Retro Gaming

Retro Gaming is my classic game playthrough series in which I attempt to go through my growing GOG.com library to see how these older games hold up. Note that they aren’t all complete playthroughs, as I allow myself the freedom to kill a series if the game is too frustrating or boring.

Anticipating the drop of Diablo IV later this year, I took a step back to 2012 for another romp through Runic’s classic ARPG Torchlight II.

Part 1:

Voters encouraged me to revisit an old PlayStation favorite — 1999’s Chrono Cross. Will this Chrono Trigger sequel stand the test of time?

I finally came back to the Monkey Island series with 1997’s Curse of Monkey Island, which provided me with a lot more laughs and goofy exploits for Guybrush Threepwood.

It’s never to late to catch up on a missed classic, right? I finally got to go through 1987’s Maniac Mansion for the first time. It was… a weird game. Weird, but good.

I’d heard so many incredible things about 1991’s Eye of the Beholder 2 that my expectations overshot what this dungeon crawler actually delivered. Still, it was a fun experiment!

For a month or so I indulged in a play-by-play exploration of a Rimworld (2016) session, from its hopeful beginnings to its tragic conclusion:

You know it had to happen sooner or later: I had to go through the LucasArts classic Sam & Max Hit the Road. This 1993 adventure game was wordy and witty in all the right ways.

2003’s Knights of the Old Republic is frequently cited as one of the best Star Wars video games ever made. Even though I’ve played this through several times before, I thought it would make for interesting reading as a series:

Finally, I got around to wrapping up a classic Sierra series with 1995’s Space Quest 6: The Spinal Frontier. It wasn’t quite as bad as I had heard, but it wasn’t a satisfying conclusion to the franchise, either.

Roger Wilco and I made acquaintances once again with 1993’s Space Quest V: The Next Mutation. It ended up being a surprisingly fun and funny romp through a Star Trek-inspired plot.

2002’s Dungeon Siege tried to streamline and automate the ARPG gameplay loop, for better and for worse. I’ve never been able to beat it before growing too bored with it… and that didn’t happen this time either.

My favorite single-player RPG of all time? That has to be 1995’s Chrono Trigger. The release of the Steam version gave me the opportunity to blog through as complete of a playthrough as I’ve ever done for this title.

1996’s Toonstruck was a multi-million dollar flop that’s gained a cult following, partially due to its incredible star talent (Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, and Dan Castellaneta, to name a few), meta jokes, great music, and slick animation.

I ventured into Fallout New Vegas for the very first time after hearing for years what an incredible game it is. Check out my lengthy adventures in the desert as I shoot, gamble, and lockpick my way to victory with this cult favorite 2010 Obsidian RPG.

1992’s The Dagger of Amon Ra took Lara Bow through the longest night of her life as she explored a museum, solved many murders, died several times, and kept walking in on people getting intimate:

Going back to Troika Games’ cult classic 2004 Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines was a great trip down memory lane as I looked at this unique and fairly immersive vampire roleplaying title.

guy2

Next up on the Monkey Island tour is 1991’s LeChuck’s Revenge, a superb follow-up to the first game with tons of humor, great voice acting, and a whole heck of a lot of weird moments.

Part 1: The Largo Embargo
Part 2: The practicalities of revenge-oriented voodoo
Part 3: Jailbreak!
Part 4: Spittake
Past 5: What a Big Whoop!

I embarked on a quest to play through the classic Monkey Island games, starting with 1990’s The Secret of Monkey Island. Many groan-worthy puns and slapstick silliness was to be had!

Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (1993) brought me back into this RPG/adventure hybrid series as I traveled to the horror-themed land of Maldavia and met Jennifer Hale in her very first video game acting job.

Part 1: Down the throat of H.R. Giger
Part 2: Slumming it in Mordavia
Part 3: Edgy adventurers hang out in cemeteries
Part 4: Werewolves love hunchbacks
Part 5: Jaunty hats on grinning skulls
Final thoughts

Grim Fandango is a 1998 adventure game from Tim Schafer and LucasArts. It follows the bizarre journey of Manny, a skeleton in the afterlife, as he tries to save the spitfire Meche.

