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Post by Xeogred on Mar 6, 2023 19:40:14 GMT -5
- I've not played either of the Ultima Underworld titles although I did play The Elder Scrolls: Arena at the tail end of last year which is a somewhat similar first-person dungeon crawler. You don't hear too many people talking about that one either, though in that case perhaps it's not without reason. It definitely has some noteworthy flaws, but I enjoyed my time with it for the most part. Part of that may have been the novelty of playing it on Steam Deck though (including the meta-game of 'make an archaic PC game feel more-or-less like a native experience on a portable platform') Yeah, from afar ES Arena looks pretty neat. Isn't the world procedural generated though? I've heard legends of how long it can take to go from one side of the map to another, if even physically possible... probably cool tech for the time but that aspect is a bit off putting haha. I never really liked ES until Skyrim and they really dumbed down the combat and stuff, lol. Ex: Guess I won't be shy if I need to look up stuff for the end game in UU2. I probably got tripped up in that way with UU1, but I just also remember physically navigating the final floor was annoying too. Maybe I missed a levitation spell, ran out of MP, or something. It was probably a handful of things that made me lose steam but in general I look back on the game very fondly. You have no idea how much I would have loved being able to annotate the KF maps, hah... "NE floor 1 ritual room?" styled notes in my Notepad weren't exactly easy to recall...
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Post by nullPointer on Mar 6, 2023 21:52:13 GMT -5
Yeah, from afar ES Arena looks pretty neat. Isn't the world procedural generated though? I've heard legends of how long it can take to go from one side of the map to another, if even physically possible... probably cool tech for the time but that aspect is a bit off putting haha. I never really liked ES until Skyrim and they really dumbed down the combat and stuff, lol. Yes I believe the World Map is procedurally generated. I actually think(?) that Arena is still the only Elder Scrolls game to include all the kingdoms of Elder Scrolls as playable areas, although as you can imagine given the technology of the time, there's not a whole lot to differentiate Morrowind from Skyrim from any other place on the map really. So take the whole 'all kingdoms on one map' thing with a grain of salt. That said, you actually don't have to spend a whole lot of time travelling directly on the world map except for the possible purpose of grinding. Fast travel (by horseback) is possible from the start of the game allowing for more or less instant travel between any cities on the map. The cities themselves are entirely too big but do have fixed maps as do the dungeons which are also huge. I barely spent any time on the world map and still clocked in over 30 hours of playtime by the end.
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Post by Xeogred on Mar 6, 2023 22:26:28 GMT -5
I really dig the cover art. Keep seeing it on Steam/GOG or something haha.
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Post by Sarge on Mar 7, 2023 1:10:29 GMT -5
I actually kick myself for not going ahead and picking up Sorceror's Kingdom in our local pawn shop years ago. Whoops!
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Post by Moulinoski on Mar 7, 2023 9:19:39 GMT -5
I really dig the cover art. Keep seeing it on Steam/GOG or something haha.
I love that art. It’s pretty much the only thing I like about ES1 haha
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Post by Ex on Mar 7, 2023 11:00:06 GMT -5
I like Arena's cover art as well, it reminds me of typical '80s fantasy paperback cover art. Very nostalgic for that aesthetic. - I keep thinking of games that only released in Japan, but that's too easy. Most people don't research Japan-only stuff, so of course most are oblivious to those games. Let me think of something that did release in the west and instantly become obscure, hmm... howabout: Backstreet Billiards for PS1 released 1998. Developed by Agenda and published by ASCII Entertainment. I've brought this game up on HRG before and no one cares. I understand why if you don't care about playing pool. Except this isn't just a pool game, it's a pool adventure/RPG. There's a well developed story mode consisting of pool game battles against a variety of foes. Also the OST is outstanding. The entire game is moody and atmospheric. My favorite billiards game! I wrote an article about Backstreet Billiards nine years ago:
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Post by toei on Mar 7, 2023 13:11:43 GMT -5
I'm going to check that game out, actually! The idea of RPG trappings without the RPG gameplay sounds nice and relaxing right now, the art style is cool, and I'm pretty open to new gaming experiences these days, so I'll give it a shot. Thanks for bringing it up. I know you said you mentioned it here before but I have no recollection of it lol, I probably saw that cover or read "billiards" and my eyes glazed right over, expecting some kind of shovelware. This reminds me, I tried to get going in Battle Golfer Yui a year or two ago - that's the Genesis golfing game with RPG elements that was translated a while back - but the golfing was actually so difficult, lol. I tried over and over and couldn't win, like, the second match.
Speaking of new experiences, I did briefly try that PSX diving game that was translated a few months ago, b.l.u.e - Legend of Water. I don't think it's like those diving games you like - it's really an adventure game where you solve puzzles underwater to progress. It also has a base with NPCs that you navigate in the weirdest way, you cycle through rooms on a map in a counterintuitive manner and when inside a room, you press a direction and the character just kind of walks automatically in that direction until they reach something. Didn't feel like solving too many puzzles so I put it aside. I know you mentioned a diving game before with RPG towns and stuff. What was it? I'd try one, if I can play it on my laptop (without having to buy it blindly).
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Post by Sarge on Mar 7, 2023 15:17:57 GMT -5
I remember you talking about it, Ex ! I have played a bit of virtual pool through, uh, Virtual Pool. It's one of the games that came with my computer, along with a Descent 2 demo and Fury3. Have to admit, the RPG elements do instantly make it more appealing than it would be otherwise. Also, I've played a fair amount of real pool - we had a pool table out in our barn, and we used to have tournaments and whatnot. Fun times!
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Post by toei on Mar 7, 2023 15:30:39 GMT -5
Sarge The fact that you can read about the history of Pool from the menu is classy. Street Fighter 2 never had a "history of street fighting" option.
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Post by Sarge on Mar 7, 2023 15:51:13 GMT -5
Haha, that would have been priceless, though.
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