Your first CRPG

[bpstrat]

I wanted to start a discussion to see what everyone's first CRPG was, computer or console, and some of the circumstances that surrounded it. For example, what system was it for, when did you play it, how old were you, and why did you play it? Since we all love CRPGs, I thought it'd be interesting to see how everyone else got started.

I'll go first. For me it was Ultima III: Exodus on an Atari 800XL. It was 1984 and I was around 8 years old and in 3rd grade at the time. My older brother was always getting pirated games from his friends, and one of them happened to be Ultima III. Even though it was hacked and couldn't be finished, I knew if was different than the other games I'd played before. Something with it just clicked for me, and I've been playing CRPGs ever since. Sort of like the game that launched a thousand adventures... (sorry for the bad allusion)

[JemyM]

Ultima I on c64. I did not get much out of it but it teached me some english (at age of 8) and I maxed out everything that could be bought/earned. Next was Pools of Radiance that I understood even less. I never understood why I loved Wonderboy III as much as I did, only several years later I understood it was due to it's RPG elements.
It was not until Eye of the Beholder though I really started to learn the concept behind computer roleplaying games and actually finishing them. Still, it was with Diablo I understood that it was my favorite genré.

[chamr]

Adventure on the original Atari console back in the late 70's. I didn't own it. A friend had it. It captured my imagination in a way none of the other video games I played did.

The ealry one that really sucked me in and sort of set my personal standard for cRPG's was Tunnels of Doom for the TI-99/4A from the early 80's. A fantastic party-based game that is still a great play even today, IMHO.

[Sorcha Ravenlock]

Lands of Lore 1... I never beat it, but I still own it, and will finish it one day ;)

[curious]

the bard's tale on apple2e in fifth grade. i used graph paper to map out the dungeons long before i used it for math and science. ultima iv follow a year or two later i believe. that game had far more impact on me and it wasn't 'til years later that i learned nightshade was a real plant and that it grew at other times than midnight.

[Jaz]

'Hillsfar' for the... um... Atari ST, back in '89. Before that I had only played chess and trivia games for computer-like things, and Pong, and about everything for the Atari 2600.
Hey.
Hillsfar was a Westwood game! No wonder I'm addicted to Westwood games... even though I didn't like Hillsfar too much back then. The first CPG I actually finished was LoL 1.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Lands of Lore 1... I never beat it, but I still own it, and will finish it one day ;)

Same here. I came very far within it during 2006 when I finally decided to replay it all ... with a game solution, of course, especially for the castle. ;) :D

I just had horrible memories about the riddles when I played the game years ago and never finished it ... so I just wanted to play the game with just having fun, no hazzles anymore ... ;)

My second one was Albion, my third was "Blade of Destiny" from the "Realms of Arcania" series.

[chamr]

Found an interesting review from last month of Tunnels of Doom. Seems it influenced the vaunted Gold Box series quite a bit...

http://armchairarcade.com/neo/node/1024

P.S. I find it pretty funny he complains about the clunkiness of the user interface of a game from 1982 built on a proprietary platform. Geeez... what does he expect!?!?

[HiddenX]

At the age of 14 (1983)

Temple of Apshai - on a C64

http://www.thelegacy.de/pics/screen/t/T_3110_1159565712_toa_1.png

[Corwin]

I got 3 games when I bought my C64 and played them all at the same time: Phantasie 2, Bards Tale 3 and Ultima 5!! Loved them all and went on from there.

[GothicGothicness]

My debut was also on the C64.... Bards tale. As a very young person the game I put the most time in was probably swords and serpants for the NES though. Because you could play it co-op with a friend and we'd mash the controllers togheter in order to get awarded the best weapon by "fatal the blue" wow those were the days :D

[xSamhainx]

the Ultima with Sheri the mouse.

