CRPGAddict

[octavius]

Well personally I much prefer the exciting

to the more realistic and boring

 

[Darth Canoli]

It's your loss...

I much prefer the exciting

over the less realistic and boring

 

[Desiderius]

It's your loss...

I much prefer the exciting

Lol thought that was from the Chasm of the Dead in M&M IX at first glance.

 

[Desiderius]

Well personally I much prefer the exciting

to the more realistic and boring

Both suck tbh. Those devs would have preferred better. We shld too.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

80s dude... it was the '80s & '90s what can you possibly expect back then?
*These Wiki lists are incomplete so help the fuckers fix them you codexian asshats! :p~
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[Desiderius]

I can expect to prefer the better simulation over the poorer. As we did in the 80s & 90s.

 

[JarlFrank]

Simulationism > abstraction.

No exceptions.

 

[CryptRat]

I don't get your point, I don't think anybody would call the dungeons of Might & Magic 3 better simulations than those of RoA : Star Trail or Pool Of Radiance and these games have proper encounters, encounters which are half of the reasons why these games feel like good simulations. Having disorganized roamming enemies instead does not give a better feeling of simulation, quite the opposite.

And if there's one aspect where Might & Magic 2 is better than Might & Magic 3 it's the combat even if only a few fixed encounters make sense while most don't.

 

[octavius]

Simulationism > abstraction.

No exceptions.

I see your simulationism and raise with one gameplay.

 

[JarlFrank]

80s dude... it was the '80s & '90s what can you possibly expect back then?
*These Wiki lists are incomplete so help the fuckers fix them you codexian asshats! :p~
1979-1985
1886-1987
1988-1989
1990-1991
1992-1993

1994-1995
1996-1997
1998-1999
2000-2001
2002-2003

2004-2005
2006-2007
2008-2009
2010-2011
2012-2013

2014-2015
2016-2017
2018-2019
2020-2021

Lists of Tactical
1980s-1994
1995-1999
2000-2004
2005-2009
2010-2019
Lol 2020-2029

Lists of games by .....

Nobody uses Wikipedia for game lists.

Use Mobygames instead.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I use everything.

 

[Desiderius]

Simulationism > abstraction.

No exceptions.

I see your simulationism and raise with one gameplay.

Same thing.

 

[Ladonna]

Simulationism > abstraction.

No exceptions.

I see your simulationism and raise with one gameplay.

Same thing.

Not quite.

If you look at the combat simulation elements in Knights of Legend as an example, they are awesome. The combat engine itself could be really fun, with plenty of options for attack, defence, etc, but at the same time, it is incredibly slow, and was misused to have you also walking around in it on adventure maps. So while the Simulation part of KoL's combat engine is great, the gameplay itself can leave much to be desired. It is a shame as I really enjoyed the battles in the game.

 

[Desiderius]

Actual combat is not incredibly slow. It follows that any simulation that is incredibly slow is a poor simulation, so you’ve illustrated my point.

 

[Calthaer]

His FATE map was quite an achievement. Personally, I'm glad there's someone playing all these old games I had wanted to play, so that -- usually -- I can see I wasn't missing much.

This is why I like him. I have Might & Magic I - IX sitting on CDs in a box, and always aspired to play them. Now that I've read his walkthroughs...not so much. It's interesting to read what's in these games in an abbreviated format, but I'm glad he's the one grinding for hours and not me.

 

[Desiderius]

I used to read him for that then got too annoyed how much he sucked. Same problem with streamers. At the end of the day there’s no substitute to digging in there for yourself. That’s what a hobby’s for. If you don’t have the time you find a hobby that takes less.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

His FATE map was quite an achievement. Personally, I'm glad there's someone playing all these old games I had wanted to play, so that -- usually -- I can see I wasn't missing much.

This is why I like him. I have Might & Magic I - IX sitting on CDs in a box, and always aspired to play them. Now that I've read his walkthroughs...not so much. It's interesting to read what's in these games in an abbreviated format, but I'm glad he's the one grinding for hours and not me.

This is depressing to read. Especially since I just finished watching a recent Escapist video where the reviewer said that the original Fallout game doesn't hold up today. If I had that attitude in modern times I never would have spent some of the last decade finishing Might and Magic 1 through 8, despite their often challenging interfaces. I get FATE... the grind in a game like that seems a bit too much after the first 30 hours, but few people on this site would have named FATE as a must-play classic CRPG. Despite the graphical and interface limitations, I still think Might and Magic was the best of the series for its combat and progression. But unlike the addict, I adore Might and Magic: World of Xeen despite its flaws. It's an epic game and a great finale to the original storyline. It really did close out an era, and sticking the landing like is an achievement all of its own.

