Good obscure Pre-1995 PC games?

[BloatedGuppy]

Here's a few...

Dark Heart of Uukrul (1989) Great RPG - http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/106671-rpg-spotlight-12-the-dark-heart-of-uukrul.html

Fate: Gates of Dawn (1991) - Very good Wizardry like game on the Amiga

Bloodnet (1993) - Cool adventure game with RPG elements in a cyberpunk/gothic type setting.

Tunnels & Trolls: Crusaders of Khazan (1990) Solid RPG

Captive (1990) - A fun sci-fi Dungeon Master clone

Sherlock Holmes and The Case of the Serrated Scalpel (1992)- Great adventure/detective game (much better than the more modern SH games by Frogware) The Case of the Rose Tatoo (1996) was also very good and made by the same devs.(Mythos Software)

Would you consider Phantasie or The Magic Candle to be obscure? Those are two others I thought of in answer to the OP's question.

I ask because you're like one of three guys on this forum who might actually have a clue WTF those games are...

 

[kibbitz2000]

Would you consider Phantasie or The Magic Candle to be obscure? Those are two others I thought of in answer to the OP's question.

I ask because you're like one of three guys on this forum who might actually have a clue WTF those games are...

Phantasie and The Magic Candle series is are relatively obscure, IMO. They generally don't get as much press as a lot of their rivals these days when people talk about games of long ago, though both series did get at least two more instalments.

 

[Da_Schwartz]

there was this little creepy puzzle/rpg game called Sanitarium that i really enjoyed back then. It got a bit silly the furhter you got into it, but if u can find it its worth checking out. May not be pre 95 but its pretty close to it.

 

[ke7eha]

A couple of good mac-exclusives from the era in question would fit the bill. They're Bungie's early games. Pathways Into Darkness is fun (albeit requiring a mac emulator to run on a PC) and the Marathon Trilogy is worth a play. Best part: Bungie released them for free a few years back.

 

[Hardsuit]

I don't know about obscure, BG, obviously not as known as stuff like the Ultimas, Wizardrys, Might & Magics, Bards Tales and D&D Gold Box games, but maybe on par with stuff like Betrayal at Krondor, Realms of Arkania and Darklands maybe ? What do you think ?
It's tough to say exactly how obscure something is sometimes, maybe just look at the sales figures, I guess.


Here's a few other RPGs, just to throw them out there..

Disciples of Steel (1993)
Albion (1995)
Amberstar (1992) & Ambermoon (1993)
Hard Nova (1990)
Knights of Legend (1989)
Escape from Hell (1990)

I acually just found my 5 1/4 disks in the original boxes for Hard Nova (1990)and Knights of Legend (1989). One I always liked was Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace...along with the 2 above.

 

[Djcian]

love the first game i ever played which was Zeliard(1887). probably like it more for the nostalgia but it was the first game i ever really got into as a kid and i still enjoy it. also liked the lost mind of dr brain(1994)

i'd also recommend the "Games You Might Not Have Tried: 16-bit" video by extra credits which recommends alot of old, obscure,unique games. http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/games-you-might-not-have-tried-16-bit perfect for what youre looking for if you haven't already seen it by following them on penny arcade since they left the escapist.

 

[infinity_turtles]

This came out in 1999, but the style of it makes me feel like it should be mentioned here. Hell, even it's Wikipedia entry calls it anachronistic. It had an iOS release last year and a GOG one this year, but it's still pretty damn obscure.

The game is "King of Dragon Pass". A... strategy construction/management simulation RPG? A fantasy game where you manage a Clan(And assuming you're successful eventually a Tribe and then Kingdom)of Nordic Barbarians.

 

[thespyisdead]

my contribution would have to be indiana jones and the fate of atlantis

 

[Icehearted]

Bioforge was pretty spiffy in it's day, and obviously fell into obscurity as almost nobody under 30 has ever heard of it. It's a pretty tough one to describe, but I remember it being visually impressive in it's day, fussy to get running (I think on a 486 at the time... don't quote me though), and confusing.

The Faery Tale Adventure was one I remember playing on the Genesis, but I believe it's available for the PC. I have next to no memory of that game, just recall enjoying it a lot. I know that's hardly a helpful endorsement, but I know I loved that game for good reason.