[KazikluBey]

My story goes back to my very early childhood. Most of my toys when I was little was LEGO and my favorites were of the medieval type, so before I got too old for LEGO I had amassed 5 or 6 castles and other stuff. In 3rd grade I started reading fantasy novels (Terry Brooks, Tolkien, Katharine Kerr etc) and around the same time I started dabbling in pen'n'paper RPGs with some friends. Until 6th grade I had mostly played Warcraft 2,HoMM2, Civ2, Myst and Riven, but by then I had found out that there were RPGs for the computer (I had played Diablo but didn't count it as an RPG), and I decided I wanted to try a good one. After some searching on Gamespot to see what was hot at the time I found Baldur's Gate II. I got in it January and played it constantly until April at least - it was love at first play. That's when I knew I was a CRPG:er.

[Delirious Nomad]

Must have been Eye Of The Beholder, but it doesn't really count, because I didn't make it too far. So my first real RPG, I loved and finished, was Fallout.
Coming from playing exclusivly Lucas Arts adventures, I was like: " That's a lot of combat ". Compared to some today's RPGs I have been playing like Suikoden IV,V, Shin Megai Tensei, Shadow Hearts II...pretty much every RPG has turned into a slaughterfest.

[Lucas]

Like the OP, my CRPG addiction started waay back in the eightes, with an Atari 800XL, and with an Ultima loaded ;). But for me, it was the fourth episode.

Mono-chromatic looked so cool ;)

[Gorath]

Might & Magic 4, followed by 5 and 4 & 5 combined ( = Worlds of Xeen).
After that I played Betrayal at Krondor. I had The Bard´s Tale, Ultima 3 + 4 and a few other RPGs on the C64 but I was too young to play them in English.

[txa1265]

I played Wizardry (yep, first) on Apple ][+ in college in early 80's ... but never got too hooked - was spawning my budding FPS love with Castle Wolfenstein ...

[Cormac]

Might & Magic 4, followed by 5 and 4 & 5 combined ( = Worlds of Xeen).After that I played Betrayal at Krondor.

Same with me: the group of classic RPGs released in the early 90s, though I cant remember which one was actually my first.

[Danicek]

Wizardry 8..., well probably Diablo but I don't count that. I was mostly FPSs player with occasional trips to hack & slash lands. However Wizardry really got me. And because it was not really an easy RPG to start with, I was looking for help & tips and that's how I came to RPGDot from which the core staff then came here.

I still believe Wizardry 8 was one of the best if not the best RPG I've ever played. I just wonder if it is because it was the first one.

[GothicGothicness]

I still believe Wizardry 8 was one of the best if not the best RPG I've ever played. I just wonder if it is because it was the first one.

I doubt it was because of being the first one :D Anyway how come you started with this game? it must be a very unusual way to start... most people I know played it because they already knew about the greatness of the wizardry brand...

[Danicek]

I doubt it was because of being the first one :D Anyway how come you started with this game? it must be a very unusual way to start... most people I know played it because they already knew about the greatness of the wizardry brand...

I got it from my friend who had it and didn't have interest in it. So I said 'give it to me and I'll give it a try'. Strangely enough the Monstery and Arnica road simply got me. Well probably just the Monastery because I nearly wasn't able to get from the starting beach before the Monstery. Somehow this - what made may friend go away - made me stay. Finally a challenge so rarely seen in the games I was playing by that time.

[MasterLich]

In chronological order:
1983 - Mattel Intellivision: Treasure of Tarmin
1988 - C64: The Bard's Tale
1991 - PC: Hack (predecessor of NetHack).

There were some periods in life when I didn't have the possibility to play much, so these are not exactly the release years for the games. But better late than never!

[KasperFauerby]

Wiz8 could have been great - if just it had some more story and atmosphere! I've tried to play it recently, and I really tried to like it, but the game has *nothing* but combat it seems (slooow combat even, though wizfast helps). I like the combat and stat/skill system actually, but what killed the game for me was that after having fought through a bunch of combat areas I finally reached a town - Arnika - and I expected the plot to really unfold. But then I discovered that Arnika is *also* filled with encounters.. and the few friendly NPCs that I did encounted had almost nothing interesting to say to me. Ok, on towards the next town .. and after even more fighting I reached Trynton. Cool! A town in the trees! But again, it's almost completely empty of friendly NPCs - but *stuffed* with more encounters. At this time I've spent quite a few hours with the game and I decided that if *that* was the level of immersion and story that the game could offer - then the game was just not for me :)

As for the first CRPG I played - hmm, hard to say.. can't really remember - I've played *a lot*. But some early ones that stands out in my memory is M&M3, EoB1, LoL1, Ultima6, Betrayal at Krondor.. and many many more.

