Blobbers, don't know what to make of them

[agris]

The real problem is that blobbers are an evolutionary dead end. They were okay for their time (not really), but for a completely satisfying experience we have to go beyond the blob. Stick with isometric games with good stories and mechanics.

Archaelund would like to have a word with you

 

[smaug]

Might and Magic X is a modern blobber with varied environments, although the mechanical depth and itemization is somewhat lacking

Darth Roxor *brofists this post*

 

[lvl 2 Blue Slime]

Albion is weird. For everyone who loves the game, there are just as many who bounced off it. It's interesting, but it's also weird in terms of game mechanics.

It's a beautiful game, especially the first-person parts, I just love the colourful, exotic alien world vibe. But it seems it took a lot of influence from JRPGs, which shows in the mechanics and especially the grindy-ness.

 

[Tweed]

Messages: 1

So, you gonna give us some feedback about our suggestions and whether or not you took them or you just gonna post and run?

 

[prayerupondeafears]

I will do the first. I appreciate all the depth of responses from the thread so far. I think for my first 3 I will start with Might and Magic VI, Bards Tale, and Lands of Lore after I finish Wizardry 6, and slowly go through everything else named based on how interesting it looks.

 

[HappyDaddyWow!]

Years ago I tried the first few SMT games looking to get into blobbers, but ultimately dropped them because I never understood them.

The SNES SMT games aren't necessarily bad, but they fall into the same pitfall that most JRPGs of that era fall into - completely obnoxious encounter rates and unbalanced piss easy combat.

If you want to give dungeon crawlers and SMT another try I highly recommend Strange Journey. It's challenging, but not in a way that's obtuse or unfair. It's a perfect starting point for the genre imo.

 

[Grampy_Bone]

Extensive reproducible results show modern people have almost no capacity to visualize things internally and have no internal dialogue to narrate their experience. They have this in common with old world primates. Manboons with draining sinuses cannot into blobbers.

What is really incredible is that we could still be pretending we live in a civilization with an average IQ of 95 and absolutely no evidence of higher order abstract reasoning. Clearly we are on afterburner fumes here.

*emphasis added*

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Would recommend Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar for a turn-based blobber, except that it might rely too heavily on stone-walled dungeons for the taste of prayerupondeafears:

 

[Old Hans]

i hate to toot my own horn but im like the #1 blubber player on this website

 

[ropetight]

Might and Magic X is a modern blobber with varied environments, although the mechanical depth and itemization is somewhat lacking

Darth Roxor *brofists this post*

Game is ok, but has great downside.
Ubisoft DRM Uplay already crippled the game, and knowing Ubisoft, they will rather kill a game than remove DRM.

From 25 January 2024: Online features will no longer be available for this product and for Might & Magic: Heroes VI

 

[agris]

Might and Magic X is a modern blobber with varied environments, although the mechanical depth and itemization is somewhat lacking

Darth Roxor *brofists this post*

Game is ok, but has great downside.
Ubisoft DRM Uplay already crippled the game, and knowing Ubisoft, they will rather kill a game than remove DRM.

From 25 January 2024: Online features will no longer be available for this product and for Might & Magic: Heroes VI

There is a fan patch that strips the drm, fixes bugs, unlocks all the extra items/quests/dlc. I beat with the game with it, it works.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/238750/discussions/0/3201495011988800705/

 

[anvi]

My first RPG was Eye of the Beholder 2. I was so hooked. It is good for beginners.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

If you want to give dungeon crawlers and SMT another try I highly recommend Strange Journey. It's challenging, but not in a way that's obtuse or unfair. It's a perfect starting point for the genre imo.

It's also a fairly odd title, especially if you're expecting just another SMT game. I've seen several lists of "What SMT game should you start with?" and Strange Journey pops up a few times in them, even though it's not the typical type of SMT. I've played through the beginning of several of them, and this one had one of the more interesting stories, in my opinion.

I still say that the 3DS is the king of blobbers. There's a ridiculous amount of them for the NDS/3DS.

 

[I eat frozen vegetables]

If you want to give dungeon crawlers and SMT another try I highly recommend Strange Journey. It's challenging, but not in a way that's obtuse or unfair. It's a perfect starting point for the genre imo.

It's also a fairly odd title, especially if you're expecting just another SMT game. I've seen several lists of "What SMT game should you start with?" and Strange Journey pops up a few times in them, even though it's not the typical type of SMT. I've played through the beginning of several of them, and this one had one of the more interesting stories, in my opinion.

I still say that the 3DS is the king of blobbers. There's a ridiculous amount of them for the NDS/3DS.

I highly recommend Beyond the Labyrinth for a good 3DS blobber. Just make sure to get the fan translation if you don't speak Nippon.

 

[anvi]

What's the best 3DS blobber that is mostly combat and not much story?

