Betrayal at Krondor
Description official descriptions
Based on Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar saga (and co-written by Feist himself), Betrayal at Krondor is a medieval fantasy-themed role-playing game set in the Riftwar universe.
The story begins as Gorath, a moredhel (dark elf) renegade, who intended to warn the people of Krondor of the upcoming moredhel invasion, is attacked by an assassin. Locklear, a nobleman who serves the crown of Krondor, and a young magician named Owyn decide to accompany Gorath to Krondor, where they'll have to think of a plan to stop the moredhel leader Delekhan.
The game's story is divided into nine chapters. Each chapter has a goal to achieve before moving on to the next one, but the player is given considerable freedom to explore the vast world of the game and undertake side quests. Gorath, Locklear, and Owyn are the first party of characters the player controls; however, characters may leave and others may join the party later, as dictated by the events of the story.
Exploration in Betrayal at Krondor takes place in a 3D world viewed from first-person perspective. Towns, however, are presented as a series of still screens representing locations (temple, tavern, inn, etc.). Combat takes place on separate grid-based screens. The player moves the characters on these screens in a turn-based fashion, attacking physically, defending, and casting spells.
Only two character classes are present in the game: fighters and magicians. Fighters use swords or crossbows (for long-ranged attacks); magicians can fight with staves, or cast spells. Characters have four attributes: health, strength, speed, and stamina. The latter is depleted when a character uses weapons or casts magic. The role-playing system of the game relies on skills. Each character has a set of skills, ranging from weapon proficiencies to abilities such as bartering or stealth. Skills improve after continuous usage. The player can "emphasize" a skill in order to make it improve faster.
Spellings
- קרונדור - Hebrew spelling
- 叛變克朗多 - Chinese spelling (traditional)
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Credits (DOS version)
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 84% (based on 16 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 102 ratings with 12 reviews)
A very deep, very addicting RPG game. I wish there were more like this.
The Good
I loved this game. The characters and plot are very interesting, for one thing. The whole world that you are immersed in is very complex for a computer game. You really find yourself becoming interested in the fate of the characters. On to gameplay. The management of your resources is a challene in this game. Balancing your budget so that you have enough for bare essentials like food as well as less essential things like a better sword or suit of armor is a very nice touch to the gameplay. It's more realistic and it keeps your mind working when you are not fighting evil hordes. Another plus in the area of management is care of equipment. Once you buy that Dragon Armor, you need to hammer it back into shape after every battle or it won't be much use after a few encounters. Again, it increases the realism and keeps your head constantly busy. As well, you get the classic RPG element of characters talents which can be developed through experience (and through other ways which the smart gamer can find throughout the game). The graphics are very good, especially so for the time it was released, and the sound and music are both appropriate.
The Bad
There are two things I have to criticize. First and foremost, that the 3D first-person navigation is sometimes disorienting and is especially frustrating in puzzles that require you to find a certain item. It can really get you on the edge of your nerves. My second gripe is that searching the dead bodies of your enemies for equipment, while a very essential part of the game experience, can be tedious because you must click on EACH PARTICULAR BODY to see what the enemy has and sometimes the enemies' bodies hide each other.
The Bottom Line
An involving RPG adventure with a deep storyline.
DOS · by Steelysama (82) · 1999
The Good
I love how easily you are immersed into the world of Midkemia and the lives of the characters. Gorath and Owyn are still my favourite characters from Feist's novels, years after I first played the game.
The Bad
The ending. Something bad happens to one of the characters I was very fond of.
There is a major bug - if you cast Final Rest on a dead Nighthawk/Black Slayer while another character or enemy is standing upon the same tile the dead enemy is on, the unlucky soul is sucked away with the dead Nighthawk and the game becomes frozen.
The Bottom Line
I loved the game. The storybook elements, puzzles and riddles, and the characters themselves make the game well worthwhile.
DOS · by Jaymie Rogers (1) · 2013
Weak in graphics and combat-engine, but overall great.
The Good
I never read the books about Krondor, but the game itself is quite immersive with background music to set the atmosphere. It isn't a game that will suck you in, but you'll find yourself really trying hard to finish the game.