[Fenris]

Hmm... Die dunkle Dimension... a german Ultima-Clone was the first RPG I finished... I tried a Ultima before that (Part III I guess), but since I couldn't speak english as a Kid I couldn't get far :)

Bards Tale III was the first english RPG I was able to play a few years later (everything C 64^^)

[Mana Garmr]

the Ultima with Sheri the mouse.

That's Ultima VI, my first one too. My dad got an old computer from a friend of his to do work on and it had U6, Eye of the Beholder and Bard's Tale II on it. Good times.

[Danicek]

In chronological order:
1983 - Mattel Intellivision: Treasure of Tarmin
...

That's 24 years now :-o

[Maylander]

Kings Bounty, if it can be called an RPG. If not, then it was Might & Magic 6; I used to be a strategy/adventure gamer before that.

I might've played some RPGs before that, but MM6 is what really got me hooked on the genre.

[dteowner]

If not, then it was Might & Magic 6; I used to be a strategy/adventure gamer before that.

I might've played some RPGs before that, but MM6 is what really got me hooked on the genre.Moria and Ultima on a friend's Apple II was first, but my path was pretty much the same as yours.

[Sertorius]

hmm... Im not sure, EoB1 or UltimaVI.

good old times...

[SleepingDog]

I was recently messing with an Amiga emulator which brought back the memories. My first RPG - difficult to remember exactly which one it was. Ultima V? Eye of the Beholder 1? Or perhaps Shadowlands. Still it was clear that the games producers were starting to move away from the Amiga (mine was 500 Plus followed by the A1200) and the type of RPGs I liked were headed towards the PC. I followed the software.

Played a PC copy of the EoB recently - despite the graphics & movement system it was still engrossing.

[Sorcha Ravenlock]

Played a PC copy of the EoB recently - despite the graphics & movement system it was still engrossing.

I have the game, but can't get it to work at all, not even with a Dos simulator :( I would love to play it, it sounds great. Unfortunately it won't let me save, says it needs CD6 (or something) inserted, but I only have 1 CD...

[crpgnut]

Wow! I'm not sure I remember. The first computer game was Collosal Caves I think. It wasn't a crpg though, just an adventure game. I then got hooked on Zork, when it came out. I messed with Rogue for a while and then I got a Vic20 and then a C64. I think the first crpg I played might have been Wizard's Crown or Phantasie or the first Apshai game. I think I was on adventure games til about 1980, when Zork came out. I didn't have an Apple II, so I played on my buddies machine. I knew I was a crpg'er for life after Ultima IV. I had played earlier games but becoming the Avatar changed me.

[Corwin]

There is a very good EoB mod for NWN, which uses the original maps etc. Our online group played it a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. From memory, it was created by 'Dark'!!

[JemyM]

The original Eye of the Beholder series can be found on misc "abandonware" websites as a preinstalled zip file. The sequel, Legend of Darkmoon, is one of the better RPG's made in the early 90'ies, making even EoB1 look like a generic dungeonhack. EoB2 was one of the first RPG's to actually tell, visually, a storyline while you were progressing further and further into the game. I might even say that EoB2 is one of the better RPG's until Baldurs Gate arrived, several years later.

We started to build a NWN module on EoB2 and was about 65% complete when the news of NWN2 came along. We decided to put the project on hold until then. For the NWN2 project Dark also signed up on our team. With NWN2 in hand however, some insisted we wait on an expansion in hope for more monster models before we start working. We lacked around 5-10 monsters in NWN1 and now we lack 10-15 in NWN2, including the most difficult ones to model.

[MasterLich]

That's 24 years now :-o

I must say that writing "1983" put me into thinking how old I actually am! Also surprised about the fact that you can still find some information and even a manual of the game by googling.