Finally, I don't know how famous these are, but a series EA ruined long before they were ruining fun on modern systems, Ultima, specifically Ultima 7pt.1 and 7pt.2. These games are frickin' amazing, really deep, really accessible, and richly detailed. I know the series has it's fans, mostly old farts like me, but if you're a younger player and you've never heard or tired, you should. Visually dated, but still one of the very best games of it's kind out there, bar none.

I may have to go back and have at these myself.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

There's always Castle Adventure.

 

[drthmik]

Rise of the Triad (ROTT); FPS, 3D Realms

This was a great FPS that pioneered a lot of things current gamers take for granted in FPSes but had the misfortune of being designed on an old style engine and was thus overshadowed by Doom II which came out about the same time.

Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe; Flight Sim/Combat, Lucasarts

WWII combat sim where you could fly missions as Allied or German air forces. focused mostly on the crazy (fun) Luftwaffe secret weapons, some of which were only in service for a very short time during the war and some only saw prototypes. Flying wings, rocket planes, jets, antiaircraft rockets and more. (I especially like the vertical rockets on the komet rocket plane, they fire when the shadow of a bomber hits light censers on top the plane, shooting the rockets up into the bomber's belly)
Also, everything is destructible, every building, factory, barn and haystack can be blown up.

Loom; Adventure game, Lucasarts

point and click adventure game about a weaver who used a musical distaff to weave and unweave the fabric of the universe, lots of fun

 

[Max_A_Buck]

Not sure if it was mentioned already, it is from 1997 but I remember Dark Earth fondly.

EDIT: I'll second Sanitarium.

 

[mooncalf]

Star Control 2 (1992) <<< Mass Effect was "inspired" by this game.

For a certain type of people, the "Mass Effect" is the uncontrollable urge to burst laughing and/or screaming at how much mass effect was "inspired" by SC2. IMO SC2 is the better game in all respects but that's just me.

Terminal Velocity is a very arcade-y sci-fi flight sim...

Speaking of spiritual successors, "Fury3" came out in 95 which is similar to Terminal Velocity, I remember with a certain Star-Wars-Emulating thrill the joy of diving into the tunnels of a giant structure to shoot it's guts out.

Nice lists, wish I had my old 'E2' magazine from '95 that i must've read a hundred times as a kid, that would have reminded me of the games I'd add. Take a look at a wiki and there are so many to choose from though, I'll select 3 that leap out at me...

Blackthorne (1994): Blizzard's 2D platformer about a shotgun-toting modern day hero flung like Bruce Campbell into a fantasy world populated by human slaves and their Orc masters.
Skyroads (1993): Something like a precursor to Audiosurf, strafe and hop your rocket racer along a 3d obstacle course with various boosts and hazards.
Traffic Department 2192 (1994): Top Down sci-fi shooter about a group of lesser law enforcement agents fighting against organized crime with a strong female protagonist and a pretty awesome story too.

Oh, and can anyone remind me of that RPG doom-like? STRIFE! Now I remember, never got to play it properly but it seemed pretty cool. Oh wait, looks like it was 1996, oh well.

 

[Bostur]

Alien Legacy was sort of a space sim, simcity, exploration mix that received very little attention and seems to have been forgotten. It was very unique with it's mix of strict linear storyline and and sandboxy management gameplay. For that very reason it also lacked replayability and sometimes felt like one very long tutorial. But it was good fun while it lasted. It was the kind of game that would be perfect for expansion packs, but none were made.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Legacy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXgjxafhIiE&feature=related
http://www.mobygames.com/game/alien-legacy

Bloodnet (1993) - Cool adventure game with RPG elements in a cyberpunk/gothic type setting.

Bloodnet seemed like a very unique game, and it's one of those games that I regret I never got into.

Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe; Flight Sim/Combat, Lucasarts

WWII combat sim where you could fly missions as Allied or German air forces. focused mostly on the crazy (fun) Luftwaffe secret weapons, some of which were only in service for a very short time during the war and some only saw prototypes. Flying wings, rocket planes, jets, antiaircraft rockets and more. (I especially like the vertical rockets on the komet rocket plane, they fire when the shadow of a bomber hits light censers on top the plane, shooting the rockets up into the bomber's belly)
Also, everything is destructible, every building, factory, barn and haystack can be blown up.

As far as I know, Secret Weapons was a sequel to another Lucasarts flight sim called "Their Finest Hour". I never played Secret Weapons but "Their Finest Hour" was one of my favorite Amiga games, it also had an excellent manual. Lucasarts made quite a few flightsims at that time I think.

