RPG CODEX - Top Dungeon Crawlers - Nomination Thread

[Sigourn]

Nomination thread for the "Dungeon Crawler" category.

Rules:

- Always check the OP to see if the game you want to nominate has been already nominated. No need to nominate the same game twice: if it has been nominated, it will be polled.
- Please use brains when nominating games for this category. Don't nominate a game that clearly doesn't belong. I know this is particularly "difficult" in such a broad category, but you are free to nominate any game you want if you truly feel it belongs. That said, it is possible to nominate the same game for different polls.
- You can nominate as many games you deem worthy of being considered "the best" as you want.
- You can only nominate games you have PLAYED. Please, no one wants to see you post a huge list of games you have yet to play.
- Nomination format is FULL NAME OF THE GAME.

Please nominate games based on how good the dungeon crawling experience is (fun or well made, I leave that up to you), not how historically important or fun/good in any other way (NPCs, quests, etc.) the games themselves are.

Nominations will stop counting starting Saturday, July 8th.

NOMINATED GAMES:

Spoiler

Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
Tales of the Unknown: Volume I – The Bard's Tale
The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight
Dungeon Master
Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna
Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World
Pool of Radiance
The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate
Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom
Bloodwych
Chaos Strikes Back
The Dark Heart of Uukrul
The Magic Candle
DarkSpyre
Secret of the Silver Blades
Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge
Disciples of Steel
Eye of the Beholder
Eye of the Beholder II
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra
Pools of Darkness
Black Crypt
Legend / The Four Crystals of Trazere
Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen
The Summoning
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire
Dungeon Hack
Eye of the Beholder III
Lands of Lore: Throne of Chaos
Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen
The Legacy: Realm of Terror
Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds
Hexx: Heresy of the Wizard
King's Field
Might and Magic: World of Xeen
Nahlakh
Realms of Arkania: Star Trail
Anvil of Dawn
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (SNES)
Stonekeep
World of Aden: Thunderscape
Diablo
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny
Baldur's Gate
Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven
Demise: Rise of the Ku’tan
Lands of Lore III
Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor
Natuk
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Icewind Dale
Vagrant Story
Wizards & Warriors
Wizardry 8
Arx Fatalis
Icewind Dale II
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (Sony Playstation 2)
Temple of Elemental Evil
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (Sony Playstation 2)
Dungeon Lords
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 (Sony Playstation 2)
Vulture (NetHack Interface)
Etrian Odyssey (Nintendo DS)
Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard (Nintendo DS)
Generation Xth: Code Hazard
The Dark Spire (Nintendo DS)
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (Nintendo DS)
Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City (Nintendo DS)
Elminage Original (Sony Playstation Portable)
Dark Souls
Elminage Gothic
Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan (Nintendo 3DS)
The Legend of Grimrock
Lords of Xulima
Might & Magic X: Legacy
Stranger of Sword City
The Legend of Grimrock II
Barony
Caves of Qud
Dungeon Rats
The Quest
Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy

 

[King Crispy]

I was looking at your list of played RPG's in your sig and while you have good taste in some you have shit taste in others. You also seem to enjoy listing expansion packs and attempting to pass those off as full RPG's apparently.

So I don't know what the fuck to make of you.

 

[Sigourn]

I was looking at your list of played RPG's in your sig and while you have good taste in some you have shit taste in others. You also seem to enjoy listing expansion packs and attempting to pass those off as full RPG's apparently.

So I don't know what the fuck to make of you.

The list is not in order of chronologically played, so that may help explaining. I also list expansion packs separately because I like making a distinction on what content I've yet to play.

Chronologically, it would be something like:

Spoiler

- All JRPGs.
- Skyrim.
- Fallout 3.
- New Vegas.
- Morrowind.
- Everything else, including King's Field.

 

[octavius]

Wizardry - Proving Grounds Of The Mad Overlord
Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna
Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom
Dungeon Master
Chaos Strikes Back
Dark Heart of Uukrul
Ultima Underworld
The Legacy: Realm of Terror
Diablo

EDIT: The best CRPGs on my play list that takes place in one dungeon, with no overland map. Or is that too narrow a definition?

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

Icewind Dale.
Thunderscape.

If they can be considered Dungeon crawlers :
Temple of Elemental Evil.
Wizards and Warriors.

 

[moraes]

Elminage: Gothic

 

[YES!]

