Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, is it UNDERRATED or is it Awful?

Is Lord of the Rings The Third Age the best Lord of the Rings game of all time? Or is it a hot mess?
Join me for my review of Lord of the Rings The Third Age for the Playstation 2.
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[@MythicVic]

Going to be playing Majoras Mask for the first time! Video soon!

[@WyldWhetherBrothers]

The Third Age is easily a top 5 game for me. I played it endlessly as a child and still boot it up occasionally all these years later.

[@MythicVic]

You are lucky for sure. I wish I was able to play it more when I was younger because I know I would appreciate it more as an adult.

[@WyldWhetherBrothers]

@ I’ve been hooked to LOTR since seeing Fellowship in theaters as a youngin. My very first game I ever owned was Final Fantasy VII… So when the two collided to create The Third Age, I was and continue to be in heaven! Great video. It was interesting to hear someone’s thoughts on it from a fresh perspective. Keep up the great work!

[@MythicVic]

@WyldWhetherBrothers I will endeavour to play all the LOTR games that I missed over the next year! Thanks for tuning in.

[@Haplo699g]

Same. Completed it multiple times. My only criticism would be that you get the last two companions far too late. I couldn't justify not using Berethor, Elegost, and Hadhod.

[@WyldWhetherBrothers]

@ that’s a great point. I’ve never seen Morwen at her full power because I never took the time to develop her.

[@ivordundic6095]

Incredibly underrated game, I played it non stop as a kid and the co-op with friends. It's one of few if not the only game that follows the LOTR story while covering all three books/movies which I loved. I also found it so impressive how large and expansive they made Moria. Then, compared to the movie games and many other newer games, it has a lot of lore from the whole universe of Tolkien which makes the experience so much better if one has read Silmarillion or knows the lore of it when seeing the names of a lot of the gear you get from chests and battles. Names of characters or heirlooms from not only the LOTR timeline, but all of 3rd age, 2nd age and 1st age. Basically, you can see the developers put in actual work to make you feel you were in Middle-Earth and on your own quest for The War Of The One Ring, just that you weren't part of The Fellowship

[@Twisted_Logic]

It really did feel like a Tolkien super nerd's fan fiction come to life in the best way. Sure some bits were goofy, forced fan service. But it was done in an endearing way rather than soulless pandering way. At least to 12-year-old me

[@johronok4067]

This is one of the greatest turn-based games ever made. So much fun to play. The Evil Mode was an awesome idea, it let you play parts of the game that you had finished, but as the agents of Sauron, and you would get rewards from doing it like really good equipment that you could use on your Hero characters for the regular game mode. It actually had a really interesting story too with a decent lil twist/reveal.

[@MythicVic]

The story was super interesting, and that itself made sense to me. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!

[@sauriel2014]

​@MythicVic yeah it was so cool, a second fellowship along with the first, and it fit seamlessly with the jackson movies. For example: Saruman in jackson asked "the man. Was he from gondor?" I think he was asking about berethor because he had him enchanted. Course he could have been asking about boromir but I figure he'd know he was dead?

[@italianspiderman5012]

The game has near the same combat mechanics as FFX, would highly recommend too, it’s a classic, unique setting, memorable characters and great story, imo, although to be fair the writing can be, well, rough around the edges.

[@13Kr4zYAzN13]

I was surprised this wasn't really mentioned in the video

[@stratosfire1943]

Ive always described this game as FFX gameplay in LOTR universe with no story. And I love every bit of it

[@omgitsdefault]

To anyone playing for the first time. Stay in the starting areas to train up abilities, makes the end of the game alot easier

[@AI-COMOBSRV]

You forgot to mention one of the cooler things The Third Age did that basically zero other Turn Based RPGs have ever done: If you have a second controller plugged in when the game boots, it allows for co-op play, where your friend (or sibling in my case) can play as the second character in your formation. There's almost no need for such a feature to exist in games like these, but I still find it to be neat.

[@MythicVic]

I'm a loner :( no friends to play with.

[@kenshii9d147]

Playing currently with a friend. Really fun

[@Peng-444]

Me and a mate played this as a local coop game. Really fun!

[@MythicVic]

@@Peng-444 always better with friends. It's a strange game for co op though haha.

[@pj1708]

This game was my introduction to LOTR, and my first dive into middle earth. Fun fact the developer of Return to Moria, worked on The Third Age!

