Incline Butthurt Dungeon: Thac0's Ultimate Blobber List

[Thac0]

Preamble:
The codex currently lacks a unified blobber recommendation list. Various lists exist, but none of them are curated.
The aim of this thread is to categorise those of those blobbers that matter: Those that are worth playing.
I did not play everything on this list, the goal of the list is more to make a unified codex recommendation list.

Huge thanks to the work of Lady_Error, whose three blobber polls make the core foundation of this list. The starting placements on the list are games that received an above average amount of votes on the polls and games I personally like.
Links:

Spoiler

CODEX VOTE: Best TURN-BASED Blobbers Of All Time (Non-Anime)
CODEX VOTE: Best REAL-TIME Blobbers Of All Time (Non-Anime)
CODEX VOTE: Best TACTICAL COMBAT Blobbers Of All Time

Also thanks to zwanzig_zwoelf for coming up with the title.

The categories I will be classifying the blobbers in are as follows:
Classical // Exploration // Real Time // Gridless // Isometric Combat // Miscellanous // Japanese // Weeb
The classification is by gameplay style, and mostly for categorising all of those games that are spiritual successors of some sort.
The categorisation works like the following: A category which is further to the right takes precedence over those to the left. So a blobber that is highly exploration focussed but has real time combat ends in Real Time. A blobber which is a fully classical dungeon crawler but made in Japan ends up in Japanese.

Symbols:
★ means recommended. Those are the best of the best.
⚔ means disputed. There is discourse on whether the game is good.
★⚔ means polarising. You will either love or hate this game.

The List:

Classical:
This is a category for Wizardry games, and games strongly influenced by them. Subcategories exist for Might and Magic and Bard's Tale, and their respective spiritual successors. Might and Magic is defined by fast combat and high exploration, Bard's Tale by being a middle ground between the dungeon exclusive playstile of early Wizardry and the Worldmap of Might and Magic.

Wizardry I ★
Wizardry V ★
Wizardry VI ★
Wizardry VII ★
Grimoire ★⚔
Fate: Gates of Dawn
Gates of Skeldal
Paper Sorcerer
Wizardry II
Wizardry III
7 Mages

Bard's Tale:
Dragon Wars ★
Bard's Tale I ★
Bard's Tale II ★
Bard's Tale III ★
Devil Whiskey
Gates of Integrity
Note of the Outskirts
Legend of Faerghail
Spirit of Adventure

Might and Magic:
Might and Magic II ★
Might and Magic III ★
Might and Magic IV ★
Might and Magic V ★
Swords and Sorcery Underworld ★
Might and Magic X ★⚔
Might and Magic I
Legacy by Redshift
Legends of Amberland ⚔

Real Time:
All blobbers in which combat does not happen in turns.

Legend of Grimrock ★
Legend of Grimrock II ★
Eye of the Beholder ★
Eye of the Beholder II ★
Dungeon Master ★
Dungeon Master II ★
Dungeon Master: Chaos Strikes Back ★
Lands of Lore ★
Eye of the Beholder III
Ishar I
Ishar II
Ishar III
Demise: Rise Of The Ku'Tan & Ascension
Black Crypt
Evil's Doom
Knightmare
Captive I
Captive II
Crystal Dragon ⚔

Gridless:
The absence of a grid leads to such a distinct change in gameplay that this category exists for all gridless blobbers.

