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Recommend on: Classic Adventure!
zhen_rogue
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
G&T: I'm an avid RPG fan, both console and PC. However, i've been aching for some good old-fashioned adventure games as a change of pace.
Much like BG2, FF3(6), FF7, Elder Scrolls, and PS:T are the first answers in any "RPG recommend" thread, i'd like to know what the must-play, genre-defining, can't-miss titles are in the adventure category.
Age/system are not important, I have damn near everything at my disposal. Hell, I even have a ColecoVision available and there's always http://www.virtualapple.org/ if you're really old-school.
Games i've played (and comments):
- Companions of Xanth [PC]
http://www.mobygames.com/game/companions-of-xanth
I LOVED this game, and this is currently the best adventure game i've ever played. It was based on Piers Anthony's "Xanth" books, so it had a really well-written story and interesting characters. Lots of puzzles, well-drawn environments, good interface, and half-naked nagas as a bonus. More please!
- MYST / RIVEN [PC]
Fun once, but a bit more abstract that what i'm looking for. They were beautifully done, with masterful puzzles and a good background story. However, they were a little too "solo" feeling for me, with 99% of your intereaction done alone with objects in a minimalist interface.
- Shadowgate / Uninvited [NES]
Fun titles when I played them, these were my introduction to adventure games. The puzzles and environments were well done, the story was average, though the simulated mouse interface was somewhat cumbersome on the NES.
- Discworld [PSX]
I have not completed this yet, and am playing it now (about 2-3 hours in). So far, it plays a bit more like an interactive movie than a game. I guess this would be similar to a "final fantasy" style of adventure games, where 50% of your playtime is watching cutscenes and dialogue. Polar opposite of MYST / RIVEN. Maybe i'm looking for a happy medium, closer to Xanth?
- The Longest Journey [PC]
Amazing story, VERY well-developed characters, love the setting. Very good adventure game overall.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
If you post a game, please be sure to include a bit about it - story, interface, why you loved it, etc.
Much like BG2, FF3(6), FF7, Elder Scrolls, and PS:T are the first answers in any "RPG recommend" thread, i'd like to know what the must-play, genre-defining, can't-miss titles are in the adventure category.
Age/system are not important, I have damn near everything at my disposal. Hell, I even have a ColecoVision available and there's always http://www.virtualapple.org/ if you're really old-school.
Games i've played (and comments):
- Companions of Xanth [PC]
http://www.mobygames.com/game/companions-of-xanth
I LOVED this game, and this is currently the best adventure game i've ever played. It was based on Piers Anthony's "Xanth" books, so it had a really well-written story and interesting characters. Lots of puzzles, well-drawn environments, good interface, and half-naked nagas as a bonus. More please!
- MYST / RIVEN [PC]
Fun once, but a bit more abstract that what i'm looking for. They were beautifully done, with masterful puzzles and a good background story. However, they were a little too "solo" feeling for me, with 99% of your intereaction done alone with objects in a minimalist interface.
- Shadowgate / Uninvited [NES]
Fun titles when I played them, these were my introduction to adventure games. The puzzles and environments were well done, the story was average, though the simulated mouse interface was somewhat cumbersome on the NES.
- Discworld [PSX]
I have not completed this yet, and am playing it now (about 2-3 hours in). So far, it plays a bit more like an interactive movie than a game. I guess this would be similar to a "final fantasy" style of adventure games, where 50% of your playtime is watching cutscenes and dialogue. Polar opposite of MYST / RIVEN. Maybe i'm looking for a happy medium, closer to Xanth?
- The Longest Journey [PC]
Amazing story, VERY well-developed characters, love the setting. Very good adventure game overall.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
If you post a game, please be sure to include a bit about it - story, interface, why you loved it, etc.
zhen_rogue on
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Also The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. In fact, just any LucasArts games you can get your hands on. Because they're all fantastic.
I don't know about the PSX version of Discworld, but the PC one is very much a classic adventure game, and it has two fantastic sequels.
For more modern ones you want The Longest Journey and its sequel, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. (The Steam package is here) Yes, it is weird that the sequel is just a word tacked onto the original's title, but they're so god damned good. Deep story, nice length, engrossing characters and a great setting. I keep meaning to play through TLJ again, maybe I'll do that today.
There's also Beneath a Steel Sky, which is free. Actually, you'll want to head to www.gog.com next, they're probably the next place for these kind of games. They have that one, Simon the Sorcerer (I heard the sequels were garbage so watch out), Sanitarium, and Waxworks, which I haven't tried personally but I hear they're great.
And I've only scratched the surface. There are so many more good adventure games out there...
EDIT: Oh, right, how could I forget the Chzo mythos? They're made by Yahtzee, the Zero Punctuation guy, and they're freaking great. All available for free here. The order you want is Five Days a Stranger, Seven Days a Skeptic, Trilby's Notes, and Six Days a Sacrifice, because there is a clear progression between them and you don't want to do them out of order.
Also Broken Sword 1+2, maybe Toonstruck too.
right, and http://www.telltalegames.com/ - the page should speak for itself
It's almost a shame that the game industry isn't as obsessed with remakes as the movie industry, there are some flat out awesome games from the past that are virtually unknown today. And people either won't play them because they're impossible to find, are on a system that is no longer widely available, or it's just become dated graphically.
If no one has yet, I will also recommend all of the 'Five Days a Stranger' series, plus they are free.
It's a bit obtuse to play now, but I have a lot of great memories of that game. The voice acting is good in some parts (Perlman, Spiner, Davidovich), but pretty bad in others. Still, it was an awesome concept and worth playing.