[@JurzGarz]

There’s actually a reason for why the story and characters of this game feel so weird and lacking in backstory or context: copyright. You see, at the time this game was in production, EA only had the rights to publish games based on the movies. Not the Tolkien Legendarium as a whole, or even the book trilogy- specifically JUST the movies. Naturally, this really limited the ability of the developers to tell their own story in the world. So the plot is basically just following after the Fellowship, and the characters all have thin backstory, because developing them more would risk crossing in to lore that EA didn’t have the rights to adapt. It’s an unfortunate limitation, and once you’re aware of it, the places where they’re obviously writing around their lack of copyright to the wider lore becomes *really* noticeable.

[@MythicVic]

Great look into the industry. I'll pin it for others to read!

[@ZarMationStudios18]

This comment actually made me wonder - did War in the North have the rights for just the movies, or the books as well? I absolutely loved that game, so I looked it up. According to Wikipedia at least, WB Games managed to buy the rights for both the movies AND the books from both EA and Vivendi Universal! That would certainly explain why War in the North felt like such a love letter to the entire legendarium as a whole.

[@stephenkeane757]

It was also rushed, especially at the end. With the jump from Minas Tirith to suddenly being on top of Barad Dur, there's definitely a section or 2 that was cut at the end.

[@sauriel2014]

@@stephenkeane757 well from pelenor fields to bara-dur to fight the eye but yeah it definitely felt rushed at thens

[@doug9358]

I do wish we had a different ending to the game. Like at least start us at the black gate, fighting off orcs. Then maybe an eagle picks us up? Idk I thought it was strange we teleported to the eye.

[@jamesrobin2857]

Yeah. Ending was trash. Or have everyone die at the end.

[@zebfirehd9102]

you can tell thats when they were in a hurry to finish it up cause its clear they were running out of time to finish by the end. to be fair it had been a long game up to the third movie area.

[@breesybird9207]

I think they should have had us fight in bunch of really hard battles at the black gate and then when you beat the last and hardest fight they can cut to Sauron freaking out and explain that Frodo destroyed the ring and the game could just end there.

[@imaginarycorgi7312]

I, no joke, created a save file on PS2 and Original Xbox in which I grinded out all super attack abilities on Hadhood, Berethor, Idrial, and a handful on Ellgost. And all of their magic abilities as well. Just before Moria. I call it my new game plus save. When I want to play through the game. I play up until that segment and load in that save.

[@MythicVic]

@@imaginarycorgi7312 that's pretty fun for sure! Tempted to play again.

[@italianspiderman5012]

Sir, you’re an example to follow. I remember grinding all the supers in the game, except for one…it is forever lost to time.

[@imaginarycorgi7312]

@ 😭 🫡

[@jordancollins2553]

Be a pal and upload this save to Google drive and make a Reddit post so we can all have this new game plus option 😂😂

[@imaginarycorgi7312]

@ I have no idea how to do that, sorry.😢

[@jamesrobin2857]

Played this game for hours. I think the only underwhelming part was the final fight.

[@VenomSnake00]

Your Toybiz collection in the background is so awesome man. Brings back some of my best memories. I remember my dad buying me those figs at Media Play

[@MythicVic]

@VenomSnake00 Hey thanks! They are very cool toys and not very expensive at all so easy to collect!

[@danza71]

Loved this game. The final fight is just insane though. I remember convincing myself at the time that it was metaphorical!

[@MythicVic]

@danza71 hahaha. It's very absurd so maybe it is happening within us.

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

Yeah, same, young me just assumed it was symbolic

[@zebfirehd9102]

@@MythicVic wish more games had an "evil mode" that just allowed you to find items you wouldn't otherwise find in the game. That mode made you think real hard who need to go down first in most cases some battle were heavily in your favor some were against you from the beginning made it feel like war.

[@MythicVic]

@zebfirehd9102 It was definitely interesting.

[@RobH1093]

Played this all the way through for the first time in January. Ended up really enjoying it. Growing up I got stuck on the Gothmog boss fight but this time I had the handy Prima strategy guide to help me through the more challenging parts. The Sauron fight took me almost an hour without dying!

[@burkarama]

The story line is so crazy in this game though hahahah! my second disc never worked so i only got to play the first disc growing up. I finally got to see how the story ended recently and MY GOD was it confusing hahaha. Nice video keep up the good work!

