Menzoberranzan (video game)

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Menzoberranzan
Menzoberranzan Coverart.png
Cover art by Jeff Easley
Developer(s) DreamForge Intertainment
Publisher(s) Strategic Simulations
Designer(s) John McGirk
Programmer(s) Don Wuenschell
Artist(s) Jane Yeager
Frank Schurter
Composer(s) Jamie McMenamy
Platform(s) MS-DOS, PC-98, FM Towns
Release
Genre(s) Role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

Menzoberranzan is a 1994 role-playing video game created by Strategic Simulations (SSI) and DreamForge Intertainment. Menzoberranzan uses the game engine that was used previously in SSI's Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession (1994), and is set in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

Contents

Story

Menzoberranzan, a subterranean city where the Drow live, was the main setting for the video game of the same name, and had been introduced in the tabletop game materials two years earlier in December 1992 in a three-book box set called Menzoberranzan: The Famed City of the Drow by Ed Greenwood, R. A. Salvatore, and Douglas Niles. [1] The game also features Drizzt Do'Urden as one of the main characters. [2]

The game begins with the only two survivors (both chosen by the player) of a monsters-killing quest returning to a village situated somewhere in Icewind Dale, where they are celebrated for their success. However, after a night of heavy drinking, they pass out and only wake up when the village is attacked by Drow, who kidnap a number of villagers. The survivors ask the adventurers to rescue their friends and family, with the adventurers being directed towards the Underdark, where Drow civilization is situated. On their quest, the two adventurers eventually meet a number of adventurers and creatures that helps them in their mission, with them eventually joining forces with Drizzt Do'Urden, who reveals that the attack on the village was done under orders of his mother; Malice Do'Urden, in an attempt to draw him out to capture and punish him for abandoning his people. Upon arriving to Menzoberrazan, Drizzt is teleported away and captured by his mother, forcing the party to ask help from the Drow, who are in the middle of a civil war between the two most powerful families. With the help of some sympathetic and/or opportunistic Drow, they are able to defeat Malice, prevent the ritual sacrifice of Drizzt, and rescue the kidnapped villagers. Upon returning to the village, they are once again celebrated with Drizzt congratulating the adventurers for saving him.

Gameplay

Combat scene Menzoberranzan screenshot.png
Combat scene

The game has elements of Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss (3d world and real-time action)[ citation needed ] and its game concept is somewhat similar to Westwood's Eye of the Beholder series. [3] The player initially creates two player characters (PCs) and can acquire non-player character (NPC) allies later in the game. [2]

Release

Menzoberranzan was published in 1994 by Strategic Simulations.

The game was later included in the 1996 compilation set, the AD&D Masterpiece Collection . [4]

In August 2015, game distributor GOG.com released the PC version of the game along with several other Gold Box titles. [5]

Critical reception

In Computer Gaming World , Scorpia wrote: "Overall, Menzoberranzan is a disappointment. It has some nice features, but nice features must be supported by a strong story. Sadly, what could have been a superior entry in the CRPG field comes off as just another hack-n-slash product". [10] Andrew Wright of PC Zone considered it "a case of dumb dungeoneering stylishly put together", and said that it "tries to be Ultima Underworld and fails miserably". He offered praise to its graphics and interface. [7]

A reviewer for Next Generation gave the game 3 out of 5 stars, remarking that the high-resolution graphics have a "painting-like quality" and that the gameplay is authentic to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons franchise. [3] T. Liam McDonald of PC Gamer US called Menzoberranzan the best Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game ever released, and praised its graphics and story, but complained that it is "combat oriented in early levels and takes its sweet time getting to the narrative elements". [6]

In Electronic Entertainment , Al Giovetti summarized the game as "high-quality role-playing meets fast-paced first-person exploration and spectacular real-time combat", and he believed that it was "a sure bet to please role players". [8] Ian Cole from the Quandaryland website awarded the game 3.5 stars out 5. He was critical of the slowness of the game compared to Ravenloft and that "too many places were empty — just nothing". He praises that this was not a typical hack and slash game with a focus on game statistics for the characters as well as puzzle solving. [11] John Terra of Computer Shopper said the game "stands out" and called it a "must-have". [2]

