Dungeonbuster

The ad for Dragon Wars with art by famous fantasy illustrator, Boris Vallejo. It shows a leering, green skinned, demonic terror emerging from the darkness as a bronzed, bare chested warrior readies himself to swing an axe at it standing next to a similarly bronzed warrior maiden who readies herself to swing her blade from where she is kneeling. Below this scene is the title for the game, screenshots, and a block of text describing the game. Dragon Wars started out as Bard's Tale IV incorporating ideas left on the cutting room floor after Bard's Tale III, now spiced with Sumerian mythology. Demons would feature as big baddies in the game, but EA still held onto the Bard's Tale rights so it became Dragon Wars. And dragons somehow had to be shoehorned into the game at the last moment (and after the illustration by Vallejo was done showing something very un-dragonlike). In Dragon Wars, dragons acted as WMDs for the nations that controlled them.

Ad for Dragon Wars (1989), a CRPG by Interplay

Dragon Wars started out as Bard's Tale IV but when Interplay left EA to go indie (and with EA still holding onto the Bard's Tale rights at the time), renamed it. Instead of demonic horrors, dragons would be shoehorned in.

Illustration by Boris Vallejo

Very cool and insightful look into how diverse each role is beyond the surface titles. For anyone even remotely curious in learning more on what happens behind the curtain in game development, this is a super interesting approach. I'm all for it!

Sorcerian (1987) | RPG | PC platforms | Nihon Falcom

Brought to new audiences by Sierra On-Line in 1990, the fifth entry in Falcom's Dragon Slayer series packed plenty of action along with choosing a career for party-less characters to earn gold in and picking which quests to undertake!

The game made heavy use of anime cutscenes to tell its story in between major battles which the ad promotes while sharing the backstory of its storied fantasy scenario. Slated for release on December 3rd on the Super CD for the PC Engine at ¥8,800.

The secrets of an ancient civilization may lie with two, mysterious girls pursued by an empire in Kisou Louga, a turn-based strategy game with light RPG aesthetics by Kogado Studio for the PC Engine CD

This 1993 ad from Japan shows off the box art and screenshots of its anime inspired cut scenes!

This incredible illustration showing a Giger-esque bio-mechanical figure was by sci-fi artist, Naoyuki Kato, which was also used for the box packaging in Japan. Published by Irem in Japan, the ad tells the story of a gigantic alien object on a collision course with Earth, populated with multiplying lifeforms, and it is up to this transforming warrior to stop it before it arrives by detonating ten devices within it!

A teaser ad from late 1987 in Japan for Guardic Gaiden, an action adventure by Compile for the Nintendo Famicom

Teasing a release date of January 29th the next year, the fate of Earth rests in the hands of a "powerful female warrior". Outside Japan, it would be known as The Guardian Legend.

You are apprenticed to the greatest Sorcerer in the world and are busy learning the ropes until tragedy strikes in this isometric RPG.

Things start off innocently enough for now as you enjoy life as a student of the magic arts.

The title screen featuring the names of both developers who began the project.

The battle screen for the game whisked players away to an isolated square like this to confront their foes.

Rings of Power (1992) was an RPG for the Sega Genesis by Naughty Dog. Five centuries ago, the Rod of Creation was shattered and turned into eleven rings now lost. When a traitor slays your mentor who manages to teleport you away, the quest to find and unite them now falls to you! (a ring thread).

Hillsfar (1989) | RPG | PC platforms | Westwood Associates

A series of character building minigames awaited in this off-campaign entry in SSI's AD&D adaptations. Players could even transfer characters from Pool of Radiance or Curse of the Azure Bonds (and then back to Curse) to train them up!

This page shows our hero (the blue haired guy in the fore) with a cast of friends that will accompany him on his quest. A few screenshots are also shown emphasizing the game's "amazing battle scenes" and its "dramatic story" while also making a note of each character's different abilities creating a diverse gameplay experience. It also hypes up the fact that special abilities are the key to success, including a strange, hidden power contained within a sacred dragon.