[@MythicVic]

The story is a wild ride for sure. What console had 2 discs?

[@burkarama]

@ GameCube! I still have the original discs and played it last year on the game cube. But still sadly only disc one 😭

[@Jimbobiscuit]

My older brother bought me this game and I was excited because I loved the two film-based games, but I was so confused and disappointed when I booted it up and saw the gameplay! But I stuck at it and I ended up loving it even more than the other two games, and I play it even now

[@superdave3506]

I was never a huge fan of turn based RPGs, but I thoroughly enjoyed it during the PS2 era…..The Call of the Dead special move by Aragorn was pretty 🔥….

[@Avatar1977]

The way it tried to wedge movie dialogue into the game was sometimes cringe. Exhibit A: The bit where the ranger does the Aragorn tracking speech while walking up to two skeletons out in the open air for a start. Final Fantasy X combat in a LOTR setting is fine though

[@MythicVic]

@Avatar1977 It was cringe when Aragorn told us that we bow to no one.

[@justinhelms3861]

Silly kid me took a while to master the mechanics, but as an adult I still pick it up and remember almost all the chest locations, new party member locations, when a boss fight is coming up, and which character skills were worth farming for. Such a wonderful game to get lost in.

[@misakikoko4500]

I only ever rented this one time, but it was my favorite LOTR game. I loved fighting the Balrog, Watcher, the giant elephants and the Eye. It's been nearly 20 years since I played it, but I still remember liking how the skills levels up the more you used them. I used to extend some fights using non-attack skills to level them up.

[@KaramjanTriangle]

LOTR:TA is very underrated. Not perfect, of course, but great game!

[@jedidiahbarnett6265]

Man you had me cracking up when you ate those tomatoes! Great video! I may give this one another try as well. Thanks.

[@MythicVic]

Glad it was worth the mess haha! The juice and seeds went all over the wall.

[@brianmoyachiuz905]

Super Underrated and deserves a remake/remaster and a sequel/prequel I love how it can be co-op since my friend and I poked Sauron's eye with Mountain Shield and magical water horsies 😂

[@PrimordialCake]

I play these old lotr games once a year. Third Age is a gem among Tolkien fans. In return to Moria I remade Hadhod. In my head cannon Hadhod returned to Moria to help Gimli and it’s the perfect way to enjoy return to Moria

[@jamieboyer3398]

The first and still one of the only turn based combat games I've ever enjoyed. Loved this underrated classic as a kid

[@Flynn94]

It would have been better if after Minas Tirith the Third Age characters got sent back to the Shire to fight Saruman and stop the scouring of the shire from happening. It wouldn’t fit in with Saruman’s death in the extended version, but it would be closer to the book.

[@seangross5057]

I love the rich and Lord of the Rings games. I really wish that we'll do a legitimate collection edition for this game that includes all the PS2 games. Some reason the third age did not add all the equipment in the game when it was advertised for it. That kind of made me a little upset when they didn't do that. Every time I did evil mode. That always gives me the same Weapons for some reason that already had in the main game

[@Bert439]

I remember playing this, and yes I had fun then I unlocked the double cast/self revival buff on the elf and cheesed Sauron at the end.

[@georgeprchal3924]

Excellent game, could have done without both Rohirim characters and wish Lothlorien was included and Minas Tirith before the siege.

[@MythicVic]

Imagine being able to walk around Lothlorien and explore. Would be sick!

[@drizma]

Ah, I loved that game as a kid! I thought it was super hard and fun. Unfortunately, I never got to beat Sauron before my brother sat on the disk and broke it. A few years ago, I played through it again and found out there was a way to level up your skills lol.

[@DmDungeonMastery]

I will unapologetically defend this game until the day i die, i love it so much. For me if the games animations and sounds give me goosebumps its a great game, did a full play through of this game not to long ago with my best friend when he was visiting from texas and it was a blast! the combat animations are so empowering!

[@MarcelJ.]

Have a lot of nostalgia for this game, but I played it as a kid and don't remember making it past the fields of Pelennor. I don't remember the Eye fight.

[@spencerconway9670]

Have you played Lord of the Rings: War in the North? It was a good game (not turn-based), but the main characters have almost 0 backstory, too.

[@MythicVic]

It's on my to do list for sure. I'll review it next year!