Wizardry VIII ★
Wizards & Warriors ★
Might and Magic VI ★
Might and Magic VII ★
Might and Magic VIII ★
Menzoberranzan
Ravenloft 1: Strahd's Possession
Ravenloft 2: Stone Prophet
Frayed Knights ⚔
Thunderscape: World of Aden ⚔

Tactical Combat:
It is a blobber, but combat happens in top down view on a grid, akin to a tactical rpg

Gold Box Series ★
Betrayal at Krondor ★
Realms of Arkania I ★
Realms of Arkania II ★
Realms of Arkania III ★
Dark Heart of Uukrul ★
Albion ★
Amberstar ★
Ambermoon ★
Order of the Griffon
Betrayal at Antara
Eye of the Beholder (GBA version)
Perihelion

Miscellaneous:
Category for anything which can't be clearly categorised, but is still worth playing. Some of these games stretch the definitions of the genre, and wouldn't be included with a harsher definiton. A subcategory exists for blobbers in which you can only have a single hero, given that one person can't form a blob.
Operencia ★⚔
Mordor - The Depths of Dejenol
Bard's Tale IV ⚔
Alternate Reality: The Dungeon ⚔
Heroes of a Broken Land ⚔

Solo:
Anvil of Dawn ★
Stonekeep ★⚔
The Quest
Legacy: Realm of Terror
Dungeon Hack
Vaporum ⚔

Japanese:
Blobbers which are made in Japan, but are very similar to classical blobbers in gameplay. Games of this category appeal to some Western only Grognards, due to low influence of anime culture or very faithfull adaption of Wizardry I-V gameplay systems. Subcategories are games with anime influences which stand due to their mechanical greatness, and games which are completely free from anime influences.


Zero anime:
DUNGEON ENCOUNTERS ★
The Dark Spire ★
Wizardry Busin 0 (translation guide) ★
Wizardry Tale of the Forsaken Lands ★⚔
Wizardry Chronicle
Wizardry Empire 1
Wizardry Empire 2
Wizardry Gaiden I
Wizardry Gaiden II
Wizardry Gaiden III
Wizardry Gaiden IV

Some Anime:
Elminage Gothic ★
Stranger of Sword City ★
Potato Flowers in Full Bloom ★
Elminage Original
Undernauts Labyrinth of Yomi ⚔

Weeb:
Blobbers in this category are good games, but they are deeply steeped in Japanese culture. A treat for JRPG enjoyers, poisonous to Western Grognards. A subcategory is there for Shin Megami Tensei, which while clearly a JRPG, is much darker in tone and has amazing art.
Etrian Odyssey I Untold ★
Etrian Odyssey II Untold ★
Etrian Odyssey III ★
Etrian Odyssey IV ★
Etrian Odyssey V ★
Labyrinth of Refrain ★
Labyrinth of Touhou I ★
Labyrinth of Touhou II ★
Mary Skelter II (includes a remaster of I) ★⚔
Mary Skelter III ★⚔
Dungeon Travelers 2 ★⚔
Shining in the Darkness
Shining the Holy Ark
Etrian Odyssey Nexus
Phantasy Star I
7th Dragon VFD
Rance VI (18+)
Persona Q 1
Persona Q 2 ⚔
Operation Babel ⚔
Zanki Zero ⚔
Infinite Adventures (wannabe Japanese) ⚔

Shin Megami Tensei:
Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey Redux ★
Shin Megami Tensei IF ★⚔
Shin Megami Tensei Soul Hackers ★⚔
Digital Devil Story Megami Tensei I
Digital Devil Story Megami Tensei II
Shin Megami Tensei I
Shin Megami Tensei II
Persona 1

Ending:
Overall this list should be a community effort. Suggesting a blobber that is worth playing, a category that a blobber fits in better, or a short recommendation on why the blobber has stood the test of time would be much appreciated. Alternatively call for a game to be removed from the list of blobbers worth playing.
The categories themselves are fairly set in stone, after having been hardened in the fires of Shoutbox, but discussion of those, particularily of subcategories, could prove usefull aswell.

The rules as on which blobbers I would include:
1. The game is finished or in a near finished state so that it can be called a full experience
2. The game is available in English through at least a proper translation patch

So which fun blobbers did I forget? Which blobbers are definitly not fun and should be removed from the list? Do we open that can of worms and discuss which of the dozen Gold Box games are fun and which are not?

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Dungeon Hack is a fun real time blobber, though I guess it's not a true blobber since you don't have a party. Uses the same engine as EotB games.