 

[Bostur]

Would you consider Phantasie or The Magic Candle to be obscure? Those are two others I thought of in answer to the OP's question.

I ask because you're like one of three guys on this forum who might actually have a clue WTF those games are...

I don't know about obscure, BG, obviously not as known as stuff like the Ultimas, Wizardrys, Might & Magics, Bards Tales and D&D Gold Box games, but maybe on par with stuff like Betrayal at Krondor, Realms of Arkania and Darklands maybe ? What do you think ?
It's tough to say exactly how obscure something is sometimes, maybe just look at the sales figures, I guess.


Here's a few other RPGs, just to throw them out there..

Disciples of Steel (1993)
Albion (1995)
Amberstar (1992) & Ambermoon (1993)
Hard Nova (1990)
Knights of Legend (1989)
Escape from Hell (1990)

To add to the discussion Magic Candle is a series that I heard of, but I have never seen or played it. In comparison Betrayal at Krondor, Wizardry and Darklands were quite well known at the time, but possibly obscure now.

It's interesting how obscurity can change over time. Someone mentioned Midwinter a game that is probably very obscure now, but it was one of the most talked about games at the time. I think only Ultima and Civilization got more press coverage.

On the other end of the spectrum everyone seems to know about Grim Fandango now, but very few people knew about it when it was released as the game sales also suggests. Even 'timeless classics' like JA or X-Com were relatively obscure at the time and probably only survived due to a die-hard fan base.

 

[Zeckt]

Lands of Lore! classic dungeon crawler yet more colorful then most with tons of personality to boot. The game starts off deceptively simple but has deep, hardcore dungeons and a huge monster variety. You often fight 5-10 specific enemies with unique sprites in each dungeon and never see them again. Anyways, I love that game and its on gog.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Here you go:

http://www.gog.com/catalogue

Anything on gog isn't obscure anymore.

Here's a few:
The Immortal (1990)
Curses (1993)
Time Gate: Knight's Chase (1995)
Gateway (1992)
Maupiti Island (1990)
Bureaucracy (1987)
Heart of the Alien (1994)

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Knights of Legend (1989)

Ooh, good one. I loved Knights of Legend. Or more specifically, I loved making parties in Knights of Legend. Actually playing the game always felt like something of a let down after that. I particularly liked the winged guys who would collapse in exhaustion if they "flew" three feet.

 

[GoaThief]

The Battle Isle series have seemingly been forgotten, I've never seen the games mentioned in threads like these;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Isle_%28series%29

Awesome turn based tactics.

To be honest I think pre-1995, the better games were not found on Windows or DOS PCs... the home of real quality was the Commodore Amiga.

 

[CAPTCHA]

Anvil of the Dawn: Lots of people know of Lands of Lore, but I never see much love for this game which is superior in my eyes.

Albion: This one definatly came out post-95 (96 perhaps?) but none the less it's worth mentioning. Closest game I could compare it to would be Planescape - it's one of these "wordy" RPGs. Worth checking out.

Worlds of Ultima: Everyones knows about the Ultima series, but the spin-offs are less recognised. They use the U6 engine. Both games are classic sci-fis, with Martian Dreams being a steampunk adventure and Savage Empire a "land that time forgot" affair.

Darkseed: A point and click adventure game based on the works of HR Giger. I don't actually like the game that much, but it's unique.

Dreamweb: Another adventure game with a blade runner theme. I've never gotten very far in the game, but something about it fascinates me.

Dune: A 4x game with a strong story element and some RPG mechanics thrown in. Nothing like it's more popular RTS sequal.

Abuse: A sidescrolling platformer that used the mouse to aim your dudes gun. Novel at the time. Still not a bad game.

Blackthorn: Not really sure if this is obscure or not. It's basiclly Flashback but with more an emphasis on action than puzzle solving.

One Must Fall: A fighting game. Very basic, but very fun. It's got a really catchy menu theme, just youtube it and enjoy.

Strife: Another that came out post-95. It was the last game to be made using the Doom engine as far as I know. Its mixes FPS with RPG elements and has an open world to explore. Played it again a few months ago and it still holds up, although the shooting mechanics aren't as tight as its contemporaries.

Battle Isle 1&2: TBS. There's nothing to remarkable to say about them; they are just well made and easlily accessable to learn, although the difficulty level is pretty extreme.

Steel Panthers: A proper "Dad" game. Its pretty much just a tabletop wargame on a PC. Has lots of detail and tons of campaigns set through out the duration of the WW2.