Really Obscure RPGs

[Scroo]

Orma why did you rate my post retarded? Look at this:

And then this

Looks pretty inspired by LoL to say the least

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Look at this:

And then this

Looks pretty inspired by LoL to say the least

To me, they both look like rip-offs of Dungeon Master.

 

[samuraigaiden]

Night Watch (2006), by Nival Interactive. Is based on the same franchise as that Russian movie of the same name. Uses the Silent Storm engine. Anyone played this?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

I hear it's quite shit

 

[Tavernking]

Ok so the Wikipedia page for Role-playing games uses a picture from a game called Tales of Trolls & Treasures. Now, apart from a few very very ancient posts on the RPG codex and 3 screenshots, I swear to god this game doesn't actually exist. So it's extremely bizzare that someone has put it on such a broad and highly viewed Wikipedia page. If anyone can find a video of this game, or has a copy of it and can make a short Let's Play, I would be forever in their debt

Note how this third pic is using Baldurs Gate 2 portraits

 

[V_K]

If you open the screenshot's metadata, you'll see that it was uploaded to wiki in 2005 and comes from a website http://rpg-project.com, so the game was still in development then. It was obviously abandoned since, and the site, naturally, isn't available anymore, but the latest working snapshot the Wayback machine has is from 2014: https://web.archive.org/web/20140106111020/https://www.rpg-project.com/. So you can try dowloading the latest alpha from there, but I don't think it'll amount to much.
If I had to guess, I'd say the uploader was probably one of the devs who tried to gain publicity that way, and nobody bothered to remove the screenshot since.

 

[Lord_Potato]

From what I've read here:

http://simplebloggame.blogspot.com/2007/11/tales-of-trolls-and-treasures.html

and here:

http://basiliskgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=423

it was not much of a game but rather an RPG-creator software. However it seems it wasn't finished.

 

[Contagium]

This may be the greatest Codex thread ever . Thank you for all these hidden treasures!

 

[Lord_Potato]

Hopefully everyone can find some gem among these titles!

I know I did.

Have to add some new findings to the thread (I managed to gather plenty!). Perhaps I'll find some time next week, when things get calmer at my work.

 

[Filthy Sauce]

Night Watch (2006), by Nival Interactive. Is based on the same franchise as that Russian movie of the same name. Uses the Silent Storm engine. Anyone played this?

Yes. I still have the box copy even. It's glitchy/broken as fuck. Plays pretty much like silent storm on acid - Character builds are really insane and fun. I remember creating some sort of enchanter and infusing candy bars with magical properties for my team to munch on. Also made a lightsaber out of a florescent light bulb.

If I recall, you can also be a shape shifter or a mage with wierd ass spells. Add in traditional gun fair of the silent storm games, and the whole thing is pretty nutty.

The game is extremely hard and linear though, with too much scripted shit in the missions that can result in instant failure or death, giving a slight puzzle element.

It does have some decent rpg stuff in it, with dialogues and choices effecting future missions.

Sounds good but it's not... Still... I liked it better than hammer & sickle.

 

[Kabas]

I played only the Day Watch(sequel to this one i think?) 'cause the night watch disk happened to be broken or something.

I remember it's having this weird mini-game that depending on how you solved it affected your future mission. Luck controlling mobile device or something like that.
As an example, the night watch officer can recognise your werewolf companion as a wanted criminal and start a fight, but if you solved the mini-game you will have the chance to infiltrate silently. Or it can make the next mission more difficult, doing so might be a requirment in the mini-game to get some good outcome. From what i remember at least.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

any love for Akella pirate games?

Absolutely.

 

[Murk]

Night Watch (2006), by Nival Interactive. Is based on the same franchise as that Russian movie of the same name. Uses the Silent Storm engine. Anyone played this?

I tried, it didn't work out so well: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-tried-the-nightwatch-game.52325/

 

[JarlFrank]

So, uh...

Apparently there's a Diablo clone set in a Biblical Old Testament setting, and it was developed by the Swedish church.

http://testamentgame.bibelsallskapet.se/

 

[V_K]

Of course there is. Churches in Scandinavia are so desperate not to go completely irrelevant they sponsor all kinds of weird projects.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Well, if we're speaking about Diablo clones based on the Old Testament, than here's that:

Five Guardians of David - a Diablo clone, in which you control 5 characters (you can switch between them) in a campaign to make David the king of Israel.

Spoiler

The setting is quite fresh, the reviews are not that bad either, so if someone likes simple arpgs with not much challenge, he or she can give it a go.

 

[AdolfSatan]

Didn't know the codex was into safe and clean gaming. Here's an obscure jewel for ya

"Forgiveness is an awesome turn-based RPG series (there are three games, or chapters) where you lead Jimmy, Esther, Clown, and Paul on a quest to change the world using the power of forgiveness. The graphics and gameplay are old school, like old Final Fantasy or Zelda games only without the occult or homosexual influences."

Quote taken from the best review site ever. I urge you to read his The You Testament piece ASAP.

Here's another gem to entice you:
"WWJS? is an iPhone app that has a cartoon Jesus who will give pieces of wisdom from the Bible every time you click on Him. Unlike occultic devices such as the "Magic 8-Ball", WWJS? only provides true information that is useful in every situation. I haven't been able to try it since Apple products aren't allowed on the Fellowship Campus, but from the description it sounds like it would be very useful for witnessing to the sort of unsaved hipsters who are attracted to iPhones. Get it before Apple realizes that their device is being subverted for righteousness and removes the app from their store."

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

You are right.

