


#THE BARDS TALE RUNETIME EXCEPTION FULL#
But this time, everything is displayed in full color graphics. Yes, the game is still presented in a first-person grid-based view. In The Bard’s Tale there are multiple dungeons and an entire town for players to explore. For starters, this game is much larger in scope. In fact, the developer was such a fan of the series that the original release of the game actually included the option to import saved data from both Wizardry and Ultima III – a concept that’s still as revolutionary today as it was then.ĭespite being inspired by Wizardry, The Bard’s Tale pushed the envelope far beyond what had been seen before. The similarities between The Bard’s Tale and Wizardry are no mistake. To avoid getting hopelessly lost as they explore, players are encouraged to draw their own maps using graph paper (another tactic familiar for fans of the Wizardry series). As characters grow stronger, they are able to venture deeper into the dungeon. As players defeat monsters, experience points are earned that help characters to advance in level. These chests are usually trapped and must be disarmed if the players hope to obtain the treasures within. Like Wizardry, most of the treasure players find is housed in locked chests. During these dungeon treks, players will encounter traps, monsters, and occasionally treasure. It is similar in that players create a party of characters and use them to explore a 3D dungeon. The Bard’s Tale, or as it was originally titled Tales of the Unknown, is largely inspired by the early Wizardry games.

Then one day, a new challenger appeared on the scene The Bard’s Tale. For a few years, these two franchises battled it out head-to-head with no interference. Following on Wizardry’s heels was the Ultima series. That western-design is very prevalent in Wizardry, a title that is arguably one of the first games to introduce the masses to digital sword and sorcery. But the genre actually started here in the west and was inspired heavily by Dungeons & Dragons. These days, when you mention RPGs most people conjure up mental images of colorful anime characters. Despite it’s simplicity, that game kindled a firestorm of obsession that still rages to this day.
#THE BARDS TALE RUNETIME EXCEPTION PC#
The very first PC game I ever played was Castle Adventure – an unusual ASCII-art game from the MS DOS era. And yes, when I say “lifelong”, I mean it. It’s no secret that I’m a lifelong fan of RPGs (CRPGs in particular).