So, this is a poll for best rpg judging from the games already included? I would like an example of a non-hipster game with rpg elements that couldn't be included. What possible use does this poll have?

 

[Sigourn]

So, this is a poll for best rpg judging from the games already included? I would like an example of a non-hipster game with rpg elements that couldn't be included. What possible use does this poll have?

Nominate a game or fuck off, bud. The rules are pretty clear: if you think it is a great dungeon crawler, nominate it. Just because a game has dungeons doesn't make it a dungeon crawler, and just because it is a dungeon crawler it doesn't mean it's a great dungeon crawler, so it's pretty clear what the purpose of this list is. I don't see users playing smartass when someone asks for dungeon crawler recommendations.

 

[felipepepe]

Might and Magic VII,
Lands of Lore: Throne of Chaos,
Generation Xth,
Demise: Rise of the Ku’tan,
Daggerfall

 

[Lady_Error]

Wizardry 6
Wizardry 7
Eye of the Beholder 2
Might & Magic 3, 4, 6, X
Ultima Underworld 2
Grimrock 2
Lords of Xulima
Baldur's Gate 1, 2
The Quest
Dark Spire (DS)

 

[octavius]

If anything with dungeons in it qualifies:
Might&Magic 2
Magic Candle
Disciples of Steel
Nahlakh
Natuk

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Realms of Arkania HD

 

[Lady_Error]

Stonekeep
Realms of Arkania 2: Star Trail
Caves of Qud

 

[Siveon]

Etrian Odyssey IV
Shiren the Wanderer (SNES)

 

[Shackleton]

Nominations stop Saturday the 8th!?

I predict the last 24 hours of this thread will change everything!

Spoiler

Although currently the honour goes to either Elminage Gothic or the Dark Souls series if you count them as dungeon crawlers. I didn't see turn or party based (or even RPG!) in the criteria, so throwing it in there.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Dungeon Lords

 

[YES!]

So, this is a poll for best rpg judging from the games already included? I would like an example of a non-hipster game with rpg elements that couldn't be included. What possible use does this poll have?

Nominate a game or fuck off, bud. The rules are pretty clear: if you think it is a great dungeon crawler, nominate it. Just because a game has dungeons doesn't make it a dungeon crawler, and just because it is a dungeon crawler it doesn't mean it's a great dungeon crawler, so it's pretty clear what the purpose of this list is. I don't see users playing smartass when someone asks for dungeon crawler recommendations.

Like, hey bud, look at your list. Please define dungeon crawler or tell me what rpgs don't fit, bud. If you, like , can or something, bud. Otherwise whatever you are doing is shit for fucking retards, bud.

I'll assume you are early 20s or younger, bud. I hope younger, because if so there is still hope for you, bud. If not you are just a fucking monkey throwing shit to other monkeys, who are throwing their own shit and/or jizzum back at you in a big circle jerk of fucking idiots nominating what should be a sub genre of rpgs if there were any rules, but as you so eloquently put it, bud, there aren't.

What I am saying is if you can't answer the question, bud, how am I wrong, bud? Ah, the old axiom - shit or get off the pot. But, bud, like most of the high brow brainiacs here you don't even know if you are shitting, or what in. That is why you started this thread with such clear guidance such as nominate whatever you feel is a dungeon crawler in the rpg forums and can't define dungeon crawler or name an rpg that isn't one that also isn't hipster shit for kids, bud.

Since you are young and have little to no experience with rpgs (nor dungeon crawlers) you of course can do neither, bud. And you do not see that a more useful thread than the literal equivalent to "name an rpg you like" would be to name rpgs that would not be considered dungeon crawlers after reviewing the list of games you've already accepted, bud.

But, please, bud, don't let me stand in the way of what you geniuses clearly do best.

You're welcome, bud

Your bud, YES!



TL;DR - You are all really dumb, buds. This site should not allow children to make or reply to threads or communicate with actual people at all.

 

[Shackleton]

Roqua, (um I mean YES! the poster in no way affiliated with Roqua) on June 16th:

I have decided that I am going to be a lot more nice and positive. I would welcome company in my new quest to be a kinder and gentler poster here. Who is with me?

Roqua today:

Like, hey bud, look at your list. Please define dungeon crawler or tell me what rpgs don't fit, bud. If you, like , can or something, bud. Otherwise whatever you are doing is shit for fucking retards, bud.

