Rogue-likes?, Any of you ever try them? Options

[Nottheking]

Some of you might be vaguely familiar with the sub-genre of Rogue-likes. A bunch of you have probably played them, most likely unknowingly. (Diablo II is an example of a heavily mainstreamed RL) These sort of games are typified by a number of common factors:

• A relatively simple, straightforward plot; you have the eventual goal of the end of the game known from the start, (find the Amulet of Yendor, defeat Diablo, etc.) with the game progressing toward it.
• Relatively high difficulty. These games very clearly ignore Todd Howard's suggestion of "let the player win." This includes some diseases/status effects that can be crippling, or some attacks/traps/etc. that result in guaranteed character death.
• Simple control scheme; movement plus at most a handful of buttons. (such as D2's "click-click-click"ing, or NetHack's "walk into an enemy to attack")
• Randomly-generated dungeons and other challenges, that respawn with both monsters and loot after leaving/quitting the game, allowing for, in theory, effectively infinite replayability.
• Randomly-generated loot, often found requiring identification. Some of this stuff may be detrimental to use.
• Often, (but NOT always) a reduced emphasis on graphics. This is actually less intended on its own, but rather a consequence of making a graphical system that can readily handle quickly-generated random locations.
• A heavy focus on combat, with a variety of tactics that are viable.
• Generally stiff penalties for dying. This can range from losing gold, experience, or even outright unrecoverable permadeath.
• No save-and-reload. Typically, the only way to save is to quit the game, making you restart in town. You can't have multiple save slots for the same character.

Daggerfall was famous/infamous for implementing a number of rogue-like features. Diablo II would be the most-played example, though it tends to be the easiest.

As of late, though, I discovered a certain series that's been made for the DS: Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja. So far, I'm nearly beaten it, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It's a true RL game in every way, with turn-based movement/combat; unlike most TB RPGs, everyone is shown moving simultaneously, and a button can be held to make turns progress in fast-forward, making sure things take only as long as you need them to. It's definitely a hard game: no save-and-reload until things run right, or getting a save checkpoint every 30 seconds. But if one plays conservatively and well, it's quite an enjoyable challenge.

So what, if any, experience have any of you had with these sort of games?

[Nottheking]

Well, I don't remember his name though. Just that he really had a major superiority and "I AM THE LORD OF THIS CASTLE!!!" complex. Wait, was that a spoiler? Meh, it's not as if he makes an attempt at hiding it or anything. Aria of Sorrow was some serious fun and Soma looked frikking badass after his...moment of self-discovery. The clocktower was pure platformer hell though.

I personally loved the Clock Tower. Had awesome music, too. But yeah, that was Graham Jones. (yes, my avatar filenames are descriptive) He also has one of the most classic lines ever: "Does this mean I'm not Dracula?!" Also, anyone who checked my introduction from 3 years ago would also see me tell what it was.

I also just checked on the internet (should have done that sooner, really). And dang, did they just go all anime with the art-style? I'm not saying it's bad but, it really changes the mood.

Yeah, in Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin they switched to a rather cheesy Anime style, far worse than the Bishonen style they'd started using wtih Symphony of the Night back in 1997. Fortunately, while they kept an Anime style, they went with a better one starting in Order of Ecclesia.

Hmm...I can't remember anymore rogue-likes I've played.

Well, not many are made; the Western-made ones tend to be PC-only, while only a few are Japanese-made, such as the "Mystery Dungeon" series. (which includes the Shiren the Wanderer series)

Could you say Mortal Kombat: Deception is a just rogue-like with an element of tekken thrown in?

. . .

This post has been edited by Nottheking: Jul 10 2009, 08:03 AM