The Best Bard's Tale Game?

The Best Bard's Tale Game?

  • The Bard's Tale (1985)

    Votes: 9 31.0%

  • The Bard's Tale II

    Votes: 8 27.6%

  • The Bard's Tale III

    Votes: 7 24.1%

  • The Bard's Tale (2004)

    Votes: 5 17.2%
  • Total voters
    29
Couchpotato

Couchpotato

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With the recent announcement by Brian Fargo about a new RPG The Bard's Tale 4 I was curious to see what game in the series is the best one according to you all.

So this is my next official site poll, and as for me I only played The Bard's Tale from 2004 which many veterans of the series claim isn't even a true sequel.

So lets get the poll started.
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The first 3 were very fun for their time but are hard to play today.

When the PS2 (2004) game came out I loved it and still do today on PS2 and Android. Definitely my fav.

-d
 
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The Bard's Tale for me! It was fun in itself and way easier to me than the previous games. I really like the snarky character: probably the story was the best part of the game, as I recall the combat system not being much rewarding.
 
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The 2004 game hardly deserves to be considered. It shares nothing with the first three except the name. Which it obviously only shares for marketing or ip protection purposes.
 
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Look, I loved the humour in BT 2004, and said so in my review for the site, but it was at best a mediocre game with fixed save points which I detest. BT 3 on the C64 was the third RPG I ever played after Phantasie 2 and Ultima 5 (also on the C64) and it blew me away in a different form than U5 which is still one of my all time favourite games!!
 
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I remember really getting frustrated at first with the Bards Tale I on the Atari 800. It seemed like I would just be getting started, then open the wrong door, and my entire party would be wiped out. It took a lot of restarts until I finally got a party built up enough to survive. I never did finish the game though and never played the later ones in the series, though did play the BT2004, which wasn't really like any of the predecessors.

So my vote would be a toss up between BT1 and BT2004, but I would probably have to go with BT2004 since I did complete it.
 
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Bard's Tale III for me. I'll also simply add that this is logically more so my favourite rather than the game I consider to be "absolute best", as I love all three games in almost equal measure.

The 2004 satirical revisit doesn't belong in the poll to be honest as many have already stated; it is a much different experience which I rented and knocked off in a weekend on Ps2. It would be far more suited for comparison alongside the likes of Champions of Norrath and the Dark Alliance games.
 
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Well seven members think the 2004 version is the better game so it will stay on the poll. As I stated it was the only game in the series I played ten years ago.
 
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CrazyIrish said:
The 2004 game hardly deserves to be considered. It shares nothing with the first three except the name. Which it obviously only shares for marketing or ip protection purposes.
Click to expand...

Well it was made by some of the same people... it's a lot different but it also was made in a different time period.

I'm hoping Bard's Tale 4 is more like the 2004 version than the early ones.

-d
 
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kryten33 said:
Well it was made by some of the same people… it's a lot different but it also was made in a different time period.

I'm hoping Bard's Tale 4 is more like the 2004 version than the early ones.

-d
Click to expand...

If the new game is more like the 04 version than the originals it will likely be a total disaster. Of course, if its too much like the originals it will likely be a disaster. I don't envy the people trying to develop a successor to a much beloved series from a quarter century ago.
 
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Couchpotato said:
Well seven members think the 2004 version is the better game so it will stay on the poll. As I stated it was the only game in the series I played ten years ago.
Click to expand...

I agree. Didn't like the game but I think it belongs here, especially since we're getting a new one and it's unclear what direction it will take.

But we could of course change the name here to "The atrocity that fraudulently claims to belong to our sacred BT series".

pibbur who wonders if there were Herbs in the 2004 game.
 
I voted for 2 but honestly I don't remember pretty much anything of the first 3 (don't even remember if I played #3). In any case, any of them is better than "The Troubadour's Story" (I refuse to call the 2004 game as "The Bard's Tale" as it was pretty much an action/adventure game).
 
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It seems that the people I most often agree with are once again in consensus. Thanks for that! I haven't played any BT, but downloaded a phone game version and was quickly appalled. I need to play at least one of these on a serious gaming device. :)
 
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If I was born forty years ago my opinion would be different, but sadly I was barely four when the first Bards Tale was released. I did try to play them but can't find the appeal.

It will be interesting to see how the new kickstarter game will appeal to old and new gamers. All I know is that I don't envy Brian Fargo, and his designers right now.
 
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Thrasher said:
It seems that the people I most often agree with are once again in consensus. Thanks for that! I haven't played any BT, but downloaded a phone game version and was quickly appalled. I need to play at least one of these on a serious gaming device. :)
Click to expand...

I believe the Amiga versions are generally the best from a graphics and sound perspective. Of course the PC versions are serviceable and probably more simply emulated. Be prepared for some frustration though. Mapping with graph paper isn't as much fun as it was when I was 10 :)
 
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I voted 1 as well. I played and finished all 3 games but the first was special. Skara Brae, the Wine Cellar, Garth's equipment shoppe, the fire horn. Ah, the memories!

Wasn't interested in the adventure game with the same name.
 
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