One of the scariest games I ever played as a kid, 1992’s Alone in the Dark isn’t really freaking me out any more with it’s AMAZING POLYGONS — yet it still is downright creepy with its setting and sound effects. Lovecraft and pirates? Why not!

In April 2017, I attempted to complete a project of playing all of the way through Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords for the first time. It’s somewhat of a cult classic and the overlooked entry in the Old Republic series.

One Shots: On occasion I “sample” retro games with one or two sessions to get its flavor and perhaps re-experience an old favorite.

duke

“Hail to the king, baby!” It’s time to return to an old favorite shooter of mine to see how the bizarre, funny, and definitively non-PC Duke Nukem 3D has aged over the years.

starc

For this retro playthrough, I launch out into the void of space to pull together an alien alliance and stop a bunch of jerks from ruling the galaxy. Star Control 2 is a huge cult classic — and one I’ve never played until now. Spoiler: It was kind of weird and awesome.

quest

As we continue the series, Quest for Glory III takes us from Arabia to Africa, as I encounter liontaurs, leopardmen, and Sanford and Son. Sure, why not?

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ Epilogue

In Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire, I return to the intriguing adventure/RPG hybrid series that doesn’t seem to be as widely known as some of Sierra’s other series. In this installment, the hero goes to ArabiaLand(tm) in the distant year of 1990.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ 11 ■ 12 ■ 13 ■ 14 ■ 15

kq5

King’s Quest V took us into the era of VGA and point-and-click adventuring, two very welcome changes to the series. It also introduced Cedric the annoying talking owl, which wasn’t as welcome. “It’s a POIIIIsonous snake!”

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8

kq4

King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella put me in the shoes of a woman for the first time in this series. With that, a 24-hour clock, and an expanded fairy tale world, hopefully this will prove to be a better experience than its predecessor.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10

hq3

I returned to this classic adventure series with a look at the third entry, in which I had to escape a wizard while being slave to a fiddly timer.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5

1998’s Thief might have a reputation of being a brilliant stealth title — but for a guy who hates stealth mechanics, will it be the most annoying game ever? Fans voted to have me play it, so read on and see how this blogger became a master thief.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2

mom

Master of Magic was a 1994 “4X” strategy game that put you in the role of a wizard attempting to grow and conquer a fantasy world. I mostly used my time creating parties of war bears and naming cities after Twitter followers.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9

pool

Take the first SSI “Gold Box” D&D game from 1988, put it with modern sensibilities, and what do you get? A weird and strangely wonderful tour through Pool of Radiance. Well, the slums at least.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6

star1

Interplay’s 1993 adventure game sequel, Star Trek: Judgment Rites, improved on its successor in just about every way possible. Behold as Kirk and crew are put through the weirdest series of tests imaginable!

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8

star2

With a terrific game design, story, and the reprise of the full original cast of actors, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary is the closest thing we ever got to a 4th season of TOS.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8

planetfall

Planetfall features the original space janitor in a classic 1983 text adventure from Infocom. There’s way too much eating and drinking in it for my like.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4

xwing

1993’s X-Wing was a great start to an awesome series of space dogfight simulators, but this playthrough was hampered by the lack of a good joystick. Don’t play without one, kids!

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4

fallout2

The post-apocalypse was never more fun than in 1998’s Fallout 2. It’s a truly massive game that I only started to cover in 16 installments!

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ 11 ■ 12 ■ 13 ■ 14 ■ 15 ■ 16

temple

This was a pretty sad and aborted attempt to play through the 2003 Temple of Elemental Evil. It was also the last retro gaming series before a four-month break.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4

A true adventure game classic, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was one of my all-time favorites and remains so even to this day. Not bad for 1992, eh?