Eye of the Beholder for Game Boy Advance is an isometric combat blobber, also runs off 3E rules.

 

[Thac0]

Dungeon Hack is a fun real time blobber, though I guess it's not a true blobber since you don't have a party. Uses the same engine as EotB games.

I can add it to Misc, given that that is the most loose category.
Is the quality disputed? I remember reading some arguments on wether it is good.

Eye of the Beholder for Game Boy Advance is an isometric combat blobber, also runs off 3E rules.

I heard that that is a good game, will add it to isometric.

 

[Reinhardt]

it's thread about

?

 

[Strange Fellow]

I and at least two other people in this world can vouch for the quality of Note of the Outskirts. Kinda sorta probably fits best under the BT-inspired category, but it could go under several. Also, Perihelion under isometric.

Edit, forgot some stuff:

Another suggestion: Vaporum. It goes under real-time if you're interested. It's not great, but it's not terrible either, and I'd much rather play it than some of the games you've included, although I'm in the minority on those so I won't name them. Albion. Amberland.

I can add it to Misc, given that that is the most loose category.
Is the quality disputed? I remember reading some arguments on wether it is good.

This probably goes under real-time, since that's where you've been putting the other single-character DM clones. I'd dispute its quality, but the premise sounds so shit that I've never tried it.

 

[Red Hexapus]

it's thread about

?

Fluggaenkoecchicebolsen!!!

 

[Nifft Batuff]

In the Shin Megami Tensei part you can add:
SMT If...
Soul Hackers
Persona 1

In the weeb part you can add:
Persona Q 1&2
The Lost Child
Kowloon High-School Chronicle

 

[Darth Canoli]

The Quest fits in the miscellaneous category, it's a blobber by all accounts except single character (a damn shame) with a huge world, good quest design and a lot of quests.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Another weeb blobber worth playing is Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk.

 

[Grauken]

Mordor and Demise under the category Real Time is both right and wrong. Yes, the combat is real time, but enemies can't follow you if you leave the room and the way dungeons are structured has more in common with what you put under Classical. But that's the problem with all categorization systems, you always have a few cases that don't really fit.

 

[agris]

You should consider:

Aeons of Sand: The Trail (has a thread here)
Starcrawlers
Lands of Lore 2/3.

I think all of the above are of dubious quality. I have only played Starcrawler from that list.

 

[octavius]

For real time blobbers I'd add the Amiga games Black Crypt (best one after DM and CSB, IMO) and Evil's Doom.

 

[Dorateen]

Thunderscape: World of Aden for gridless blobber.

 

[Disciple]

A guy on the JRPG subforum started a thread aiming to compile a comprehensive list of first person dungeon crawlers: DRPG / Blobber list (you may want to filter by supported language in order to see the ones available in English). There's also the Dungeon Crawlers website.

 

[Shackleton]

So is this the 'all the blobbers I can think of' list, or the 'blobbers that are good and we recommend' list? Because if it's the latter, Mary Skelter and Zanki Zero have no damn place on there. They're trash tier. I wasn't crazy about Labyrinth of Refrain, but it was 10 times better than those two put together.

Looking at the rest of the games you've got, I'd add 'Infinite Adventures' as although it's got one of the worst titles I've ever seen and the art style is unfortunate, it's actually a pretty decent turn based blobber in the Misc category.

 

[Thac0]

A guy on the JRPG subforum started a thread aiming to compile a comprehensive list of first person dungeon crawlers: DRPG / Blobber list (you may want to filter by supported language in order to see the ones available in English). There's also the Dungeon Crawlers website.

This is a curated list, so I am in no need for raw data. Only good games get in.

Aeons of Sand: The Trail (has a thread here)
Starcrawlers
Lands of Lore 2/3.
I think all of the above are of dubious quality. I have only played Starcrawler from that list.

Which is why I will add none of those. Disliked Star Crawlers. Rest has some bad reviews here.