According to Allen Rausch of GameSpy, "without a great plot and exciting monsters that truly utilized its spectacular setting, Menzoberranzan ended up being less impressive than it was in players' imaginations". [12]

Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games said "the last TSR-licensed game SSI published is the infamously wretched (and hard to spell) Menzoberranzan, which appeared in 1994 for DOS. [...] [It] had all the ingredients necessary for a hit. [...] Nevertheless, gamers quickly complained about the endless number of boring battles that drag out the game and ruin its pacing". [13]

Reviews

Related Research Articles

Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories. Several years later, it was published for the D&D game as a series of magazine articles, and the first Realms game products were released in 1987. Role-playing game products have been produced for the setting ever since, in addition to novels, role-playing video game adaptations, comic books, and the film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drow</span> Dungeons & Dragons fictional creature

The drow or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil and connected to the evil spider goddess Lolth. However, later editions of Dungeons & Dragons have moved away from this portrayal and preassigned alignment. More recent publications have explored drow societies unconnected to Lolth.

<i>Pool of Radiance</i> 1988 video game

Pool of Radiance is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI) in 1988. It was the first adaptation of TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) fantasy role-playing game for home computers, becoming the first episode in a four-part series of D&D computer adventure games. The other games in the "Gold Box" series used the game engine pioneered in Pool of Radiance, as did later D&D titles such as the Neverwinter Nights online game. Pool of Radiance takes place in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting, with the action centered in and around the port city of Phlan.

<i>Eye of the Beholder</i> (video game) 1991 video game

Eye of the Beholder is a role-playing video game for personal computers and video game consoles developed by Westwood Associates. It was published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1991, for the MS-DOS operating system and later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD and the SNES. The Sega CD version features a soundtrack composed by Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima. A port to the Atari Lynx handheld was developed by NuFX in 1993, but was not released. In 2002, an adaptation of the same name was developed by Pronto Games for the Game Boy Advance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drizzt Do'Urden</span> Fictional character from Dungeons & Dragons

Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed him to replace one of the characters in an early version of the first book, The Crystal Shard. Drizzt has since become a popular heroic character of the Forgotten Realms setting, and has been featured as the main character of a long series of books, starting chronologically with The Dark Elf Trilogy. As an atypical drow, Drizzt has forsaken both the evil ways of his people and their home in the Underdark, in the drow city of Menzoberranzan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menzoberranzan</span> Fictional setting in Dungeons & Dragons

Menzoberranzan, the "City of Spiders", is a fictional city-state in the world of the Forgotten Realms, a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The city is located in the Upper Northdark, about two miles below the Surbrin Vale, between the Moonwood and the Frost Hills. It is famed as the birthplace of Drizzt Do'Urden, the protagonist of several series of best-selling novels by noted fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. Menzoberranzan has been developed into a video game and a tabletop RPG setting.

<i>Gold Box</i> Video game series and engine

Gold Box is a series of role-playing video games produced by Strategic Simulations from 1988 to 1992. The company acquired a license to produce games based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game from TSR, Inc. These games shared a common game engine that came to be known as the "Gold Box Engine" after the gold-colored boxes in which most games of the series were sold.

The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterranean network of interconnected caverns and tunnels, stretching beneath entire continents and forming an underworld for surface settings. Polygon called it "one of D&D's most well-known realms".

<i>Pools of Darkness</i> 1991 video game

Pools of Darkness is a role-playing video game published by Strategic Simulations in 1991. The cover art and introduction screen shows a female drow. It is the fourth entry in the Pool of Radiance series of Gold Box games, and the story is a continuation of the events after Secret of the Silver Blades. The novel loosely based on the game was released in 1992. Like the previous games in the series, it is set in the Forgotten Realms, a campaign setting from Dungeons & Dragons. Players must stop an invasion from an evil god, eventually traveling to other dimensions to confront his lieutenants.

<i>Dungeon Hack</i> 1993 video game

Dungeon Hack is a 1993 role-playing video game developed by DreamForge Intertainment and published by Strategic Simulations for DOS and NEC PC-9801.

