RPG Codex - Top Ten Vintage RPGs

At least a few of the earlier Bard's Tale games should be on that list, for sure. One at a minimum, those three games were a sheer delight.

Originally Posted by henriquejr
Does it use the same Ultima Underworld engine? In the videos I've seen, I could swear it does.

No, but I can see why you'd think that. Origin Systems released ShadowCaster the same year as Ultima Underworld II. ShadowCaster used the Raven engine developed by John Carmack for Raven Software. Basically, the Wolfenstein 3D engine with a few extra bells and whistles thrown in. Raven software later made Heretic and Hexen, which is why I view ShadowCaster as cross between Heretic and Dungeon Master.

No Realms of Arkania in the top 10? To put it in Codex language: What kinda fucktard list is that shit without Realms of Arkania???

This "vintage" era is apparently when I was in college & post-grad. I didn't have the time/resources for computer gaming back then.

My own top 10 from this era:

Darklands
Ultima VII
Wasteland
Ultima VI
Alternate Reality: The Dungeon
Pool of Radiance
Dragon Wars
Bloodnet
Betrayal at Krondor
Ultima: Martian Dreams

Ended all, except Darklands and Exile. Darklands is a big Spot in my RPG gaming career,

I think Betrayal at Krondor is the one I have the fondest memories for. A lot of the other older games were ones that I may have really enjoyed at the time, but they had aspects that I would take major issue with if I played them today. But BaK was a rare game in that not only was the story great, but the mechanics and gameplay were extremely well designed. Some aspects might seem a little basic if I replayed it now for the third time, but I would still enjoy doing it.

I prefer to pretend that it's sequel never existed though. Also the bland spiritual sequel set in a different world.

Never could get Darklands running on my rig. Same with AR: The Dungeon. They might be on my list otherwise. So many good games back then.

Forgot to mention Dark Heart of Uukrul or something like that. It was great too. I also loved the Magic Candle series and Keys to Maramon. I forgot about Bard's Tale. The first one was decent. The others were too similar…

I was lucky enough to get to test on both Eye of the Beholder and Darklands back in the day, so they'll always have a special place in my zeitgeist of gaming. I even replayed both of them just a few years ago, and they're still very enjoyable.