Why not play old dungeon crawlers?

[Erik_Twice]

Or, why not check out Wizardy or The Bard's Tale instead of Etrian Odysey? As someone who has never played any old titles, I really wonder if we aren't forgetting some good stuff!

[BoringSupreez]

From what I've seen, those old (like '80s) PC adventure games are usually difficult, noob-unfriendly, and ugly to look at.

[Opa Opa]

I love playing old dungeon crawlers.

They've aged pretty well (at least that's how I feel). I'd much rather play Ultima IV over any Atlus grind-fest any day.

Sure, you might have to *gasp* read an instruction manual but they're still very playable.

[sabrage]

Lots of people still play those games. I quite liked Devil Survivor up until it got too repetitive for me, and that has that old school grid map feel.

[MrPopo]

Or, why not check out Wizardy or The Bard's Tale instead of Etrian Odysey? As someone who has never played any old titles, I really wonder if we aren't forgetting some good stuff!

Instead isn't the right word to use here. Both games are worth playing. But in terms of trends, you usually see that earlier games have poor balance (playtesting was limited in those days) and clunky interfaces. As a result it requires more of a commitment from the player to get through those old games.

[Menegrothx]

and ugly to look at.

So are Atari 2600 and early 3D games. Thats no reason to ignore games that started it all, whether its early 1980s computer RPGs, mid/late 1990s 3D platformers or even GTA 3.

[Godot102]

Im playing Strange Journey right now and I am enjoying it. IMO Its a bit less hardcore than Etrian since you don't have to map out the dungeons yourself but still enjoyable.

[BoringSupreez]

and ugly to look at.

So are Atari 2600 and early 3D games. Thats no reason to ignore games that started it all, whether its early 1980s computer RPGs, mid/late 1990s 3D platformers or even GTA 3.

For me, the ugly graphics are just icing on the crap cake, not the main reason I don't like them. I can overlook graphics if I find the game fun. I still like PS1, after all.

[Protronrob]

Dungeon Hack is awesome if you are into the Eye of The Beholder look for games

and Manuals are a must for the old games, you beat the first floor and then you have to find out what the 4 word of the 6th paragraph on page 93 is to continue....

old school pirates were walking around with the disks and a huge stack of xeroxed pages.

[J T]

Or, why not check out Wizardy or The Bard's Tale instead of Etrian Odysey? As someone who has never played any old titles, I really wonder if we aren't forgetting some good stuff!

Here you can find Dungeon Master and Chaos Strikes Back for free:
http://dmweb.free.fr/?q=node/851


I have also been really interested in dungeon crawlers recently, as we have been discussing in my Legend of Grimrock thread. It's a genre I had little experience with until recently.