There are some nice differences with this game that set it apart from most RPGs. It had some really good ideas that were very well implemented, like improvements in skills. After a fight, you might need to hammer out your armor or sharpen your sword. Your ability to do so depends on your ability level, which occasionally goes up when working on it. Sharpening your weapon takes materials (which run out), as does hammering out your armor. It's a twist that adds some reality to the game. You also consume food (which can go bad or get poisoned).
I really liked the limited magic addition. It was very well balanced, and you didn't always have to cringe about fighting a mage (like you do in the Baldur's Gate series).
Personally, I liked the simpler combat-engine, but many people complained about it. I also like the multi-character use in the game. While you can't pick your partners, you can customize them a little bit, and they add some changes to the game (rather than just decking-out one character).
The Bad
The graphics were sub-par for the era. Backgrounds were trianglulated and straight lines were extremely jagged. Quake pixel-pushing freaks will laugh.
Many people didn't like the combat-engine, either. It was limited, and some may prefer that, but it really won't appeal to power-gamers. Power-gamers also won't like running all over creation trying to better their characters and take advantage of everything. You can spend days trying to do everything beneficial for your character before really carrying-on with the game.
The Bottom Line
A great RPG with some very well implemented things that just don't show up in any other games. Magic isn't so powerful it will cause you to save and re-load every five steps, but can be a real asset to your group. Beware trying to take advantage of everything in the game or of trying to find every nook and cranny. While the game isn't huge, it is big enough and sparse enough to make you really spend time.
DOS · by Cyric (50) · 2001
Discussion
Subject | By | Date |
---|---|---|
A flood of nostalgia | St. Martyne (3648) | Mar 1, 2010 |
CD and Floppy | Unicorn Lynx (181775) | Aug 10, 2009 |
GameTap | SharkD (425) | Sep 10, 2008 |
Translating BaK? | Ajan (262) | Jul 6, 2007 |
Trivia
Actors
The actors for the pseudo-video and motion capture don't look remotely like they're described by Raymond E. Feist, and some (such as Pug) are downright contradictory.
CD-ROM version
The CD-ROM enhanced version of the game includes additional goodies: * 5-minute interview with Feist * Windows-based hint system * Redbook audio soundtrack
Freeware release
Sierra has released the game for free as promotion for its two sequels. This offer only lasted for a limited time, though. The version which was obtainable through on the Sierra website was buggy and needed a patch to get it working correctly.
Novel
Raymond E. Feist, the author whose Riftwar books Betrayal at Krondor is based on, has actually written a book based on the game entitled Krondor: The Betrayal, the first part of a new series called The Riftwar Legacy. The book has the same basic plot as the game, but of course has been altered somewhat to fit the format as well as to be more consistent with Feist's Midkemia series as a whole.
Feist does display an interesting knowledge of the game, however. For example, the method by which the villain is ultimately defeated in the book is actually a valid tactic for winning the final battle.
Sales
When the Betrayal at Krondor first came out it did so miserably at sales that Sierra canceled all plans for a sequel. Later, Sierra rereleased the game on CD-Rom and the game suddenly became a huge hit. By that time, however, Raymond E. Feist already had a contract with a different publisher.
Awards
- Computer Gaming World
- June 1994 (Issue #119) – Role-Playing Game of the Year
- February 1996 (Issue #139) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
- November 1996 (155h anniversary issue) - #43 in the “150 Best Games of All Time” list
- GameStar (Germany)
- Issue 12/1999 - #76 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
- PC Gamer
- November 1999 - #44 Best Game of All Time
Information also contributed by Alan Chan, Adam Baratz Kalirion, PCGamer77, William Shawn McDonie and WizardX
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Related Sites +
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Alt-Tab: Betrayal at Krondor
Site dedicated to the game, includes various reviews of the game and some downloads. -
Betrayal At Krondor Help Web
All Things BAK. Also has a link to Sierra where you can download the game for free. -
Betrayal at Krondor - FAQs & Guides
Various Guides and FAQs posted on GameFaqs.com -
Mike's Betrayal at Krondor pages
Great resource site for Betrayal at Krondor. -
Official product page of Windows version distributor GOG
Official product page for the Windows version of Betrayal at Krondor - distributed by GOG.com.
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Trixter.
Windows added by Picard.
Additional contributors: Jeanne, Tony Austin, formercontrib, Crawly, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger.
Game added September 21, 1999. Last modified January 20, 2024.