Amiga, Apple, Atari and Commodore Exclusive Must Play RPGs

[Deuce Traveler]

Eye of the beholder

Not exclusive as it was also popularized on the IBM and IBM compatible PCs. That being said I am not sure about how to annotate my list now, since according to HiddenX some games on my budding list I had never heard of before recently, and that I assumed were Amiga exclusive, can in fact be found in DOS form.

 

[Excidium]

Well, yes, if you have ADHD you probably shouldn't play it, that's true. Or any oldschool rpg for that matter.

#cool #oldschool #monocle

That has nothing to do with hipsterdom, but when you're an unpatient person playing games like Wizardry VII or Fate just seems like a stupid idea.

It's less about patience and more about fun. I doubt the game stays fresh for "hundreds of hours" if it does then it must the best CRPG ever flying under everyone's radar

 

[Scroo]

It's less about patience and more about fun. I doubt the game stays fresh for "hundreds of hours" if it does then it must the best CRPG ever flying under everyone's radar

Well but it is

 

[Deuce Traveler]

It's less about patience and more about fun. I doubt the game stays fresh for "hundreds of hours" if it does then it must the best CRPG ever flying under everyone's radar

Well but it is

That was the perfect use of a smug smiley. Added to my list.

Would anyone consider Moonstone: A Hard Day's Knight on the Amiga to be a great, but forgotten gem or a game that is simply good for what it is?

 

[:Flash:]

It's less about patience and more about fun. I doubt the game stays fresh for "hundreds of hours" if it does then it must the best CRPG ever flying under everyone's radar

I have to admit that I'm anything but a Fate expert, but I have yet to meet someone who has played it for more than an hour and didn't think it was great.
At the same time there are very few people who have actually finished the game (I'm not one of them). But that is actually one of the cool things about it. It was designed by a Neanderthal to be a real challenge to beat. When the creator was still alive and posting on forums, he was rather proud of the fact that so few people finished it.
I'll readily admit that I'll possibly never finish it, but that doesn't mean I think that games like this shouldn't exist.

 

[Luzur]

i'll do my best.

Ultima II
Ultima V
Legacy of the Ancients
Gold Box (those that came out on C64/Amiga)
Buck Rogers I-II
Bard's Tale I-III
Wizards Crown
Mars Saga
Star Flight
Rings of Zilfin (kinda RPG Light)
Times of Lore
Sword of Fargoal
Alternate Reality: The Dungeon
Temple of Apshai
Legend of Blacksilver
Demons Winter
Might and Magic I-III (yep Isles of Terra came to Amiga)
Telengard (kinda unsure of this one, i can barely remember if it was RPG or Rogue..)
Lords of Midnight
Shadowfire
Wizardry series
Elvira I-II
Master of Magic
Neuromancer
Rivers of Light
Knights of Legend
Abandoned Places
Space Rogue
Newcomer
Magic Candle
Dragon Wars
Car Wars

 

[dragonbait]

Phantasie II (c64, apple II, atari 8-bit, atari-ST)
Eternal Dagger (apple II, atari 8-bit, c64)
Wrath of Denethenor (apple II, c64)

 

[Deuce Traveler]

i'll do my best.

Ultima II
Ultima V
Legacy of the Ancients
Gold Box (those that came out on C64/Amiga)
Buck Rogers I-II
Bard's Tale I-III
Wizards Crown
Mars Saga
Star Flight
Rings of Zilfin (kinda RPG Light)
Times of Lore
Sword of Fargoal
Alternate Reality: The Dungeon
Temple of Apshai
Legend of Blacksilver
Demons Winter
Might and Magic I-III (yep Isles of Terra came to Amiga)
Telengard (kinda unsure of this one, i can barely remember if it was RPG or Rogue..)
Lords of Midnight
Shadowfire
Wizardry series
Elvira I-II
Master of Magic
Neuromancer
Rivers of Light
Knights of Legend
Abandoned Places
Space Rogue
Newcomer
Magic Candle
Dragon Wars
Car Wars

Most of these are non-exclusive and crossed multiple platforms. Are any of these exclusively non-IBM PC and belong on a Must Play list?

 

[Mortmal]

From memory, legend of blacksilver is a commodore 64 exclusive , sword of fargoal vic 20 /C64 , shadowfyre c64/ZX81 , telengard C64 and yes rogue like but every 8 bits machines got it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telengard . needless to say the C64 has the superior version

The other titles arent commodore exclusives, but except for MM3 the amiga version is clearly superior to anything.


