Andrew Fisher (697) on 4/27/2023 8:19 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

Have long intended to try this game, what dungeon crawlers were around before mid-'79 to when this came out for TRS-80 and CBM/PET? Beneath Apple Manor? I'm sure there were others, but Apshai led to a lot of ports and follow up games. So the TRS 80/PET games are really crude, but they tried to flesh it out in the manual by having a written description of each of the two hundred or so rooms across the four temple floors. I don't think the writing is great, but appreciate the idea and wouldn't mind trying other games that are part book, part computer game. Even though the game is very slow, the 1983 C64 port moves at about the same pace as the TRS-80, it's not so bad it you treat it like a chess game, you and the monsters take turns moving and you have time to decide your next move. If you try to play it like an arcade game it'd suck.

I think it gets a bit boring after the first floor, with all the first floor treasure you should be able to buy the best equipment back at the inn after which gaining treasure seems pointless though there are still magic arms, talismans and books to find to make you stronger, otherwise gaining experience points makes you stronger (I think so anyway, your visible stats don't change), I don't think you can go straight to level 4 once you've bought the best sword and armour, I think the game is designed so you work your way through the floors in order. It's also designed to go on forever, there's no ending, you can amass wealth and experience to your satisfaction. I think the C64 game is fun to replay even with no ending to look forward to, but I reckon collecting all the fourth floor treasures is a good enough goal. The C64 game doesn't have music, rather it has atmospheric sound effects which I enjoyed, especially the pulsing battle theme. Also I'm pleased to say the look and sound remind me of the 1985 DOS game ICON: Quest for the Ring, a favourite of mine.

https://www.mobygames.com/game/178/icon-quest-for-the-ring/user-review/2458471/

P.S. Has anyone wondered where the magic swords and armour are? You can give yourself these when you create your own character, but if you're starting with nothing and upgrading weapons and armour as you go, the Innkeeper doesn't sell magic arms, so you'd expect to find them somewhere in the dungeons. The manual lists the treasures on each floor, so you can see there are "mithril swords" on floors one, two and four, but if they are magical and how much so, seems to be random and you have to get back to the inn to see if your previous sword is replaced with "Magic Sword" also showing a "plus" i.e. a damage bonus from 1 to 9, though I've read that you can get cursed magic swords that have a negative bonus. In C64, the game tells you if the sword is magical when you pick it up, magic swords start glowing and a little 'S' appears nearby, you have to get it back to the inn to find out the plus. I've tried, but can't find magic armour or something to enchant your armour anywhere in the dungeons and nobody online seems able to either.