This is a very effective Japanese conversion of the great US, 16-bit classic, Dungeon Master, by FTL and Software Heaven.
The conversion was handled by JVC Interactive and was first released in Japan in 1992, before being translated and released in North America and Europe later.
Konami‘s Cave Noire is a smart little handheld ‘Roguelike’ dungeon crawler for the Nintendo Game Boy that was first released in Japan in 1991. Cave Noire did not receive a release outside of its native country, which is a pity because it’s an excellent game.
This is the one: Dungeon Master – the Atari ST original. One of the best games ever made, and among my favourite games of all time…
The second of two ground-breaking Ultima Underworld games made by Blue Sky Productions (later to become Looking Glass Technologies) and Origin Systems.
Labyrinth of Worlds, first released in 1993, again features a very early (and successful) attempt to create a Role-Playing Game with a fully-explorable 3D environment. Both this – and its predecessor, The Stygian Abyss – were developed concurrently, and were a significant leap forward in terms of software technology at the time.
Continue reading Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, PC
The first of two ground-breaking Ultima Underworld games made by Looking Glass Technologies (formerly known as Blue Sky Productions) and Origin Systems.
The Stygian Abyss, first released in 1992, is one of the first Role-Playing Games to feature first-person action in a 3D environment.
The second game in the famous Elder Scrolls series, this one called The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.
Daggerfall is a sprawling MS-DOS-based RPG, full of monsters and magic (and fun), and was first released by Bethesda (and US Gold, in the UK anyway), back in 1996.
This 1983 release from Doric Computer Services for the ZX Spectrum is a simple, but engrossing, cave exploration game with tense combat and tough gameplay.
Crypt of the NecroDancer is a smart modern, indie retro game that crosses rhythm game mechanics with ‘Roguelike’ dungeon-crawling. And it works extremely well and is a lot of fun to play. Crypt of the NecroDancer is like Ultima, but played to the beat of an Abba tune…
Richard Garriott’s Akalabeth was first released in 1979 for the Apple II home computer (and shortly afterwards for PC MS-DOS), and is arguably the first ever graphical Role-Playing Game ever released.