I'll assume you are early 20s or younger, bud. I hope younger, because if so there is still hope for you, bud. If not you are just a fucking monkey throwing shit to other monkeys, who are throwing their own shit and/or jizzum back at you in a big circle jerk of fucking idiots nominating what should be a sub genre of rpgs if there were any rules, but as you so eloquently put it, bud, there aren't.

What I am saying is if you can't answer the question, bud, how am I wrong, bud? Ah, the old axiom - shit or get off the pot. But, bud, like most of the high brow brainiacs here you don't even know if you are shitting, or what in. That is why you started this thread with such clear guidance such as nominate whatever you feel is a dungeon crawler in the rpg forums and can't define dungeon crawler or name an rpg that isn't one that also isn't hipster shit for kids, bud.

Since you are young and have little to no experience with rpgs (nor dungeon crawlers) you of course can do neither, bud. And you do not see that a more useful thread than the literal equivalent to "name an rpg you like" would be to name rpgs that would not be considered dungeon crawlers after reviewing the list of games you've already accepted, bud.

But, please, bud, don't let me stand in the way of what you geniuses clearly do best.

You're welcome, bud

Your bud, YES!



TL;DR - You are all really dumb, buds. This site should not allow children to make or reply to threads or communicate with actual people at all.

The Codex pool of corruption claims another victim...

 

[V_K]

DarkSpyre (DOS)
The Summoning
Legend: Four Crystals of Trazere
Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire
Anvil of Dawn

 

[Beastro]

Stonekeep

That's an odd one I find. It's a Crawler on the surface of it, but it's main quest is standard RPG fair that feels more fitting for something that doesn't take place in one dungeon.

Wahooka, his reappearing and background are what stand out most of all to me. Character development, especially PC development aren't really something I think of when I think of the sub-genre.

 

[Sigourn]

Like, hey bud, look at your list. Please define dungeon crawler or tell me what rpgs don't fit, bud. If you, like , can or something, bud. Otherwise whatever you are doing is shit for fucking retards, bud.

If the RPG Codex doesn't know the difference between a dungeon crawler and basically any other type of game, level your complaints at it. I just make the list. A dungeon crawler is supposed to be about the experience of dungeon crawling. This is why I very much agree with someone nominating Dark Souls: despite not being necessarily inside a dungeon at times, it very much feels like a huge dungeon.

There's also the voting phase, at which point are more than free to say "Dark Souls isn't a dungeon crawler, so I'll say it's shit".

THEN AGAIN, SOMETHING IMPORTANT HAS TO BE SAID: the game has to be great because of the dungeons. Morrowind is a good game (IMO), it has dungeons too, but I wouldn't nominate them, because its dungeon crawling experience is absolute shit. Same with Skyrim, same with basically all Bethesda 3D games. Planescape: Torment has dungeons too, and they are shit as well.

So it's not just simply "if I like the game and it has dungeons, I will nominate them". Nominate based on how good of a dungeon crawler you think those games are. It's interesting to see "hidden gems" (ugh) that are great dungeon crawlers despite not fitting into the definition.

I'll also divide the results in two lists, "merged" and "separated", that is, "dungeon crawlers", and "games with good dungeon crawling".

 

[Lady_Error]

Realms of Arkania HD

Dungeon Lords

You're not supposed to actually include these, Sigourn. DARKFYRE is just trolling.

 

[IncendiaryDevice]

If the RPG Codex doesn't know the difference between a dungeon crawler and basically any other type of game, level your complaints at it. I just make the list.

So let me get this straight.

You want to make a poll of dungeon crawlers - for reasons unexpressed and not linked to in the OP. So, for reasons unknown.

You don't have any personal vision of what kind of games you want to be on the list and you don't offer any form of guiding hand other than "it has dungeons in it", which will later be separated into "good dungeons" and "crap dungeons". The lack of personal vision suggesting you either don't care or are not interested/specialist enough to have a personal vision?

You want the people of the codex to nominate games for you, games for which you have little knowledge of and are performing no form of double-checking or associated administrative work.

You're just going to list all the games people mention. Because...its important to know which RPGs have dungeons in them?

Is that what's going on here?

What have I missed?

 

[index.php]

Black Crypt

 

[Dorateen]

Pools of Darkness

Notable dungeons include: Taydome's Keep, the red tower of Marcus, temple of Kaslistes, the corpse of the dead god Moander, and of course Dave's Challenge post-game dungeon.