Tales of the Unknown: Volume I - The Bard's Tale

aka: Shadow Snare, The Bard's Tale, The Bard's Tale I
Moby ID: 819
Apple II Specs
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Description official descriptions

The small country town Skara Brae was enjoying a peaceful life, until an evil wizard known as Mangar the Dark appeared. Monsters have invaded the town, terrorizing its inhabitants. Mangar cast the spell of Eternal Winter on the surroundings, isolating Skara Brae from any possible help. Guards that were entrusted with the task of protecting the town have disappeared within one night. Only a party of brave adventurers can save Skara Brae and defeat Mangar.

The Bard's Tale is a fantasy role-playing game similar to Wizardry games, with first-person exploration of pseudo-3D maze-like environments, and turn-based combat against randomly appearing enemies. Unlike early Wizardry installments, the town can be explored physically, and parts of the overworld are accessible as well. Several dungeons must be explored before the player can tackle the final quest.

Six character classes are available when the player is prompted to create a party of six adventurers in the beginning of the game: Bard, Hunter, Monk, Paladin, Rogue, Warrior, Magician, and Conjurer. The last two can be promoted when specific conditions are met during gameplay. The bard class plays a special role, possessing magical songs that improves the party's performance in combat and are required to solve some of the game's puzzles.

Spellings

  • バーズテイル - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Apple II version)

Lead Programmer

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 79% (based on 31 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 105 ratings with 12 reviews)

Breakthrough RPG in the Home Computer era

The Good
I was a Wizardry fan and was excited about the new RPG opportunities home computers opened up. I admired Wizardry, but was blown away by Bard's Tale and it's pioneering use of animation and artwork. From the original version for the Apple II, I'd never seen such competent graphics or elegant programming. For the first time, I actually felt like I was exploring the world, not just viewing it. The immersive gameplay and striking graphics made it a standout for years to come.

I even bought the Amiga version when it came out, even though I had played-through the Apple II version (of course it blew away the Apple II version; it included even more groundbreaking effects). A very important game in the history of computer role-playing games.

The Bad
The only thing I didn't like about the game were really just the limitations of the Apple II, but they did the most with what the Apple II could do. These limitations were overcome with the Amiga version.

The Bottom Line
A groundbreaking game in the history of computer role-playing games. Not a standout by today's standards, but incomparable for its time.

Apple II · by Frecklefoot (188) · 2007

Set the standard for gaming in its day

The Good
Wow. I got this game when it first came out for my Commodore. I was totally blown away by the graphics! Amazing. Some of the monsters actually moved! You know what I mean? This game took me practically forever to complete--being back in the days before the internet gave you hints and maps for free. (You couldn't get through this game without the hint book I don't think because the mapping is nearly impossible in Mangar's tower for instance.) So I had to fork over the $15 for the guide book and then you still had trouble. Just because you had the map, it didn't tell you where you got teleported too!

I spent so many hours (and spell points) typing SCSI, and counting on my homemade grid! It would be tough today for this game to make it because people (myself included) have become jaded with this sort of gameplay. When you have Baldur's Gate to compare this to, which would you choose to play. I think you can argue that Bard's Tale is probably equally as good a game though...just not in quite as slick a package.

About a year ago I found a package of Interplay games on the shelf in my local store (Ultimate RPG Archives), and it has the complete Bard's Tale series in it (along with Wasteland which no serious gamer should be without but that's another review!). Over the next few months I played through BT 1 and 2 and part of BT3 before time reasserted itself and I had to get back to real life. All I can say is that this game still holds up after all these years which is quite an accomplishment.

The Bad
I suppose to be honest, the part I disliked the most was the difficulty in mapping. While I very much enjoy mapping dungeons, I didn't like all the darkness areas, spinners, and teleports. But hey, Mangar was just making it tough on you! Wouldn't be much of a game if you just marched in the front door and killed him now would it! Also, I was never able to save my party and continue on with them in BT2 like I was supposed to be able to do. I had to download a character editor and recreate each character from BT1 exactly in BT2 and then use them. Don't know why, but it irked me.