Now that i think about it luzur mention elvira but there's also waxworks , the pc version came after the amiga one :

 

[HiddenX]

Missed Fate: Gates of Dawn back in 90s.
I have to try it some day

 

[Gregz]

The amber games are really great, that much I recall.

The more popular/better games were usually ported to the PC eventually. Wizardry 1 was released in 1981, and it has a PC port for instance, but this thread is still a good idea.

I know there are some great Amiga games out there I never managed to get around to (mostly because the emulator is a hellish thing to get working).

 

[Luzur]

From memory, legend of blacksilver is a commodore 64 exclusive , sword of fargoal vic 20 /C64 , shadowfyre c64/ZX81 , telengard C64 and yes rogue like but every 8 bits machines got it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telengard . needless to say the C64 has the superior version

The other titles arent commodore exclusives, but except for MM3 the amiga version is clearly superior to anything.


Now that i think about it luzur mention elvira but there's also waxworks , the pc version came after the amiga one :

ah yes, Waxworks.

also, i am kinda remembering some Polish (i think?) homebrew FPV RPG's for Amiga, but the names escape me now.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Gregz , I found a website for Amiga games called the Company. Their games do not require an emulator. I haven't figured out the keyboard scheme yet, or how the save game features work, since the site is Polish.

http://thecompany.pl/

I found Evil's Doom, Hired Guns, and Black Crypt there.

 

[Luzur]

there is also The Standing Stones, by EA:

 

[HiddenX]

10. Faery Tale adventure
09. Ishar 2
08. Ambermoon
07. HeroQuest 2: Legacy of Sorasil
06. Hired Guns
05. Eye of the Beholder 2
04. Black Crypt
03. Dungeon Master
02. Captive
01. Eye of the Beholder

were popular amiga crpgs
take a look here.

 

[Luzur]

Bloodwych
Legends of Valor

kinda hard to find exclusive ones, most where ports.

 

[Daemongar]

i'll do my best.
Ultima II
Ultima V
Legacy of the Ancients
Gold Box (those that came out on C64/Amiga)

The best version of the Gold Box games came out on the Amiga. Best sound, animations, etc. Think the first one to be "better" was Secret of the Silver Blades, but I could be wrong.

Buck Rogers I-II
Bard's Tale I-III

Best versions were for Amiga, but if MMXI was here, he'd argue up a storm.

Wizards Crown
Mars Saga
Star Flight
Rings of Zilfin (kinda RPG Light)
Times of Lore
Sword of Fargoal
Alternate Reality: The Dungeon
Temple of Apshai
Legend of Blacksilver
Demons Winter

Best version was the Amiga version.

Might and Magic I-III (yep Isles of Terra came to Amiga)
Telengard (kinda unsure of this one, i can barely remember if it was RPG or Rogue..)

Played the hell out of this - D&D type rogue, fun but poorly balanced.

Lords of Midnight
Shadowfire
Wizardry series
Elvira I-II
Master of Magic
Neuromancer
Rivers of Light

Best version was for the Amiga - believe it had stereo sound and much better than other versions.

Knights of Legend
Abandoned Places
Space Rogue
Newcomer
Magic Candle
Dragon Wars

Best version was the Amiga version - had sound, and better graphics than the IBM version

Car Wars

I'd add Wasteland as the best version was for the C64. Best sound, graphics and gameplay.
Also, add Phantasie I - III to the Amiga
Add Dungeon Keeper to Atari 800 or Amiga, I suppose. Otherwise, a fantastic list!

 

[Daemongar]

The amber games are really great, that much I recall.

The more popular/better games were usually ported to the PC eventually. Wizardry 1 was released in 1981, and it has a PC port for instance, but this thread is still a good idea.

I know there are some great Amiga games out there I never managed to get around to (mostly because the emulator is a hellish thing to get working).

Have you tried: http://www.amigaforever.com/ It doesn't come with many games, but allows you to import ADF files and set the parameters per game (or it will automatically set them.) Then save the profile. It supports save states and other things which were not native to the Amiga. The most difficult thing is creating blank floppies for save games, but once you do it once, it gets easier.

 

[V_K]

On Mac there's Cythera, a very good indie Ultima-clone.