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

Another underrated LOTR game gem

[@spencerconway9670]

@@PhoenixRiseinFlame, very much so. I have some complaints about it, but overall, I enjoyed the story and the gameplay.

[@LandotheDrummer1]

War in the North was pretty good. My first version of the game was super glitchy and I could never actually complete it, but I enjoyed playing it all the way through the second time.

[@mrnygren2]

It lacked essential Final Fantasy stuff like an open world or even towns with people and shops. It would have been way better if you could visit towns and cities and speak to people. The battles were awesome but battles alone is a bit boring.

[@GloriousGrunt]

I had a similar experience when I first played it, it was one of the few games I had though so I powered through to the end man the final was wacky lol. This video makes me want to replay it. Cool backdrop btw.

[@MythicVic]

Thanks mate! It's my little lotr section of the gaming room

[@AndrewsSecrets360]

I loved the Two Towers and RotK growing up. When this game came out I begged my parents for it. I was immediately disappointed, specifically by the turn based combat. I played it for a total of an hour before never touching it again, though I’d love to give it a second chance some day

[@RprinceV]

The love bound between Berethor and Morwen is explained in coutscenes, Morwen supposedly was doe to marry Berethor inspite the two never meeting, and Berethor was thought to be a deserter which turned Morwen and her family into shame...or something like that, of course Idrial being all elven and sexy saves his ass and gets jealous...all characters have some explaing for being where their at, and overall those "boss fights" are kinda lorebreaking and unrealistic, but are very cool to play, and i think they benefit the playthough

[@AlexTTzer0]

Man, you describe precisely how I felt once I booted up the game. Then you proceed to show some turn-base games that made you change your mind, like Xcom and DD which are my 2 most favourite turn base games. That was a deja vu moment if I have ever seen one !

[@MythicVic]

@@AlexTTzer0 Maybe we are the same person. Do you also like chocolate? Haha

[@AlexTTzer0]

@@MythicVic You could make it a little harder.

[@MythicVic]

@@AlexTTzer0 🤣

[@kisnyirati]

I was very surprised how much I like this game. My friend was visiting me in the UK and he bought it for me second hand for £1. We are big LotR fans and we decided to have a go. At first we were confused by the controls and the weird co-op mode. But when we got used to the quirks, it became a game we frequently went back to. It's been two years and whenever we get together even just for a day we play this game with our original savefile. I could play it alone and finish it, but for some reason it is much more special to play it only with my friend. We are in Moria now, next year we will kill the Balrog 😅

[@MythicVic]

I had this experience with Diablo 1 on the PS1 port. Solo it's fun but in coop it's 10x better.

[@kisnyirati]

@@MythicVic and, well...we need to agree that Diablo is a better game altogether, so THAT fun is even more elevated :D

[@oscardinogetti3824]

Loved this game. In had the same introduction surprise as this guy. I had never played a turn base before. However, once I got it I loved it. Loved the music, the atmosphere, the backgrounds, the scenery and especially all the extended edition movie clips that were in it. Oh this takes me back to a good time in my life. Love it.

[@LPVince94]

My only problem is that on the hardest difficulty around Helms Deep the game starts to become very luck based. Or you need to start grinding a lot. E.g. in Osgiliath when Idrial is seperated from the group and has to fight two orcs. The orcs have an attack that can just stun you and so to have any chance here you need to pray to RNGesus that the Orcs miss, or invest a lot into the specific stats that make you able to one hit these specific Orks without giving them a chance to attack. That will however make the two archer Orcs preceeding this fight much harder, since they have different weaknesses and an attack that blocks you from using your magic. The gauntlet after you help Aragorn out at the gate in Helms Deep is also frustrating unless you grinded beforehand.

[@malcolmthorne9779]

I actually enjoyed the Third Age. A shame that it and Battle for Middle Earth are really difficult to get your hands on these days. If they can even run on newer systems. There's lot of dead games from my youth that I'd like to see restored. Submarine Titans for example. Cool AF concept and a game that really needs a remaster since it's currently literally unplayable on newer systems. Command & Conquer Generals and Tiberium Wars/Kanes Wrath could do with a remaster as well.

