Games worth playing, Vol. V -- 1993-1994

[Rincewind]

Finally, we have reached the penultimate episode of our series. Links to the previous episodes (first post of the first thread contains the "rules"):

Games worth playing, Vol. I -- 1977-1985
Games worth playing, Vol. II -- 1986-1988
Games worth playing, Vol. III -- 1989-1990
Games worth playing, Vol. IV -- 1991-1992
Games worth playing, Vol. VI -- 1995-1997

There must have been something in the tapwater around the whole world during this period, I shit you not. Just take a look at this all-star cast:

• Myst
• X-COM
• System Shock
• X-Wing, TIE Fighter
• Realms of Arkania: Star Trail
• no less than 6 (!) Legend Entertainment adventures, including Eric the Unready
• Jagged Alliance
• Might and Magic: World of Xeen
• Gabriel Knight
• the usual yearly dosage of Larry, Space Quest and Quest for Glory
• Newcomer (a prestigious RPG for the C64 from Hungary)
• Perihelion (another prestigious RPG for the Amiga, again from Hungary)
• Panzer General
• Ambermoon
• Lands of Lore
• The Elder Scrolls: Arena

...and I could go on and on and practically name half of the entries here! Hell, even an adventure game / visual novel sporting a flight-simulator interface and masquerading as an RPG made it to the list! Can you believe that?!

On the flipside, we're more or less at the peak period, so there's only one way from here...

An astute observer might complain about the inclusion of two Windows 3.x entries, remembering that I said pre-Windows games only. Well, that's because Windows 3.x is not an operating system, but an operating environment running on top of DOS. So, practically these are still DOS games, kind of (they can be run in DOSBox).


RPG

Spoiler

1993

• Abandoned Places 2 (ArtGame) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Ambermoon (Thalion) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  Consider playing the remake
  https://github.com/Pyrdacor/Ambermoon.net
  
  
• Betrayal at Krondor (Dynamix) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  
  
• BloodNet (MicroProse) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  
  
• Bloodstone: An Epic Dwarven Tale (Mindcraft) [DOS]
  Prequel to the Magic Candle series
  
  
• Burntime (Max Design) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Castle of the Winds (SaadaSoft) [Windows 3.x]
• Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (SSI) [DOS]
  Roland CM-32L ROM is required for the sound effects
  But the music sounds better with Gravis Ultrasound
  
  
• Dungeon Hack (DreamForge) [DOS]
• Dungeon Master II: The Legend of Skullkeep (FTL) [DOS]
  MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
  
  
• Excelsior Phase One: Lysandia (11th Dimension) [DOS]
• Eye of the Beholder III: Assault on Myth Drannor (SSI) [DOS]
  Must use AESOP/32 engine patch, otherwise the game is very slow
  https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=20601
  
  Applying portrait fix patch is recommended
  https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=69996&start=20
  
  
• Fates of Twinion (Sierra) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  
  
• Hired Guns (DMA) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom (Silmarils) [Amiga]
  Play AGA version
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (Westwood) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Liberation: Captive II (Byte) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Perihelion (Morbid Visions) [Amiga]
• Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (Sierra) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  OPL soundtrack is also very good, supports dual OPL
  Has ScummVM support
  
  Consider playing the unofficial Enhanced Edition (not 100% compatible with ScummVM)
  https://github.com/AshLancer/QFG4-Enhanced
  
  
• Shadow of Yserbius (Sierra) [DOS]
• Ultima Underworld II: Labryinth of Worlds (Looking Glass) [DOS]
  Roland CM-32L ROM is required for the sound effects
  
  
• Ultima VII Part Two: The Serpent Isle (Origin) [DOS]
• Veil of Darkness (Event Horizon) [DOS]
  Config file requires hex editing for combined MT-32/SB output
  https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=229460#p229460
  
  
• War Wizard (MicroGenesis) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Warrior of Legends (Synergistic) [DOS]
• Whale's Voyage (neo) [DOS]
• Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire (Mindscape) [DOS]

1994

• Aethra Chronicles: Volume One - Celystra's Bane (Independent) [DOS]
• Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse (Cyberlore) [DOS]
• Alien Logic (Ceridus) [DOS]
• Ancient Domains of Mystery (Independent) [DOS]
• Crystal Dragon (Magnetic Fields) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager (SSI) [DOS]
• Darkmere: The Nightmare's Begun (Zero Hour) [Amiga]
• Elder Scrolls: Arena, The (Bethesda) [DOS]
  MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
  
  
• Heimdall 2: Into the Hall of Worlds (8th Day) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Hero Quest II: Legacy of Sorasil (Gremlin) [Amiga]
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Hexx: Heresy of the Wizard (Psygnosis) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  
  
• Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity (Silmarils) [Amiga]
  Play AGA version
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Menzoberranzan (DreamForge) [DOS]
• Might and Magic: World of Xeen (New World) [DOS]
  Might and Magic 4+5 combined into a single game (2 CD version)
  Roland CM-32L ROM is required for the sound effects
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Nahlakh (Tom Proudfoot) [DOS]
• Newcomer (CiD) [C64]
  Play Enhanced version from 2001
  https://csdb.dk/release/?id=3431
  
  
• Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession (DreamForge) [DOS]
• Realms of Arkania: Star Trail (Attic) [DOS]
• Realmz (Fantasoft) [Macintosh]
• System Shock (Looking Glass) [DOS]
• X-COM: UFO Defense (Mythos) [DOS]
  Play OpenXCom with Amiga music
  https://openxcom.org/
  http://users.atw.hu/xcom-sounds/
  
  OPL soundtrack is considered best for the DOS port
  
  
• Yendorian Tales Book 1 (SW Games) [DOS]

Adventure

Spoiler

1993

• 7th Guest, The (Trilobyte) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Adventures of Steve Reeve, The (Jason Heiser) [Macintosh]
  World Builder adventure
  
  
• Alone in the Dark 2 (Infogrames) [DOS]
• Blue Force (Tsunami) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet (Infogrames) [DOS]
• Companions of Xanth (Legend) [DOS]
  Needs LEGMPU TSR utility to fix uneven MIDI timing on MT-32
  https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=46178
  
  
• EcoQuest II: Lost Secret of the Rainforest (Sierra) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Eric the Unready (Legend) [DOS]
  Needs LEGMPU TSR utility to fix uneven MIDI timing on MT-32
  https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=46178
  
  
• Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (Sierra) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Fredrik Pohl's Gateway (Legend) [DOS]
  Needs LEGMPU TSR utility to fix uneven MIDI timing on MT-32
  https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=46178
  
  
• GADGET: Invention, Travel & Adventure (Synergy) [Windows 3.x]
• Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (Sierra) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Gateway II: Homeworld (Legend) [DOS]
  Needs LEGMPU TSR utility to fix uneven MIDI timing on MT-32
  https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=46178
  
  
• Goblins Quest 3 (Coktel Vision) [Amiga]
• Innocent Until Caught (Divide By Zero) [DOS]
• Iron Helix (Drew Pictures) [Windows 3.x]
• Journeyman Project, The: Pegasus Prime (Presto) [Windows 3.x]
  Play "The Journeyman Project: Turbo!" version
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Labyrinth of Time, The (Terra Nova) [Amiga]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Labyrinth of Time, The (Terra Nova) [DOS]
• Last Half of Darkness III (SoftLab Laboratories) [DOS]
• Legend of Kyrandia: Book 3 - Malcolm's Revenge, The (Westwood) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! (Sierra) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  OPL soundtrack is also very good, supports dual OPL
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Lost in Time (Coktel Vision) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Myst (Cyan) [Windows 3.x]
  Originally released for Windows 3.x
  Play "Masterpiece Edition" from 1999 (for Windows)
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Pathways into Darkness (Bungie) [Macintosh]
• Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow & The Flame (Broderbund) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  
  
• Return of the Phantom (MPS Labs) [DOS]
• Return to Zork (Activision) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Sam & Max Hit the Road (LucasArts) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  Play CD version
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• ShadowCaster (Raven) [DOS]
  CD version adds unnecessary extra levels, not recommended
  
  
• Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective - Volume III (ICOM) [DOS]
• Simon the Sorcerer (Adventuresoft) [DOS]
  Roland CM-32L ROM is required for the sound effects
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Space Quest V: The Next Mutation (Sierra) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Star Trek: Judgement Rites (Interplay) [DOS]
• Voyeur (Philips Interactive) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Ween: The Prophecy (Coktel Vision) [DOS]
  OPL soundtrack is quite good too
  Has ScummVM support

1994

• Beneath a Steel Sky (Revolution) [Amiga]
  Amiga CD32 talkie version is best
  The music in the DOS CD version is quite bland
  Roland CM-32L ROM is required for the sound effects
  Has ScummVM support (but no Amiga version support)
  
  
• Commander Blood (Cryo Interactive) [DOS]
• Death Gate (Legend) [DOS]
• Dragon Lore: The Legend Begins (Cryo Interactive) [DOS]
• Dragonsphere (MPS Labs) [DOS]
• DreamWeb (Creative Reality) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong Nou (OutSide Directors Company) [DOS]
• Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller (Take-Two Interactive) [DOS]
  MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
  
  
• Inca II: Nations of Immortality (Coktel Vision) [DOS]
• Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb (Dreamers Guild) [DOS]
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride (Sierra) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate, The (Westwood) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Little Big Adventure (Adeline) [DOS]
  Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure
  MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Lost Crystal (Sylvain Beaudry) [Macintosh]
  World Builder adventure
  Unofficial sequel to Enchanted Scepters
  
