Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

The Codex’s Best Computer RPGs (pre-Diablo)

PEACH

Arbiter
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
285
4 - Wizardry VII
2 - Might and Magic: World of Xeen
2 - Betrayal at Krondor
2 - Ultima Underworld
 

Rulae

Novice
Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
1
Location
Germany
5 - Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
2 - Pool of Radiance
1 - Wizardry 6: Bane of the Cosmic Forge
1 - Dark Sun: Shattered Lands
1 - Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth of Worlds
 

Kalarion

Serial Ratist
Patron
Joined
Jan 30, 2015
Messages
1,008
Location
San Antonio, TX
Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Shadorwun: Hong Kong BattleTech Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I helped put crap in Monomyth
Exile 3: the Ruined World- 5 points.
Might & Magic 3: Isles of Terra- 1 point.
Dark Heart of Uukrul- 1 point.
Wizardry 5: Heart of the Maelstrom- 1 point.
Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant- 2 points.

Exile 3 is in my opinion the absolute pinnacle of shareware RPGs. Jeff Vogel's name should ring down the halls of CRPG history solely for this accomplishment. I paid cash, in an envelope, mailed by standard USPS, to unlock it. It was the first and only Shareware game I paid for (thank God, the $20 bill wasn't stolen en route :D).

MM3 was my first. I loved figuring out that the best play was to immediately leave the city and go pillaging orc camps, razing them to the ground for piles of xp and loot. Great fun.

Dark Heart of Uukrul is the true gentleman's choice of prestigious dungeon crawler. First person exploration, good riddles, excellent pacing and tension. The crossword puzzle and solving the final map were the highlights for me. 14 year old Kalarion's brain got a serious workout. I consider it a spicy bonus that the developer basically trolled everyone with how he made stats and spells work :D.

Wizardry 5 was my first as well. It's fun.

If I had to pick one crawler from Ye Olden Dayes, Wiz 7 would be it. Unfortunately we can't pick Grimoire :D.
 

V_K

Arcane
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
7,714
Location
at a Nowhere near you
Personally, I'd say that "spot the decline enabler" choice is MM3-5, which are the original popamole.
Now let the butthurt flow!..

Nah, these would be a kid's first CRPG. Which is not properly monocled, but commendable in some ways.
Even if it were so (which it's not), how else would you call someone who votes "a kid's first CRPG" as the best of an era?
 

Lord_Potato

Arcane
Glory to Ukraine
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
9,836
Location
Free City of Warsaw
Last edited:

Thal

Augur
Joined
Apr 4, 2015
Messages
413
Personally, I'd say that "spot the decline enabler" choice is MM3-5, which are the original popamole.
Now let the butthurt flow!..

Nah, these would be a kid's first CRPG. Which is not properly monocled, but commendable in some ways.
Even if it were so (which it's not), how else would you call someone who votes "a kid's first CRPG" as the best of an era?

The poll should be scrapped entirely, and a spoiler-free playthrough of Wizardry IV should be declared as the best and, in fact, the only real crpg.
 

buffalo bill

Arcane
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Messages
1,004
Deuce Traveler is there some reason that most early roguelikes are not included on the list?

For instance, Moria (1983), NetHack (1987), Omega (1987), Angband (1990), and Ancient Domains of Mystery (1994) are excluded. Is it because some of them had extended development post-release? Anyway, I prefer some of these games to other classics, and would change some of my votes if they were included. Specifically, I'd drop Rogue and Quest for Glory 1, and replace them with Omega and ADOM.
 

Polanski

Scholar
Joined
Dec 19, 2015
Messages
142
Rogue: 5 points
NetHack: 5 points

I vaguely remember playing some of the others, but none are great memories.
96-98 though :incline:
 

Fowyr

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Mar 29, 2009
Messages
7,671
Deuce Traveler is there some reason that most early roguelikes are not included on the list?

For instance, Moria (1983), NetHack (1987), Omega (1987), Angband (1990), and Ancient Domains of Mystery (1994) are excluded. Is it because some of them had extended development post-release? Anyway, I prefer some of these games to other classics, and would change some of my votes if they were included. Specifically, I'd drop Rogue and Quest for Glory 1, and replace them with Omega and ADOM.
Dunno about Deuce Traveller's reasons, but that was my argument:
Fowyr said:
Problem with roguelikes, and I love them, that they are really have a very long life. ADOM is from 1994, but it really took off only in 1998-1999. Unreal World is from 1992, but it became complex and fun game only after that 1996 cut-off year. Even multitude of Angband variants was less complex than in 1998 or, God forbid, 2003.
Also DT said this several pages back:
Feel free to vote for a game not on the list as some have. Although the list isn't perfect, the Ring of Prestigious Gentlemen felt that the posted list was the best we could agree upon without having to go into another week or two of debates about whether or not the game was a CRPG or had enough popularity to have a chance of making it as more than just an outlier.
This list mostly provided to stir your memory, after all every old RPG-connoisseur has tens of games under his belt and easily could forget a game or two.
 

kubics

Novice
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Messages
5
Project: Eternity
5 points each for:

Hero's Quest (Quest for Glory 1): So You Want to Be a Hero (Sierra)
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (SSI)
 

Dragon

Augur
Joined
Aug 1, 2003
Messages
101
Location
Toulouse, France
Fuck, I'm old...