[Corwin]

I played Tof T on the Intellivision too, plus the other DnD game produced for it, but they weren't really CRPG's!! They were fun and a) I still have my Intellivision, and b) I still have both those games!! :)

Jemmy, I'm REALLY interested in this EoB2 project for NWN2. Loved the original. When you're ready for testers, give our group a yell, and we'll be happy to put it through its paces for you!! I've done a lot of beta testing for several developers in the last few years. Dark asked me to test his mod, but at the time I couldn't!!

[mute]

My first true RPG for computer was Bards Tale. We had played pnp for some years before and realizing you could do it on a 'puter. WoW! The Computer we tried it on was an apple and soon after i got it to my 286 with hercules graphic. The downside was that EVERYTIME you would venture down the sewer the game crashed. It didn't worked well with the simcga command. I later on bought me a EGA card, i must have been 15-16 years old at the time when i finally could play it.

In 16 color. ( Not the boing 4 color that cga offered. (loosers! :) )).

In the time awaiting this to happened i found myself be blown away with elite (my second love is spacegames). After the experience with Bardstale 1 it was 2 and i got bored when number 3 arrived. At that time i wanted something different. I found Might and magic when they entered in to the 4th in the series and before that i think i played through EOB.

I like the exploration part in the game, the thrill, to learn whats next.

Anyway, it was with great satisfaction I could continue with my childhood RPGs into my adult life and still enjoy it! Much easier finding a great RPG at my age than a GameMaster willing to succumb to hours of vivid imagination!

[JemyM]

Jemmy, I'm REALLY interested in this EoB2 project for NWN2. Loved the original. When you're ready for testers, give our group a yell, and we'll be happy to put it through its paces for you!! I've done a lot of beta testing for several developers in the last few years. Dark asked me to test his mod, but at the time I couldn't!!

The website is http://www.eob2.com. That website is severly outdated now though. When I started on the EoB2 module I took a different approach than Dark did with the EoB1 remake. The goal was to strengthen the story with better looking environments, fleshed out companions etc, but keeping the story intact and the same level range as the original (giving room for the 3rd game later).

[enodenroH]

If I remember correctly, it was in 1983 when I played a game called Dungeon on the Commodore Vic 20.

A text adventure game.

[Gator]

My first was either Pool of Radiance on the C64, or Wizardry I on the NES. I cannot remember which one it was, but I believe it would have been 1988.

I did play Adventure and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" on the Atari 2600 years before that, but I never considered those to be RPGs.

[szokol]

Don't laught at me, but my first cRPG was Spellforce 1. :)
I tried Diablo 2 earlier, but found it a mindless, boring game so gave it up after some hours, and decided not to try any RPG ever!
I was fond of RTS and adventure games that time, and Spellforce was mentioned as a great RTS with RPG elements in magazines, so tried it.
Lucky me, I realized that RPG's are not that kill-everything-in-sight type of games what I thought after Diablo.:)

[Danicek]

@Szokol - Giving up RPGs because of hating Diablo 2 would be really nice story :].

[JemyM]

I know many who use "Diablo" as a reference to why CRPG's are "unworthy" compared to Pen and Paper roleplaying.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I know quite a LOT of people who don't Blizzards Action-RPGs as no C-RPGs at all !

To me, it's just a sub-genre ...

And Spellforce is actually another sub-genre or even an own genre in itself.

[Maylander]

Indeed, neither one of those games are cRPGs. They are both games with rpg elements, certainly, but a cRPG is a "classic roleplaying game", meaning you need a heavier focus on the actual roleplaying. At least, in my opinion.

Truth be told, I enjoyed both D2 and SpellForce. :)

[SleepingDog]

I have the game, but can't get it to work at all, not even with a Dos simulator :( I would love to play it, it sounds great. Unfortunately it won't let me save, says it needs CD6 (or something) inserted, but I only have 1 CD...

Ok. The copy of EoB I have came from "The Forgotten Realms Archives". All three EoBs are on one CD. I copy the eye directory (which is EoB1) to my hard disk with the usual XP tools. Run install but get a daft message which I ignore. I have VDMS on my PC. In the hard disk directory of eye I right click on the "start.bat" file and select "Run with VDMS". Follow the instructions, don't register, VGA, Soundblaster, Y to mouse. Runs with sound and works fine.

