgazine, Quote acknoledged by the devs/publisher whom put it on the game's box.

So, when exactly QfG suddenly became a RPG? When some faggots voted Disco disco during the Codex Grotesque vote of the year?
 
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Darth Canoli

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you've never played quest for glory have you

I've played more QfG than 95% of the Codex, hands down, and also most classics, EotB shouldn't be anywhere near the top 5 "RPG" of anyone.
BaK's gameplay is a chore, probably the first storyfags game.

Some people here think they are RPG fans while they're just Visual Novels fanboys, RTS-fags or FPS mouth-breathers.


Or Disco Elysium :cool:

I've played just as much as I could stomach of that thing...
 
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Fowyr

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
7,671
So, when exactly QfG suddenly became a RPG? When some faggots voted Disco disco during the Codex Grotesque vote of the year?
Just look at the first post. I was againts Entomorph, for example, but DT is right.
Q: This game (Al-Qadim, Alien Logic, Hired Guns) is on your suggested RPG list, but it’s an action game with RPG elements. And you left off this other game (X-Com, Lords of Midnight, Stronghold) that has stronger RPG elements. This is bullshit!
A: I tried to stick with games that advertised themselves as RPGs and not strategy games. The list is as good as I and the Ring of Prestigious Gentlemen could make it without falling into a paralyzing “What is and RPG” argument.
Also at least QfG, despite not being pure RPG, has a combat. Just think about it.
EotB shouldn't be anywhere near the top 5 "RPG" of anyone.
Its dungeon is pretty great. I especially liked that kenku shortcut that skipped all drow levels.
 

buffalo bill

Arcane
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Messages
1,009
I gave QFG1 one point because I have fond memories of playing it, but I also admit that under any serious scrutiny it isn't anywhere near as good as many of the other games on the list. The combat is real-time and boring, the learn-by-doing skill system sounds good on paper maybe, but is rather tedious in practice, most of your choices are pretty railroaded by your initial selection of one of the three classes (though there are some opportunities to learn skills & do quests/actions not in your class, if I recall correctly), and the plot progression is pretty much railroaded (again, if I recall correctly).

All that said, it's a nice whimsical fantasy setting that doesn't take itself too seriously, has a day/night schedule, has non-combat uses for spells, is nice to look at (even the pre-VGA remake). Probably mostly it's only historically important as a predecessor for better games to come (same with e.g. Rogue, which I also gave one point to).
 

Mortmal

Arcane
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Messages
9,188
Pool of radiance on top, why ? The first gold box game , but not the best by far, today you will struggle to use the interface and rememorize the spells after each rest, and probably will be quickly bored by the random encounters.
1) It's a low level AD&D game, where a lucky dice decides some encounters, and others are decided by a tactical cast of simple Sleep spell. Low-level campaign is a pretty interesting beast, and I like it. I still vividly remember the joy of getting Fireball and frying orcs in Sokal Keep.
2)It was a game where you could cast Animate Dead and some of your actions were more gray than in the other Goldboxes. It was one of the most ambitious of Goldboxes. It had Druids and the food, rings of free falling and other strange things. I shit you not. Just open the exe. Mostly it was not implemented, but lucky draw of wyvern's cache table brought you some really strange items.
3)Freedom. Greatest feeling of freedom and exploration. You have cleared Slums, got into Sokal Keep and then you have found that Phlan is not the only place in the game. That it has caves, pyramide, random encounters, Zhentil Keep...
4)Phlan had this vivid feeling of great adventure and being the real city. You really felt that you are liberating it.

Could also write the same tale about wizardry 1, when we were young, going to school , walking in the snow, uphill both ways, it was great to come back home and launch wizardry 1 . This was revolutionary, we were lucky to play with sticks and stone with the other kids and there something magic happens on the computer screen, a 3D dungeon appear on screeen ,with mazes , traps, interactive environements, detailed character creation, music and all .A game you could spend dozen of hours to finish, quite insane. Would i recommend this over wizardry 7 ? Hell no. Same thing for pool of radiance. Heavily weighted rpg by nostalgy does not make them best.
Also while we are on it, if people love betryal at krondor , i really hope they read every books from Raymond E feist. An excellent writer and rpg player.
 

Darth Canoli

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Darth Canoli I remember you. You didn't consider Underrail as RPG coz it has no companions. Your mouth-breather line is in vane, just shut it.

Exactly, if it's not party-based, it's not a RPG.
Besides, in Underrail case, after playing it, now the walking speed is decent, i can tell the first impression was exactly on point.

Underrail belong to a sub-genre, just like The Quest, an otherwise decent/good time waster, but poor RPG overall.
Underrail combat, for example, is a huge mess, of course, since you're alone, you have to be overpowered or you wouldn't last one minute.
And you are, i picked a gun, crit with some psionics build, hammerer pistol and the shock energy gun.
With the first gun, aimed shot = one enemy down, with the second, it could go to 2-3 enemies down in one aimed shot.
It made the arena fights extremely boring and the combat poses no challenge, except when confronted to unlimited enemy spawns or the stealth critters who are a pain, but either you use googles or it's time for a molotov's party.

The quest design is alright but nothing special, really.

So, yes, in a sense it's a decent entry in the solo-RPG subgenre.
But it's not a full fledge RPG.
 

jackofshadows

Magister
Joined
Oct 21, 2019
Messages
4,552
Darth Canoli I remember you. You didn't consider Underrail as RPG coz it has no companions. Your mouth-breather line is in vane, just shut it.

Exactly, if it's not party-based, it's not a RPG.
Besides, in Underrail case, after playing it, now the walking speed is decent, i can tell the first impression was exactly on point.

Underrail belong to a sub-genre, just like The Quest, an otherwise decent/good time waster, but poor RPG overall.
Underrail combat, for example, is a huge mess, of course, since you're alone, you have to be overpowered or you wouldn't last one minute.
And you are, i picked a gun, crit with some psionics build, hammerer pistol and the shock energy gun.
With the first gun, aimed shot = one enemy down, with the second, it could go to 2-3 enemies down in one aimed shot.
It made the arena fights extremely boring.

The quest design is alright but nothing special, really.

So, yes, in a sense it's a decent entry in the solo-RPG subgenre.
But it's not a full fledge RPG.
But you are insane. Telling you that as a man who doesn't care about genre boundaries much. Just where exactly did you get those borders from?
 
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jackofshadows

Magister
Joined
Oct 21, 2019
Messages
4,552
I mean, you must be aware that many "party-cRPGs" designed as playable solo, right? Wiz 8, BG2... How do you feel about that?
 

Skall

Learned
Joined
Dec 28, 2015
Messages
86
Considering the uproar over some entries -- QfG, BaK -- I'd also like to see a poll for underrated if not classic entries.

"Ultima VIII: Pagan was the pinnacle of diegetic magic systems that has yet to be matched by..."
 

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