[@gentlesirpancakebottoms6692]

I too didn't play this game for many hours back in the day. I always loved turn based games though but never owned this game. Played it at a friend's house and liked it. But never bought it myself for some reason. Many years later when I had grown up money and started collecting for the PS2 I snatched this game up brand new and sealed for cheap. But never got around to play it until 2 years ago. I loved the gameplay for the most part. And the atmosphere is spot on! The story however while starting quite strong as a decent spin- off adventure becomes more messy and feels unfinished the further you play. I do think that if the final battle had been outside the black gate where you fight multiple stages together with Aragorn and all the heroes from the fellowship, it would have made the story feel better overall. Instead of the wild out of nowhere ending we got. The eye of Sauron battle should have been an unlockable bonus level for completing the game or getting the entire party to max level instead.

[@MythicVic]

I have no idea what they were thinking with the ending. I would have loved to fight outside of the black gate with the others and you are right, it would have made way more sense

[@MythicVic]

What should my next 'vintage' game be? A review on the early access of The Bazaar coming soon!

[@rayhoyer4829]

I had the same problem it took me about two years to finish this game I hate turn based games.

[@paltrax]

War in the north. Its basically a sequel to the towers and return game

[@MythicVic]

@paltrax it's on my to do list 150%.

[@Walamonga1313]

The best LOTR game for me. And I say this as someone who prefers action combat to turn based. This is one of very, very few games I ever bothered to grind (I normally hate grinding) to get everything. I played this so much that my disc died and I begged my parents to get a 2nd copy lol

[@MythicVic]

Wow 2 copies is insane!

[@cptthaldier4726]

I got this game from a bargain bin aswell and loved it immediately, FFX gameplay in LOTR. Always liked to call the group "The Backup Fellowship"

[@altaiir541]

Not only was i upset with the third age, but i genuinely had dreams of me playing the third age but it was an action game that was super fun and i would always reach the mines of Moria

[@RprinceV]

All that being said, it is the best LotR game so far, the sound design is amazing, the voice actors, the cameos and easter eggs, the sheer fact that the equipment you find throughout the game can be seen in the cutscenes (not all games nowadays do that), and even has a "evil" side where you play the scenes has the bad guys

[@terrywest111]

I loved this game. Like you I found it very entertaining. I remember being excited all the way through. As soon as I caught on to the combat... (which was not hard, after playing games like Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic) I was hooked.

[@moonrock115]

Loved this game so much! I remember being stuck for ages at the Battle Of Helms Deep because the Gondorian character would be consumed with bloodlust and thought charging into a 1v4 fight of respawning Uruk-Hai crossbows, swordsmen and beserkers was a stellar idea xD I also remember back when I played it my game had a weird glitch that seemed to occur randomly whenever my party was running around Osgiliath or the Pelennor Fields. Idrial the elf was permanently gone from my party, and sometimes during one of the many random encounters you can find while running around - instead of a normal fight, it would be Idrial vs the motherfucking Witch King of Angmar in one of Osgiliath’s ruined buildings. This glitch persisted even after finishing the game, as running my party around Pelennor to grind out xp, sometimes the Rando battle would be against the Witch King, despite us having cleared that battle and rescued Idrial ages ago.

[@RuneKing324]

I have so much nostalgia for this game. I had just moved 300 miles from my childhood home to this tiny town and knew no one. I met a kid at one of the parks and we spent that entire summer xaying og Xbox and he had this game. We spent an entire weekend 100% the game

[@PercWillhump]

Great video. Honestly subbed for the ice cream joke lol

[@MythicVic]

@PercWillhump haha thanks! I'm on a strict diet to so it was a big tease!

[@ToxicPancake88]

Honestly most of the lotr games of that era were peak gaming imo. Bfme2, third age, lotr conquest, all gems 👌

[@MythicVic]

I mean Shadow of Modor games aside, it feels like its been a decade since a good lotr game came out. I wonder why

[@A1Yay1408]

I’m doing 100% playthrough on hard (posting them as I type) lol but it’s a fun game for me. I love the story even if not canon was great fighting in key places and not being the main characters from the movies. Plus, evil mode is the best thing on there too! Playing as the enemies was awesome get to learn their moves and effects aswell. I Still have my original copy on GameCube but playing on emulator on my pc I just got. It’s one of the best lord of the rings games next to battle for middle earth 2.

[@alexanderartz2288]

My major gripe with the game is the hours of grind it takes to unlock the later half of the character attacks or abilities. Morwen and Eoden suffer this the most. Using a craft move more than 50 times to unlock the next move isn’t fun.

