Game #228: Tyrann (1984)

Tryann has the distinction of being the first role-playing game produced in France. The game is entirely in French, and not letting a little old thing like language barriers stand in the way of progress, I resolutely pulled up a language translator and went to work.

Tyrann was developed by Norsoft and published by No Man’s Land in 1984 for the Tangerine Oric, the Thomson MO5, and Amstrad CPC. The game was written by R. Gosselin and M. Wystrach. An interesting sidenote, while both were in their 60’s, they decided in 2015 to completely update the game for Android smartphones and tablet computers.

I am playing the Amstrad CPC version on an emulator but I’m running into tape problems and thus worried about my ability to be able to finish this game. I’ve reached out for some help on this issue, but I have a nagging suspicion I’m going to run into a brick wall soon.

Tyrann is a first-person dungeon crawler, which happens to be my favorite type of game. I had been complaining how there was a lack of them produced in 1984 and now I’ve been able to play both Shadowkeep and now Tyrann back-to-back.

There is an English version of the game manual available, but it is of little value.

It does not provide any information on what your objective or quest might be but constantly alludes to the “mystery” of your mission.

Tyrann does it’s best to be a Wizardry clone. Your party can consist of six members and classes available to choose from are warrior, magician, and thief. Your attributes are strength, intelligence, vitality and agility. These are rolled randomly between the values of 7 and 12. Once you accept the character you can then add 5 bonus points to any one attribute.

Once you create your party you begin play in the village where you can buy and sell gear, inspect characters, and see an alchemist where you can be healed and/or resurrected. It is from here that you also enter the dungeon, so it is very similar to Wizardry in this regard.

I chose to play the game using two warriors, a thief, a magic user, and two druids.

The combat system is turn based and much like Wizardry except that there are no graphics depicting the monsters. The spell system is a bit different as well. Spellcasters must purchase a spell book and read it before they can cast spells. My magic user began the game with a YPAFET spell which is a SLEEP spell. He has recently advanced to 2nd level and acquired a KADEO spell or a Know Location spell as well. My druids were each bestowed a ASEKO spell or HEAL spell at first level and have recently gained an OKOY spell at 2nd level which is a PETRIFICATION spell.

I still haven’t quite ascertained how the leveling system works. The amount needed for each level might be randomized. When you acquire a new level, you start over with 0 experience points and then work to make another level. You gain experience points and gold by defeating enemies.

I have completed the first dungeon level which seems to be on a 24 x 24 grid. The encounters, represented by the letter E on the map, appear to be set encounters. I encountered 14 different types of creatures on the first dungeon level, and they are listed up above to the left of the map. Shadows, Spectres, Giant Spiders, and Zombies are the toughest opponents because they can poison and paralyze. The witch is dangerous too because she can cast spells.

There are no special encounters, nor are there any special traps or special locations as of yet. I have not encountered any pits, spinners, or teleports so mapping thus far is a simple affair. Much like Wizardry, the combat in this game is extremely hard. Be prepared to die often. You can be resurrected in the village for the right price, and thus far I do not see any sort of negative repercussions from being resurrected. I do not notice a dip in attributes or any other negative signs. So you’ll find yourself making many returns back to the village.

When you advance a level, you are given 2 to 3 attribute points to apply to one of your attributes.

I have no idea how many levels comprise this dungeon nor do I have any idea what my goal for entering the dungeon is. I am hoping that I will discover clues as to the “mystery” of the dungeon.

Wish me luck as I begin to explore and map out the 2nd dungeon level.