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Drakkhen
Drakkhen is a 1989 3D role-playing video game, initially developed and published by Infogrames for the Amiga and Atari ST, and ported to MS-DOS, Super NES, PC-98, X68000, and FM Towns Marty. It was a very early game in the North American SNES library, and as such, received almost universal coverage in previews of the then-upcoming SNES in gaming magazines of 1990 and early 1991.
Drakkhen was among the first role-playing games with a three-dimensional playing field and an early example of the real-time tactics genre. It did not employ a fully 3D game engine, instead implementing a hybrid approach using vectors and bitmapped character-scaling algorithms. Drakkhen includes an animated day-night cycle and the ability to wander freely about the game world, both rarities for a game of its era. The game spawned a Super NES sequel: Dragon View.
A player may freely travel the entirety of Drakkhen's game world not long after beginning a new game, although this can be unwise in practice. Chance encounters with hostile monsters are regular, but in contrast to other RPGs, the player may be attacked while stationary. All battles are automated by default but allow the player to micromanage their four combatants. The player is given time to focus on the real-time tactics of each enemy encounter, such as activating defense magic, moving around, or switching weapons on the fly. The player's party may also be accosted at night when viewing constellations in the sky, or any time after bumping into a half-buried urn.
The player may attempt to flee from attackers or retaliate against foes who, when defeated, grants all party members experience points that go towards leveling up and improving character stats. Each of the characters in the player's party have health points, magic points for spellcasting, power, defense, physique, fortune, intelligence, knowledge, and agility; each stat has a direct effect on how a character plays. Character stats are assigned by the player at the start of the game using a cap-and-trade system. Each party member fills one of the four roles: scout, wizard, fighter, and priest, each with different strengths and abilities. Items can be purchased from traveling merchants who ambush the party, or at the tavern. Items are categorized as armor, weapons, healing items, rings, and misc. (such as torches).
Past castles can be revisited at any time, which themselves act like Temples found in Legend of Zelda games. Castles are self-contained levels with obstacles, loot, enemies, and maze-like architecture; and they each must be visited at least once.
Drakkhen's gameplay is colored by its early-game brutality and surreal enemy encounters, the former especially in the SNES version. One special enemy is relegated solely to appearing when the player kicks one of the many urns in the ground. Upon doing so, a black, stationary canine head rises from beneath the floor to shoot bolts from its eyes. These encounters are quickly fatal to new players who don't know any better. They offer no experience points, suggesting that kicking an urn is frowned upon. Another difficult enemy is the "Shadow Man", a tall figure that can unexpectedly lift itself out of the ground, accompanied by an ominous tune. Each enemy has movement and attack differences, some being less subtle than others, such as enemies that zigzag sporadically at a much greater speed than the player's party can keep up with. The game contains over one hundred different enemy variants.
The SNES version of Drakkhen is drastically different to its PC predecessor, especially in visual layout and color scheme.
Predating both Ultima Underworld (1992) and Eye of the Beholder (1991), Drakkhen was among the first action RPGs to utilize a permanent, real-time, text-adventure log window, demonstrating large influence from MUD games. This log functions like a dungeon master, frequently telling the player how much damage an attack did, explaining the outcome of intended actions, acting as the player's five senses, et cetera. This feature was de-emphasized and presented more elegantly for the SNES. The computer versions made heavier use of the adventure game buttons within castles to solve deeper and more plentiful obstacles. The originals were criticized for lacking a compass, which the SNES developers took to heart when they made changes to the new version. The SNES doesn't use a visual compass but instead tells the player which of the 360-degrees he or she faces anytime the game is paused. The computer versions allow for greater nuance when traveling the 3D island, playing to the strength of utilizing a mouse cursor, while the SNES version uses the directional pad. As such, maneuvering around scenery is clunkier.
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Drakkhen AI simulator
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Drakkhen
Drakkhen is a 1989 3D role-playing video game, initially developed and published by Infogrames for the Amiga and Atari ST, and ported to MS-DOS, Super NES, PC-98, X68000, and FM Towns Marty. It was a very early game in the North American SNES library, and as such, received almost universal coverage in previews of the then-upcoming SNES in gaming magazines of 1990 and early 1991.
Drakkhen was among the first role-playing games with a three-dimensional playing field and an early example of the real-time tactics genre. It did not employ a fully 3D game engine, instead implementing a hybrid approach using vectors and bitmapped character-scaling algorithms. Drakkhen includes an animated day-night cycle and the ability to wander freely about the game world, both rarities for a game of its era. The game spawned a Super NES sequel: Dragon View.
A player may freely travel the entirety of Drakkhen's game world not long after beginning a new game, although this can be unwise in practice. Chance encounters with hostile monsters are regular, but in contrast to other RPGs, the player may be attacked while stationary. All battles are automated by default but allow the player to micromanage their four combatants. The player is given time to focus on the real-time tactics of each enemy encounter, such as activating defense magic, moving around, or switching weapons on the fly. The player's party may also be accosted at night when viewing constellations in the sky, or any time after bumping into a half-buried urn.
The player may attempt to flee from attackers or retaliate against foes who, when defeated, grants all party members experience points that go towards leveling up and improving character stats. Each of the characters in the player's party have health points, magic points for spellcasting, power, defense, physique, fortune, intelligence, knowledge, and agility; each stat has a direct effect on how a character plays. Character stats are assigned by the player at the start of the game using a cap-and-trade system. Each party member fills one of the four roles: scout, wizard, fighter, and priest, each with different strengths and abilities. Items can be purchased from traveling merchants who ambush the party, or at the tavern. Items are categorized as armor, weapons, healing items, rings, and misc. (such as torches).
Past castles can be revisited at any time, which themselves act like Temples found in Legend of Zelda games. Castles are self-contained levels with obstacles, loot, enemies, and maze-like architecture; and they each must be visited at least once.
Drakkhen's gameplay is colored by its early-game brutality and surreal enemy encounters, the former especially in the SNES version. One special enemy is relegated solely to appearing when the player kicks one of the many urns in the ground. Upon doing so, a black, stationary canine head rises from beneath the floor to shoot bolts from its eyes. These encounters are quickly fatal to new players who don't know any better. They offer no experience points, suggesting that kicking an urn is frowned upon. Another difficult enemy is the "Shadow Man", a tall figure that can unexpectedly lift itself out of the ground, accompanied by an ominous tune. Each enemy has movement and attack differences, some being less subtle than others, such as enemies that zigzag sporadically at a much greater speed than the player's party can keep up with. The game contains over one hundred different enemy variants.
The SNES version of Drakkhen is drastically different to its PC predecessor, especially in visual layout and color scheme.
Predating both Ultima Underworld (1992) and Eye of the Beholder (1991), Drakkhen was among the first action RPGs to utilize a permanent, real-time, text-adventure log window, demonstrating large influence from MUD games. This log functions like a dungeon master, frequently telling the player how much damage an attack did, explaining the outcome of intended actions, acting as the player's five senses, et cetera. This feature was de-emphasized and presented more elegantly for the SNES. The computer versions made heavier use of the adventure game buttons within castles to solve deeper and more plentiful obstacles. The originals were criticized for lacking a compass, which the SNES developers took to heart when they made changes to the new version. The SNES doesn't use a visual compass but instead tells the player which of the 360-degrees he or she faces anytime the game is paused. The computer versions allow for greater nuance when traveling the 3D island, playing to the strength of utilizing a mouse cursor, while the SNES version uses the directional pad. As such, maneuvering around scenery is clunkier.