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The Old Man Says: I give much better directions than these townsfolk. |
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Erdrick Says: Alas! Three quests with a dragon as thee final enemy, and I dost not get an invitation? I need to speaketh with my agent! |
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The Bent Kangaroo Says: But Erdrick, thy game did sucketh. |
What Kind Of Game Is This?
Well, if you can imagine, it is an RPG set up like a board game.
So What Elements Of RPG's Are Present?
The battle system is straight out of RPG-land, with hit points and turn-based fighting. You buy weapons and magic spells in town.
And How Is It Like A Board Game?
In each quest--there are three--the land is divided into blocks. Your character can move X number of spaces per turn dependent on various factors within the particular game. You also have a decided number of turns in which to complete your quest in.
And It's Multi-Player?
Simultaneous! Up to four people can play, and CPU's can substitute as you desire. Each player plays for himself, but can form an alliance with other parties if desired. Players compete for resources, sidequests (that award experience, gold, and items), and for the glory of defeating the dragon. If you're feeling especially evil, you can attack other players and steal gold and experience from them.
Sweet! So Why'd You Give It Such A Crappy Rating?
1. The game is not user-friendly. For example, if you forget to de-equip your extra sword before entering a town, you cannot sell it. Instead, you must leave town again, de-equip your sword, re-enter town, and sell it. All in all, that's a waste of two turns. Imagine a website with a thousand links with none of them cross-referenced and you'll understand my frustration with this game.
2. Sidequests are vital to gaining experience (while fighting enemies is secondary to this end); however, sidequests appear as random as do enemies and there's little way to gauge the value of a particular sidequest until you've completed it, spending several valuable turns in doing so. For example, the CPU and my character were provided the exact same sidequest in one game (delivering an item to another character). The CPU earned quadruple the experience I did for the same quest.
3. If it takes you three hits to defeat an enemy, you've taken three turns. Yet traversing miles and miles of swamp and forest only takes one turn.
4. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Neither quest is very large, nor are the game boards, so there's little to excite the player after an hour or so.
In Other Words, I Should Just Go Play The Game Of Life Instead?
I wouldn't go that far.
So Who Would You Recommend This To?
It's probably worth a look to anyone simply for the novelty of the idea. If you can get a friend or two to play with you over a LAN or TCP/IP connection, it could provide a few fun games. But I imagine for most people this game will wear them out easily.
Links
FAQ
Translated ROM at Vimm.net
