All good things must eventually to come to an end, and this thread-series is no exception; we're closing off our glorious compendium with an overview of the 1996-1997 era, the final days of mainstream DOS gaming. Links to the previous episodes:
Games worth playing, Vol. I -- 1977-1985
Games worth playing, Vol. II -- 1986-1988
Games worth playing, Vol. III -- 1989-1990
Games worth playing, Vol. IV -- 1991-1992
Games worth playing, Vol. V -- 1993-1994
There are definitely many respectable entries in this present list (my personal higlights being Discworld, Azrael's Tear and Albion), but one cannot help but notice the decline both in originality and sheer quantity compared to the 1991-1992 and 1993-1994 Golden Age periods (I know it's a point of contention what exactly constitutes the "Golden Age", but the 1991-1994 period is hard to beat in terms of the raw number of groundbreaking quality titles).
Out of the total 67, predominantly DOS titles, we have only 2 Amiga games, which sadly means the glory days of this legendary platform are well over. Windows is gaining momentum, as evidenced by the inclusion of no less than 9 Windows 3.x entries. And, to state the obvious, 8-bit machines are virtually dead as a mainstream gaming platform at this point.
In closing, I heard RPG fans tend to like numbers and stuff, so here are some interesting stats!
The final number of entries grew to 740 from the initial ~500, thanks to all the contributors who inspired me research things in a bit more detail and Binky for his bloody magnificent thread. The distribution per genre is as follows:
And here's the distribution of all included platforms. The Intepreter category is basically all Infocom text adventures plus Adventure and Cosmoserve (picking a platform for these adventures is a bit meaningless). The 15 Windows titles are just games with later Windows remakes as the recommended best version. Having grown up with the C64 and the Amiga, I'm rather pleased to be able to genuinely recommend so many games for those platforms as the best version.
Well, that's all folks, I had a lot of fun researching and compiling this list, hopefully some of you will find it useful too. I will most likely update the list from time to time, I'm sure there is room for refinements to be made.
RPG
Adventure
Tactics
Space
Simulation
Games worth playing, Vol. I -- 1977-1985
Games worth playing, Vol. II -- 1986-1988
Games worth playing, Vol. III -- 1989-1990
Games worth playing, Vol. IV -- 1991-1992
Games worth playing, Vol. V -- 1993-1994
There are definitely many respectable entries in this present list (my personal higlights being Discworld, Azrael's Tear and Albion), but one cannot help but notice the decline both in originality and sheer quantity compared to the 1991-1992 and 1993-1994 Golden Age periods (I know it's a point of contention what exactly constitutes the "Golden Age", but the 1991-1994 period is hard to beat in terms of the raw number of groundbreaking quality titles).
Out of the total 67, predominantly DOS titles, we have only 2 Amiga games, which sadly means the glory days of this legendary platform are well over. Windows is gaining momentum, as evidenced by the inclusion of no less than 9 Windows 3.x entries. And, to state the obvious, 8-bit machines are virtually dead as a mainstream gaming platform at this point.
In closing, I heard RPG fans tend to like numbers and stuff, so here are some interesting stats!
The final number of entries grew to 740 from the initial ~500, thanks to all the contributors who inspired me research things in a bit more detail and Binky for his bloody magnificent thread. The distribution per genre is as follows:
And here's the distribution of all included platforms. The Intepreter category is basically all Infocom text adventures plus Adventure and Cosmoserve (picking a platform for these adventures is a bit meaningless). The 15 Windows titles are just games with later Windows remakes as the recommended best version. Having grown up with the C64 and the Amiga, I'm rather pleased to be able to genuinely recommend so many games for those platforms as the best version.
Well, that's all folks, I had a lot of fun researching and compiling this list, hopefully some of you will find it useful too. I will most likely update the list from time to time, I'm sure there is room for refinements to be made.