Super 3D Noah's Ark was a Christian alternative to Wolfenstein 3D. You again play Noah, only this time you have been on the Ark for months and the animals are getting restless. One day you go to do your rounds and find all the animals have escaped from their cages... and they are coming after you! You have to explore an advanced 3D model of the Ark to find them all and subdue them by shooting them with feed using a slingshot. Don't worry, this only puts them to sleep. You start off being attacked by rams and sheep, but eventually you face larger animals like a camel and elephant. The Bible doesn't say much about what happened in the Ark the 370 days that Noah and everyone were in there, so it's not to hard to imagine something like this really happening.

These are two free games done in a retro style. Soldier of God takes place in a not-too-distant future where Bibles are burned, Christians are hunted, and Bible-believers everywhere are forced into hiding. As Dr. Samuel Gipp, you must shoot your way through nine levels of witches, wizards and other murderous heathens to reach the Christian refugee camp, while collecting priceless fragments of Scripture that the bible-burners missed. Bible Defenders is a Super Mario Brothers type game where you can play as 4 different characters (including Dr. Carl Baugh and Dr. Kent Hovind, who can ride a fire-breathing dinosaur) to collect Jesus fish and hop on turtles. The graphics in both are primitive compared to modern games, but if you like old school gaming and the Bible, these might be just what you're looking for

 

[thesheeep]

So, uh...

Apparently there's a Diablo clone set in a Biblical Old Testament setting, and it was developed by the Swedish church.

http://testamentgame.bibelsallskapet.se/

You are keeping some slaves in your basement, am I right?
Their only task is to scour the internet for absurdly obscure games.
They only get their rations if a weekly quota is met.

 

[DavidBVal]

Why don't they make a game set in the Crusades rather than going for heretic fantasy? I don't get it.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Too many atrocities committed by Christians? Church that would creatr such a game would either be accused of censoring history or celebrating those orgies of slaughter.

 

[Lord_Potato]

European Church (catholic) tradition being the one of corruption, simony and nepotism. And not allowing the common people to read the Bible

 

[JarlFrank]

So, uh...

Apparently there's a Diablo clone set in a Biblical Old Testament setting, and it was developed by the Swedish church.

http://testamentgame.bibelsallskapet.se/

You are keeping some slaves in your basement, am I right?
Their only task is to scour the internet for absurdly obscure games.
They only get their rations if a weekly quota is met.

Yes, and they earned their food for this week. No beatings, even.

Shadow Company: Left for Dead is a cool-looking RPG in a modern setting where you lead an elite group of mercenaries.

The Lost Dimension is, uuuuh... it's a text RPG with some of the most amateurish visuals ever seen. You're the sole survivor of a plane crash and have to explore a lost island. It was an entrant to 2007's IF Comp, even. Not that it placed very high there.

For something actually decent in the text RPG genre, check out Deeper which can be played for free here: http://textadventures.co.uk/games/view/em15b32xd0o-y-ysvgrtcg/deeper
It's written with the Quest engine and has a pretty good interface.

And then...

Well, then we get into the true depths of obscurity, far far beyond anything PC RPGs could ever hope to achieve.

I'm talking about Macintosh RPGs. They exist. Jeff Vogel's games are just the surface. We've seen Jewels of Arabia: Dreamers mentioned here before, which is a really fun game. But the rabbit hole goes even deeper. Far, far deeper.

Fawn and Fawn II are among the most amateurish-looking games I've ever seen. They beat out even the most amatuerish-looking Windows RPGs posted earlier in this thread.
Behold.

In Gang Wars you fight gangsters and businessmen instead of orcs and goblins:

Mighty Nerd is a power fantasy for all Codexers:

Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis looks cool and someone on youtube even made a video about it:



Pillars of Garendall looks about on par with some other game that starts with the word Pillars in the title:

Shattered Stone has some of the most charmingly amateurish visuals ever:

Starseed is a roguelike set on a forsaken space colony:

Sword Dream is an RPG creation engine for Macintosh, so if any of you want to get into game making... :D

Sword Dream is a RPG engine that lets you create your own adventure scenarios. Since 1993, the engine evolved and became Sword Dream 3D. The first download includes both the older 2D and the newer 3D version (1997) of Sword Dream along with many scenarios, French and Italian translations and other extras.

 

[V_K]

You've listed so many bad Mac RPGs and no mention of the one that is actually good? I mean Cythera, of course.

Also:

Fawn and Fawn II are among the most amateurish-looking games I've ever seen. They beat out even the most amatuerish-looking Windows RPGs posted earlier in this thread.

I think Zenfar would beg to differ.

19. Zenfar

Spoiler

DESPAIR THY EYES

Although the screenies don't really communicate the real extent of it's ugliness, you have to see it in motion to truly appreciate that.

 

[SionIV]

Septerra Core is one of my favorite JRPGs (clone).

I haven't heard anyone mention Valhalla Chronicles (2002, pictures can be found on google), which is an isometric viking ARPG.

There is this Diablo clone I have stored somewhere that I haven't heard anyone mention. It was released in early 2000, and there was a male Barbarian with a sword on the cover of it. You could play a male barbarian, a female sorcerer and a third class which I can't remember.

It might not be that obscure, but I really enjoyed Darkstone: Evil Reigns (1999), and I didn't know it got a remake for phones in 2014.

[Edited]: The Diablo clone from above is called Nightstone (2001). I made a thread about Valhalla Chronicles on RPGcodex 3+ years ago with pictures, and no one that answered had played it. https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/valhalla-chronicles.102943/