  
• Mess O' Trouble, A (Ray Dunakin) [Macintosh]
  World Builder adventure
  
  
• Noctropolis (Flashpoint) [DOS]
  MT-32 option actually uses General MIDI (use Roland SC-55)
  
  
• Policenauts (Konami) [PlayStation]
• Return to Ringworld (Tsunami) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  Has ScummVM support
  
  
• Superhero League of Hoboken (Legend) [DOS]
  Needs LEGMPU TSR utility to fix uneven MIDI timing on MT-32
  https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=46178
  
  
• Under a Killing Moon (Access) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  
  
• Universe (Core) [DOS]
• Wrath of the Gods (Luminaria) [Windows 3.x]

Tactics

Spoiler

1993

• Cannon Fodder (Sensible) [Amiga]
• Master of Orion I (SimTex) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  
  
• Metal Marines (Namco) [Windows 3.x]
  Stay away from "Master Edition", it removes the storyline and makes the combat much faster
  
  
• SimCity 2000 (Maxis) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  
  
• Space Hulk (Electronic Arts) [DOS]
• Syndicate (Bullfrog) [DOS]
• Transarctica (Silmarils) [DOS]
  Arctic Baron
  
  
• Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (KOEI) [DOS]
• Warlords II (Strategic Studies) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55

1994

• Alien Legacy (Ybarra) [DOS]
• Battle Bugs (Epyx) [DOS]
• Dominus (Visual Concepts) [DOS]
• Imperium Galactica (Mirage) [DOS]
• Ironseed (Channel 7) [DOS]
• Lords of the Realm (Impressions) [DOS]
• Panzer General (SSI) [DOS]
• Sid Meier's Colonization (MPS Labs) [DOS]
  Roland CM-32L ROM is required for the sound effects
  
  
• Starlord (Third Millennium) [DOS]
• The Clue! (neo) [DOS]

Space

Spoiler

1993

• Frontier: Elite II (GameTek) [Amiga]
• Nomad (Papyrus) [DOS]
• Protostar: War on the Frontier (Tsunami) [DOS]
• Star Wars: X-Wing (LucasArts) [DOS]
  1994 Collector's CD-ROM version is the best
  
  
• Wing Commander: Privateer (Origin) [DOS]

1994

• Star Fighter 3000 (World Federation Entertainments) [Acorn Archimedes]
  Comes pre-packaged with RPCemu: https://www.marutan.net/rpcemu/index.php#downloads
  
  
• Star Wars: TIE Fighter (LucasArts) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55
  1995 Collector's CD-ROM version is the best
  Must use fixed cycles of ~50000 in DosBOX to avoid the turrets not firing problem
• Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (Origin) [DOS]
  Soundtrack composed on the Roland SC-55

Simulation

Spoiler

1993

• Aces Over Europe (Dynamix) [DOS]
• Combat Air Patrol (Psygnosis) [Amiga]
  Strategic ground operation control is missing from the DOS port
  But Amiga port only supports digital joystick
  Has official HD installer
  
  
• Reach for the Skies (Rowan) [DOS]
• Strike Commander (Origin) [DOS]
• Tornado (Digital Integration) [Amiga]
  Consider AGA version
  Supports analog stick
  Has official HD installer

1994

• 1942: Pacific Air War (MPS Labs) [DOS]
  Get "Gold" CD version
  
  
• Aces of the Deep (Dynamix) [DOS]
• Dawn Patrol (Rowan) [DOS]
• Falcon Gold (Spectrum Holobyte) [DOS]
  Watch "Art of the Kill" videos
  
  
• Pacific Strike (Origin) [DOS]

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Missing Frontier: Elite II (1993) and Beneath a Steel Sky (1994), both for the Commodore Amiga.

 

[Rincewind]

Missing Frontier: Elite II (1993) and Beneath a Steel Sky (1994), both for the Commodore Amiga.

I love it that there's a few guys here who point out my omissions and keep me honest in these threads!

Would you agree that the Amiga CD32 version of Beneath a Steel Sky is the definitive version? I've checked out a few videos of the DOS port and I find the MT-32 music rather bland. The Amiga original, although a bit on the low-fi side, has so much more character.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

The Clue has a German-exclusive expansion pack. For both the DOS and Amiga versions.
Otherwise, there's Cosmology of Kyoto (originally 1993), Labyrinth of Time, L-Zone and Shadowcaster for 1993; Dragon Lore, Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller, Noctropolis, Wrath of the Gods and Under a Killing Moon for '94. Come to think of it, I think you may have missed the Tex Murphy games for previous years too.