[@hammanhouse]

You were not the only person who went for this game hoping for a two towers/ return of the king and got a turn based game. My folks didn't let me return it, so I tried to beat it and holy cow my first time I played it I didn't know how stats or anything worked and my party were getting wrecked if they didn't one shot the enemies and barely made it out of Moria Eventually I restarted the game with better RPG knowledge and beat it and it's a core memory for me

[@abe4927]

This was 1 of my favorite games of all time the detail was so great and the battles like helms deep was super

[@the98themperoroftheholybri33]

The title screen of this game would give me goosebumps

[@The_Greedy_Orphan]

7:10 you fight a boss battle against Harvey Weinstein.

[@MythicVic]

🤣

[@MajorExodus]

Fun fact. You are able to play as any of the party characters, at any time. Idrial is goated.

[@praneilramdin6701]

Heal everything. All the time. Every time 😂

[@jaymariscal9088]

Even the loot you get is dripping with lore. Hadhod the Dwarf character acquires the Hammer of King Helm Hammerhand.

[@MythicVic]

@@jaymariscal9088 It's very cool.

[@GingerAle4Life]

I remember hating this game back in the day because it was turn based combat. As a kid the only turn based game I had was pokemon. I should try it out again

[@roguerunner2750]

I love The Third Age but I also know when something I love is actually not that good. My friends often ask me why I like the game and my response every time is “I don’t know I just do.”

[@slipknot1131]

Broo that literally what happened to me word for word on how I got the lotr the 3rd age. Lmfao. I stuck it out with it and grew to love it

[@clappagemcphee]

Fuck, mate. This video is an absolute banger. Immediate sub

[@MythicVic]

Thanks heaps legend!

[@kiyahay9431]

I got this game as a kid second hand from Cex I put it in my ps2 and it was all in Spanish I've never touched it since

[@MythicVic]

@kiyahay9431 haha that is even more disappointing then my experience.

[@sneslive1556]

To this day me and my friend joke about how Sauron was actually killed by the third age people literally fighting the eye and that the ring being thrown into lava didn't do anything.

[@MythicVic]

🤣

[@bluevenom50]

It is uniquely amazing that we are side characters the entire game. Then the last fight is us stabbing Sauron in the fucking eye. It's so dumb but it just works. I can't explain it.

[@Dare_To_Game]

I played this game a lot back on the PS2.

[@jeffreysamson5938]

Glad to know this game is liked. It was a great game i loved to play as a kid. Would play now too but dont have ps2.

[@JelloFluoride]

At least it makes more sense than Shadow of Mordor. I hate that franchise lol.

[@bri_____]

Not as an overall game, however, I I ironically love the fellowship of the ring ps2. Just wandering around the shire was wonderful

[@Lootwurst]

It was just the exact same for me. I was so disapointed but i loved the game. Most played lotr game of mine

[@LandotheDrummer1]

The love triangle was one of my least favorite parts of the game. Making Idrial jealous of Morwen is such a disservice to her character. I preferred her and Berethor (I suppose that makes sense since Aragorn is my favorite LOTR character) and thought Morwen didn't need to be saved or in love with a guy for her character to be complete either. I would love to replay this game on PS5, lol.

[@May04bwu]

Did you get to the characters’ max attacks? All the attacks/spells were super OP. So cool 😄

[@MythicVic]

I did not sadly. Sad thing about making KZbin videos is you can't really linger on one game and take your time. Got to get to the next game and grind out another video!

[@Apollo890]

It was a good game with good characters that you got to know and care about. But utterly ruined by how the story ended and there was no closure on any of the characters. It's like the writers just gave up.

[@LCTVLIVE]

This is a great vid! Keep it up!

[@MythicVic]

Hey thanks for the kind words! I really appreciate hearing I am heading in the right direction.

[@55pprior]

Loved the game too and a very fair review 👍🏻

[@MythicVic]

Thanks a ton!

[@stranger9847]

Amazing game with a bafflingly bad finale boss and ending All they needed was a level at the black gate. could have started with a mouth of sauron boss fight and end with a fight against armoured saruon (like in the deleted scene from ROTK) and it would have been perfect Oh and having berethor and idrial not end up together was stupid

[@zebfirehd9102]

they probably wanted that but didn't have the time for it cause they weren't going to be able to fix any mistakes once they shipped it.

