CODEX VOTE: Best TACTICAL COMBAT Blobbers Of All Time

[Lady_Error]

After the votes for the turn-based and real-time pure blobbers, let's have one for the blobbers that have tactical combat. This list is shorter than the other two - with a lot of entries from the Gold Box series.

Here is the complete list of RPG's that have 1st person blobber exploration and tactical (non-blobber) combat:

Albion (1995)
Amberstar (1992)
Ambermoon (1995)
Bard's Tale 4 (2018)
Betrayal at Krondor (1993)
Betrayal in Antara (1997)
Crystals of Arborea (1990)
Dark Heart of Uukrul (1989)
Drakhen (1989)
Gods: Lands of Infinity (2006)
Perihelion (1993, Amiga)
Realms of Arkania 1 (1992)
Realms of Arkania 2 (1994)
Realms of Arkania 3 (1996)
Gold Box series:
Pool of Radiance (1988)
Curse of the Azure Bonds (1989)
Secret of the Silver Blades (1990)
Pools of Darkness (1991)
Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991)
Treasures of the Savage Frontier (1992)
Champions of Krynn (1990)
Death Knights of Krynn (1991)
Dark Queen of Krynn (1992)
Buck Rogers: Coundown to Doomsday (1990)
Buck Rogers: Matrix Cubed (1992)
Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures (1993)

Taken from: The Complete List of Western (Non-Anime) Blobbers.

 

[V_K]

I'd say the top 3 is probably going to be PoR, Krondor and Star Trail (in that order), and unlike the other two polls I wouldn't object to that. But let's see how it turns out, Codexers always find new ways to disappoint.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I'm not big on blobbers, can someone explain what the difference between 'tactical combat' and 'turn based' is?
I always just considered these turn-based

 

[Strange Fellow]

I'm not big on blobbers, can someone explain what the difference between 'tactical combat' and 'turn based' is?
I always just considered these turn-based

Tactical = top down/iso. The turn-based and real time polls are for games with menu-driven combat a la Wizardry/Might and Magic. The games in this poll are also turn-based, of course, but since I don't think there exists a game that combines first-person exploration with top-down real time combat there's no distinction to be made.

Anyway, yeah, Betrayal at Krondor will take this, with Star Trail and PoR as runners-up. In my opinion it ought to be Uukrul.

 

[V_K]

The difference is between tactical combat and blobber combat and lies in the ability to position individual party members.

 

[North Gibraltarian Dog]

It's Drakkhen, with two "K"

Also:

RoA, RoA über alles,

Über alles in der Kodex!

Wenn es stets zu Dekadenz und Casualisierung

Brüderlich zusammenhält!

 

[Martyr]

but since I don't think there exists a game that combines first-person exploration with top-down real time combat there's no distinction to be made.

actually, Drakkhen does exactly that. the perspective in the first person exploration and the top down battles is the same though, so it's even more abstract.

exploration would be the exact same picture, but without the party members and without the dragon. as soon as there's an enemy, the party members walk into the screen and a real time battle begins. iirc Drakkhen was also RTwP, which would mean it predates Darklands in using that combat system.

 

[octavius]

After these three polls I think we can conclude that blobberers are a dying breed, even on the RPG Codex.

 

[Lady_Error]

That would have been true 5+ years ago, but since then Grimrock 1 & 2 brought back the genre, we had one of the best blobbers released (Grimoire) and even now there is some quality stuff coming out, eg. Operencia or Legends of Amberland.

 

[Darth Canoli]

And also some hybrids like 7 Mages and a single character "simili-blobber", The Quest.
And soon, hopefully, The Quest 2 will correct that being a legit blobber.

 

[Dorateen]

I think having monocled tastes implies exclusivity, membership among fewer but more distinguished individuals.

 

[Darth Canoli]

actually, Drakkhen does exactly that. the perspective in the first person exploration and the top down battles is the same though, so it's even more abstract.

exploration would be the exact same picture, but without the party members and without the dragon. as soon as there's an enemy, the party members walk into the screen and a real time battle begins. iirc Drakkhen was also RTwP, which would mean it predates Darklands in using that combat system.

Drakkhen was probably my first contact with a PC RPG, even if i played some Eye of the Beholder and Dungeon Master first on Amstrad computers and some consoles RPG, still have fond memories of it.