The Bottom Line
Certainly this game is one that every game collector needs to have on their shelf!

DOS · by thejayman (5) · 2002

Tale for the ages!

The Good
Excellent graphics on the Amiga hardward, and incredible use of sound that was unprecedented at the time. The gameplay loop is addictive and fun. Challenge is incredible. You will get your money's worth.

The Bad
There is a steep learning curve, and a lot of randomness when it comes to combat and encounters.

The Bottom Line
A fantasic computer role-playing game that has stood the test of time.

Amiga · by Baxter · 2023

[ View all 12 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Bard's Tale Song remakes Pieces of 8-bit Jul 30, 2015
What advntages does the Hunter class have? Scribblemacher (195) Feb 17, 2013
Completed? Gledster Dec 7, 2010

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Bard's Tale appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Buildings

While most of the buildings are empty and exist only to increase the size of the map, entering the building directly across from the guild shows the game credits.

Novels

Though any direct connection to the game series, setting and characters is slight at best, an officially-licensed Bard's Tale series of novels eight strong (!) were published by Baen Books over a six-year period in the '90s:1. Castle of Deception (1992), by Mercedes Lackey and Josepha Sherman; 2. Fortress of Frost and Fire (1993), by Mercedes Lackey and Ru Emerson; 3. The Chaos Gate (1994), by Josepha Sherman; 4. Prison of Souls (1994), by Mercedes Lackey and Mark Shepherd; 5. Thunder of the Captains (1996), by Holly Lisle and Aaron Allston; 6. Wrath of the Princes (1997), by Holly Lisle and Aaron Allston; 7. Escape from Roksamur (1997), by Mark Shepherd; and 8. Curse of the Black Heron (1998), by Holly Lisle.

References

  • Michael Cranford, a devout Christian, put many Biblical references into the first two Bard's Tale games. Most notable are a reference to the crucifixion in the first game and the Holy Spirit in the second. In fact, Cranford ended his video game career with the second game in the series and now programs web sites for religious groups.
  • One of the more powerful shields in the game, the Ybarra shield, is in fact named after Joe Ybarra, a producer at Electronics Arts, who was directly involved with The Bard's Tale.

Skara Brae

The original Skara Brae is a well-preserved Neolithic village located in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The four thousand year old settlement was buried by encroaching sand dunes and uncovered a century ago when a storm exposed parts of the structures. Today it is a well known tourist site and undoubtedly inspired Michael Cranford (Bard's Tale) and Richard Garriott (Ultima series).

NES version

In the NES version, the post-death screen was removed, the word "kill" was avoided and all alcoholic beverages were replaced with non-alcoholic ones.

Awards

  • Commodore Force
    • December 1993 (Issue 13) – #88 “Readers' Top 100”
  • Commodore Format
    • November 1994 (Issue 50) – #29 The All-Time Top 50 C64 Games
  • Computer Gaming World
    • March 1988 (Issue #45) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
    • November 1996 (15th Anniversary issue) - #89 on the "150 Best Games of All Time" list
  • GameSpy
    • 2001 – #17 Top Game of All Time
  • Happy Computer
    • 1986 - Best Role Playing Game of the Year
    • Issue 04/1987 - #2 Best Game in 1986 (Readers' Vote)
  • Power Play
    • 1987 - Best Atari ST Game '87

Information also contributed by Adam Baratz, Chip Arnett, Peter Ferrie, PCGamer77, Pseudo_Intellectual, Ray Soderlund, Vance.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Droog.

ZX Spectrum added by JRK. Amstrad CPC added by Kabushi. Macintosh, Apple IIgs, PC-98 added by Terok Nor. NES added by Unicorn Lynx. Amiga, Commodore 64, Atari ST added by Belboz.

Additional contributors: JubalHarshaw, MAT, Jeanne, Pseudo_Intellectual, General Error, LepricahnsGold, Trypticon, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack, Geoff May.

Game added February 2, 2000. Last modified January 19, 2024.