I've heard enough people rant and rave about games like BaK, the Wizardry series, Might and Magic, and other such games that I figured I give them a proper shot. What are some quality blobbers that people would recommend? Something to take into consideration is that I haven't ever really played a blobber before other than maybe Legend of Grimrock ages ago. I don't mind complexity, but nothing ridiculous. Also, some other side questions.
- Best blobber of all time, or at least some that immediately stand out?
- Best M&M game(s)?
- Best Wizardry game(s)?
- Any other good blobber series or games that are worth looking into?
- Any tips for enjoying blobbers, either game specific or not?
Thanks for the help.
- Best Blobber
Too subjective to say. For general recommendations, see below. My own favourite is Wizardry V. World of Xeen is probably a great start for someone new to the genre.
- Best M&M
World of Xeen. M&M VI and VII are also excellent, but not quite as good as WoX in my opinion.
- Best Wizardry
It's a toss-up between Wizardry V and Wizardry VII. I'd give it to V, personally. A simpler, but much purer and better balanced experience.
- Other good series/games
Eye of the Beholder (both I and II are excellent, stay away from III), Lands of Lore I, Betrayal at Krondor, Dungeon Master, Stone Keep, the Etrian Odyssey series (if you have a DS/3DS). The Bard's Tale series is also well-regarded by some, but I personally dislike it.
- Tips (general)
Expect a steep learning curve, but at the same time, don't force yourself to endure something that seems unfair or unenjoyable. I love blobbers, but it's undeniable that many of them are poorly balanced and waste the player's time. And obviously, we're all looking for different things in terms of challenge. I like difficult combat where, if I'm cautious and play well, I can make it through the game without needing to reload. I think I've seen
octavius before saying that he enjoys games with mapping challenges like spinners, teleporters, etc - I dislike that kind of stuff, which is probably partially why I'm not a fan of the Bard's Tale games (they're full of that kind of thing).
So if you find yourself hating something that lots of monocled people here are saying is good don't start to doubt your patrician taste, just move on to the next one. We all enjoy different things about the genre.
-Tips (specific)
World of Xeen: Save frequently, and look up a chart of what item materials/prefixes are better than others. Otherwise it'll annoy you no end having to pay the blacksmith to identify the same gear over and over because you keep forgetting whether Freezing is better than Cryo.
Wizardry V: Don't go in the Playhouse. The SNES version has the best music and graphics, but guts the conversation system.
Wizardry VI-VIII: Bards are strong in the early-game thanks to their ability to put monsters to sleep with their music. In VI, you'll want to start characters with as high a strength as possible due to a bug with Carrying Capacity. In VII, you can cure any status - even death - at the fountain at New City's Temple, but only if you donate all of your gold to Father Rulae.
Eye of the Beholder: If you're having too much trouble in combat, be aware there's a commonly used tactic called 'hack and back'. Basically, you attack and step back quickly. Typically, to conserve space, people do it in a 2x2 square e.g Attack, back, turn left, back, attack, turn left, back', etc. It's quite cheesy, but probably necessary in quite a few fights.
Lands of Lore: Practice your skills - particularly magic - as often as you can, as they raise through use.
Got everything up and running for World of Xeen, excited to give it a try. Any reason why the cursor feels so weird on the screen though? It's jumping around and looks very choppy. Is this normal for a DOS game or?
That's not normal. Try lowering or speeding up your CPU cycles (control F11 and F12, I believe).