Again, you're missing out. The old CRPG classics are called classics by many of us for good reason. Try the Gold Box games in their entirety, Ultima I through VII, Fallout 1-2. Placescape: Torment, the Wizardrys, the Might and Magics, the Baldur's Gates, Exile 1-3, and Darkland. There are some good games back there in the mists of time that still can't be beat in combat, puzzles, C&C, and mystery.

 

[felipepepe]

Agreed, I think it's important to avoid the "you MUST play all Wizardry games in order" kind of fanatism, but don't be so quick to discard the classics. Especially a series like Might & Magic, that goes from very classic gameplay to more modern stuff after M&M VI. You're bound to find an entry you'll enjoy.

Also, games offer all kinds of experiences and moods... personally, I think dungeon-crawlers and roguelikes are perfect for arriving home after work, turning on a podcast and just chilling. If you are going to play them just because you want to complete them and put a stamp on your gamer card, of course you'll get angry every time a random encounter pops up and makes the game 30 sec longer.

 

[Catacombs]

Agreed, I think it's important to avoid the "you MUST play all Wizardry games in order" kind of fanatism, but don't be so quick to discard the classics. Especially a series like Might & Magic, that goes from very classic gameplay to more modern stuff after M&M VI. You're bound to find an entry you'll enjoy.

What are the best entry points for Wizardry and M&M for someone who's never played them?

 

[CryptRat]

Might & Magic series is accessible at least from 3. 3 and 7 are good first entries of two different kinds.

Wizardry series is more old-school although 8 arguably less than the others. 6 or 8 are the most logical entries to start, 1 is also approachable compared with further entries.

 

[BlackGoat]

WIZ 1 Proving Grounds, M&M 3 or 6.

 

[felipepepe]

Agreed, I think it's important to avoid the "you MUST play all Wizardry games in order" kind of fanatism, but don't be so quick to discard the classics. Especially a series like Might & Magic, that goes from very classic gameplay to more modern stuff after M&M VI. You're bound to find an entry you'll enjoy.

What are the best entry points for Wizardry and M&M for someone who's never played them?

On both series I think there's two different entry points.

For M&M, I would say M&M III: Isles of Terra for the old-school ones, and M&M VII: For Blood and Honor for the modern ones. The tutorial of VII is great, perfectly introduces you to what makes these games fun.

For Wizardry, I would say the SNES version of Wizardry 1 is an excellent entry point for the classic era, while Wizardy 8 is great for the open-world Wizardries. The first dungeon of Wizardry 8 is one of the best intro dungeons in RPGs.

 

[Desiderius]

Wiz7 and M&M3

 

[JarlFrank]

His FATE map was quite an achievement. Personally, I'm glad there's someone playing all these old games I had wanted to play, so that -- usually -- I can see I wasn't missing much.

This is why I like him. I have Might & Magic I - IX sitting on CDs in a box, and always aspired to play them. Now that I've read his walkthroughs...not so much. It's interesting to read what's in these games in an abbreviated format, but I'm glad he's the one grinding for hours and not me.

I like reading his blog for the obscure shitty games I'll never play because they're shitty (like generic Ultima clone #14324) or because they have gameplay elements I genuinely dislike (pretty much 99.9% of all JRPGs out there).

But the games that I have a genuine interest in? I play them myself before I read his blog entries on them, so I can get a fresh unspoiled experience.
Occasionally, I read an entry of his on a game I didn't know before, and it looks interesting enough that I hop on over to my nearest abandonware site and give it a try. Starflight is one of those games. Wasn't aware of it before I read his blog, but it sounded interesting enough to give it a go.

Especially since these old DOS games are readily available on abandonware sites for free, and they usually take less than an MB of space on your disk, so there's no reason not to try them yourself.

The Might and Magic series is one of the most accessible and fast-to-play oldschool RPG series out there. Just give them a try. They're not even grindy at all, you're constantly exploring new places.

 

[JarlFrank]

For Wizardry, I would say the SNES version of Wizardry 1 is an excellent entry point for the classic era

Super Famicom versions of the old Wizardry series are really fucking good. The visuals are great and atmospheric.

Also, play the original Japanese Famicom versions with a fan translation, not the official English SNES versions.
The official English versions censor the titties.