 

[Citizen]

RoA 2 and 3

Also why not include Wiz8? It has positioning and shiet, so it qualifies for a tacticool

 

[Tiospo]

Overall, Buck Rogers is excellent value: when it claims a playing time of 40-100 hours, it's true!

 

[Lady_Error]

Also why not include Wiz8? It has positioning and shiet, so it qualifies for a tacticool

Wiz 8 in the pure blobbers list. And yeah, it is almost tactical, though not quite.

 

[mushaden]

What I want to know is do any of these games have good combat? I loved Betrayal at Krondor, but not for the combat. I'm sure a lot of people would say the same about Realms of Arkania. Maybe I need to take another crack at the Gold Box games, and there are plenty more I haven't played. Just saying that the tactical combat blobbers I've played are not memorable for their tactical combat.

 

[Lady_Error]

It's not Jagged Alliance, that's for sure. And yeah, I also prefer actual blobber combat in blobbers.

On this list, RoA combat is probably best - and you could also have it resolved automatically.

 

[Siobhan]

And if your RoA2 party only has mages and elves you can have each one stack the armor spell for cheap, casting it at a cost of 1 or 2 each round until your AC is 12+ and you're pretty much invincible. Switch over to autoresolve, finish battle. Combine with stacked herbs for ludicrous magic resistance and break the game by beating the unbeatable encounter against the black mages. So once you know how to cheese the game, it's actually a blobber without combat, which is a nice change of pace.

 

[Lady_Error]

Results so far are quite interesting:

1. Betrayal at Krondor (15 votes)
2. Pool of Radiance (12 votes) - Gold Box
   
3. Dark Heart of Uukrul (11 votes)
4. Realms of Arkania 2 (11 votes)
5. Death Knights of Krynn (8 votes) - Gold Box
   
6. Pools of Darkness (8 votes) - Gold Box
7. Albion (6 votes)
8. Curse of the Azure Bonds (6 votes) - Gold Box
   
9. FRUA (6 votes) - Gold Box
10. Realms of Arkania 3 (6 votes)

 

[The Red Knight]

I refuse to believe that many people loved that cave near Kounos in Albion.

 

[TigerKnee]

What I want to know is do any of these games have good combat?

I personally think Uukrul has the best combat of the games listed here.

edit: Dug up my old post about Uukrul's combat and rewrote it to make sense standalone

In comparison to Goldbox, Uukrul's battlefields are really small. That fact along with the rule that "you can move diagonally but only attack in non-diagonal directions", it sort of works out in a way where it makes you think about how to utilize your two melee characters to block off enemies in a way while also maximizing your damage output that GB doesn't really do (In GB, you're better off just casting crowd control spells if you don't want enemies next to your mages). The battles in Uukrul are like tight little tangos that doesn't drag out too long while being very satisfying

 

[octavius]

I wouldn't say Uukrul combat is better, but it different in a good way.

 

[Lady_Error]

Results so far are quite interesting:

1. Betrayal at Krondor (15 votes)
2. Pool of Radiance (12 votes) - Gold Box
   
3. Dark Heart of Uukrul (11 votes)
4. Realms of Arkania 2 (11 votes)
5. Death Knights of Krynn (8 votes) - Gold Box
   
6. Pools of Darkness (8 votes) - Gold Box
7. Albion (6 votes)
8. Curse of the Azure Bonds (6 votes) - Gold Box
   
9. FRUA (6 votes) - Gold Box
10. Realms of Arkania 3 (6 votes)

Results a year later:

1. Betrayal at Krondor (19 votes)
2. Pool of Radiance (14 votes) - Gold Box
   
3. Dark Heart of Uukrul (13 votes)
4. Realms of Arkania 2 (12 votes)
5. Albion (8 votes)
   
6. Death Knights of Krynn (8 votes) - Gold Box
   
7. Pools of Darkness (8 votes) - Gold Box
8. Curse of the Azure Bonds (6 votes) - Gold Box
   
9. FRUA (6 votes) - Gold Box
10. Realms of Arkania 3 (6 votes)

Albion moved up, but otherwise no changes.

 

[TwoEdge]

Interesting, this was probably the toughest poll to narrow down favorites I've ever participated in the 'dex. Almost the entire selection is composed of shining exemplars.

 

[Dorateen]

Since the Gold Box engine featured the same tactical combat over 9+ titles, with refinements throughout the series, those games combine for a clear winner.