Save and Load work fine as well but there is only one save file which the documentation seems to support.

I know that Dosbox supports EoB.

By the way the NWN mod is excellent though there is far too much treasure.

[magerette]

I also started late, and Might and Magic VI was my first CRPG. I was totally shamelessly addicted to it. I even called in sick to work once to have a whole day to myself to play it ---a fine example I set my son! : ) I had the PC Gamer magazine strat guide which I photocopied and have to this day, all folded and grundgy and covered with notes on where to find the skill trainers...yes, good times.

[Corwin]

M&M 6-8 were fun games, but in some ways, the 4/5 combo was better. What annoyed me the most about them, was everyone tearing them apart for lousy graphics!! Who cared about the quality of the graphics, when they were so much FUN to play!!

[magerette]

Totally agree. Graphics are nice, but FUN is always better. :)

[JemyM]

The Might & Magic series was interesting. They were very fun, I give you that, but especially the last ones did not have the professional finish you can expect from a game at it's price. It was like they fired their graphican in Might and Magic 6 and then reused the same graphics through the reminder of the series, making the last games look very old. The last ones was also comical in nature, I have a friend who even felt insulted over how "light hearted" it was. I remember that there were an NPC in the later games they named "Ludvig Van Beethoven", and then there was a cult that worshipped a giant chicken. Humor in RPG's are nice, but only if they are delivered with some dignity.

[titus]

My first Crpg was Diablo, loved it to the max. was first pc game I really played.
next game was Dungeon Keeper.
D2 was lame and boring. D1 kept me going

[shaf]

Hmm,

I think my first game in 1983 was Temple of Apshai on the C64 followed by a Oubliette (a Wizardry clone).
Ultima 3, Bards Tale, Phantasie the list goes on.

Shaf

[Corwin]

The Might & Magic series was interesting. They were very fun, I give you that, but especially the last ones did not have the professional finish you can expect from a game at it's price. It was like they fired their graphican in Might and Magic 6 and then reused the same graphics through the reminder of the series, making the last games look very old. The last ones was also comical in nature, I have a friend who even felt insulted over how "light hearted" it was. I remember that there were an NPC in the later games they named "Ludvig Van Beethoven", and then there was a cult that worshipped a giant chicken. Humor in RPG's are nice, but only if they are delivered with some dignity.

Most intelligent and sane human beings cringe when M&M 9 is mentioned!! We try never to discuss it and we all pretend the series stopped with 8, though many wish 7 were the last!! The bottom line was money; M&M 9 was clearly unfinished and rushed out the door in a vain attempt to get a quick cash hit to save the rapidly sinking parent company. It didn't work!!

[dteowner]

What a world we live in, where passing ruffians will say "MM9" in the presence of women and children. Fie on thee, foul blackguard!

[Nukester]

Wizardry I - Proving Ground of the Mad Overlord on the IBM PCjr

[Maylander]

Might and Magic 9? Never heard of, it stopped with Might and Magic 8 as far as I'm concerned..

[Corwin]

After the challenge of 7, 8 was TOO easy, but it was fun having a dragon in the party!!

[Jaz]

Most intelligent and sane human beings cringe when M&M 9 is mentioned!!I liked it, despite the bugs... but you said 'human', didn't you :p.

[Danicek]

Wizardry I - Proving Ground of the Mad Overlord on the IBM PCjr

Seems like I'm real beginner with Wizardry 8 being my first RPG ;].

[Maylander]

I loved having a Dark Elf + 4 dragon party in MM8. It was redicilously easy, and becomes tedious if you do it too much, but it's fun to be overpowered from time to time, hehe. :)

[Zaleukos]

Probably Eye of the Beholder on the Amiga which I got as everyone raved about it in the reviews. Didnt enjoy it that much and must say it is one of the more overrated series around with melee focus, forced hand mapping, and very small game worlds. The first RPGs I really enjoyed were some Goldbox games, namely Champions of Krynn, Death Knights of Krynn, and Pool of Radiance.

