Brøderbund Software, 1989
MS-DOS 和 Apple II
Brøderbund Software, 1989
MS-DOS and Apple II
巫域之心(The Dark Heart of Uukrul)是我有史以来最喜欢的 RPG。我应该为它的默默无闻和被忽视而感到愤怒,但是我意识到这个游戏确实只迎合了一部分特定类型的 RPG 粉丝。
《巫域之心》的成就在于其每个组成部分所固有的非正统的想法——它具有该类型游戏历史上一些最好的地牢、谜题和角色发展设计,而且还将它们结合成一个高度令人难忘的整体。
The Dark Heart of Uukrul is my favourite RPG of all time. I should be angry that it is so obscure and overlooked, but I realise this game caters only to a very specific kind of RPG fan.
Uukrul's achievement lies in the unorthodox ideas inherent in each of its components – it features some of the best dungeon, puzzle and character development design in the history of the genre, but also combines them into a highly memorable whole.
《巫域之心》强调团队合作的方式是其他 RPG 所没有的,它要求你的每个角色在战斗和解谜时都有投入。但是,这要以固定团队的组成为代价——你的队伍不可避免地由一名战士、一名圣骑士、一名魔法师和一名牧师组成。
虽然前两个职业是相当传统的,但魔法系统是《巫域之心》再次闪耀的地方。牧师和魔法师不仅在等级上,而且在他们所装备的戒指的数量和质量上也有所提高,每个戒指都献给了一个特定的神灵或魔法奥义。获得新的戒指是一种独立的角色发展形式,独特之处在于《巫域之心》将其与探索过程以及地下城的传说紧密联系在一起。破译牧师的祈祷文也是一项令人兴奋的任务——这个谜题既要依靠研究手册,又要依靠游戏中的实验。
然而,让我完全和不可逆转地爱上了这个游戏的是它的地下城。魔方,被设计为“真的”3D,使得整体布局是无缝而且有意义的;奇怪的战场迷宫与一个旋转陷阱,它们到现在仍然困扰着我;宫殿,一个“元”的角色扮演区域,通过掷骰子强调机会的概念;当然,还有混沌,有史以来为 RPG 创造的最非正统和巧妙的关卡——没有遭遇战,基于幻觉,但有逻辑和高潮,仅此就值得完整玩一遍这个游戏。
当谈到地下城的设计时,我想不出任何其他的地牢探险游戏可以超过《巫域之心》;《巫术 4(Wizardry IV)》和《混沌逆袭(Chaos Strikes Back)》可能是唯一接近的作品了。
由于发行时间太晚而显得有点陈旧的图形和声音限制,实在有点可惜。不过后来《巫域之心》被重新发掘了出来,现在正享受着小众崇拜的经典地位。
Uukrul emphasises teamwork in a way that few other RPGs do, requiring each of your characters' input for combat and puzzle-solving alike. That, however, comes at the cost of making the party composition fixed – your group inevitably consists of a Fighter, a Paladin, a Magician and a Priest.
While the first two classes are fairly traditional, the magic system is where Uukrul shines again. Both the Priest and the Magician gain not only in levels, but also in the number and quality of rings they have equipped, each dedicated to a specific deity or magic arcana. Obtaining new rings is a separate form of character progression, unique in how tightly DHoU ties it to the exploration process as well as to the dungeon lore. Deciphering the Priest's prayers is also an exciting task – a puzzle that relies as much on studying the manual as it does on in-game experimentation.
What made me completely and irreversibly fall in love with the game, however, are its dungeons. The Cube, designed in “true” 3D so that the overall layout is seamless and makes sense; the oddness of the Battlefield maze with a spinner trap that haunts me still; the Palace, a “meta” role-playing area emphasising the concept of chance via the roll of a die; and, of course, the Chaos, the most unorthodox and ingenious level ever created for an RPG – encounterfree and illusion-based, yet logical and climactic, alone worth a full playthrough of the game.
I can't think of any other dungeon crawler that can top Uukrul when it comes to dungeon design; Wizardry IV and Chaos Strikes Back are probably the only ones that come close.
Released just a bit too late to become popular, with dated graphics and sound limitations, The Dark Heart of Uukrul has since been rediscovered and is now enjoying a niche cult classic status.