Dragon Wars

I played this as a teenager, and enjoyed it enough. It's kind of a Bard's Tale on "Low Reward" mode, so you level and gain items and power, but in small increments. You never really stop feeling broke and trapped, which I really liked. I've never forgotten it, so the plot is good enough. Where this game excels is in the final battle. I figured it out without any hints, which is why I think I liked it so much. I won't spoil any, but the final boss is not just one more hack-n-slash. End bosses in games like this are always supposed to be all powerful and super awesome, but they just never pay off. You're always like "why did this weak guy wind up in charge?". Well, the boss in this should be in charge. I think after the ending, most of my party was dead and I used up all my disposables. I am one of those gamers who never uses up disposables unless it really hits the fan. So yeah. I think it took me a few hours to figure it all out and get it done. To this day, I consider this the best end battle I've ever experienced in any game anywhere. Have fun!

While this game has many standard RPG trappings, once you start to pick up on its subtleties, you realize you're into something special. My favorite aspect is that the game is more about survival than plowing through areas with brute force. Combat is of limited significance. Frequently you bump into overpowered enemies, or unwinnable situations. The game is VERY forgiving of such things. You generally have to run away, or lose the combat, in which case you are simply shoved back to where you came from. Dying is present, but doesn't happen that often. This is clearly by design, and you get the feeling you're simply trying to exist in a crazy world. You're not the "chosen ones". You're just some poor schmoes trying to fit in. Nobody knows who you are, nor cares. Ah but eventually you will become significant in the bigger plot. Rags to riches. Just as one example, you're dropped naked in the starting city of Purgatory. There's no weapon or spell shop. You have to figure out the unique ways to get some starting gear and spells, which is not at all spelled out for you. Until then, you're indecent and relying on fisticuffs. There are plenty of other unique aspects. Characters are classless, so their development is based on how you assign skill points. You're never told when you can use a skill, so you have to rely on your own intuition as to whether a location seems like it matches with a skill. The map is somewhat open world. You can't access most places right away, but there's usually at least 2 or more locations available to explore at a time. Well... once you escape from Purgatory.

Dragon Wars is one of the best RPGs... of its day and age, that is. Does it still hold up as a GOOD old game? Well, yes, it's still fun to play, but I would be lying if I said there were no aspects that look more than a little dated today. The graphics are very barebones, the interface (despite the ability to use mouse and keyboard redundantly, and the ability to quickly compile your own macros) is a cramp in the behind, fights can be very swingy, character death is almost an instant reload (you can raise dead party members, but it's such a hassle that you never do it)... But at its heart, this is still a very enjoyable romp in a very unique and atmospheric setting, with lots of surprisingly good humor interspersed. This game is a fun mix: 1. old school Bard's Tale-like 3D exploration with lots of random and some fixed encounters, menu-based tactical fights, information presented in text boxes and journal entries, 2. Wasteland-esque skill implementation and openness where puzzle solving and character development are concerned, 3. open world with most parts accessible right away, 4. some of your decisions can even drastically alter the game world (try not feeding a hungry dragon at one point if you want to see what it can do to a city). You begin the game with a party of 4 (you can add up to 3 NPCs later), without equipment, thrown into the derelict city of Purgatory, that basically functions as a huge prison camp for undesirables like yourself. There are several ways out of Purgatory, but stay a while and explore, as the outside is decidedly more deadly. Also, some of the encounters in Purgatory are quite well-written and give you a good feel of the world. This world, Dilmun, is one of islands and archipelagoes, and based quite strongly on Babylonian mythology (plus dragons), which is also fairly unique in CRPGs. It is also, it goes almost without saying, is threatened by the tyranny of an evil wizard/demon named Namtar, and only your stalwart band can stop him.

At, last, one of the best CRPGs of the 8/16 bit era. Deep customisation and a massive gameworld. Very much in the mold of early clasics such as the Bards Tale, Wizardry and Might and Magic only with a higher quota of puzzles. I also remember it being considerably harder than most RPGs of the time (especially if you imported characters from another game). 9/10