Realms of Arkania Returns

[Andy Chalk]

Realms of Arkania Returns

The early-90s RPG classic Realms of Arkania is getting a hi-def makeover.

Realms of Arkania, in the videogame context, is actually an RPG trilogy that debuted on MS-DOS and Amiga systems all the way back in 1992: Blade of Destiny, Star Trail and then, in 1997, Shadows Over Riva. I never actually played the games but by all reports they were pretty good stuff, and while The Dark Eye franchise it was based upon has continued with the GOG [http://www.amazon.com/Drakensang-Complete-River-Phileassons-Secret-Pc/dp/B005OGYVKU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359404972&sr=8-1&keywords=Drakensang] crowd. But that is apparently about to change.

Austrian developer Crafty Studios has announced a "one-to-one remake" of Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny, the first game in the series. The remade Realms will boast a "complete visual reimagining along with a comprehensive overhaul of every aspect of the gameplay," and while that doesn't quite jibe with the idea of a straight-up redo, the German press release - which I suppose we should take as the original - according to RPGWatch talks about improved graphics but says nothing about changing the gameplay.

There also seems to be some confusion as to what exactly we'll have when the game finally comes out: The English press release refers solely to Blade of Destiny, while the Google-translated German announcement describes it as "The Dark Eye: Nordlandtrilogie." The Northlands Trilogy is the collective name for the Realms of Arkania games, the obvious implication being that the remake could cover all three games rather than just the first.

[gallery=1021]

Whatever the case, the first screenshot from the game is also floating around and while it's obviously not going to be the next Elder Scrolls, it might just be the next, say, Legend of Grimrock, which is pretty cool too. Platforms have not been announced but Realms of Arkania, in part or in whole, is currently slated to come out in the second quarter of 2013.

Sources: UIG Entertainment [http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19360]


Permalink

 

[Tanis]

VERY NICE to read.

I loved the original trilogy, so I hope this remake is done well.

 

[kyogen]

PCGamer.de says the first part of the trilogy--Blade of Destiny--is slated to come out Q3 2013. It doesn't have direct screen comparisons, but it has a few images up for a general look at "then/now" graphics.

 

[Tiamat666]

Wow, awesome! I was actually toying with the idea of replaying these games again. Perfect timing for a hi-def remake. I enjoyed the originals very much. They have a lot of depth and capture the spirit of an adventuring party in a fantasy world splendidly.

 

[Colt47]

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

and its going to be turn based like in Legend of Grimrock?

oh man, good news...

btw thank you Legend of Grimrock!
for bringing back turn based RPGS without whinny manga dude/dudette hybrids.

Well to be fair to the east, they didn't start getting too whinny until post 2002. Honestly, it's like the western world went and tried to take the somewhat silly fantasy settings with a bit of maturity while the east tried to inject a bit of light heartedness, and then we both went too far to the extremes...

Oh sweet mercy, it's like the American political system! O O;

 

[RandV80]

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

and its going to be turn based like in Legend of Grimrock?

oh man, good news...

btw thank you Legend of Grimrock!
for bringing back turn based RPGS without whinny manga dude/dudette hybrids.

Well to be fair to the east, they didn't start getting too whinny until post 2002. Honestly, it's like the western world went and tried to take the somewhat silly fantasy settings with a bit of maturity while the east tried to inject a bit of light heartedness, and then we both went too far to the extremes...

Oh sweet mercy, it's like the American political system! O O;

With JRPG's it was more tech improvement rather than any kind of design evolution. Kind of hard to portray an angsty emo adrogynist with pixels. Although on the other side of the pond I'd say the maturity level actually dropped. Some of those older games were pretty hardcore, while today's RPG's are designed to appeal to a broader audience.

 

[charge52]

Picture doesn't mean much if we don't have the original graphics to compare it to.

Here you go, quite an improvement, obviously.

Spoiler

OT: Quite interested in this actually, I got the originals in a giveaway on GoG, and they were pretty enjoyable, so if this works, than it could be quite good.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

Snip.

Wait, Legend of Grimrock is Turn based...?

 

[Denamic]

Shadows over Riva was one of the first RPGs I ever player, and the very first one on the PC.
Ah, memory lane...

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

This is good news indeed. Blade of Destiny was one of the first PC RPG games I ever played, hell I remember it had a sticker on the front of the box warning (yes, warning) buyers that this game would not work unless the graphics card in your PC could display 256 colours. Ah, early 90's PC gaming...

It'll be good to wander the streets of Thorwal again though. Cheers Andy, this has properly made my morning.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

Snip.

Wait, Legend of Grimrock is Turn based...?

Snip.

Awesome, I never realized that XD I'm five floors down in the game too.

 

[Zeckt]

This was the series of games I always wanted to play as a kid but could never afford. Not that my childhood was bad mind you, I spent MANY hours in Might and Magic 1-6! And to make things worse I own all 3 arkania games on gog and have them installed on my laptop. What the hell am I waiting for? this has inspired me to play them!