"Just dont choose the Halflings!!!"

I was definitely excited to get my hands on this game. Being a longtime fan of AD&D and rpgs in general, I had great hopes and I must say that I walked away quite pleased indeed.....

Graphics 8/10: Considering that this game came out in '92 (I actually think it was like the first game released that year) the graphics are definitely beyond passable and actually quite good. Rpgs were about the last genre a games to get a face-lift (probably because of the space that text and other details took up) but this game actually is fine to look at even today. Everything is nicely detailed, the character portraits are good and the 1st person dungeons look good as well (though the window is a bit small.) Not bad at all.

Music 10/10: This game has great music. The title theme alone is enough to get your blood pumping. All of the tracks in the game are strangely appropriate and most of them are some of the best on the Genesis. There was one wilderness song I didn't care for but the others were all awesome especially the Swamp and Lava themes. The battle themes are equally impressive. What's cool is that the music seems to get better and better the more you progress, cool. I'm not a big music critic but it's so obvious when great effort is put forth toward anything. The music in this game does exactly what it should: set a mood and build suspense when appropriate.

Sound 5/10: Well I guess something had to pale in comparison to the music right? The sound effects in this game, while not bad, are just kinda there. Bows sound kinda like bows, slings give a "shoo" sound, spells have distinct sounds etc... The sounds that are there do fit but there's nothing spectacular about them (unlike for instance in the Phantasy Star series). I know that the Genesis wasn't particularly know for its audio but some things make no sense and are truly mind-boggling. For instance there is some digitized speech but for some reason they only include 1 male voice which wouldn't be so bad if there was also 1 female voice as well. Characters moan when hit and shout out in joy when they gain a level but its all done in the same masculine voice. My party has 2 guys and 2 ladies (one of them the leader) so this discovery definitely made me feel a bit uneasy. I was about to be generous and give the sound a 6 until I came across this code that lets you do a sound test. Apparantly there was female speech recorded as I heard at least 3 female shouts. This makes no sense at all. If the data had been recorded why is it locked. I guess I have to imagine the girls in my party being lesbians on steroids or something.....oh well.

Story 9/10: The Goblin Wars lasted 13 moons. Duke Hector Barrik is forced to retreat to his castle.

''The goblins mas for their final assault. Our ways will pass from this Earth by nightfall. Let the bards praise our courage.''

Before the goblins attack, the Earth begins to tremble. the sky rips open. Man and goblin alike are sucked into the void.

The castle has been transported to a valley with impossibly high cliffs. A red sun flares, circled by floating islands. The horizon appears as the bottom of a basin.

Basically man was at war with the goblins and then all hell breaks loose and everyone is sucked into a void. Although there's just one main town to shop at and all. The story set-up is actually pretty decent especially in an era when helpless wimpy princesses were being snatched up left and right. ( I love Super Mario and all but somewhere along the line Peach should've invested in a sidearm of some sort) Anyway good stuff and a breath of fresh air for its time.

Gameplay 8/10: This game plays well. Everything works about like it should. You get to create your party from scratch and even roll their stats so no one can complain but you for having a wimpy party or character. There are some interesting perculiarities however such as the fact that the demi-humans are type-casted and stereo-typed into a specific class. Humans can be either fighters, thieves, clerics, and magic-users. However Dwarves can only be fighters with poison resistance, Elves are only fighter/mages who can detect secret doors and can strangely were platemail and cast fireball at the same time,and Halflings are only fighter/thieves. Most of the character choices are fine and the only ones I truly question are the thieves and Halflings (esp. halflings). They can hide in shadows but....don't get them, if have to test this ability get a thief. I can't imagine any sane person liking the Halfling class.
Anyway combat works well ( once you get to like Lv 5) and the game is set up well.

Replay value 8/10: The story is always gonna be the same and you don't keep any data but the game really gives you a lot to work with. Though there are certain objectives that need to be met before others can, the gameplay is quite open and fairly non-linear. From the start you can wander around wherever you want and can avoid most fights you think mght kill you. You can also try creating a different kind of party for a different take on the game, which is always cool. All in all this is game that can last a long while, just don't choose the Halflings............................................

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/06/05