I completed 27 role-playing games in 2023. I’ve noticed that the games are getting longer and more complex. There are a couple of reasons for this: 1) designers were sort of feeling around in the dark when it came to CRPGs – experimenting to see what worked and what did not. The definition of a CRPG continues to evolve at this stage but one characteristic begins to emerge: the time commitment needed to finish a role-playing game is much more than that of most other genres in this era. We now know this wiill continue to increase dramatically with the roll of years with many requiring over 100+ hours to complete.
2) the technology of home computers is now starting to advance. Thus far developers have had to deal with harsh technology limitations when crafting these games for the home computer user.
We’re also seeing the birth of the JRPG which quite literally just means “a role-playing game from Japan”. In the coming years however we’re to see it become the name of a sub-genre whose evolutionary branch creates quite a different product from Western RPGs. The Black Onyx wasn’t the first original role-playing game out of Japan, this distinction belongs to The Dragon & the Princess, but it WAS the best selling.
We also were introduced to Courageous Perseus and Hydlide in 1984. Both of these titles also came out of the east. Hydlide would later be dubbed as a pillar that greatly influenced the Japanese RPG scene. Hydlide ushered in what would be known as the action RPG. It set down the formula for the Y’s series as well as The Legend of Zelda. We are still in the 80’s computer era but we’re very close to crossing the line into 8-bit territory shortly.
The Sword of Kadash was a bit of a genre buster in 1984. The game featured 250+ rooms of dastardly traps, monsters, and puzzles. While it was spiritually close to a couple of others that came before it, I felt that it started to push the envelope a bit and give us a glimpse of what would be called metroidvania-style of play, a bit of open world, side quests, and a taste of what would become the action RPG subgenre. I died many times and spent many hours getting to the end of this one.
It’s really difficult to pick a favorite from this list of 27 games. The Dungeon Master, Dragon Quest, Questron, Xyphus, and the Sword of Kadash are five that proved very difficult and ate up much of my time.
I think my favorite game that I played in 2023 has to be Questron. I remember seeing the box on the shelf as a teenager and I just never had the time or opportunity then to devote to it.
It did not disappoint. I know there are some that call this a blatant Ultima pastiche, but I still really enjoyed my time with the game.
I found that, other than the lone Eamon adventure I played, that I had gotten away from playing text adventures and stayed firmly rooted in CRPGs. I was happy to do so and I may find myself continuing along this same avenue in 2024.
As I look ahead, there are upcoming Japanese RPGs and a lone French RPG that may create a bit of a conundrum for me but I’m going to see if I can muddle through. The technology and programming required to get some of these older games to run will continue to be a challenge for me but thus far I am lucky that I have had some support from colleagues in this area.
I am really enjoying the thrill of discovery of these older games and feel a little bit like an archaeologist in the search of old tombs in that regard. I also enjoy studying the history and development of games and how they influence each other so in that respect it’s a bit like taking on the role of historian as well. I continue to update the game database section of the website and it is more of a labor of love for me than anything else.
I do have a Twitter account that I use for the website Retrogamestrove.com (@OldManGamer12) / X (twitter.com) and I encourage you to follow and interact with me there and I will try to do more with the twitter account as well. I also have a Discord room in association with the blog and website and you can join here. Join our Discord server! I’d really like to see a greater response and discourse to the blog postings, especially on the website itself in the form of a reply. My audience is still quite small, but again, I’m getting a lot of personal satisfaction playing these games and maintaining the site. It’s a labor of love.
My goal for 2024 is to see if I can play 12-24 CRPGs at a minimum and report on them to you. Thank you for taking the time to read me and I look forward to gaming with you in 2024. Happy New Year everybody!