 

[HappyDaddyWow!]

What's the best 3DS blobber that is mostly combat and not much story?

Hate to sound like a broken record, but definitely Strange Journey. It's seriously one of the best titles in the entire genre and I highly recommend it even if you're not typically into JRPGs.

If you want to give dungeon crawlers and SMT another try I highly recommend Strange Journey. It's challenging, but not in a way that's obtuse or unfair. It's a perfect starting point for the genre imo.

I still say that the 3DS is the king of blobbers. There's a ridiculous amount of them for the NDS/3DS

On this topic, although I admittedly haven't played much of this series, I played an Etrian Odyssey game years ago and it has one of the most ingenious mapping systems I've seen.

Instead of auto-mapping or giving you no map at all, you draw the map for the dungeons by hand on the touch screen as you play the game. It's such a clever solution to this problem of modernizing the genre and I hope it's something other blobbers include in the future.

 

[lvl 2 Blue Slime]

What's the best 3DS blobber that is mostly combat and not much story?

Etrian Odyssey

 

[luj1]

Years ago I tried the first few SMT games looking to get into blobbers, but ultimately dropped them because I never understood them. Recently, I decided to try to get through Wizardry 6, and it was alright so far. I got passed the beginning castle section, and now I am in the mines, but like most of these games back in the 90s, they were very convoluted, and honestly a bit of hassle, even with the guide from crimsontear. Having to roll over a 20 bonus in character creation to get even a decent start in the game, the grinding, and overall bland environments, which I am already tired of seeing the same cobblestone walls. So, I decided to balance out a rather old game with newer game on the genre.

I tried playing Legend of Grimrock, hoping for a more modern experience, and I did get that, but also all of the interesting, but convoluted depth, of Wizardry is gone, and replaced with a simple, but repetitive battle system, boring character building, and while cool puzzle solving is now getting rather grating with the deeper levels. It is ironic because I felt more of a drive to finish Wizardry than a drive to get through Grimrock. Overall, both experiences felt like chores. I think its too early to judge an entire genre on the basis of two games, so on that note, I would like recommendations for more blobbers that don't fall into the parts I do not like of either game. Maybe even games that do whatever either one is doing is fine too.

Try Wizardry 8

 

[luj1]

Overall, both experiences felt like chores.

Or maybe you should cure your ADHD first

 

[I eat frozen vegetables]

What's the best 3DS blobber that is mostly combat and not much story?

What's the best 3DS blobber that is mostly combat and not much story?

Hate to sound like a broken record, but definitely Strange Journey. It's seriously one of the best titles in the entire genre and I highly recommend it even if you're not typically into JRPGs.

If you want to give dungeon crawlers and SMT another try I highly recommend Strange Journey. It's challenging, but not in a way that's obtuse or unfair. It's a perfect starting point for the genre imo.

I still say that the 3DS is the king of blobbers. There's a ridiculous amount of them for the NDS/3DS

On this topic, although I admittedly haven't played much of this series, I played an Etrian Odyssey game years ago and it has one of the most ingenious mapping systems I've seen.

Instead of auto-mapping or giving you no map at all, you draw the map for the dungeons by hand on the touch screen as you play the game. It's such a clever solution to this problem of modernizing the genre and I hope it's something other blobbers include in the future.

What's the best 3DS blobber that is mostly combat and not much story?

Etrian Odyssey

I will also throw my hat into this by saying Etrian Odyssey (again).

 

[adddeed]

I found Legend of Grimrock super fun and played through twice. The sequal is amazing as well.
Also Wizards and Warriors is really nice is probably the best when it comes to dungeon design and exploration.

 

[prayerupondeafears]

Would recommend Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar for a turn-based blobber, except that it might rely too heavily on stone-walled dungeons for the taste of prayerupondeafears:

Going from the screenshots the art is really great. I should have clarified that stone walls are my most minor complaint for the game. Wolfenstein and Rise of the Triad have gotten rid of that bias mostly. Just that in an RPG context it took getting used to, and no longer a problem after spending some more time in these games.

Years ago I tried the first few SMT games looking to get into blobbers, but ultimately dropped them because I never understood them.

The SNES SMT games aren't necessarily bad, but they fall into the same pitfall that most JRPGs of that era fall into - completely obnoxious encounter rates and unbalanced piss easy combat.

If you want to give dungeon crawlers and SMT another try I highly recommend Strange Journey. It's challenging, but not in a way that's obtuse or unfair. It's a perfect starting point for the genre imo.

I have been considering trying out the series again. I will put this one on my list. The only I have played through fully is SMT 3. I though it was great for the combat, but the story came and went like nothing. If I replayed it now with a combat and monster collecting mindset I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

This thread definitely reignited my interest into diving into more older styles/releases. Most of my previous experience was spent with the isometric style, but the move into this has been becoming easier.