| Wizard's Crown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Strategic Simulations |
| Publisher(s) | Strategic Simulations |
| Designer(s) | Paul Murray Keith Brors |
| Platform(s) | Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS |
| Release | 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Wizard's Crown is a 1986 top-down role-playing video game published by Strategic Simulations. [1] [2] It was released for the Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, IBM PC compatibles, Apple II, and Commodore 64. A sequel, The Eternal Dagger , was released in 1987.
Academic Matt Barton describes Wizard's Crown as "probably the most hardcore RPG of its time" and "one of the most sophisticated tactical CRPGs ever designed". [3] The object of the game is to rescue a magical crown from Tarmon, a wizard who sealed himself and the crown in his laboratory 500 years previous.
The video game design and programming was done by Paul Murray and Keith Brors, game development by Chuck Kroegel and Jeff Johnson, and the rulebook created by Leona Billings. Wizard's Crown was the first RPG designed in-house by SSI, previously known as a wargame company. Its detailed tactical combat system came from Murray and Brors's background in wargaming, and they brought the complexity of those games to Wizard's Crown's tactical combat. For instance, shields block attacks only from the front and left (shielded) side, and not from the rear and right (unshielded side). Spears can attack two squares away, flails ignore the defender's shields, and axes have a chance of breaking shields. There is an option for "quick combat", and regular combat can take as long as 40 minutes per encounter. This combat system influenced SSI's later Gold Box series of RPGs, but it was streamlined and simplified. [3]
The class system is based on a point buy system, possibly influenced by the tabletop role-playing games RuneQuest and Traveller . Characters buy classes and skills using Intelligence points. The classes are thief, ranger, fighter, priest and sorcerer, each possessing a distinct set of skills. Characters can have any number of classes, but mixing classes slows advancement. Up to eight characters can be created in a single party. Experience is spent directly on skills, attributes and life points. When a skill level is very low, gains are quick and easy, but they become slow and difficult to raise after reaching high levels. The magic system works like other skills and features a chance of failure based on skill level. [3]
The game is also memorable for its magic weapons, for example, the Storm Longsword or Doom Battleaxe. There are three special series of weapons which can be enchanted to become progressively more powerful:
SSI sold 47,676 copies of Wizard's Crown in North America, [4] and it was the company's second best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987. [5]
Compute! in 1986 favorably reviewed Wizard's Crown, describing it as "probably the most unusual fantasy game to hit the market in some time". Citing its graphics and detailed combat, the magazine stated that the game "that will excite and challenge even the most seasoned veteran of fantasy warfare". [6] Computer Gaming World 's Scorpia admired the game's use of injuries and bleeding in simulating combat, but believed there was too much emphasis on hack and slash, with only a few trivial puzzles and almost no interaction between the party and anyone else beyond buying, selling, and killing. [7] In 1993 Scorpia was more positive, describing it as a "better-than-average hack'n'slash ... a good game for the bash'em crowd". [8]
A 1986 ANALOG Computing review called the Atari version "superb ... a true gem, an addictive game which you'll find yourself playing day in and day out". [9] The game was reviewed in 1986 in Dragon #114 by Hartley and Pattie Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers "recommend this offering as one that truly presents a most positive view of fantasy role-playing as played on a computer system." [10] In a subsequent column, the reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars. [11]
Antic 's review was mixed, stating that Wizard's Crown "throws in a few new tricks of its own" but "is mostly old wine in new bottles". The magazine concluded that "Wizard's Crown is okay. But I probably would have enjoyed it more if I felt that I was really controlling the characters—not just watching random-number generators at work." [12] Jerry Pournelle named Wizard's Crown his personal game of the month for February 1988, approving of its detailed combat, graphics, and interesting quest and puzzles. [13]
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.
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.
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Curse of the Azure Bonds is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI) in 1989. It is the second in a four-part series of Forgotten Realms Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Gold Box adventure computer games, continuing the events after the first part, Pool of Radiance.
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The Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight is a fantasy role-playing video game created by Interplay Productions in 1986. It is the first sequel to The Bard's Tale, and the last game of the series that was designed and programmed by Michael Cranford.
Autoduel is a role-playing video game published by Origin Systems for the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, Apple II, and IBM PC compatibles in 1985. It was released in 1987 for the Atari ST and in 1988 for the Amiga and Macintosh. The game is based on the Steve Jackson Games series Car Wars.
Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World is a role-playing video game developed and published by New World Computing in 1988. It is the sequel to Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum.
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is the first game in the Wizardry series of role-playing video games. It was developed by Andrew Greenberg and Robert Woodhead. In 1980, Norman Sirotek formed Sir-Tech Software, Inc. and launched a beta version of the product at the 1980 Boston Computer Convention. The final version of the game was released in 1981.
Gateway to the Savage Frontier (1991) is a Gold BoxDungeons & Dragons computer game developed by Beyond Software and published by SSI for the Commodore 64, PC and Amiga personal computers.
The Eternal Dagger is a top-down role-playing video game published by Strategic Simulations in 1987. It is a sequel to Wizard's Crown from 1986. Demons from another dimension are invading the world, and the only item that can seal the portal is the titular dagger. Players can transfer their characters over from Wizard's Crown, minus whatever magical items they had on them.
Champions of Krynn is role-playing video game, the first in a three-part series of Dragonlance Advanced Dungeons & Dragons "Gold Box" games. The game was released in 1990. The highest graphics setting supported in the DOS version was EGA graphics. It also supported the Adlib sound card and either a mouse or joystick.
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Shard of Spring is a role-playing video game developed by TX Digital Illusions and published by Strategic Simulations for the Apple II, Commodore 64 and DOS computers in 1986. Shard of Spring tells the story of a group of adventurers hired to retrieve the titular magical item stolen by a power-hungry evil witch. The game was generally well received upon its release and was followed by a sequel titled Demon's Winter in 1988.
Demon's Winter is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations in 1988. It is a sequel to SSI's 1986 Shard of Spring, set two hundred years after the events of the original, featuring a game world 32-times the size of the previous one.
Realms of Darkness is a fantasy video game developed by Strategic Simulations and released in 1986. It was developed for the Apple II and Commodore 64.
Phantasie is the first video game in the Phantasie series.
Questron is a 1984 game from Strategic Simulations, the first fantasy title from a company known for computer wargames. It was written by Charles Dougherty and Gerald Wieczorek and released for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, and Commodore 64. A sequel, Questron II, was released in 1988.
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