This page once again shows off our roster of friends with the title blazing high above while telling the story of how thousands of years ago, the Goddess War had split apart a clan of dragons, and that this is the beginning of a new RPG experience from Capcom. A release date of April 3rd is shown here with a price of ¥9,800.

A two-page ad from Japan from 1993 for Breath of Fire, an RPG by Capcom for the Super Famicom

Heralding its arrival on April 3rd that year, Capcom's turn-based quest features a roster of memorable characters shown here alongside a hero's hidden power to transform into a powerful dragon!

A statistics screen for your character in Hillsfar. Hillsfar wasn't one of SSI's "Gold Box" games, but it sat between Pool of Radiance (their first) and Curse of the Azure Bonds (their second), all based off of TSR's AD&D ruleset. Here, you can see my character name, class, and attributes!

Hillsfar had a number of mini-games that you could engage with like this shooting range for archery.

The city of Hillsfar could be explored in first person with a map of the city on the right to show you where you were going. There were many buildings, like inns and taverns, to explore for gossip along with a large number of locked doors to keep sticky fingers from their wares.

The title screen for Hillsfar showing the walled city, some of the woods nearby, and its name at the top of the screen. A rolling bank of clouds hovers just behind the city as a path in the foreground winds past.

Hillsfar (1989) was an action RPG by Westwood Associates for various PC platforms like MS-DOS and the Commodore Amiga. In this solo, AD&D RPG, players found themselves in the city of Hillsfar where they could take on local quests or engage in arena combat for fame and fortune! (a smol thread)

This page relates the story of the Seal of Evil placed on a gate to another world filled with evil by an ancient hero, Jason. But not the seal has been broken and monsters are pouring out, invading the land and requiring a new hero to emerge and save it! The page also shows off a few screenshots of the Famicom iteration of the game. It first debuted on PCs in Japan, but the Famicom version closely hews to the original design seen here with the screens. Also advertised is the "2 megabit capacity" ROM cart and a retail price of ¥5,800.

This side of the ad shows off some of the same art that would also be used on the cover for Miracle Warriors when it was ported (with significant differences!) to the Sega Master System. This page puts in the work on promoting the map and figurine included with the Famicom release!

This two-page ad from 1987 celebrates a grand adventure ahead in showing off an included map and metal figurine for the Famicom port of Haja no Fuin, an RPG by Kogado Software Products

It also became Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord on the Sega Master System for an international audience!

Super Hydlide (1987) is an action RPG by T&E Soft that initially debuted on Japanese PCs like the MSX later coming to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Chosen to investigate a new evil plaguing the land following a fiery omen, you head out on a quest to discover the truth! (a monsters and robots thread)

Super Hydlide did have its share of fans and overcoming that first leveling hurdle as your backpack expanded was a moment to remember. An RPG whose features pushed for a deeper experience on consoles as it took players on a journey mixing swords, sorcery, and space suit armor!

For centuries the good folk of Fairyland have lived in peace and harmony, all memory of evil wiped from their consciousness. Suddenly, one dark and stormy evening, a mysterious column of fire exploded from deep beneath the ground. Overnight peaceful Fairyland changed into a nightmare world. Massive cracks scarred the earth, floods destroyed villages, and famine devastated the countryside. Soon strange doors appeared in the ground-those who entered were never seen again. Even worse, hideous monsters emerged from below the earth to terrorize the innocent inhabitants of Fairyland as these evil forces invaded the land. The people looked to a wise old oracle for advice on how to stop the madness. The oracle predicted that a young man would come forward to search out the evil powers and destroy them. Now, you, Fairyland's only hope, must step forward and save the day. Super Hydlide, a role play title, is Seismic's first game for the Genesis. To find the source of the evil that has be- fallen Fairyland, you'll have to search far and wide for information and clues to the mystery, battle monsters, build up your experience and strength, and even travel to far off lands. Pick A Character, Any Character To begin the game you select your character and pick one of four careers- Warrior, Thief, Priest, or Monk. Each of the characters has different strengths and weaknesses. PROTIP: For example, the Uniel is very strong but not trusted by the towns people. When you go into the stores as the Thiet, you'll find the prices are higher. Once you step into the shoes of your chosen character you're ready to set off on your adventure. But first you'll have to absorb a few of the realities of life in Fairyland. For instance, just as in real life, Fairyland's days are 24 hours long. This means you'll have to remember to eat at least two meals a day and get a good night's sleep.