[Lucky Day]

the two Intellivision AD&D's on Rob Herrington's boat were my first two.

The original Adventure followed by the Scott Adams adventures

Wizardry I was big big big with the kids after class in the computer room. The lab was entirelyu made up of Apple ][+'s and Circle 2000 Apple ][ clones. Then I got turned on to Ultima 3.

Since I got a TI-99/4a from gramma in 1983 then Tunnels of Doom would be next. At the public library me and my two chess buddies would monopolize the C64 and we managed to finish Questron 2.

This was followed by Bard's Tale and Might and Magic 2 or 3 when I got my own Apple //c. Might and Magic was an amazing game graphically - it eliminated all the wireframes and put in detailed textures but the crazy thing was it had a horse chewing grass in time to the disk loading - chunk chunk..pause..chunk

PS- After 23 years I'm still trying to finish Savage Island Part I

[20mithrandir]

My first pc rpg game was Realms of Arkania 2: Startail (Das Schwarze Auge 2: Sternenschweif). At the end of 1994 I bought my first pc (486 DX2 CPU) because I needed one for school. After getting Populous II as a present I could manage to get my hands on Startail. I never actually played such a game before and i didn't know what I just had bought (the cover was very promising ; - ). So I was fourteen when I first entered this world of conflicts, treachery and ethically arguable situations. It was years before I got myself a internet connection, so I had to figure out most of the riddles myself and it took my several months to complete the game the first time. After a few playthroughs I realized that Startail had a predecessor (Blade of Destiny) and so I got this one too (and a few months later the third and last Realms of Arkania game - Shadows over Riva). For years those games were my only experiences with the whole genre.

Only years later I started to collect some of the other interesting series (eye of the beholder, might and magic, etc.). It must have been after I got my hands on Fallout or something. I started playing excessive after finishing school and bought about 200 games in a few years. My favourite genre stayed with the role playing games and I'm very pleased with games like the gothic series, arx fatalis or the latest wizardry installment. When there're no new games worth my attention I can always go back for my yearly revisiting of the Reamls of Arkania trilogy (and trust me that's a yearly event that must not be missed ; - ). Ahhh. lately I installed Might and Magic: World of Xeen on my laptop and that was interesting too. So who needs new games anyway?

[narpet]

Hello all...

My first CRPG was Bard's Tale II on the Commodore 64. I think it was around 1986 or 1987. I was around 20 years old and had already been playing games for as long as they had been available on home systems (pong, atari 2600, etc). But the Bard's Tale II was my first true computer RPG.

From there on I was hooked (having already been an avid PnP RPG player for over 7 years at the time). I have fed my CRPG addiction over the years and now at 40 years old that addiction still flourishes.

From that day on I have kept every game I ever bought. You could call me a collector, or you could call me insane... either would be fairly accurate. Just for fun, here's a list of the games that I still have (all still have the original boxes, manuals, etc). A few of them aren't CRPGs, but most are:

http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/view/havelist/gameHaveListId,-1/userHaveListId,19316/userSheetId,66477/

Well, that's my story.
narpet

[Alrik Fassbauer]

So who needs new games anyway?

Yes. That's what I think more recently, too. ;)

Last Sunday, I bout an old game by Blizzard called "Blackhawk". It looks like a jump & run game, sort of. ;)

It's always nice to see what companies have made before they grew big and important. ;)

(I bought the Lost Viking in the early 90s, by the way. ;) )

[Squeek]

I forget the name of the software. It was around 1976, and I played it on an MITS Altair 8800. There was no sound or graphics. It was pure text. I remember thinking it was very cool.

[ToddMcF2002]

Atari Adventure here. Anyone remember getting eaten and bouncing around in the dragon's stomach? Ah to be just a itty bitty cube again...

Man talk about memories!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Adventure

[JDR13]

Atari Adventure here. Anyone remember getting eaten and bouncing around in the dragon's stomach? Ah to be just a itty bitty cube again...

Man talk about memories!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_Adventure


Same here!

Also, "Dungeons of Dagorath" on the TRS 80 Color Computer.