2 points each, can't choose, eyes too watery :

The Lord of the Rings Volume 1 (Interplay)
Eye of the Beholder (Westwood)
Might and Magic 3: Isles of Terra (New World Computing)
Ultima 7: The Black Gate (Origin)
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (SSI)
 

buffalo bill

Arcane
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Messages
1,004
Deuce Traveler is there some reason that most early roguelikes are not included on the list?

For instance, Moria (1983), NetHack (1987), Omega (1987), Angband (1990), and Ancient Domains of Mystery (1994) are excluded. Is it because some of them had extended development post-release? Anyway, I prefer some of these games to other classics, and would change some of my votes if they were included. Specifically, I'd drop Rogue and Quest for Glory 1, and replace them with Omega and ADOM.
Dunno about Deuce Traveller's reasons, but that was my argument:
Fowyr said:
Problem with roguelikes, and I love them, that they are really have a very long life. ADOM is from 1994, but it really took off only in 1998-1999. Unreal World is from 1992, but it became complex and fun game only after that 1996 cut-off year. Even multitude of Angband variants was less complex than in 1998 or, God forbid, 2003.
Also DT said this several pages back:
Feel free to vote for a game not on the list as some have. Although the list isn't perfect, the Ring of Prestigious Gentlemen felt that the posted list was the best we could agree upon without having to go into another week or two of debates about whether or not the game was a CRPG or had enough popularity to have a chance of making it as more than just an outlier.
This list mostly provided to stir your memory, after all every old RPG-connoisseur has tens of games under his belt and easily could forget a game or two.
This is fair enough, and I sort of figured as much. I know the list won't be changed now, but I'll note that not all of the important early roguelikes received extended develop—specifically, I believe that Omega was completely finished in the 80s.
 

Sinatar

Arbiter
Joined
Jan 25, 2014
Messages
569
4 - Might and Magic: World of Xeen
3 - Curse of the Azure Bonds
2 - Ultima Underworld
1 - Dark Sun: Shattered Lands
 

MurkyShadow

Glittering gem of hatred
Patron
Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Messages
353
Location
ye olde europe
Codex 2012 Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Make the Codex Great Again! Grab the Codex by the pussy Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In Codex+ Now Streaming! Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong BattleTech Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit. I helped put crap in Monomyth
2 Points to:
The Bard's Tale 1: Tales of the Unknown (Interplay) 1985

2 Points to:
The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate (Interplay) 1988

2 Points to:
Pool of Radiance (SSI) 1988

2 Points to:
Curse of the Azure Bonds (SSI) 1989

2 Points to:
Wizardry 7: Crusaders of the Dark Savant (Sir-Tech) 1992
 

DemonKing

Arcane
Joined
Dec 5, 2003
Messages
5,958
Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord - 3 Points
Eye of the Beholder 2 - 3 Points
Land of Lore: Throne of Chaos - 2 Points
Wizardry VI - 1 Point
Pool of Radiance - 1 Point

They're the ones I can recall getting multiple playthroughs.
 

Moaning_Clock

SmokeSomeFrogs
Developer
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Messages
655
Maybe folks decided that the 3.4.3 was the version everyone really played? Just a guess... [Probably a wrong one]

In my case it's a right one - and some of the new versions which came out of nowhere after 10 years of hiatus
 

Skall

Learned
Joined
Dec 28, 2015
Messages
86
5-title max means some of the underdogs won't get mentioned as there are enough classics to fill the minimum:

3 - Ultima 7: The Black Gate
3 - Betrayal at Krondor
2 - Ultima Underworld
1 - Dark Sun: Shattered Lands
1 - Dungeon Master
 

dacencora

Guest
It's interesting that Ultima IV consistently ranks as more popular here than Ultima V (which hasn't got any points so far). Ultima IV was more groundbreaking, but V plays a whole lot better.

Ultima IV is "spot the decline enabler" choice :smug:
That would be Ultima VII, Ultima IV is the anti-combatfag choice, which is not the same.
Personally, I'd say that "spot the decline enabler" choice is MM3-5, which are the original popamole.
Now let the butthurt flow!..
I am a little butthurt. I freaking love MM3. The music, the gfx, the gameplay. It’s all top-notch. No way it can be considered popamole.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom