Snacko wrote:
I never really got into any of them but 4, but 4 is incredible and definitely worth your time. Would you suggest starting with 1 if I wanted to play the others? It seems a tad dated, but not prohibitively so (I have a Genesis collection with all 4).
Here's one of the more memorable themes from one of my favorite retro game soundtracks.
I can tell 4 is good from early playing.
I think 3 is probably the worst of the lot. The problem with 3 is they spent all the RAM on fancy terrain and monsters, and did not produce any people or objects. All the hallways and such look sparse (2 had this problem too) but worst of all, the towns are, like deserted. You feel like the whole world is devoid of people. There are people in the shops, stationary behind desks, but that's it.
What makes 3 interesting is you get to choose two marriages, so you end up beating the game with your grandchildren, and who you get to play with depends on who marries who. But it still seems very, very empty to play and the lack of setting detail depresses me, so I think you could skip 3 entirely and you wouldn't miss much. The only interesting story element in 3 is a "
revelation"
which gets retcon'd in 4 or ignored or something, I think.
I'd play 2 first, then play 1. I think 2 is more strategic but 1 will take a while and be sort of a long-term "
I'll beat this someday"
sort of game. There are a lot of really cool differences that make 1 notable, but it's also a nasty grind of XP-gathering. Not as bad as Dragon Warrior, but still bad. The main unique element is the dungeons, which are done in first-person perspective maze, which is really different (and this also makes it remarkably difficult to gauge when you're strong enough to conquer an underworld area or not). I was always disappointed they never returned to that later, particularly since 2's base areas were (again) sparsely decorated.
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Trickster
Official Hold ProgressClick here to view the secret text
×Beethro and the Secret Society: Postmastered
Beethro's Teacher: In Progress
Complex Complex: In Progress
Devilishly Dangerous Dungeons of Doom: In Progress
Finding the First Truth: Postmastered
Gunthro and the Epic Blunder: In Progress
Halph Has a Bad Day: Mastered (no door)
Journey to Rooted Hold: Postmastered
King Dugan's Dungeon 2.0: Postmastered
Master Locks: Mastered (no door)
Master Locks Expert: Mastered (no door)
Perfect: In Progress (Perfect 8)
Smitemastery 101: Postmastered
Suit Pursuit: In Progress
Tendry's Tale: Mastered (RPG)
The Choice: Postmastered
The City Beneath: Postmastered
Favorite Unofficial Holds (I need to play more!)
Click here to view the secret text
×A Quiet Place: Mastered (no door)
Advanced Concepts: In Progress
Archipelago: In Progress (Island 12)
Break Out Of Jail: Conquered (86%)
Dr. E. Will's Mega Complex: In Progress
Hold Anonymous: In Progress
Paycheck: Conquered (75%)
The Test of Mind: Mastered (RPG)
Unfriendly Islands: In Progress
Val Unrich: In Progress
war10: Mastered (no door)
war15: Mastered (no door)
war: the truth within: Mastered (no door)
Washed Ashore: Mastered (RPG)
My HoldsClick here to view the secret text
×The Plague Within (RPG) (alpha)
Tinytall Tower (Smitemaster) (beta)
Do Not Disturb Compilation (level contributions) (in review)
Riddle of the Bar (compilation)