Strategic Simulations, Inc., 1985
Apple II, Atari 8-bit, C64, Atari ST 以及 MS-DOS
Strategic Simulations, Inc., 1985
Apple II, Atari 8-bit, C64, Atari ST and MS-DOS
巫师神冠(Wizard's Crown)是我很喜欢的公司 SSI 制作的回合制战术 CRPG。背景故事很简单,一片被毁的土地,一个疯狂的巫师,还有他所持有的麦高芬(McGuffin)。玩家要组建一支八人冒险团,探索、收集、提升自己的技能、获取特殊装备,最终干掉邪恶的巫师并把神冠捧回家。
游戏里有五个职业:战士,盗贼,牧师,游侠,法师。角色的养成需要进行点数的分配,你可以自由分配角色的属性与技能。因此,你既可以创造一个精通剑盾的纯粹战士,也可以点出一个半游侠半牧师的角色来弥补团队的治疗。
角色不会升级,只会获得更多的技能点。技能点的分配会影响角色对于武器或能力熟练程度,如盾牌的格挡效果,物品的鉴定能力,还有法术咒语的威力等。
Wizard's Crown is a turn-based, tactical CRPG created by my favourite gaming company of all time, SSI. The backstory is simplistic, involving a ravaged land, crazed wizard evil guy, and a McGuffin held by said wizard. The player puts a team of eight heroes together, has them explore their surroundings, and eventually gathers enough skill and special equipment to kill the evil wizard and take his crown back home.
The game features five classes – Warrior, Thief, Priest, Ranger and Sorcerer, but character creation is done through a point-buy system, allowing you to customise a character's stats and skills. Thus, you can create a powerful pure warrior who excels as a sword and shield fighter, but the system also allows for multi-class characters, such as a lightly armoured Ranger/Priest with some points in healing in order to complement the party's dedicated Priest.
Characters never level up, but instead earn more skill points, which can be used to improve how well they use a particular sort of weapon, block with a shield, identify items, cast spells, etc.
整个游戏的地图并不大:只由一座犯罪猖獗的城市,北部土匪藏身的森林,以及城市南部遗迹的地下迷宫组成。
队伍所有的操作都以自上而下的视角,在一张带有网格的平面地图上进行。当队伍进入建筑或地牢时,他们会进入另一张地图。非战斗型技能是很重要的,因为你经常会发现上了锁的门和需要互动的秘密。
一旦队伍遭遇敌人,游戏会转入战斗地图,其中的墙壁家具都会对你的移动与攻击造成影响。
战斗系统确实是该游戏大放异彩的地方,在这款游戏中你能够看到后来鼎鼎大名的金盒子(Gold Box)系列的设计,这些设计被 SSI 运用在了 1988 年的《光芒之池(Pool of Radiance)》中。
战斗开始时你需要考虑每个英雄的位置,英雄对正面的攻击能够做出更好的防护,但从背后袭来的就会有些力不从心。
战斗开始后每个英雄都能做出大量的行为:原地蹲伏或 Z 字走位来躲避箭矢;放弃防御以进行全力一击;用一回合的时间来为弓蓄力;用斧子砍碎盾牌;面对敌人做好防御;隐匿踪迹等等。除了生命值以外还存在详细的伤害机制,被击倒的同伴会因长时间流血而死,除非其他角色来帮助他稳定伤势。还有,如果一场战斗的时间过长,你的 士气就将降低,战斗会愈发困难。
《巫师神冠》是迄今为止最重视战略的 RPG 游戏,战斗就像一场优雅严谨的舞蹈表演,前线的战士们守卫着后方的弓箭手与施法者,治疗师奔走在阵地之中为伤者缓解痛苦。
The entire game takes place in a very limited area, consisting only of a crime-ridden half of a city, bandit-filled woods north of the city, and the ruined remnants of the second half of the city to the south.
Overworld movement is done from a 2D top-down perspective through a map of grid squares, though the party can enter certain structures and shops. When the party enters a building or dungeon that requires exploration, it is brought into another map. Non-combat skills become important, as there are often locked doors and secrets to discover.
Similarly, when the party encounters enemies the game goes to a combat map, complete with walls and furniture that affect movement and line of fire.
Combat is really where this game shines. Here you can see the sort of design choices that would later come into play in the famous Gold Box series, which SSI began in 1988 with Pool of Radiance.
You start battles by positioning your heroes, and the direction a combatant faces is important, with better defensive values against frontal attacks, while attacks from behind are more devastating.
Once combat begins, there's an outstanding number of actions available. Characters can go prone or zig-zag to avoid arrows, sacrifice defence for a more reckless attack, spend an entire turn aiming their bow, break shields with axes, guard against approaching enemies, hide, etc. Besides hit points there's also a detailed injury system, and unconscious companions can die by bleeding out unless one of your characters stabilises them. Furthermore, if a battle takes too long, morale starts to drop, making it harder.
Wizard's Crown is by far the most tactical RPG of its time – battles are an elegant dance, with forward lines of soldiers protecting allied archers and spellcasters, while supporting healers running in between.