Best grid-based dungeon crawlers?

[Luzur]

Yendorian Tales I-III ... good luck finding the first one

Do you mean this game, Luzur?

I have it, but haven't played it yet. (Can't say I particularly liked Chapter 2.)
Just tried running it in Dosbox and it seems to work. I'm not sure if I have the full version, though.
I've uploaded a zip for those interested: http://www.mediafire.com/?m5v71xa8b8ya2yc. (Is this allowed by our dear moderators btw? )

you have the first one? i only have 2 and 3, never played the first one since i had a hard time finding 2 and 3 for download.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Dark Heart of Uukrul; I heard its dungeon design is one of the best and most unforgiving, traps- and puzzles-wise.

That game is brutal. And confusing. Really confusing. And it doesn't stop at never holding you hand at all, but if you reach out for help it will cut it and then force you to eat it. Scary game.

Nice, I'll definitely try it out.

And I haven't played Deathlord, though I heard of it. It seems much more, uhm, epic in scope, I start feeling anxious when my role playing games leave the dungeon and start sprawling entire continents, to be honest.

I'd say you should, it's very good, but that's entirely up to you, of course.

Obitus

Thx.

you have the first one?

Well, yes, I believe I have. It's this game, right: http://www.mobygames.com/game/yendorian-tales-book-i? You may want to check the link to a zip with the game that I posted to make sure that really is the game you have in mind. It seems to run fine in Dosbox.

 

[Lord Rocket]

Laughing hard at the people here who don't know who Stabwound is. Jesus.

Mordor: Depths of Dejenol is pretty good fun, didn't see anyone mention that, although I did skim a lot of the posts in this thread. Did anyone mention Hired Guns? That's an interesting one, the Team Yankee of crawlers.
If you want something more on the adventure game side (and I guess you don't, since I read the OP, but I'm mentioning it anyway): Circuit's Edge.
EDIT: Just to expand a little, CE is grid based, but doesn't include any actual crawling per se; althouh if you were bored you could walk around picking fights I suppose. Good game for those who want something a little different, both gameplay and setting wise.

 

[Luzur]

Well, yes, I believe I have. It's this game, right: http://www.mobygames.com/game/yendorian-tales-book-i? You may want to check the link to a zip with the game that I posted to make sure that really is the game you have in mind. It seems to run fine in Dosbox.

first one is birds-eye-view, while 2 and 3 goes full Might and Magic III.
i found a zip containing 2 and 3 last year after some 2-3 days searching the darker reaches of abandonware/retro pirate sites, but the first one seems pretty much rare to find in full version.

Laughing hard at the people here who don't know who Stabwound is. Jesus.

sorry if he is special to you or something, but no i dont know who he is, prob a Drog alt.

 

[Crooked Bee]

first one is birds-eye-view, while 2 and 3 goes full Might and Magic III.
i found a zip containing 2 and 3 last year after some 2-3 days searching the darker reaches of abandonware/retro pirate sites, but the first one seems pretty much rare to find in full version.

Yup, that's right. Personally, I found what was claimed to be a full version of the first one -- the one I linked to above -- on some obscure Cyrillic site a couple of years ago. I'm still not sure if that's indeed a full version, since I haven't yet given it a spin except for the starting area. It doesn't say anything about being a trial version in the starting menu or credits, however.

don't know who Stabwound is

So, uhm, who might he be?

 

[Castanova]

So, uhm, who might he be?

It's just funny cuz people are recommending he try roguelikes when he holds, as far as I know, the recorded world record for consecutive Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup ascensions.

 

[Zomg]

elliptic (PBUH) got 20 in a row in the fall, going past stabwound's 19. Closest after that is 13, 11, 11. So dude has played a lot of roguelike is the point.

Although really Crawl is so focused on the gameplay that playing shit like ToME, stuff about build-wanking or loot, is a totally different experience that might be more of a traditional dungeon crawl despite the name.

 

[MisterStone]

So, uhm, who might he be?

It's just funny cuz people are recommending he try roguelikes when he holds, as far as I know, the recorded world record for consecutive Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup ascensions.

Heh, I was going to point this out too. You're tha MAN Stabwound, THE MAN!

 

[OuterSpace]

please keep this thread going. This is a gold mine.

 

[Eyeball]

On the subject of Mordor, the sequel, Demise, is an excellent ultragrindy dungeon crawler and single-player MMORPG: www.decklinsdemise.com

It has trouble running on Vista though, and the one-man developer is a titanic faggotass. He's promised an expansion for about five years now, allowing Vista players to play. He last stated that it was finished and would be released.

In October 2010.

Aside from the compatibility issues and extremely faggotness of the developer, Demise is a game I've sunk tons of hours into. Exploring the GIGANTIC dungeon is simply fun, and there are hundreds of different monsters to encounter.

 

[mondblut]

Do you mean this game, Luzur?

