Strategic Simulations, Inc., 1985
Atari ST, Amiga, C64, Apple II 和 MS-DOS
Strategic Simulations, Inc., 1985
Atari ST, Amiga, C64, Apple II and MS-DOS
如果你去问 CRPG 的粉丝们不列颠之王(Lord British)是谁,他们会这样回答你—他是理查德・加里奥特(Richard Garriott)在《创世纪(Ultima)》系列中的化身。但再去问他们伍德领主(Lord Wood)是谁,他们的答案就没那么肯定了。
在 80 年代中期,SSI 推出了一个三部曲游戏系列:《幽灵战士(Phantasie, 1985)》,《幽灵战士 2(Phantasie II, 1986)》和《幽灵战士 3:尼卡德摩斯的怒火(Phantasie III: The Wrath of Nikademus, 1987)》,它们均由温斯顿・道格拉斯・伍德(Winston Douglas Wood)开发。在游戏中,他化身为伍德领主,正义一方的崇高领导者,也是邪恶的尼卡德摩斯(Nikademus)的死对头。
《幽灵战士》在它的初代包装上宣称此游戏为“角色扮演之奥德赛”,而这也是对它最为贴切的描述——正如奥德修斯(Odysseus)在古希腊游历时一般,《幽灵战士》系列也从希腊神话中汲取了大量灵感:术士尼卡德摩斯企图在他的守护神,即黑暗之神冥王(Pluto)的帮助下征服世界,而宙斯(Zeus)自然不会坐视不理。于是就像古老的神话里讲述的那样,他拣选了凡人们——一群冒险家来帮助他完成任务。与此同时,宙斯还召集了伍德领主和一位名叫圣者菲蒙(Filmon the Saint)的法师,在这三款游戏中为玩家提供指导和帮助。
Ask CRPG fans who Lord British is and chances are they'll know – he's Richard Garriott's alter ego in the Ultima series. Ask them who Lord Wood is, and the answer is less certain.
In the mid-80s, SSI released a three-game series, Phantasie (1985), Phantasie II (1986) and Phantasie III: The Wrath of Nikademus (1987), all created by Winston Douglas Wood. In the games, he's known as Lord Wood, the noble leader of the forces of good and the adversary of the evil Nikademus.
Phantasie's original box touts the game as a “roleplaying odyssey”, and this is a truly fitting description. For just as Odysseus wandered throughout ancient Greece on his journeys, the Phantasie series draws much of its inspiration from Greek mythology. The sorceror, Nikademus, is bent on conquering the world with the help of his patron, the dark god Pluto. Zeus cannot allow this to go unanswered and, like the myths of old, he finds mortals – a party of adventurers – to help his cause. The god also enlists the aid of Lord Wood and a wizard, Filmon the Sage, to guide and assist players throughout all three games.
在整部游戏中,你的旅途将会是丰富而充满变数的,玩家不仅可以在中世纪奇幻风的大陆上冒险,还能前往不同的存在位面。实际上,跨位面旅行也是该系列中振奋人心的重头戏,玩家将前往星界、光明界、幽影界和冥界中的多层位面。这些位面不仅仅是可供探索的地下城,而是由城镇和各种地点构成的小型世界。玩家不仅能听到神明的旨意,还能在奥林匹斯山上与宙斯会面,或是在冥王那大到超出凡人理解力的“最小的城堡”中见到他的本尊。
该系列最出色的特点之一是为玩家的队伍提供了众多可选种族(共有 15 类)。玩家的角色不仅可以是人类、精灵、矮人或侏儒,也可以是任意一个受《龙与地下城(D&D)》启发而来的种族,如豺狼人、兽人、哥布林、牛头人、蜥蜴人和精灵。每个种族在战斗画面中都有自己的图形表现——这在当时是十分先进的。该系列还允许玩家将自己的角色资料转入续作继承。
游戏的流程是后来在家用机游戏和 JRPG 中司空见惯的模式:玩家一行人从一个城镇到下一个城镇,攻略沿途的地下城,并于此过程中获取更多的经验值和更好的装备。尽管游戏中的地下城是以一种简陋的“迷你地图”式的画面呈现的,但出色的文字描述却将其表现得栩栩如生。
游戏的故事主要是通过散布在城镇和地下城里的卷轴讲述的,这些卷轴很好地向玩家介绍了塑造了《幽灵战士》世界的人物、地点与事件。除此之外,玩家还能在地下城里遇到许多谜题与人物,比如菲蒙和伍德领主(Filmon and Lord Wood)。
Throughout the games, your journeys are many and varied. Not only do players venture across medieval-fantasy lands, but they also visit different planes of existence. In fact, interdimensional travel is a crucial and exhilarating aspect of the series. Players travel to the Astral Plane, the Planes of Light and Darkness, and multiple layers of the Netherworld. These aren't just dungeons to explore, but rather small overworlds, complete with towns and locations. Not only do players hear about the gods, but they also meet them, Zeus at Mt. Olympus and Pluto in his “smallest castle”, which is so vast it defies mortal comprehension.
One of the most unique aspects of the series is the wide range of playable races available for players' parties (15 in total). Not only can characters be humans, elves, dwarves or gnomes, but they also can be any number of D&D-inspired races, such as gnolls, orcs, goblins, minotaurs, Lizardmen and sprites. Each race has its own graphical representation on the combat screen, which was quite advanced for the time. It's also possible to transfer characters from game to game in the series.
The flow of the games follows a pattern that has become quite familiar in console games and JRPGs. Players' parties advance from town to town in the overworld, explore dungeons encountered along the way and gain more experience and better equipment in the process. The dungeons are displayed in a basic, mini-map-style view, but are embellished with text descriptions to bring them to life.
The story is mainly told through scrolls found scattered across towns and dungeons. These scrolls do an excellent job of introducing players to the people, places and events that shape the world of Phantasie. Players also encounter many puzzles and personalities in the dungeons, such as Filmon and Lord Wood.