Use your many abilities to battle the fierce population of monsters that roam the land. Remember, however, that no all of the monsters are bad - some ate good. If you destroy the good monsters, you'll lose Morality Points! You'll also have to keep an eye out for the many dangerous traps set to catch the unwary traveler. Ranging from Electric Shock to Bomb to Hunger, these traps can really put a damper on your quest. Fortunately, you can use the battery backup to save your game and character and continue wheenver you like. In fact, you can save up to four different games at once, so try different strategies with different characters for an entirely different adventure. Altogether Super Hydlide is a lively cart that draws you into an epic adventure. You'll spend long hours unraveling the mystery of Fairyland's plight, but you must! Fairyland needs you - you've got to change those evil ways!

EGM's review crew weren't too impressed by Super Hydlide, noting its slow pace but still finding some fun in the title as a "serious" RPG on the Sega Genesis.

Super Hydlide's Genesis iteration in North America received a range of reactions. GamePro's June 1990 review by The Mongoose ultimately praised it as a "lively cart that draws you into an epic adventure". EGM's review crew in their May '90 issue weren't huge fans, especially of its "slow" pace.

In Super Hydlide's case, though, having high "moral fiber" (by not killing 'good' rated monsters) would actually reward the player in small ways while being a steamroller of death would bring bad fortune to you in the form of random traps appearing to mess your day up. Brutal.

A morality system, which the series dabbled with in 1985's Hydlide II, had also made a return adding another layer of intriguing complexity. CRPGs had dabbled with morality systems, too, such as Origin's Moebius (also in '85) in which being shady could result in villagers being reluctant to aid you.

In Super Hydlide, you move slower if over your limit. Depending on your perspective, T&E's implementation was either part of the challenge or the catalyst for periodic, and tedious, sessions where new equipment meant grinding just to wear it. Fortunately, you could throw out stuff on the fly!

The concept of weighted equipment had seen occasional use in CRPGs such as 1979's Temple of Apshai. In that game, carry too much weight and your character's stamina would suffer, possibly causing them tire out (becoming a tempting beastie snack) until they rest up.

The quest incorporated a number of ideas that CRPGs had been using for years helping it to stand out on consoles for its level of detail. It included a day & night cycle and schedules, banks, needing to stay fed or grow weak from hunger, and encumbrance from carrying too much loot.

Renowned not so much for its visuals but for a challenging quest thrifty on clues and heavy on the exploration, Super Hydlide was a challenging adventure. Players could pick from one of four starting classes and then were off to try and survive long enough to level up and carry more than a twig.

This adventure was the third game in the Hydlide series. Called "Hydlide 3: The Space Memories" in Japan when it debuted on PC platforms there, it was also one of the early RPG releases for the Sega Mega Drive console with revamped visuals while holding fast to the original's core gameplay.

Super Hydlide (1987) is an action RPG by T&E Soft that initially debuted on Japanese PCs like the MSX later coming to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Chosen to investigate a new evil plaguing the land following a fiery omen, you head out on a quest to discover the truth! (a monsters and robots thread)

This ad celebrates the series "rebirth" as an RPG with the third entry published by Toei, retailing for ¥6,200. The game adapts the start of the series on through the Asura arc from the manga. In 2024, an unofficial English translation patch was released by BlackPaladin and their team.