You son of a bitch. I'm the one that supposed to recommend all of the Legend games first. Me. Not you.
But yeah, check out the Legend games. Just as good as the Lucasarts and Sierra classics, but woefully under appreciated. Death Gate is amazing, and Shannara is good too. I also love Mission Critical. And the Gateway games are spectacular. They also did your beloved Xanth game (one of the few of theirs I haven't played). And the Spellcasting series, kind of a Harry Potter meets Revenge of the Nerds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_Entertainment
3DS: 1521-4165-5907
PS3: KayleSolo
Live: Kayle Solo
WiiU: KayleSolo
Key Infocom "must haves"
Zork 1- Only reason I put this here is for historical reference. Chances are you've played it, and have already been eaten by a grue.
Zork 2- Much better than the first one, and I consider it the only "must have" in the zork series.
Planetfall- If you're going to play an Infocom adventure, play this. Your sidekick Floyd is one of the most dynamic characters in any game. Ever.
Enchanter/Sorcerer/Spellbreaker- A trilogy. All three are fantastic. Basic premise is you're a novice/intermediate/master magic-user. Much of the game is collecting and utilizing the spells in your inventory to overcome obstacles in front of you. Writing is top notch.
Starcross- Exploration of an abandoned ship. More serious than most of the Infocom tales. I loved this one though.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy- This was written with the help of Douglas Adams. Very obvious while playing. This game is funny as hell. I recommend everyone get this game, get the walkthrough, and just play through it. Simply for the writing.
There are a few more I would recommend, but I'm a horrible fanboy and I wouldn't expect most people to appreciate them.
The Sierra games are pretty scattershot, but there's still some great stuff. Check out Quest for Glory (skip #3, and try the freeware remake of #2), Gabriel Knight (1st is the best, second is great if you can stand all of the FMV), Leisure Suit Larry (1 is a classic, 6 and 7 are pretty good, recent rebirth games are reprehensible), Space Quest (4 is the funniest despite some aggravating design issues) and Kings Quest (a classic, but 6 is by far the best.)
The Longest Journey and Dreamfall deserve a second mention. The first two Simon the Sorcerers are great if you're into British humour - skip the rest. You might also try The Feeble Files which is a follow-up by the same guys as Simon. I have a soft spot for the Dynamix games (Willy Beamish, Rise of the Dragon, Heart of China) even though they haven't aged all that well.
The only Legend game I haven't seen mentioned is Eric the Unready. It's text-based (with graphic stills) but very, very funny. I haven't played too many others, although I've heard good things about Callahan's Crosstime Salloon, based off the Spider Robinson novels (which sadly seem to be out of print.)
:evil:
You're on my list.
Second game's a bit too adolescent for its own good, though. We won't mention the others.
I think you can test out a lot of adventure games on gametap.
EDIT: Oh! Try out Return to Mysterious Island. It's easy enough that you'll not need a guide since most of the puzzles have multiple solutions.
Legends of Kyrandia, I mostly played the second one, but both are supposed to be good. Depending what you define as an adventure game, there's also The Nomad Soul, which I remember being rather enthralled with at a certain point and Outcast, of course.
Omikron was awesome, but I really got tired of the crappy FPS bits. It's why I never finished it. The David Bowie concerts were awesome, though.
Yes! I forgot these! The first one is kinda boring, but the second one is pretty good, and third one is flat out excellent, despite some annoyingly designed puzzles. The third one has you playing the villain of the series, a jester named Malcolm. It was the first adventure games I'd ever played with a (randomly generated) laugh track.
Also the CHZO Mythos is free and horror games are fun, you should totally play them in order.
5 Days is probably the strongest, with 7 being the weakest and TN and 6 falling somewhere inbetween. Can't say I was totally pleased with the way the series turned out, but 5 is definitely worth playing.
I forgot to mention in the OP that I have indeed played the longest journey, and loved it. Updated.
So far, i'm blown away by the machinarium demo - that was really unique.
Also, the fan-based remakes of KQ1, KQ2, and QFG2 look amazing - I can't believe they're free based on the amount of effort put into them.
http://www.agdinteractive.com/games/games.html
So many good memories of this game.. We didn't used to have a computer that could run it, so my dad would take me to his work after they closed and we'd sneak time on the "office" computer (they only had one) until midnight or so when I didn't have school the next day.
Not just the nostalgia factor, but it's also a very, very well done game. The atmosphere is excellent and consistent.
Day of the Tentacle
She has a thick brow on her!
Both are great but man it sucks that there is no 3rd game that explains the 2nd game.
Goddamn MMOs.
Dreamfall isn't an adventure game! It's a walk-around-until-you-trigger-a-cutscene game.
I just love the setup. One of my favorite scenarios in a game is to have everything gone to shit while you repair and get it back up and running. Needless to say, my favorite section of the game is before you leave the ship, but that's a good half of the game, at least. The stuff after was really cool, too, but for me you just can't beat getting that battleship repaired. It also had a really cool mystery that you slowly unravel as the game goes on.
Dreamfall would have been a half decent game if it wasn't a sequel to The Longest Journey.
I don't mind pure-text, ancient Windows 3.1-based graphics (Castle of the Winds), or something released last week.
Mission Critical looks really fantastic, i'm trying to find a place to get a cheap copy.
Also working on Shannara / Death Gate to start, as they share a similar engine to Xanth to get me back into the 'adventure' mode.
Really, try out Return to Mysterious Island. It has monkeys in it.