Yeah, that's the one. I am too not sure whether it's trial or not. But, according to setup, there should be a 256 color VESA version too, but this package doesn't have it (only the *.16 files; asks for a floppy if trying to install 256 color).

 

[RottingNaziSurfer]

Recent ones:
Etrian Odyssey 3 FTW
Dark Spire
SMT: Strange Journey
These three are pure win.

Great dungeon crawler games. And hard as fuck, too. I finished SMT: Strange Journey earlier this year, and I'm still working my way through Etrian Odyssey 3. But The Dark Spire is quite the bastard as I had to put it down and walk away from it for awhile.

I just got a new NDS XL system for Christmas this year, so I'm looking forward to playing on bigger screens without my eyes feeling strained after only an hour.

Why the fuck do dungeon crawlers apparently sell well on NDS while being a totally dead genre on PC!? Talk about console kiddies.

This year alone, I think I put in just as much time on my NDS as I did on my PC. And that's only because I mostly play wargames on my PC which are just as time consuming as the dungeon crawlers.

 

[Stabwound]

Awesome suggestions, and actually a few games I've never heard of.

Are the Yendorian Tales games good? The second/third games are clearly unashamed MM3-5 clones by the looks of the screenshots. I also really need to get into Wizardry 7 some time. The few times I've tried to, I spent an hour generating my characters and then barely played for 5 minutes. Oddly enough, I watched my mother play it to completion when I was a kid but was too young to play it myself then.

I also agree that it's quite ironic that a handheld Nintendo console aimed toward kids has become the main platform for oldschool dungeon crawlers while there are next to none released on the PC anymore. Etrian Odyssey 1-3 and Dark Spire are mainstream RPGs that are far more hardcore than anything mainstream on the PC since Wizardry 8, unless I'm forgetting something. I have no clue how a kid would ever get anywhere in these games. I guess it must be more commercially viable for companies to release the games on a Nintendo console than to develop them as PC games, which is a shame.

And yeah, I've played probably every well known roguelike there is. Another genre that I enjoy a lot, but am burnt out on now.

 

[Luzur]

Are the Yendorian Tales games good? The second/third games are clearly unashamed MM3-5 clones by the looks of the screenshots. I also really need to get into Wizardry 7 some time.

well 2 and 3 are good in my book, gives me that wonderful "i am playing a new Might and Magic game" feeling.

but the first i have no idea, havent tried it yet.

 

[Castanova]

Having played EO1/2, I decided to read some reviews of EO3 to see what's new. I came across this gem at IGN:

Unfortunately this game adopts such a "hardcore means not explaining anything" mindset that it doesn't teach you how to use the map – the most important tool at your disposal. Sure, there's a basic intro, but the legend is never explained and there are some pretty random icons included (a hand? Scissors? The letter "E"? What does it all mean?!).

Several hours later and I was so sleepy that it took all my strength to keep my eyes open. Exploring the maze was tiresome, especially since (by design) almost everything looks the same.

Battles are the easiest way to gain experience points, but the basic turn-based system does little to keep you engaged in the action. The bare-bones battle animations make for more of a snooze-fest than an epic fight. I get that the point is to mimic old-school RPGS, but would adding animations really be that offensive?

I like RPGs, I like leveling up and I like adding to my team's repertoire of skills, but this game didn't click with me for one major reason: a lackluster story.

Etrian Odyssey is a tribute to original role-playing games, but there’s a reason that those games don’t exist anymore – the genre has evolved.

http://ds.ign.com/articles/112/1126894p1.html

 

[Wolfus]

I like classics:
Ishar 1-3
Hired Guns
Eye of the Beholder 1-3

PERIHELION: THE PROPHECY
EVIL'S DOOM...

...and most of them all:

AMBERSTAR!

 

[Fowyr]

Oops, I missed good thread. Wiz7, of course.

Obitus

Game was pretty meh, but strangely enchanting in some way. And has too many dead ends.

Yendorian Tales 1

I have shareware version too.
By the way, Luzur, do you finished Yendorian Tales 3? I remember you have some problem with portal key.

 

[Luzur]

no, i got lost and was party poisoned in thiefs cave and died, have not played since then, its on my to do list.

 

[Unradscorpion]

Holy shit, I'm near the beginning of Wizardry 6...

 

[Fowyr]

Holy shit, I'm near the beginning of Wizardry 6...

Lucky you. Do you like Castle?

 

[Wolfus]

What about all-time classic Black Crypt?

 

[Fowyr]

Ah, first game of Raven. How is it?

 

[Wolfus]

Still playable. Fine graphic and "intro" music. No music in game, that's sad, but it was made for Amiga 500 with 512kB RAM... Good difficulty and automap spells, ballanced puzzles, all we need

 

[kmonster]

Best grid-based dungeon crawler? Might and Magic 3 of course.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Fate: Gates of Dawn.

Legend of Faerghail.

Dragon Wars.

The rest have been mentioned.