Below the Cut: Times of Lore (NES)

(Source: Wikipedia)

Times of Lore - Rating(7 RPP)
1) 1 - Character Advancement: practice/experience based advancement, stat or level increases, multiple classes or characters, customize characters
2) 1 - Combat: character stats used for combat, additional combat options, turn based
3) 0 - Items and Equipment: store to buy and sell, equipment decisions, item decisions
4) 3 - Story: main story at the forefront; world full of hints and lore; descriptions for objects, people, and places
5) 2 - Exploration: open world from the beginning, visited locations remain open
6) 1 - Quests and Puzzles: side quests not related to the main quest, puzzles and riddles to solve


Times of Lore held a special place in my heart. I remember playing it often as a kid, or at least watched it being played. I never got very far, in fact I'm not sure I ever completed any of the quests. So, why did I hold this game in such high esteem? Most likely nostalgia in combination with being an impressionable youth. I still have the desire to beat it; however, it falls into action-adventure more than an RPG, even with the extensive dialogue branches.

I'd always thought the game was an RPG, but after a series of events (CRPG Addict's assessment, playing the game before I started this blog, and reading a couple of reviews) I've come to the same conclusion as Chet: this game shouldn't be considered an RPG. Sure there are quests, and maybe even some puzzles (I didn't find any), but the combat is all action and there isn't any character advancement. This fact escaped my child-sized brain at the time, and I'd have put it alongside such classics as Ultima VII if asked just 15 years ago (heck it was even released by the same company).

With disillusioned memories I bid farewell to this game, and take it off my list of classic RPGs. One day I'll come back to conquer it, but it has lost its luster when I look at it now. To better times, and better games we go.