"Classic Basic D&D/Hollow World Roleplaying"

When I picked this game up back in '92(?) I never thought that I would still be playing it a decade later. D&D:WotES is a great conversion of the Basic Dungeons & Dragons Rules for any console. Actually, it may be the only Basic Dungeons & Dragons game for any system. The game lent alot to the feel of playing the ''pen and paper'' game with the dungeons and caves that litter the valley.

D&D:WotES's graphics where designed to show a more American(?) style as apposed to those seen in FFII-FFV, or Dragon Warrior where you were playing a super deformed anime/manga character.

This is the best part of D&D:WotES, in that, IMHO, I feel that this game was far ahead of its time. The game environment in WotES is broken into two modes: Outdoor/Overhead and Dungeon/First-person.

While outdoors your group would travel through the wilderness having to pick there way through, or around, dence woods, sometimes finding themselves at an impass and having to back track. Also, instead of the classic FF/DW random encounter sceen, you would actually see the monsters/creatures wander into the screen.

In the dungeons/caves you switch the first person. Here it's alot like Eye of the Beholder/dungeon crawl games. You move one square at a time and attack whatever you meet or gets in your way. This is the weekest part of the game IMHO, in that it could very easily be abused.(I lost count of the times I killed the Red Dragon at the enterance to the fire planes by firing fireballs and my never ending supply of arrows at him from down a hallway he could not enter.) Still it reminds me of the days of our first dungeon crawls.

The BGM is nothing to write home about, but at least you can turn it off. (Yeah!) I would recommend that you go out and buy - if you don't already own - the soundtracks to Willow and Conan to listen to while you play this game. The only advantage to having the BGM on while playing is that it will indicate when you enter a new area of the valley.

Outdoor Combat was my favorite part of D&D:WotES. It was turn based and followed the Basic D&D rules perfectly. Unlike Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior, D&D:WotES's random encounters would walk into the screen, but combat would not begin until you can into the encounter range, or you hit the target/attack button. If you saw something that you didn't want to fight you could turn and run before they came within encounter range. Alternatly, you could look for a good place to hide at the edge of some woods and lay an ambuse for whatever might wander by. While in combat you could move characters around per their standard move range, making for some interesting tactical manuvers.

Other Features in D&D:WotES include the ability to create your team from scatch per the Basic D&D rules, the ability to save anywhere outdoors, the ability to camp anywhere(provided that there are no monsters in the immediate vacinity), an original story(not some port of an existing book or suppliment), your dead characters can be resurrected at the town church, you can reorder your party, and pass items around to whomever you want.

I'm sure that I have not covered every thing, but then if I told you everything there would be no supprises left. If you are a true role player between campaigns and want some of that old school role playing action, I would strongly recommend finding this title. Unfortunatly, it's almost imposible to find nowdays. (Does that tell you anything?)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/10/02, Updated 06/10/02