First "modern" RPG I played was Ultima 3 (NES version) If you can still consider that game modern.

First modern RPG I played on a PC was Fallout.

[Sir Markus]

Galahad and the Holy Grail (from Atari Program Exchange) and my first 'real' crpg was Ultima 3, both on the old Atari 800.

[Pfandpirat]

Eye of the Beholder I on the Amiga 500, great Hackfest:D

[Lucky Day]

Ah, yes Venture on the Atari 2600. That could count as my first one too I guess. Donny Wahl had the cartridge. We nicknamed the dragons Ketchup, Mustard and Relish (Red, Yellow, and Green).

We never saw the vanity screen though that the programmer got fired over.

Few people realize its an actually adaptation of the aforementioned (Colossal Caverns) text Adventure game. Probably because its not text and plays nothing like it :o

does anyone remember what the RPG was on the Odyssey 2? In about 1987 or 88 I had the opportunity to actually play it. There were two adventurers and the load screens between dungeons were horrendously long I remember.

(I just love saying the word, "aforementioned")

[chamr]

Ah, yes Venture on the Atari 2600.
You meant Adventure, right? But you brought to mind the brilliant stand up arcarde game, Venture. (The one with the protaginast that's just a big smily face with a bow stuck to his head) That one ROCKED!! Think I may go find the emulator version tonight...

does anyone remember what the RPG was on the Odyssey 2? In about 1987 or 88 I had the opportunity to actually play it. There were two adventurers and the load screens between dungeons were horrendously long I remember.


Quest for the Ring? Never played it, but it looked AWESOME.

And just for the hell of it, ALL CAPS AGAIN!!!

:)

[CelesteGB]

My first rpg was Ultima IV for the NES but right after that I got a pc and proceeded to buy UltimaV and VI. Boy, did I suck at U5.

Celeste

[PatrickWeekes]

I got POOL OF RADIANCE for my Commodore 64. Unlike my friend's copy of CURSE OF THE AZURE BONDS on his IBM, PoR featured a whopping 16 colors (compared to my friend's measley 4) and multi-part music, unlike my friend's pathetic tone-based music. Why, his IBM didn't even have a joystick, so he had to use keystroke commands to make people move.

"Face it," I remember telling my friend, "The IBM just isn't very good for games. If you want real entertainment, you should go with the Commodore 64."

"I don't know," my friend said. "I'm going to stick with the PC for now."

Well, I think we BOTH know who won that one. (cough) ;)

Haven't read everybody's, but later on, I also had a great time with Star Control II. Given that it let you upgrade your ship, offered a BioWare-style dialogue tree, and had such a fantastic story that let you explore a universe that reacted to your accomplishments, I'd rank it as one of my favorite CRPGs ever.

[Squeek]

I also had a great time with Star Control II.That was a fun game!

[pink-hippo]

My first computer game, Zeliard [ゼリアード] (1987, Game Arts [ゲームアーツ]), may not belong to the CRPG genre due to its linear plot and dominantly hack-and-slash style. Nevertheless, at least it gets a dragon. ^^;;

In any case, a screenshot is as follows:

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/7311/untitleddo9.png

[MudsAnimalFriend]

Probably The Bards Tale on C64, but I can't really remember past all my text based adventure mental scar tissue.

You're in a cave, you can see:
- Large Sword.

> Get Sword
... You can't do that!

> Take Sword
... You don't know how to do that.

> Take large sword
... That's impossible!

> Give me the f*@king sword
... You can't do that!

> Get large sword
... You don't know how to do that.

> Get Large Sword
... You take the Large Sword.

[Corwin]

Hahahahaha, boy does that bring back memories!! Welcome to our little corner of the universe!! :)

[skavenhorde]

It's either C64 Temple of Apshia trilogy or AD&D Cloudy Mountain on the intellivision. I don't remember which one came first. The sound coming from the monsters were eerie back then. Also Treasure of Tarmin was great on the Intellivision. There was a color system for the treasure. I don't remember what it was now but the different colors for the items meant it had more or less power.

[Corwin]

I still have both of those Intellivision games!! :)