<i>Dark Sun: Shattered Lands</i> 1993 video game

Dark Sun: Shattered Lands is a turn-based role-playing video game that takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting of Dark Sun. It was developed and published by Strategic Simulations in 1993. It received positive reviews although released initially in an unfinished state. The game had a sequel, Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager, in 1994. An online MMORPG taking place in the same setting, Dark Sun Online: Crimson Sands, was released in 1996 and hosted on the Total Entertainment Network.

<i>Homeland</i> (Forgotten Realms novel) 1990 novel by R. A. Salvatore

Homeland is a fantasy novel by American writer R. A. Salvatore, the first book in The Dark Elf Trilogy, a prequel to The Icewind Dale Trilogy. It follows the story of Drizzt Do'Urden from the time and circumstances of his birth and his upbringing amongst the drow.

<i>The Dark Queen of Krynn</i> 1992 video game

The Dark Queen of Krynn is the third in a three-part series of Dragonlance Advanced Dungeons & Dragons "Gold Box" role-playing video games. The game was released in 1992.

<i>Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager</i> 1994 video game

Dark Sun: Wake of the Ravager is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations in 1994 for the MS-DOS operating system. It is the sequel to Dark Sun: Shattered Lands.

<i>Al-Qadim: The Genies Curse</i> 1994 video game

Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse is an action role-playing game for the personal computer set in the Al-Qadim campaign setting of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. The game was developed by Cyberlore Studios and published in 1994 by Strategic Simulations (SSI). The game combines role-playing game and adventure with a simplified interface; the player character is a young corsair trying to clear his family's name, rescue his betrothed and determine who has been freeing genies from their masters.

<i>Ravenloft: Strahds Possession</i> 1994 video game

Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession is a 1994 fantasy role-playing video game developed by DreamForge Intertainment for Strategic Simulations for DOS. Ravenloft: Stone Prophet is a sequel to this game.

<i>Ravenloft: Stone Prophet</i> 1995 video game

Ravenloft: Stone Prophet is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by DreamForge Intertainment for MS-DOS and published by Strategic Simulations in 1995.

<i>Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue</i> Dungeons & Dragons supplement

Menzoberranzan: City of Intrigue is a system-neutral supplement to the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game published towards the end of 4th edition.

References

  1. ↑ Salvatore, R. A.; Greenwood, Ed; Niles, Douglas (1992). Menzoberranzan: The Famed City of the Drow, Revealed At Last!. TSR, Inc. ISBN   1-56076-460-0.
  2. 1 2 3 Terra, John (April 1, 1995), "Menzoberranzan", Computer Shopper , SX2 Media Labs, archived from the original on June 11, 2014, retrieved September 6, 2012
  3. 1 2 3 "Menzoberranzan". Next Generation (3). Imagine Media: 93. March 1995.
  4. ↑ Butcher, Andy (January 1996). "Games Reviews". Arcane (2). Future Publishing: 80.
  5. ↑ Release: Forgotten Realms: The Archives - GOG.com
  6. 1 2 McDonald, T. Liam (February 1995). "Menzoberranzan". PC Gamer US . Archived from the original on February 26, 2000.
  7. 1 2 Wright, Andrew (March 1995). "Menzoberranzan". PC Zone (24). 86, 87.
  8. 1 2 Giovetti, Al (March 1995). "Menzoberranzan". Electronic Entertainment (15): 67.
  9. ↑ McDonald, T. Liam (April 1995). "Menzoberranzan". CD-ROM Today . 3 (4): 95.
  10. ↑ Scorpia (February 1995). "Beware Of The Under Drow". Computer Gaming World . No. 127. pp. 57–60.
  11. ↑ Cole, Ian (February 1995). "Menzoberranzan". quandaryland.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  12. ↑ Rausch, Allen (2004-08-17). "A History of D&D Video Games - Part III". Game Spy. Archived from the original on January 18, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  13. ↑ Barton, Matt; Stacks, Shane (2019). Dungeons and desktops: the history of computer role-playing games (Second ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 307. ISBN   978-1-351-27338-1. OCLC   1098173911.
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