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CRPGAddict

felipepepe

Codex's Heretic
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I like reading his blog for the obscure shitty games I'll never play because they're shitty (like generic Ultima clone #14324)
Yeah, CRPG Addict is cool for this and to check for hidden gems that no one else talks about. His opinion on Wizardry or Ultima matters little to me.

Is why I don't really care if he ever reaches the late 90s, I'm more curious to see if he'll find anything worthwhile in the late Mac & Amiga RPGs, or in the shareware stuff. Things are more well-documented after Windows 95 became the standard platform.
 

JarlFrank

I like Thief THIS much
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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I like reading his blog for the obscure shitty games I'll never play because they're shitty (like generic Ultima clone #14324)
Yeah, CRPG Addict is cool for this and to check for hidden gems that no one else talks about. His opinion on Wizardry or Ultima matters little to me.

Is why I don't really care if he ever reaches the late 90s, I'm more curious to see if he'll find anything worthwhile in the late Mac & Amiga RPGs, or in the shareware stuff. Things are more well-documented after Windows 95 became the standard platform.

Ah, but there's a LOT of interesting stuff in late 90s to early 00s Macintosh RPGs that is extremely unknown (and sometimes even completely lost to time).
 

Morpheus Kitami

Liturgist
Joined
May 14, 2020
Messages
2,476
I like reading his blog for the obscure shitty games I'll never play because they're shitty (like generic Ultima clone #14324)
Yeah, CRPG Addict is cool for this and to check for hidden gems that no one else talks about. His opinion on Wizardry or Ultima matters little to me.

Is why I don't really care if he ever reaches the late 90s, I'm more curious to see if he'll find anything worthwhile in the late Mac & Amiga RPGs, or in the shareware stuff. Things are more well-documented after Windows 95 became the standard platform.
Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing early Windows RPGs, since those can be a bit difficult to run/find these days. Castle of the Wind's contemporaries. There's a surprising number of Windows shareware titles, some I don't think are documented at all on major sites.
 

Darth Canoli

Arcane
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Jun 8, 2018
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Perched on a tree
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.

It's better to play them, if you lack the time to play the entire series, just pick one or two and take some notes in case you have to drop it for a while.
M&M VIII is the shortest and more focused of the second trilogy and of good quality too.
M&M III is the best choice if you like them better in 2D and M&M II if older UI doesn't bother you.


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).

Not really because i don't trust his judgment nor his retarded notation system, i'd rather read a random LP if nobody's talking about a specific game in the Codex.
 
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EldarEldrad

Savant
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Sep 13, 2017
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253
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Russia
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.
I wouldn't recommend M&MVII as the entry point for new players if they are perfectionists. Dragon in the starting cave is too tedious to kill if you do not know what to do.
 

mondblut

Arcane
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Aug 10, 2005
Messages
22,205
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Ingrija
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.

To each his own. Reading his writeup on Fate has actually motivated me to start playing it for the third time and finally take it all the way to the final nude scene. Of course, I left no corners uncut, heavily relied on all available meta and wasn't above outright cheating when it suited me.

I guess that dude above didn't really want to play Might & Magic all that much to begin with.
 
Joined
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Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut
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?
save wizardry 8 for last because you won't want to play the rest afterwards
 

Poseidon00

Arcane
Joined
Dec 11, 2018
Messages
2,039
I've only briefly played some of the games, but I felt like FF1 was the closest the series got to being a traditional CRPG, whereas later get extremely anime, especially in the story department. Its probably the novelty of seeing a console game do the genre decently that gave its rating.

The first 3 weren't bad and each improved on the other in my opinion, I think it was with 4 and 5 that we started seeing the anime vibes to it.
 

Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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14,131
Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
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.

To each his own. Reading his writeup on Fate has actually motivated me to start playing it for the third time and finally take it all the way to the final nude scene. Of course, I left no corners uncut, heavily relied on all available meta and wasn't above outright cheating when it suited me.

I guess that dude above didn't really want to play Might & Magic all that much to begin with.

Somehow I’d never heard of the Fate game but seems like the kind of game maybe I’ll just read his walkthrough instead of playing. Sample quote:

There are options to kiss and touch your fellow party members. I don't know why I would do this.

Looks like JarlFrank is right!
 

JarlFrank

I like Thief THIS much
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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
sor-cafe_au_lait-a.jpg

f2shot38.jpg
 

Watser

Arcane
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
1,865,075
Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign
The obvious answers for "best M&M and Wiz games for a beginner" are obviously:

Wizardry 4
Might and Magic IX
:M
If a woman can't figure out how to leave the first room in wizardry 4 she belongs in the gutter.
It's a great first date activity :obviously:
 

Desiderius

Found your egg, Robinett, you sneaky bastard
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Insert Title Here Pathfinder: Wrath
Pretty sure it was a woman who wrote one the only good reviews when it came out IIRC.
 

mondblut

Arcane
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
22,205
Location
Ingrija
Somehow I’d never heard of the Fate game

It was only out on Amiga, and a lesson of unbridled design ambition that couldn't be reigned. Imagine if Cleve was depressive rather than manic and got hired to work on a doomed sequel to Alternate Reaility, not to Wizardry 7.

* admittingly, the unspeakable dungeon of Agyssium is what the Samhain underworld has been building tension to be but fell flat.

There are options to kiss and touch your fellow party members. I don't know why I would do this.

Akshually, a nymph-class character can revive slain party members by kissing them. Which does comes useful more than once. I suppose touching does something along these lines, too.

I began cutting corners when I realized that the efficient character development requires you to spend months of your life doing dumb shit like pickpocketing and charming enemies instead of just killing them and moving on. And that all that development doesn't mean shit in the end anyway, all you need is a relatively high level priest to pray the gay away, every encounter.
 

Tweed

Professional Kobold
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harsh circumstances
Pathfinder: Wrath
Best entry for Wizardry is Wiz 1. The first few hours are unfriendly, yes, but you can learn how to access a game, can't you? Once you're over the relatively small hump you'll be crawling dungeons with the best of them and it prepares you for all other Wizardries and Wizardry clones to come after.
Best entry for M&M is Xeen. It is the most accessible and none of the basic principles that make M&M what it is change. The continuous plot isn't sullied just by playing Xeen first and then moving backwards or forwards.
 

mondblut

Arcane
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
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Ingrija
More like marriage destroyed his balls.

Was he even married? By what little do we know, late mr. Patzenhauer was a shut in, probably highly autistic. He died under unknown circumstances which are likely better left unrevealed. The other guy who worked on Fate has killed himself. This game is a showcase of human futility and the tragedy of human condition in more ways than one.
 

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