The Bard's Tale 4

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Arcaus_sl

shitlord
1,290
3
I hope it's more throwback and less advancement. I do not get why they are making it crowdfunded though. That title must have people excited enough to draw large investors. My whole generation played the fuck out of that game.
 

moontayle

Golden Squire
4,302
165
Does anyone know anyone who ever beat the original? I certainly don't and I can't count how many hours I threw into that game as a kid.
 

Malinatar

Lord Nagafen Raider
629
237
Does anyone know anyone who ever beat the original? I certainly don't and I can't count how many hours I threw into that game as a kid.
I beat the III one (Thief of Fate). I might actually throw some dollars at this one...

One of the best old school RPG series ever made IMHO...
 

Sterling

El Presidente
12,936
7,832
I've beaten all 3 of them. It was insane how many hours I spent playing these games as well as some of the other RPGs of the era, Ultimas, Wizardries, etc.
 
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Jarex

Bronze Knight of the Realm
24
2
I certainly never finished it, at the end game you had random encounters with fights lasting well over an hr - this was just waiting after your tame dragon breathed on them and you waited as oh so slowly, it scrolled whilst it did massive amounts of damage. Was it 999 or 99 enemies at a time? I can't remember...
 

The Ancient_sl

shitlord
7,386
16
I seem to remember there was a way to speed up the combat scrolling, holding down space key or something? I dunno, I played it on Commodore 64 a very, very long time ago. The day I finished the Catacombs under the wine cellar I was so proud.

I'm not sure they'll ever be able to capture the charm of the original. It was a whole different world when you had to use graph paper to plot out maps to play these games. Now you have the internet and it's just easier.
 

Arcaus_sl

shitlord
1,290
3
We beat all of them. We used to get together and play as team, three of us. The amount of notes and shit we had to write out and the number of times I said "Quick, save before we do X" must be well in to the millions. Shit was tough as hell. IIRC Thief of Fate we got stuck at one part and there was a bug that didn't tell you where to go for the next part. We spent days just wandering around until one of the other kids bought the strategy guide. Shit was pretty crazy. We also used to play the old school Sierra games.
 

Sterling

El Presidente
12,936
7,832
I certainly never finished it, at the end game you had random encounters with fights lasting well over an hr - this was just waiting after your tame dragon breathed on them and you waited as oh so slowly, it scrolled whilst it did massive amounts of damage. Was it 999 or 99 enemies at a time? I can't remember...
4 groups of 99
 

Sterling

El Presidente
12,936
7,832
I seem to remember there was a way to speed up the combat scrolling, holding down space key or something? I dunno, I played it on Commodore 64 a very, very long time ago. The day I finished the Catacombs under the wine cellar I was so proud.

I'm not sure they'll ever be able to capture the charm of the original. It was a whole different world when you had to use graph paper to plot out maps to play these games. Now you have the internet and it's just easier.
Pretty sure it was the left/right arrow keys. Even at max speed a big fight took awhile though.
 

The Ancient_sl

shitlord
7,386
16
Nothing matched how long Pool of Radiance took, when you had to watch every single member of an 80+ kobold party walk 2 spaces back and forth and then guard.
 
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Moebiwan

shitlord
90
98
I spent so many hours playing 1 and 3 on my C64. I skipped 2 for some reason. Never beat 1 because my dungeon disk got crimped shortly after I completed the catacombs. All I could do was wander around the city after that so I'd end up soloing the statues for XP. Good times. Will watch where this goes.
 

Malinatar

Lord Nagafen Raider
629
237
Nothing matched how long Pool of Radiance took, when you had to watch every single member of an 80+ kobold party walk 2 spaces back and forth and then guard.
Can you imagine if they put in that mechanic now...

P.S. Although it was satisfying watching a single fireball lay to waste oodles of kobolds one at a time...at a time...at a time...
 

Sumi_sl

shitlord
153
0
Loved the original, but never played any of the sequels. Not sure how they can make that game relevant to today's player base.
 

Vaclav

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
12,650
877
Never finished 3 - didn't it come to PC super late? Only played it on my friends C64 when I stayed over which wasn't that often. Those games were my jam for quite a while though.
 

Angelwatch

Trakanon Raider
3,053
133
I finished 1 and 3. I remember Thief of Fate taking me all summer to beat. I was stuck, literally, for weeks trying to beat the boss at the bottom of the first dungeon. Once I qualified for advanced classes and the chronomage opened up, I finally beat him and was able to move on.

I don't remember much about the first beyond grinding on the Tarjan statue for hours to level up.
 

Kharza-kzad_sl

shitlord
1,080
0
I can remember quite a bit about 1 and 2, not so much 3. I did finish all 3 on the C64.

I remember well the intro sequence to 3 because I could play it on the lute in lord of the rings online
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The main things I remember about 1 were the early days when trying to make it back to the guild to save and heal up. Running into the band of 8 barbarians was always brutal. Also the OLD status effect was terrible and expensive to get rid of.

Two had the realtime puzzles, and the old sage guiding you to the next areas and such.

Three had lots of cool magic if I remember correctly.

I got to work with Joe Ybarra for a bit who you'd remember from the mystical cloak of armor spell line
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Kreugen

Vyemm Raider
6,599
793
You guys are forgetting there was already a remake/reboot action/rpg/comedy.

You know, the one with the giant fire breathing cellar rat and the singing goblins whenever you die...

Although I guess calling it Bards Tale 4 means it's ignoring that game as well.
 

Xith

Bronze Knight of the Realm
301
21
I loved the originals, but I have low expectations for this. Hopefully I'm pleasantly surprised.
 

DrLifetilt_sl

shitlord
230
1
4 groups of 99
Yeah, 4x99 berserkers. That's how i learned that word in english as a kid. Wasn't this encounter relatively early in the game? I remember the Bard's Fire Horn making short work of them. Also i remember how sick monks became late game with their multiple attacks. I spent the most time on II, which i never finished as it was a huge game. Back then you really had to play those games with friends, share maps, notes and such, also check mags for tips and riddle solutions, or else you got real stumped quickly. Those were the days.
 
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