Heroes of the Lance

aka: Dragon Lance: Heroes of the Lance, Heroes of the Lance: A Dragonlance Action Game
Moby ID: 3601
box cover
Released
1988 on Atari ST
Credits
14 people
Releases by Date (by platform)
Publishers
Developers
Moby Score
5.9
#24,127 of 27K
Critics
62% (33)
Players
(83)
Review Ranking
Collected By
84 players
Genre
Action
Perspective
Side view
Visual
2D scrolling
Interface
Direct control
Setting
Fantasy
Misc
Licensed
Atari ST Specs
Business Model
Commercial
Media Type
Single-sided Disk
Input Devices Supported/Optional
Keyboard
Number of Players Supported
1 Player
[ view all 49 specs ]
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Buy on DOS
$37.50 used, $169.99 new on eBay
Buy on NES
$107.22 used on eBay
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Included in

Description official descriptions

Based on the later parts of the Dragonlance book Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the heroes descend into a ruined city in search of the disks of Mishakal.

The gameplay consists of horizontal fighting with a maze like map using doors to change the view. The party consists of the 8 Heroes of the Lance, using one at a time and the player can switch between them at any time. Each character has different types of attacks and spells making them more suited to fighting different enemies as well as acting as lives.

One of the AD&D games that takes a break from the usual RPG style.

Series +

Silver Box series

Spellings

  • ヒーロー・オブ・ランス - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Atari ST version)

14 People

Game design and program creation
Product Manager
Design Co-ordination
Game developed by
  • U.S. Gold Ltd and Strategic Simulations Inc.
Cover Illustration

Collaborations

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 62% (based on 33 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.7 out of 5 (based on 83 ratings with 3 reviews)

Putrid game on all levels

The Good
Perhaps the only feature to appreciate about AD&D: Heroes of the Lance is that you have 8 characters that you can easily alternate between. This is essential because it is so hard to control characters in the first place and they have the worst time staying alive.

The Bad
There is very little to like about this game. This is the type of game that uses the same maddeningly repetitive graphics to illustrate each and every level so that it is absolutely impossible to differentiate one hallway from another. You are supposed to be working your way through a big maze. But I think it was one of those mazes where if you take door A -> door B, door B does not necessarily lead back to door A. Forget about trying to map this place.

The Bottom Line
There is not much to describe-- all I can advise is "Save Yourself!" because it is too late for me. This was the first of 4 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games for the NES and it made me want to stay away from anything with the AD&D label on it.

NES · by Multimedia Mike (20668) · 2005

Hand to hand combat with a dragon? Uh...it's your funeral

The Good
Another surprise approach, in bringing a side-scroll action game for the heroes of krynn. Unlike other similiar games, in this game you can change your characters anytime you want. It's basically a seven in one character game. For instance if there's a barrier between you and your enemy, where you can't reach him in melee combat. Switch to your other characters that have ranged attacks, like Riverwind the Ranger or his brother Raistlin the Magi, after wasting the poor chap, change again to other character, etc.

Well, it's a kinda well balanced game since different characters have different traits, so there is some level of strategy in defeating the enemy.

Oh, did I mention there are baby dragons? They fight like hell, imagine fighting their parents...

The Bad
What you can't save the game? What do you mean you can't save the game? This was probably the main reason I stopped playing this game (that and the building sized dragon you just can't seem to defeat...sigh). There is no save menu in this game, like most games in that period of time, so when you meet mister nice dragon and turn to ash, you have start all over again... And that was probably only level one....sigh.

The Bottom Line
Dragons...dragons...everywhere dragons...yikes.

DOS · by Indra was here (20724) · 2004

Just, don't

The Good
Got it during a GOG sale. For a 1988 game, the graphics of the heroes are nicely done. You can easily beat it in under 15 minutes if you know the right exits to take.

You can cheese the combat by using the spells Charm, Hold Person and Web, all of which have the same effect of paralyzing enemies. Although you can't regenerate any of the magic you spend, you have more than enough charges to mess around for the whole game.

Unlike another reviewer said, you CAN save anywhere in this game, except during the final boss room.

The Bad
Just about everything else is bad. The game speed is atrociously slow, even emulating with DOSBox, increasing the frame cycle or adding skip-frames to the .conf doesn't speed up anything. Trying to use Cheat Engine also results in no difference.

Although the graphics of the characters are good for the time, the environments all look the same black with dashes of grey.

The only music in the game is in the opening intro. After that, the only sounds are of enemy footsteps, being hit, death explosion and magic casting.

The control is very slow to register and the scheme makes no sense, even for those old DOS games. To run, you hold UP + the direction. To jump, while running, you press ENTER. You have to hold ENTER and press a direction key to attack when an enemy is near. You can't just run past enemies either, because you get damaged by touching them, which also hitstuns you for half a second. If you're surrounded, you're SOL

Combat is awful, with some enemies only being able to be hit with low strikes, but if they get too close, your attacks simply won't hit. Other enemies, notably the dragons, will attack you just outside your melee range and, when you approach, you get hitstunned while they step back and breath at you again. Trying to jump over enemies will just get you hit several times, possibly killing the character.

All the treasure items you find, like gems and gold, are only useful for scoring points. Potions are labeled by color instead of effect (blue potion, green potion, yellow potion). Two rings you find apparently increase your AC, making you harder to hit. Hard to tell if that's indeed the case.

The Bottom Line
Avoid, unless you enjoy playing terrible games. If you do insist, keep Raistlin alive until you jump over a very large gap and Goldmoon 'til the end.

DOS · by Robonauta · 2025

Discussion

Subject By Date
Any logical reason to keep the RPG genre here? Alaka (112401) Oct 28, 2012

Trivia

Cover art

The game box's cover features a painting by artist Jeff Easley, also used as the front cover to Richard A. Knaak's 1988 Dragonlance novel The Legend of Huma.

Title screen

The title screen is an adaptation of a painting by Clyde Caldwell, earlier the cover to Tracy Hickman's 1984 RPG module Dragons of Despair.

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • December 1989 (Issue 5) - Best RPG (Forecasting the 1990 Award Winners) (tied with Phantasy Star II)

Analytics

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Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 3601
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Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Fafnir.

ZX Spectrum added by JRK. Sharp X1 added by Infernos. Amiga added by p-kun. Commodore 64 added by Rebound Boy. SEGA Master System added by Sciere. Amstrad CPC, MSX added by Martin Smith. PC-88, FM Towns, PC-98 added by Terok Nor. NES added by Unicorn Lynx. Atari ST added by Belboz.

Additional contributors: Indra was here, Shoddyan, Alaka, Pseudo_Intellectual, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto, ZeTomes.

Game added April 4, 2001. Last modified July 10, 2025.