 

[octavius]

Comments to Daemongar's list:

Gold Box games: I'd only play the Krynn games on the Amiga, for the better audiovisuals. Amiga version of Secret of the Silver Blades was bugged (Cloaks of Displacement made you immune to physical attacks). DOS versions of Savage Frontier games probably look just as good as Amiga version.

Bard's Tale games:
Amiga versions of 1 and 2 looked very good, but all three were bugged in some ways (overflow bug on Hunter's critical hit in 1/2, monsters lacking special attacks in 3). DOS versions were bugged too (though there is a fan made patch for 3), making the original Apple version the best ones. It's probably not a coincidence that it's the emulated Apple versions GOG sells.

Phantasie 2 was not released for Amiga, but 1 and 3 looks much better on the Amiga (and Atari ST). Problem is finding an Amiga copy where the overland is not already explored.

And as Excidium also mentioned, Dragon Wars definitely looks much better on the Amiga.

Magic Candle and Knight of Legend: were there really Amiga versions of these games?

Generally those old games look better on the Amiga (Star Command actually looks worse, though), but emulation is harder, and usually much slower than DosBox, so it's not always worth it, IMO, unless you manage to install them to a virtual HD.

 

[Telengard]

Centauri Alliance - my favorite of the "Bard's Tale Series". My only gripe at the time was the hex based addition to combat, which I thought was a great idea when I read about it, but it turned out to be too simple in practice

Telengard is a roguelike (or is Rogue a Telengard-like?) that has a recent fan-made PC version, so it is relatively painless to try

There is also the TI-99's exclusive Tunnels of Doom, which might suck, might not, but I really enjoyed it at the time. Kind of a first-of-it's-kind deal. There is emulation software around

 

[Mortmal]

Comments to Daemongar's list:



Magic Candle and Knight of Legend: were there really Amiga versions of these games?

Generally those old games look better on the Amiga (Star Command actually looks worse, though), but emulation is harder, and usually much slower than DosBox, so it's not always worth it, IMO, unless you manage to install them to a virtual HD.

Yes magic candle was even on the C64 , but not 2 and 3 .Knight of legends was C64 . As for emulation WInUAE is super easy to use . If you cant run this emulator i say dont bother playing rpgs they are too hard.

http://www.lemonamiga.com/
You could aslo buy their amiga forever disk with everything prebuilt and preconfigured.

 

[dragonbait]

Centauri Alliance - my favorite of the "Bard's Tale Series". My only gripe at the time was the hex based addition to combat, which I thought was a great idea when I read about it, but it turned out to be too simple in practice

Telengard is a roguelike (or is Rogue a Telengard-like?) that has a recent fan-made PC version, so it is relatively painless to try

There is also the TI-99's exclusive Tunnels of Doom, which might suck, might not, but I really enjoyed it at the time. Kind of a first-of-it's-kind deal. There is emulation software around

I also didn't like the hex based combat of Centauri Alliance. If only Michael Cranford had kept with the scrolling text combat style like the Bard's tale games had, Centauri Alliance would have been a much better game IMO. The combat was basically the only reason that I didn't get very far in the game. Still though, it is worth checking out if you haven't played it before. Here is Andrew Shultz's map archives of Centauri Alliance which may be of help.
http://web.archive.org/web/20091023223753/geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762/centauri/tmphtm.htm

+ speaking of the TI-99, there is a demo of Realms of Antiquity that people might want to check out.
http://www.adamantyr.com/crpg/

There are also Commodore VIC-20 games of Realms of Quest I-IV, and Ultimate Quest for Commodore 64. Realms of Quest III and IV are very good. Haven't played much of the other ones yet.
http://realmsofquest.blogspot.com/

And there is also Paladin's Legacy for the TRS-80.
http://paladinslegacyretro.wordpress.com/

 

[octavius]

As for emulation WInUAE is super easy to use . If you cant run this emulator i say dont bother playing rpgs they are too hard.

Super easy? Are you kidding me? I once knew a guy who could take remote control of other people's computers, but WinUAE was too difficult for him.
Anyway, the point was that using WinUAE is much slower than DosBox, escpecially when the program needs to constantly load new data from the virtual floppy disk or you need to manually change virtual floppies because the original game did not support HD or extra floppy disk drives.

 

[rpgcodexusername]

The best version of Buck Rogers I is on the Sega Megadrive