RPG
1995
- Albion (Blue Byte) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Anvil of Dawn (DreamForge) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Exile I: Escape from the Pit (Spiderweb) [Windows 3.x]
Recommended over the Avernum remakes due to too much streamlining
- Heroes of Might and Magic (New World) [DOS]
- Jagged Alliance (Madlab) [DOS]
- Might and Magic: Swords of Xeen (Catware) [DOS]
Fan-made sequel to World of Xeen, authorised by New World Computing
Has ScummVM support
- Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol (David Allen) [Windows 3.x]
- Ravenloft: Stone Prophet (DreamForge) [DOS]
- Ruins of Cawdor (Ybarra) [DOS]
- Stonekeep (Interplay) [DOS]
- Whale's Voyage II: Die Übermacht (neo) [DOS]
English translation
http://www.indieretronews.com/2016/12/whales-voyage-2-sequel-to-great-amiga.html#more
- World of Aden: Thunderscape (SSI) [DOS]
- Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, The (Bethesda) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Evil's Doom (Olympia) [Amiga]
Has official HD installer
Updated version
https://thecompany.pl/game/Evil's+Doom+1.8
- Exile II: Crystal Souls (Spiderweb) [Windows 3.x]
Recommended over the Avernum remakes due to too much streamlining
- Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars (New World) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games (Sir-Tech) [DOS]
- Nemesis: The Wizardry Adventure (Sir-Tech) [DOS]
- Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis (Paranoid) [Macintosh]
- Realms of Arkania III: Shadows over Riva (Attic) [DOS]
- Yendorian Tales Book 1: Chapter 2 (SW Games) [DOS]
- Aleshar: The World of Ice (Hypothermia) [DOS]
- An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire (Bethesda) [DOS]
- Betrayal in Antara (Sierra) [Windows 3.x]
- Exile III: Ruined World (Spiderweb) [Windows 3.x]
Recommended over the Avernum remakes due to too much streamlining
- Fallout (Interplay) [DOS]
Play Windows version
- Halls of the Dead: Faery Tale Adventure II (Dreamers Guild) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Price of Loyalty (New World) [DOS]
- Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny (Westwood) [DOS]
- Yendorian Tales: The Tyrants of Thaine (SW Games) [DOS]
Adventure
1995
- 11th Hour, The (Trilobyte) [DOS]
Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
- Alone in the Dark 3 (Infogrames) [DOS]
- Atlantis: The Lost Tales (Cryo Interactive) [DOS]
Atlantis series 2
- Beast Within, The: A Gabriel Knight Mystery (Sierra) [DOS]
Gabriel Knight 2
Has ScummVM support
- Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble, The (Coktel Vision) [Windows 3.x]
Has ScummVM support
- Blue Ice (Psygnosis) [Windows 3.x]
- Burn:Cycle (TripMedia) [Windows 3.x]
- Chronomaster (DreamForge) [DOS]
- Cosmology of Kyoto (SOFTEDGE) [Windows 3.x]
- Daedalus Encounter, The (Mechadeus) [Windows 3.x]
- Dark Eye, The (Inscape) [Windows 3.x]
- Darkseed II (Cyberdreams) [Windows 3.x]
- Dig, The (LucasArts) [DOS]
Has ScummVM support
- Discworld (Perfect 10) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
Has ScummVM support
- Dust: A Tale of the Wired West (Cyberflix) [Windows 3.x]
- Fade to Black (Delphine) [DOS]
Sequel to "Flashback: The Quest for Identity"
- Flight of the Amazon Queen (Interactive Binary Illusions) [DOS]
Has ScummVM support
- Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster (Amazing Media) [Windows 3.x]
- Full Throttle (LucasArts) [DOS]
Has ScummVM support
- I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream (Dreamers Guild) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Journeyman Project, The, 2: Buried in Time (Presto) [Windows 3.x]
Has ScummVM support
- Lost Eden (Cryo Interactive) [DOS]
- Majestic Part 1: Alien Encounter (Istvan Pely) [Windows 3.x]
- Mission Critical (Legend) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Panic in the Park (Imagination Pilots) [Windows 3.x]
- Prisoner of Ice (Infogrames) [DOS]
- Residents' Bad Day on the Midway, The (Cryptic Corporation) [Windows 3.x]
- Roberta Williams' Phantasmagoria (Sierra) [DOS]
Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
Has ScummVM support
- Shannara (Legend) [DOS]
- Shivers (Sierra) [Windows 3.x]
Has ScummVM support
- Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe (Adventuresoft) [DOS]
Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
Has ScummVM support
- Space Quest 6: The Spinal Frontier (Sierra) [DOS]
Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
Has ScummVM support
- Star Trek: TNG - A Final Unity (Spectrum Holobyte) [DOS]
- Time Gate: Knight's Chase (Infogrames) [DOS]
- Total Distortion (Pop Rocket) [Windows 3.x]
- Touché: The Adventures of the Fifth Musketeer (Clipper) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