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ 11 ■ 12 ■ 13

starflight

1986’s Starflight might have been a wildly ambitious open universe Star Trek clone at the time, but it proved to be a somewhat boring slog.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4

quest

1989’s Quest for Glory (of which I played the VGA remake) was a brilliant hybrid of RPG, parody, and adventure gaming. The mix actually worked fairly well and made for an exciting run through fantasy tropes. Could’ve done without the cape, though.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ 11

sanit

This 1998 adventure game should’ve been awesome, with trips between an insane asylum and weird horror worlds, but it was severely hamstrung by the worst voice acting ever and clunky controls.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4

ss2

This acclaimed title was a personal bogeyman of mine, having scared me off back in 1999. I returned to find a truly terrific game that was more scary and inventive at the start than later on.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ 11 ■ 12 ■ 13 ■ 14 ■ 15 ■ 16 ■ 17 ■ 18 ■ 19

space4

The 1991 time-traveling installment of this series was one that I was really excited to play, yet ultimately was less compelling than those that came before. Still, the jokes were funny and the visions of Space Quests-that-never-were fascinated.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8

space3

1989’s Space Quest III was a major step up for the series and was tons of fun to play through. Plus, it had Astro Chicken!

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7

space2

A quickie cash-in sequel that trod over the same story beats as its predecessor, Space Quest II was somewhat decent in the end. Although if you mention that plant monster to me I will scream in your face.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6

space1

A true Sierra classic, 1986’s Space Quest combined fiendish puzzles, dead ends, and sci-fi parodies to great effect. And it’s still kind of fun to play today!

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5

gabe

Probably the strangest adventure game ever made and perhaps one of the best. Gabriel Knight 2 combined bad FMV and greenscreens with werewolves and an extended history lesson concerning King Ludwig II. I miss Tim Curry.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ 11 ■ 12 ■ 13 ■ 14 ■ 15 ■ 16 ■ 17 ■ 18 ■ 19 ■ 20 ■ 21 ■ 22 ■ 23

For my first Ultima game ever, I went with what was reported to be the best. Ultima VII was a truly immersive game in many respects, although I felt a bit lost and aimless through it.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ 11 ■ 12 ■ 13 ■ 14 ■ 15 ■ 16 ■ 17 ■ 18

wing

1990’s Wing Commander might have been hot stuff back then, but it’s sadly lacking today with a barebones story.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7

fallout

I got myself out of my normal Fallout routine by making the dumbest (yet strongest) character possible for this playthrough. Well, at least he got through the first part of the quest!

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9

king2

A return to one of the first adventure games I ever played, King’s Quest II is a cheeky if recycled return of King Graham and his fairy tale adventures. I do not forgive the designers for that bridge, however.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7

king1

How does one of the first graphical adventure games hold up in a modern view? Actually, not too bad if you like the retro charm of it all! At least I was able to beat it, something I could never do as a kid.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5

wasteland

What a disappointment. This was a seminal RPG of my teenage years, and I was totally let down when I returned to it and found annoying systems and menus instead of a fun romp across the post-apocalypse.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7

heroes

Board game? Strategy game? Empire builder? Heroes of Might and Magic III is all of that and more. It’s also one of the largest games ever with all of the expansions and add-ons!

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8

beyond

I don’t get it. This was one of those critically acclaimed “must play” titles, and yet I was bored out of my mind with a rather tepid platformer-slash-adventure game and its predictable story.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9

arcanum

Arcanum is one of those games that the idea of it is far more attractive to me than actually playing it. I tried, oh how I did try, but this magic/technology mishmash was a little too dark and dreary for me in the end.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10

orion

I think we all had fun with this playthrough, as I worked in a lot of fellow bloggers into the mix and tried — unsuccessfully — to wage war on multiple fronts.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ 11 ■ 12

zork

An example of expectations versus reality, Zork had me all worked up to play this classic game but then let me down with no story to speak of and a lot of wandering around wondering what to do.

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7

planescape

The game that kicked off my retro gaming series, Planescape Torment remains one of the best RPGs — nay, the best games — of all time. Where else would you find a man who is constantly on fire, a talking skull, and an intellectual prostitute?

Playthrough Part 1 ■ 2 ■ 3 ■ 4 ■ 5 ■ 6 ■ 7 ■ 8 ■ 9 ■ 10 ■ 11 ■ 12 ■ 13 ■ 14 ■ 15 ■ 16 ■ 17 ■ 18 ■ 19 ■ 20 ■ 21 ■ 22 ■ 23 ■ 24 ■ 25