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

**"They Disbelieved My Wind Dragon. They Possessed My Greater Demon. Now It's Up the The Bard and His Magic Fire Horn..."

6 gallant heroes cornered.**

First you explored the city. Then the cellars and sewers below. Now you're trapped in Harkyn's Castle. 7 levels conquered and still 9 to go.

Challenge your magic skills.

Command 4 different classes of Magic User: Conjurer, Magician, Sorcerer and Wizard, each with unique spells. And the Bard who makes magic with his music. 85 spells in all. But choose well - the wrong spell and you're history.

Bigger. Better. Just as good.

Written in 100% assembly language, over 400K worth. So it's fast. It's big. And there's computing power left over for 3-D scrolling, full-color mazes and animated color monsters.

Excellent game design. Each level is demanding - and different. There are more monsters, mazes, "specials", logic puzzles, & magic items than you've ever seen in a game like this before.

So it's "just as good" as you hoped a Dungeon Fantasy game could be.

  • 3-D scrolling city map features Taverns & Temples, Towers & Guardian Statues.

  • 85 Magic Spells, like Revelation, Animate Dead, Summoning & Sorceror Sight.

  • There are sixteen different 3-dimensional full color mazes like Harkyn's Castle.

Source:

From back of sleeve

(No I.D. required for half-elves.)

When the Going Gets Tough, the Bard Goes Drinking.

And the going is tough in Skara Brae town. The evil wizard Mangar has cast an eternal winter spell. Monsters control the streets and dungeons beneath. Good citizens fear for their lives. What's worse, there's only one tavern left that serves wine.

But the Bard knows no fear. With his trusty harp and a few rowdy minstrel songs he claims are magic, the Bard is ready to boogie. All he needs is a band of loyal followers: a light-fingered rogue to find secret doors, a couple of fighters to bash heads, a conjurer to create weird allies, a magician for magic armor.

Then it's off to combat, as soon as the Bard finishes one more verse.

Now what's a word that rhymes with "dead ogre?"

  • 4 classes of magic user, including wizard and sorceror. 85 new magic spells in all.

  • 128 color monsters, many animated. All challenging.

  • Full-color scrolling dungeons. 16 levels, each better than the one before. 3-D city, too.

Source:

Advertisement in Family Computing, January 1986

The Legend of Skara Brae

Long ago, when magic still prevailed, the evil wizard Mangar the Dark threatened a small but harmonious country town called Skara Brae. Evil creatures oozed into Skara Brae and joined his shadow domain. Mangar froze the surrounding lands with a spell of Eternal Winter, totally isolating Skara Brae from any possible help. Then, one night the town militiamen all disappeared.

The future of Skara Brae hung in the balance. And who was left to resist? Only a handful of unproven young Warriors, junior Magic Users, a couple of Bards barely old enough to drink, and some out of work Rogues.

You are there. You are the leader of this ragtag group of freedom fighters. Luckily you have a Bard with you to sing your glories, if you survive. For this is the stuff of legends. And so the story begins...

Michael Cranford of Interplay Productions has an elegant programmer's touch. You can't see it in this picture of him, but you can see it in The Bard's Tale. He previously programmed the Apple version of Donkey Kong and the Commodore 64 version of Super Zaxxon.

Source:

From the inside two-fold

Where monsters finally face the music!

You'd expect a great role-playing game to have plenty of monsters and creatures for you to conquer. You'd expect the band of six hardy adventurers you create to have magical powers and weapons to wield in battle. But only The Bard's Tale brings you the unexpected - the awesome weapon of magical music! Though each of your team has unique skills, the Bard's songs have devastating effects on your fearsome foes. Dragons, spiders, trolls and orcs face the music each time they encounter your freedom fighters. Hone your skills in magic and combat as you search for gold through the incredible maze of the city's 16 levels of dungeons and catacombs. Destroy the monsters with magic and music. Let The Bard's Tale begin!

* Step into the action with 3D perspective

* Based on the best-selling PC game

* FREE World Championship Wrestling T-Shirt with the purchase of two FCI games.

From the leader in real role playing games.

FCI

Not Just Kid Stuff**

Source:

U.S. print ad (NES)

"SIE HABEN MEINEM WINDDRACHEN MIßTRAUT...UND MEINEN GROßEN DÄMONEN IN FESSELN GELEGT... JETZT IST ES SACHE DES BARDEN UND SELNES MAGLSCHEN FEUERHORNS..." Zuerst hast Du die Stadt erkundet, dann die Keller und die Abwasserkanäle. Jetzt sitzt Du in Harkyns Burg fest. 7 Ebenen hast Du hinter Dir und 9 gilt es noch zu überwinden! Als Künstler, Magier Hexer oder Zauberer hast Du 85 Sprüche zur Auswahl, doch laß Dich warnen: Ein Mißgriff und Du bist dem Untergang geweiht. Ein magisches Abenteuer, das buchstäblich das Letzte aus dem Computer herausholt: schnell, komplex, 3-D Scrolling, komplette Farbpalette, fantastischer Sound und animierte bunte Monster. Bestechendes Spieldesign: jede Stufe eine Herausforderung, jede einmalig. Es wimmelt nur so von Dämonen, Labyrinthen, Spezialeffekten, logischen Rätseln und magischen Objekten - Sie werden aus dem Staunen nicht herauskommen!

Source:

Back of Plastic Case - Atari ST (GER)

"THEY DISBELIEVED MY WIND DRAGON...THEY POSSESSED MY GREATER DEMON...NOW IT'S UP TO THE BARD AND HIS MAGIC FIRE HORN". First you explored the city. Then the cellars and below, Now you're trapped in Harkyn's Castle. 7 levels conquered and still 9 to go. Command 4 different classes of Magic User: Conjurer, Magician, Sorceror and Wizard, each with unique spells. And the Bard who makes magic with his music. 85 spells in all. But choose well - the wrong spell and you're history. Pushes the power of your computer to its limits. So it's fast. It's big. And there's plenty of power for 3-D scrolling, full colour mazes, amazing sound effects and animated colour monsters. Excellent game design. Each level is demanding - and different. There are more monsters, mazes, 'specials', logic puzzles, & magic items than you've ever seen in a game like this before.

Source:

Back of Plastic Case - ST/Spectrum (UK)


Contributed by jean-louis, Belboz, lugnut.


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