[@ItsRyhn]

Lotr the third age is legit the only turn based game I've ever enjoyed playing and idk why

[@adammealing8632]

I utterly love this game. The action rpgs and rts games are also great.

[@alexhulea2735]

Never played it, but my local games magazine gave it a lukewarm review back then. Meh, shows what they know..... Those guys hated my fav game (back then) anyway. On a diferent note, going into Moria by the same door as the Fellowship should have been impossible. Since the octopus-thing brought down the entire cliff face behind them.

[@MythicVic]

@alexhulea2735 I was thinking that as I was editing actually. Maybe I was wrong haha.

[@ryanbeck5014]

Third Age is a great game imo, im a fan of turn based rpgs with Final Fantasy 7 8 and 9 in my introduction to the genre, usually the first half of the game is probably my favorite parts of the game especially during the Balrog boss fight

[@callanfrancais7954]

Yeah, loved this game back in the day. Grew up on Final Fantasy, so it was a comfy fit and very immersive. I remember laughing out loud at one point in the story. The Elf lady in your party gets separated and has to fight waves of enemies alone. The cutscenes show you desperately trying to get to her between each wave. However, she was by far my most powerful team member 😂 she's just one shoting the waves with ease

[@MythicVic]

In my playthrough she was fairly week and kept getting stun locked by the orcs haha.

[@callanfrancais7954]

@MythicVic "Wheel of Fire"? It's been a while, but I think that was the ability she had, made her an orc killing machine. Glad you had the same wacky experience I remember having with the story beats 🤣 You could tell a lot of love went into the making of the game... maybe just a little less thought, though.

[@AsserKortteenniemi]

Damn you're entertaining. Easy sub from me.

[@MythicVic]

Thanks heaps. I appreciate it a lot.

[@tbducky4136]

War in the north was another underrated one

[@RockyD12]

1 of the few games I finished as a kid and played a lot and me finishing a game as a kid says enough because I tend to not finish games as a kid😂 .. tho as a adult it hasn't changed much😂

[@CassusHess]

Loved how the characters in this game are in Battle for Middle Earth 2!

[@MythicVic]

I didn't know that! Very cool.

[@donstarlancer]

This game is a real hidden gem. I actually just replayed it a year ago. Games like this are definitely why emulation is important. There's no way this would ever come back.

[@tomdabomb1997]

I love this game, one of the only games i still have for my ps2

[@rhysjones9870]

Most underrated lotr game and one of the best final fantasy like games ever

[@masamune2984]

I mean, as a Game Designer/Systems Developer in the actual industry, it’s HORRIBLE. It’s got the most broken combat system I’ve EVER seen in an RPG. Period. It’s AWFUL. But otherwise? It’s pretty fun/great. Just wish the systems did their job even 1%.

[@MythicVic]

True!

[@MrAweeze]

I wrote in my comment "some of the battles are a little nuts," not really knowing how to convey what I meant, or even if I understood what the problem was. Yeah, you said it. Battle system was whack. I've put thousands of hours into turn based rpgs, and it stands out (in a bad way).

[@FinalPenance]

The Third Age is great.. The Third Age on the GBA is amazing

[@MythicVic]

@@FinalPenance I'll have to try it one day

[@Agrahim]

I've gone out of the way to play this game on Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube. Shameless FFX rip-off with a non existent story, but still alot of fun.

[@MythicVic]

Which console was the best experience?

[@Agrahim]

@MythicVic I played the original Xbox version on the 360 and while it had a few emulation issues (like chests glowing through the environment) it definitely played the best and looked the best. Then the Gamecube and last would be PS2. When I like a game I'll replay it on every system I can find it for. Like Batman Begins (Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, GBA), Gun (Gamecube, Xbox, PS2, Xbox 360), King Kong the Official Game (Gamecube, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2, Nintendo DS, PSP).

[@XdeadsoulXful]

This game was my favorite of the lotr games.

[@timlamiam]

I found JRPGs pretty early. turn based was not in any way shocking or disappointing

[@MythicVic]

@timlamiam Yeah as a kid I was not accustomed to them at all.

[@UndisputedLoon]

The third age for gameboy advance is an underrated masterpiece, truly. The console version is just a mid final fantasy ripoff, but the gameboy advance version is a brilliant fire emblem rip off

[@sethwarwick1075]

Lotr the 3rd age it's precious