Kenshiro is ready to mete out vein busting justice in this 1989 ad from Japan for Hokuto No Ken 3: Shinseiki Souzou Seiken Retsuden for the Famicom

Kenshiro's first two outings on the Famicom were action-powered adventures, but Shouei System decided to make the third entry a turn-based RPG!

Treasure Conflix (1996) | action/adventure with light RPG elements | Nintendo Satellaview | Square

After launching this adventure from your "house" in the virtual neighborhood for the Super Famicom's Satalleview service, it was time to sail the skies, fight air pirates, and search for treasure!

Cosmetics. There are some free ones you get from activity milestones, grinding for others via gacha RNG, and a cash shop with a range of "i can spare a dollar or two" to "i might need to check with my bank" prices. On the plus side, it's not in your face, so you can ignore it all and just play.

Been spending quite a bit of time with Where Winds Meet lately!

* feels like a "AAA" open world RPG but free
* enjoying beat 'em up wuxia with my umbrella
* tons of activities from bounty hunts to mahjong
* can pet cats
* optional co-op activities
* interface is a menu demon slowly devouring sanity

The ad for Brain Lord shows off three screenshots of its top-down action. It's puzzle-heavy content was also hinted at in the ad when it said "They say only the gifted can unlock the secrets of the many mazes that lie before me. "If you don't go crazy, you'll go insane.".   Brain Lord is something of a hidden gem on the SNES because of how saturated the SNES market was at the time. Brain Lord competed against the likes of Illusion of Gaia, Breath of Fire, Super Metroid, Mortal Kombat II, and Final Fantasy III -- all released in the same year for North American audiences. And that's not even looking at what was happening on Sega's side of the fence.

A 1994 advertisement for Brain Lord, an action RPG by Produce! for the Super Nintendo

Long ago, Dragon Warriors rode dragons across the sky and imprisoned the Great Demon. But the dragons had vanished and your father spent his life in an attempt to find them, only to disappear. Now it is up to you!

If you see this, post your getaway vehicle.

This screenshot is from the introduction teaser. Many enemies and dangers await the player in the land of Khantun!

The title screen for the game.

This is the play screen displaying my stats in the lower left hand corner, the status of my karma and dexterity with icons in the lower right, and a top down view of the land with me in the center. NPCs and other figures like enemy guards and tigers were represented by portraits like mine above.

When facing an enemy, the screen switches to a side view like this screen. You are on the left and the enemy is on the right. Players can utilize high, medium, and low punches and kicks to fight their enemy. They can also use a sword if they had it drawn before combat began.

Moebius: The Orb of Celestial Harmony (1985) was an action RPG by Greg Malone for Origin Systems that debuted on the Apple II. As a trained disciple of Moebius the Windwalker, you must utilize your martial arts skills to recover the Orb from a traitor and save the land of Khantun! (a punchy thread)

Like a number of Japanese ads at the time, this ad uses physical models to help show itself off. In this case, Zoids inspired by dinosaurs! This 1987 ad features a release date for the game (September 9th) at a retail price of ¥5,300 along with a few testimonials from Zoids fans praising the huge map, the ability to change between different Zoids, and the fun battles. The ad shows off a batch of screens showing off its first-person battle screen and the top-down exploration as players battle with the Republic against the forces of a powerful empire. A music cassette and telephone cards focused on Zoids are also featured at the bottom of the page for super fans to get excited over.

Battling for robot ascendancy in the 80s, Tomy's Zoids flex for the Famicom in 1987 as Zoids: Chuo Tairiku no Tatakai, an action RPG by Micronics

Based on the creature-shaped mecha series that began as model kits, the game mixes first-person battles and RPG elements in a war against an empire!

Ryuuki Heidan: Danzarb (1993) was a sci-fi, turn-based RPG by Gainax, Pandora Box, and Yutaka for the Super Famicom in Japan. A family tragedy pushes Matthew to join Danzarb, the Oval Army's most elite unit and with their help, unravels a terrifying conspiracy behind the war! (a dragon squad thread)