Has ScummVM support
- Azrael's Tear (Intelligent Games) [DOS]
Has ScummVM support
- Bermuda Syndrome (Century Interactive) [Windows 3.x]
- Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (Revolution) [DOS]
Circle of Blood
Has ScummVM support
- Crystal Skull, The (Some Interactive) [Windows 3.x]
- Discworld II: Mortality Bytes! (Perfect 10) [DOS]
Has ScummVM support
- Exploration Zeta (Spencer King) [Macintosh]
World Builder adventure
- Harvester (DigiFX) [DOS]
- Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! (Sierra) [DOS]
Leisure Suit Larry 7
Has ScummVM support
- Lighthouse: The Dark Being (Sierra) [Windows 3.x]
Has ScummVM support
- Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes, The - Case of the Rose Tattoo (Mythos) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
Has ScummVM support
- Mummy: Tomb of the Pharaoh (Amazing Media) [Windows 3.x]
Sequel to "Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster"
- Noir: A Shadowy Thriller (TSi) [Windows 3.x]
- Normality (Gremlin) [DOS]
- Omikron: The Nomad Soul (Quantic Dream) []
- Pandora Directive, The (Access) [DOS]
- Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh (Sierra) [DOS]
Phantasmagoria 2
Has ScummVM support
- RAMA (Sierra) [DOS]
Has ScummVM support
- Ripper (Take-Two Interactive) [DOS]
- Sacred Mirror of Kofun, The (Future Concept) [Windows 3.x]
- Secrets of the Luxor (Mojave) [Windows 3.x]
- Synnergist (Vicarious Visions) [DOS]
- Timelapse (GTE) [Windows 3.x]
- Titanic: Adventure Out of Time (Cyberflix) [Windows 3.x]
- Tomb Raider (Core Design) [DOS]
- Toonstruck (Burst) [DOS]
Has ScummVM support
- Voyeur II (Philips Interactive) [DOS]
- Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands (Zombie) [DOS]
Has ScummVM support
- Backpacker: The Lost Florence Gold Mine (Animagination) [Windows 3.x]
- Blackout (Deadline) [Windows 3.x]
- Blue Heat: The Case of the Cover Girl Murders (Quarium) [Windows 3.x]
- Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (Legend) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Canal District (Louise Hope) [Macintosh]
World Builder adventure
https://www.lucysworlds.com/games/LucysDownloads.html#files
- Day The World Broke, The (Houghton Miffin) [Windows 3.x]
- Double Trouble (Louise Hope) [Macintosh]
World Builder adventure
https://www.lucysworlds.com/games/LucysDownloads.html#files
- Last Express, The (Smoking Car) [DOS]
- Little Big Adventure 2 (Adeline) [DOS]
Twinsen's Odyssey 2
- Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (Oddworld Inhabitants) [DOS]
- Realms of the Haunting (Gremlin) [DOS]
Play Limited Edition
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI
- Sentient (Psygnosis) [DOS]
- Sultan's Palace (Louise Hope) [Macintosh]
World Builder adventure
https://www.lucysworlds.com/games/LucysDownloads.html#files
- Tower, The (Louise Hope) [Macintosh]
World Builder adventure
https://www.lucysworlds.com/games/LucysDownloads.html#files
- Twisted! (Ray Dunakin) [Macintosh]
World Builder adventure
- onEscapee (Invictus) [Amiga]
Has official HD installer
Tactics
1995
- Caesar II (Impressions) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Celtic Tales: Balor of the Evil Eye (KOEI) [DOS]
- Command & Conquer (Westwood) [DOS]
- Machiavelli the Prince (Holistic Design) [DOS]
- Steel Panthers (SSI) [DOS]
- This Means War! (Starjammer) [Windows 3.x]
- Transport Tycoon Deluxe (Chris Sawyer) [DOS]
Alternatively, play OpenTTD (significantly enhanced remake)
https://www.openttd.org/
- WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness (Blizzard) [DOS]
Has OPL3 support
- Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (Mindscape) [Windows 3.x]
- X-COM: Terror from the Deep (MicroProse) [DOS]
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert (Westwood) [DOS]
- Deadlock: Planetary Conquest (Accolade) [Windows 3.x]
- Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares (SimTex) [DOS]
- Sid Meier's Civilization II (MPS Labs) [Windows 3.x]
There's an expansion pack "Sid Meier's Civilization II Scenarios: Conflicts in Civilization"
- Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles (SSI) [DOS]
- Dungeon Keeper (Bullfrog) [DOS]
- Spellcross (Cauldron) [DOS]
- X-COM: Apocalypse (Mythos) [DOS]
Space
1995
- Frontier: First Encounters (Frontier) [DOS]
MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
- Last Dynasty, The (Coktel Vision) [Windows 3.x]
- Millennia: Altered Destinies (Take-Two Interactive) [DOS]
- Escape Velocity (Ambrosia) [Macintosh]
- Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (Origin) [DOS]
Simulation
1995
- Wings of Glory (Origin) [DOS]
- EarthSiege 2 (Dynamix) [Windows 3.x]
- Silent Hunter (SSI) [DOS]
Submarine simulator
- Archimedean Dynasty (Massive) [DOS]
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