Rich visuals and audio really made The Bard’s Tale stand out in 1985. The game’s colorful, detailed graphics were a leap forward for the era, especially on the Apple II and the Commodore 64. Animated enemy sprites and varied environments like the city, sewers, catacombs, and castles created more of an immersive world. The bard’s songs, while not fully voiced, were accompanied by text descriptions and sound effects that enhanced the atmosphere of the game and added a new mechanic, a rarity for the time.
The Bard’s Tale comes off as more approachable than Wizardry and even Ultima IV which were released that same year. Ultima IV emphasized open-world exploration and moral choices, The Bard’s Tale focused on linear dungeon crawling and tactical combat, appealing to players who preferred structured adventures. It’s balance of accessibility and depth made it a commercial hit, selling over 400,000 copies by 1990.
The Bard’s Tale spawned two sequels (The Destiny Knight in 1986 and Thief of Fate in 1988), each refining the formula with larger worlds and new mechanics. The series would inspire later RPGs, including Interplay’s own Dragon Wars in 1989 and BioWare’s Baldur’s Gate in 1998. In 2018 a fourth installment, Bard’s Tale IV: Barrow’s Deep, was released. The original game was released during a golden age of computer role-playing games and remains a touchstone for CRPG fans who are now enjoying remastered versions on modern platforms.
We had created and equipped our party in our last post and we are finally ready to set out and explore our environs. One of the things that really made The Bard’s Tale stand out was its focus on exploration of the city, Skara Brae. Skara Brae felt vibrant and alive and very much like an important personality in the game. There is a lot to explore and a lot of mysteries to uncover within the city itself. There are statues that come to life to protect key areas, a casino, a bank, The Adventurer’s Guild (where we created our party), The Review Board (where you go to advance in levels and acquire new spells), Garth’s Shoppe, Roscoe’s Energy Emporium (where the mana points of your spell casters can be regenerated for a fee), Harkyn’s Castle, Kylearan’s Tower, Mangar’s Tower, Inns, Taverns, and Temples.
Each and every building in the city can be entered and explored. Some are empty while others may spawn an encounter. Early on in the game, this is a great way to build experience. In many of the buildings you find scraps of parchment which act as tutorials and provide excellent tips to help you succeed.
The Bard’s Tale is an extremely difficult game. It is especially brutal in the very beginning and extremely tough to survive. The difficulty curve in even finding the first dungeon is a steep one. It will require you to do a thorough search of the city. I remember the first time that I played Bard’s Tale being stuck for an extremely long period of time until I finally happened upon it.
The first dungeon level is a Wine Cellar which eventually leads down into the sewers.
There isn’t anything relevant in this first dungeon level but the creatures that you encounter in the wine cellar help with your level advancement.
I spent a large portion of my time in the sewers. There are three levels to the sewers and all of them are difficult to map. You are introduced to teleports, dark areas, smoke, and spinners. Some of the combat encounters are extremely difficult at lower levels so you’ll want to take your time in the sewers and return to the city to rest, sell equipment, and level up often. Many spots in the dungeon held special descriptions or inscriptions.
There are two large, dark areas in the second level of the sewers. When you hit these areas, it douses all torches and lamps and also causes your spells to fizzle out. When you try to cast a light spell in these areas it will not work.
There is a crucial piece of information that you find on the second sewer level.
The third level of the sewers was a brutal grind and merely serves to strengthen your characters. There are a lot of Black Widows and Spinners encountered on this level and your party is frequently dealing with poison.
Having completely mapped out the Wine Cellar and all three of the Sewer Levels I made my way to the Temple District of Skara Brae and the Mad God’s Temple. I am currently exploring the catacombs found underneath the temple.
I had been exploring the first level of the catacombs when I made my first Bard’s Tale post, and my characters were all 11th level.
The graphics on the remastered trilogy are extremely impressive as are the music and sound effects. It is quite a treat for those who remember the game with fondness.
Since my last post I am now exploring the second level of the catacombs underneath the Mad God’s Temple. I took my own advice, and I removed my thief, Markus, from the party and created a Monk named Nomad to take his place. Things are progressing smoothly but slowly. I have about 12.2 hours invested in the game to this point.
My next post will cover my adventures inside the catacombs underneath the Mad God’s Temple. Until next time……
There are a few areas where you could hit hordes of skeletons, zombies and wights repeatedly. Good for grinding, and the imagery of your party standing atop a huge pile of dead undead is quite satisfying.
Thank you for the feedback Chris. I’ve been methodically searching the catacombs for secrets and items but you’ve reminded me that perhaps my thinking is wrong here. I do have a place marked on the map where I encountered 66 skeletons and another where I encountered 45 zombies and still another where I encountered 11 wights. Each time I exit and enter a level each of these encounter areas reset. Knowing this, perhaps I should be concentrating on grinding my characters higher on these undead hordes, wash, rinse, repeat. Thanks for calling attention to it and planting the idea in my head.