The Lost Child
Kowloon High-School Chronicle

Not adding those two yet, because I heard they are of middling reputation. Wanna double down on them?
If so I will put them in.

Persona 1

Persona 2 then aswell?

Another weeb blobber worth playing is Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk.

That was meant to be in there, Galleria is not available in English yet, I confused Refrain and Galleria lol. Fixed.

Mordor and Demise under the category Real Time is both right and wrong. Yes, the combat is real time, but enemies can't follow you if you leave the room and the way dungeons are structured has more in common with what you put under Classical. But that's the problem with all categorization systems, you always have a few cases that don't really fit.

Moved to Misc, since that is currently the dedicated hard to qualify category.

 

[d1r]

You seem to have forgotten Wizardry: Tales of Forsaken Lands and Wizardry: Busin 0 Alternative Neo.

But I forgive you!

 

[Thac0]

You seem to have forgotten Wizardry: Tales of Forsaken Lands and Wizardry: Busin 0 Alternative Neo.

But I forgive you!

I was unsure for the translation status of those, I think there was some drama with them having only a translation guide? My rule number 2 would rule them out then. If the translation is in patch form I will add them, more wiz is always good.

Vaporum.

I personally disliked it, but I will add it as disputed quality. It tends to draw polarising reactions even here.

 

[d1r]

You seem to have forgotten Wizardry: Tales of Forsaken Lands and Wizardry: Busin 0 Alternative Neo.

But I forgive you!

I was unsure for the translation status of those, I think there was some drama with them having only a translation guide? My rule number 2 would rule them out then. If the translation is in patch form I will add them, more wiz is always good.

Vaporum.

I personally disliked it, but I will add it as disputed quality. It tends to draw polarising reactions even here.

Forsaken Lands is available in English.
Busin 0 can be played through by reading my translation/guide!

 

[Crispy]

I have a strong suspicion that Might & Magix X: Legacy has been placed in the Miscellaneous section because of some unfounded prejudice; it is in no way outside of this description for Exploration:

This is a category for games which follow the gameplay style of the early Might and Magic games, particularily the Xeen games. Massive worldmaps, exploration is king, combat is fast paced and the game is less decided by the individual decisions you take in combat, but by the order in which you clear the available areas.

The game is exclusively turn- and tile-based, it indeed has a massive world map, exploration is the key focus, and the order in which you clear areas is not only a deciding factor but is actually necessary to progress further in the game.

I recommend moving it to Exploration despite the hate it sometimes gets.

 

[d1r]

Another weeb blobber worth playing is Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk.

I am getting horrible flashbacks from the Screenshot thread.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Also, it's missing Frayed Knights in the Gridless category with some reservations because of the lighthearted tone.
It's a good game though.

 

[Kalarion]

Wizardry: TotFL has been available in the West on PS2 for years.

M&M X is a fun game and I enjoyed it, but it does not fit in the exploration category. The maps are restrictive, not open, and there is a strict order of map progression. The game is entirely linear as far as that goes. Miscellaneous is the proper place for it.

I second Frayed Knights, it was a great game marred by a retarded script. Frayed Knights 2 being abandoned was a big shame.

I probably wouldn't add The Lost Child to this list. It's serviceable, but not great or even good. The combat is completely generic, and its version of monster breeding is kind of a snooze.

 

[Crispy]

The maps are restrictive, not open

Not true. Other than the gating mentioned below, you can wander around and stick your nose in far-too dangerous caves almost right away.

and there is no order of exploration

Also completely untrue. Until you unlock certain events in the game, entire sections are unreachable. They're gated and thus the order in which you explore the game determines whether or not you advance.

Thus, exploration is its main characteristic.

 

[agris]

Thanks for the explanation Thac0, I misread your OP as a compilation rather than a curated list of good blobbers.

To that end, you group large amounts of games together to recommend, such as M&M1-5, and BT1-3. Are you confident that those are all good games?