Return to Krondor: A real gem

[Andhaira]

So why isn't there mnore of a discussion here on this game? While I admit Betrayal is more of a cult classic, I personally enjoyed Return more.

Why?

Wel, first the character development was better. Combat was more enjoyable. Alos, character development roleplaying wise was also superior; charcters had depth adn personality, with excellent voice overs. (the game made amazing use of sound and speech; very high production values) The graphics, background art and all had a very nice charm to them; they will never be outdated.

Quests were quite unique and very personalized. Basically, most quests had distinct choices, and while the endgame and the path you took to get there are always the same, there are smaller choices for most quests and differing events that unfold.

Spells and weapons werre also very well done. Magic is very powerful in this game, and is very dark and gothic. You only get one real mage, but you get a lot of choice to develop her and she can be very powerful. Combat is gritty and brutal. Nomatter how good you are, if you are surrounded in melee you are usually dead. Poison is also very deadly.

Overall the game has very little freeroaming, but instead focuses on developing a tight ,deep \, and sometimes shocking story full of mystery, adventure, romance, treachery, tragedy and betrayal thats very very fullfilling to play through till the end. Also, one of the chapters focus on a haunted village; basically the game takes on a horror themed mood from that point on that is VERY well done IMO. Also,the investigative aspects and the mystery is also quite satisfying to unravel and solve.

Lastly, the game has perhaps one of the most kick-ass introductions/intro cutscene I have ever seen. really puts you in the mood. The main villain is also the kind of guy you really, really want to fionally meet up with and kick the ass of.

Those of you who liked Witcher should really enjoy this game (its party based and turn based/3rd person though). The atmospehere is similar.

Cons (may vary for some): The few cons the game has are little freeroaming, combat can be too deadly for some used to spamming healing spells/potions (theres hardly any magical healing in this game) you don't get to generate your party, rigid plot (but very well done), story oriented (some don't like this), party members come and leveparty in every chapter and you cannot control who goes and who enters the party.

The main thing I found annying is that at one point the party splits up and stays that way for the entire game. You alternate between both in every other chapter. Thing is, whileboth parties are fun, one is much more interesting than the other (williams POV is not as much fun as the others)

In the end: Get this game and play it if you haven't before. This is one of the few games I have ever replayed and hope to do so again some day.

 

[Jasede]

Yeah Betrayal to Krondor was a great game and since it's freeware you have no reason to not play it.

 

[Andhaira]

Yes it is, however in my personal opinion Return was better. But again it depends on your own preference: Do you enjoy freeroaming sandboxiness with a goodplot and story? Go with betrayal.

Or do you like a tight story, many choices within that story itself, with mystery, murder betrayal and treachery all of which takes time to unravel? Go with Return.

But both are great games in the end.

 

[Drunken Irishman]

I didn't find Return to be amazing. Too linear. It's pretty good example of what JRPG's would be like if they had minimalistic stories and simple healthy humans as protagonists. But, I didn't like it. As I said, too restrictive.

Now Betrayal. Best damn game ever created - both in writing and gameplay. I'm over-exaggerating, but it's only to deliver a point. It's a really damn good game. And it has that feel... well, I don't know the name for this feel but we certainly don't get it in nowadays fantasy games. A certain shade of epic.

 

[Binary]

Now Betrayal. Best damn game ever created - both in writing and gameplay. I'm over-exaggerating, but it's only to deliver a point. It's a really damn good game. And it has that feel... well, I don't know the name for this feel but we certainly don't get it in nowadays fantasy games. A certain shade of epic.

Aye lad!... erm, I mean, QFT!

 

[Section8]

Wel, first the character development was better. Combat was more enjoyable. Alos, character development roleplaying wise was also superior;

I don't seem to remember any of that. About the only thing I remember is the vampire chapter being quite broken and the main boss guy being a fairly pathetic attempt at a pantomime villain.

charcters had depth adn personality, with excellent voice overs. (the game made amazing use of sound and speech; very high production values)

Here's the problem with that - they're not my fucking characters. If you want that sort of thing, why not watch a movie or read a book? I hear Raymond E Feist tried his hand at writing novels after he was sacked from game development for making Betrayal at Antara, and that they're well-loved.

The graphics, background art and all had a very nice charm to them; they will never be outdated.

Have you ever tried adventure games or JRPGs? A goodly portion of both genres feature well-defined protagonists walking around on 2D background art.

 

[afewhours]

I hear Raymond E Feist tried his hand at writing novels after he was sacked from game development for making Betrayal at Antara, and that they're well-loved.

Erm... Feist had been writing novels for a good ten years before Betrayal at Krondor. He was a well established writer before touching RPGs. I don't think he was involved in Antara, though I could be wrong on that count.

I though it was fairly common knowledge... have I just failed a sarcasm check here?

 

[cardtrick]

I hear Raymond E Feist tried his hand at writing novels after he was sacked from game development for making Betrayal at Antara, and that they're well-loved.

Erm... Feist had been writing novels for a good ten years before Betrayal at Krondor. He was a well established writer before touching RPGs. I don't think he was involved in Antara, though I could be wrong on that count.

I though it was fairly common knowledge... have I just failed a sarcasm check here?

Indeed you have.

 

[afewhours]

Indeed you have.

Damn. How much gullibility damage do I take?

 

[rpgcodexusername]

roll a d100, subtract (postcount/100), then multiply by number of dumbfuck tags
then add number of troll/spam posts

take the result away from reputation

but then add the result to experience

 

[Andhaira]

Wel, first the character development was better. Combat was more enjoyable. Alos, character development roleplaying wise was also superior;

I don't seem to remember any of that. About the only thing I remember is the vampire chapter being quite broken and the main boss guy being a fairly pathetic attempt at a pantomime villain.