 

[Rincewind]

The Clue has a German-exclusive expansion pack. For both the DOS and Amiga versions.

Cheers, but my German is quite rusty and I don't have much energy or interest in improving that.

Otherwise, there's Cosmology of Kyoto (originally 1993), Labyrinth of Time, L-Zone and Shadowcaster for 1993; Dragon Lore, Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller, Noctropolis, Wrath of the Gods

These all look brilliant based on their MobyGames descriptions, thank you very much! Adding all of them.

Under a Killing Moon for '94. Come to think of it, I think you may have missed the Tex Murphy games for previous years too.

I played but didn't finish Under a Killing Moon a few years ago. Ultimately got fed up with the interface and the action sequence with the robots, maybe I'll try again sometime. I did include the two prequels, though, so I think UaKM belongs to the list too, after all.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Tactics:
Space Hulk (1993)

 

[Curratum]

I love how the earlier years are full of all manners of horrible autism, but once games start getting a bit more playable and actually user friendly, the list shrinks to a dozen titles.

 

[ELEXmakesMeHard]

The last of these games that I replayed. It's got atmosphere oozing through all its pores, and a healthy dose of jank.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

These all look brilliant based on their MobyGames descriptions, thank you very much! Adding all of them.

Uh, I would advice against playing the CD version of Shadowcaster. While the voice-acting and animated intro cutscene are nice, the two levels it adds are not fun. I forget the exact issue I had, I believe it was that the difficulty shifted to the point where it felt like they were padding the game out. I don't recall any changes otherwise.

 

[Rincewind]

These all look brilliant based on their MobyGames descriptions, thank you very much! Adding all of them.

Uh, I would advice against playing the CD version of Shadowcaster. While the voice-acting and animated intro cutscene are nice, the two levels it adds are not fun. I forget the exact issue I had, I believe it was that the difficulty shifted to the point where it felt like they were padding the game out. I don't recall any changes otherwise.

Cheers, that's good info, updating the list.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

I would play the DOS version of Frontier. The 3D model have sligthly more details and the frame-rate is better (you can also increase it at your leasure with dosbox).

P.s. no 1995-1996 list?

 

[Rincewind]

I would play the DOS version of Frontier. The 3D model have sligthly more details and the frame-rate is better (you can also increase it at your leasure with dosbox).

I care much more about the sound differences, that is why I chose the Amiga version. For example, check out this post.

P.s. no 1995-1996 list?

Yes, the final 1995-1997 episode is coming soon.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Rincewind]

Thank you very much for this, this is pure gold!

The guy has a 10-hour / 10-part series for DOS, and then another 10-part series for the Amiga, *and* his avatar is the Kickstart 1.3 boot screen!

Say no more! I'm sold!

 

[rusty_shackleford]

100x more games releasing now yet the amount worth playing is at best 1/10th of what it used to be

 

[Rincewind]

100x more games releasing now yet the amount worth playing is at best 1/10th of what it used to be

Well, yeah... 1000 low-budget indie releases per year don't make up for a single game made by a Sierra, LucasArts or Westwood level studio. They just simply don't have that kind of money and experience. There are always exceptions, but enthusiasm only takes you so far.

Plus what has been mentioned numerous times before: many of the devs from the 80s and 90s were pioneers and had to come up with something original by necessity. Now many people are not even copying the good stuff but the derivatives of the derivatives...

Of course, there were a lot crap games even back then, and certain genres became quickly stale (like text adventures by the early 80s). But the top 10-20% of games were really groundbreaking, top of the shelf stuff.

Dunno.... maybe something in the tap water back then... or now we're witnessing the effects of Chernobyl, who knows...

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Well, yeah... 1000 low-budget indie releases per year don't make up for a single game made by a Sierra, LucasArts or Westwood level studio.

More highly funded games are releasing now than ever though. Most publishers have shifted away from the AAA model to funding multiple simultaneous AA games where one bad game won't ruin your business.

Of course, there were a lot crap game even back then,

It went from 5-6% of releases being worth playing to maybe .1% at best.

Plus what has been mentioned numerous times before: many of the devs from the 80s and 90s were pioneers and had to come up with something original by necessity. Now many people are not even copying the good stuff but the derivates of the derivates...

The issue is ouroboros.
Gamedevs mostly consume nothing but other games with a smidge of marvel crap.

 

[Rincewind]

More highly funded games are releasing now than ever though. Most publishers have shifted away from the AAA model to funding multiple simultaneous AA games where one bad game won't ruin your business.

Okay, I admit I haven't really been following what's going on with modern games in the past few years. More recent games that I like and play are basically outliers, outside of the "trends". It's interesting that these studios are still incapable of producing anything good with reduced budgets where more experimentation is allowed.

With the rest I agree.