Umm...no chapter was 'broken'. RtK was one of the most bug free games ever.
But again, you are entitles to your views. Also, Fiest was a writer long before betrayal at anything.

 

[flabbyjack]

Return had an atrocious camera. This ruined the gameplay.

 

[Andhaira]

No it didn't. It had a few uissues in SOME batltes, but over all it was fantastic.

 

[rpgcodexusername]

at the beginning of betrayal at krondor i travel on the roads north or south and get killed by guards,
do i have to leave the road or something? the controls are so bad that leaving the road is something i would rather not do

 

[afewhours]

Also, Fiest was a writer long before betrayal at anything.

Aw, come on Andhaira, I already took that sarcasm bullet for you. Was my sacrifice in vain?

at the beginning of betrayal at krondor i travel on the roads north or south and get killed by guards,do i have to leave the road or something? the controls are so bad that leaving the road is something i would rather not do

You shouldn't be struggling too much with the combat at the beginning, but if you are, Despair Thy Eyes is thy friend. Just renew it every round and you have a great little crowd-control spell.

 

[Andhaira]

I'm not sure it was sarcasm. I think they guy's just misinformed. But hey.

Anyhow, slenkar, make sure to save as much money as you can,for you will need it to purchase spells.

 

[nik2008ofs]

Section8 either meant it or his sarcasm was not well expressed and therefore failed.

Return had its moments, and an ending that simply screamed "There will be a sequel" (which sadly never came), but Betrayal was by far the superior game, and that from a guy like me who prefers linear and well-structured story-based games to sandboxy ones.

Feist had nothing to do with Antara, Sierra had lost the rights to Krondor but not wishing to leave BaK's delayed success untapped developed BaA as a spiritual successor for BaK, without Feist's involvement. As a result, when Antara was released, it was nowhere near as well written as BaK, and its UI, trying to keep in line with BaK, simply felt clunky and outdated.

 

[Andhaira]

BaA (ba balck-sheep!) had its high points thouhg, a great spell research system with unique spells, good characters, above aveage voice acting...worth playing on a rainy saturday afternoon.

 

[sheek]

The graphics, background art and all had a very nice charm to them; they will never be outdated.

The music is awful and some of the scenery backgrounds, especially late in the game (specifically the bit where you cross over to the sunken ship) make you want to rip your eyes out.

Quests were quite unique and very personalized. Basically, most quests had distinct choices,

Really? Examples? I can't think of any

Spells and weapons werre also very well done. Magic is very powerful in this game, and is very dark and gothic. You only get one real mage, but you get a lot of choice to develop her and she can be very powerful. Combat is gritty and brutal. Nomatter how good you are, if you are surrounded in melee you are usually dead. Poison is also very deadly.

Poison but especially the molotov cocktail things (devil fire?), which were essential and each character had a half dozen of them.

Overall the game has very little freeroaming, but instead focuses on developing a tight ,deep \, and sometimes shocking story full of mystery, adventure, romance, treachery, tragedy and betrayal thats very very fullfilling to play through till the end.

Did we play the same game?

Also, one of the chapters focus on a haunted village; basically the game takes on a horror themed mood from that point on that is VERY well done IMO.

Yeah, it's the only part I actually really like.

Those of you who liked Witcher should really enjoy this game (its party based and turn based/3rd person though). The atmospehere is similar.

I don't think it's anything like the Witcher. And the combat is a good point, I liked it.

The main thing I found annying is that at one point the party splits up and stays that way for the entire game. You alternate between both in every other chapter. Thing is, whileboth parties are fun, one is much more interesting than the other (williams POV is not as much fun as the others)

William isn't really a PC at all, his entire gameplay is set piece battles until the very last chapters.

 

[Andhaira]

Really? Examples? I can't think of any

The slaver quest. There are multiple ways to solve it. And thats in the first hour of the game!

And the music is fantastic; do you hate the bg2 music as well?

 

[Suchy]

Betrayal at Krondor was and still is my favourite RPG of all times, but RtK was a really good game too. Different, but good. A pity the action took place only in Krondor and a few surrounding locations, I really missed the free roaming that was the essence of BaK.

 

[Andhaira]

Yeah but said free roaming was basically an illusion; everywhere looked exactly the same.

 

[burrie]

Betrayal At Krondor definately has a special place in my gaming heart. I first started out on it a couple of times after it was declared freeware, but never managed to get past chapter 3. Then after going through three of the Riftware books, I was inspired to try it again. It entertained me for a couple o' weeks until I finished it.

Highlights for me include...

* Open-ended design, yet focused enough to tell a storyline
* Cast of familiar and unfamiliar characters
* Entertaining combat
* A storyline that splits up into two different tales, one dealing with finding an ancient artifact and travelling to different worlds, while the other is a down-to-earth, halt the invading forces, both coming together near the end


Unfortunately, I think I lost my Return to Krondor CDs when I moved. And not certain wether it would still work under either XP or Vista.

 

[mondblut]

Besides, free roaming in BAK was strictly limited per every chapter.

RTK was better than Antara. Some combats were really challenging. The sewers level was probably the all-time best among all the innumerable sewer levels in CRPGs.

 

[Lord Rocket]

OK, honest question. I played the first couple of chapters of Betrayal and hated it. It was distressingly linear and the combat was bloody terrible. Generally I actually like dungeon-crawly type stuff, but this put me right off my dinner.
So, why is it that everyone likes it so much? And it is worth giving it another chance if I wasn't too pleased with what I played already?