The Forgotten 1994 Drizzt RPG That Destroyed D&D Video Games | Menzoberranzan Review

[@WilliamSRD]

Oh no, I seem to have gotten myself into some sort of a 'posting this link here so that you come play Neverwinter Online with me as a community' kind of situation: discord.gg/UpKdTxrB6E

[@Walican132]

Nice. I’m excited I enjoyed DDO with this group a ton.

[@messire9837]

WAT? Nah, Lands of Lore did that, a year earlier if my souvenirs are correct. Single and deadly at that. That's the reason why LoL is so famous. In terms of RPG genre saving, I mean to say. (so sad for those d&d lads, though, as I'm pretty sure Louis Castle's pride is stamped on that game. Months only after trying to screw westwood, D&D finally got what it asked for and deservedf. For RPG took a hit back then as a result of that, and also the Ultima Franchise murder. (from which TES got plagiarized from) Also, who told you Menzoberranzan's forgotten? What kind of madmelad are you, son? You must have read wrong, me thinks : it's "Forgotten Realms", not forgotten games. If you're looking for forgotten games, there's your steam list for that. Also, sorry but no, son : I'd rather eat Neverwinter OFFLINE, in a single byte, as it should be and always has been. Good lord those kids, sometime... Now back to me Jagged alliance 2, dammit! Also you game your best for that game on that video and on your time. So beyond all kinds of debate, I'll let you eat my like either way : you can obviously's pale Drizzt, and hitch owes. watch?v=CpAm93ZqMMM >>> 😉

[@Taricus]

@@Walican132 DDO is a different game than Neverwinter. DDO is 3rd ed and Neverwinter is 4th

[@HashIshene]

Oh my..... I just developed a new fear. Becoming a KZbinr and having Randoms want to invade my games cuz they saw me in a video. Oh lord.

[@Haruharuharuko1942]

Whenever drizzt isn’t on screen people should be asking where’s drizzt

[@eclatshwartzbaumcybertune2063]

😂😂

[@JnEricsonx]

Meeting RA Salvatore and having a first edition of Crystal Shard and him realizing it from like 15 feet was great.

[@ignorethis214]

That's an old reference itching at the back of my brain... but I can't quite place it... was that Penny Arcade? Edit: Oh yeah... Simpsons. 'Where's Poochy'

[@hvaleos666]

Drizzt died on his way back to Menzoberranzan

[@jebbush458]

This Dark Elf gets bizzay

[@TTRPGSarvis]

"If there's a Drizzt game, let us play as Drizzt." Dark Alliance 3 has entered the chat.

[@WilliamSRD]

not like that NOT LIKE THAT AAAAAAAAA

[@Eellex501]

@@WilliamSRD Ask and you shall receive.

[@JnEricsonx]

I've heard that was so bad, and it depresses the shit out of me. Been a fan for 30+ years, Met RA a few years ago.

[@rakshalneyrak9862]

@@JnEricsonx My friends and I bought it on day 1 and since we paid for it, we sure as hell would play through it. All the rumors are true. It´s hilariously bad, downright to the point where in some cases it´s simply unplayable.

[@JnEricsonx]

@@rakshalneyrak9862 Well shit. So much for that childhood hope.

[@yurisonovab3892]

This game is only 4 years away from Baldur's Gate. The difference in quality is astounding.

[@soylentgreenb]

Yeah, well, this is 2 years after ultima underworld and same year as system shock.

[@headcase2636]

Game tech progress was p crazy in the 90s

[@Luckmann]

Welcome to the 90's.

[@ILoveEvadingTax]

DirectX really was a quantum leap for gaming, the difference is truly staggering

[@junibug6790]

Even when this game was first realised, the line, "'Fire' they are shouting, and fire it must be!" struck me as INCREDIBLY silly.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

You'd need someone like Matt Colville to pull it off.

[@symbiotesoda1148]

When you’re trying to reach the word limit on your essay:

[@grenadier1972]

Congrats on the only Menzoberranzan review on KZbin! You didn't mention the twist with the Azarell NPC (yoch)lol.

[@WilliamSRD]

I actually read that after the fact. Azarell never actually did anything in my playthrough! It was very strange!

[@Turbodog702]

As someone who played this as a younger person and revisited it about 3 years ago, this is such a weird, but fair review. I feel like this was a game for Drizzt fans, much like how Dragonlance fans wanted games that focused on Dragonlance lore specifically. I could see some of the content being odd for someone with only a passing interest in the drow society of 2E. Hoping you read a couple of quick notes for context and my personal experience: Drizzt joins almost as a tutorial in a way, but I will concede takes too long to leave. (You can also take his weapons off before he leaves and basically rob end game items. In 2E Menzo boxed set, this guy was also a dual classed L18 Fighter into L15 Ranger. Really stupidly strong, but that is just par for the course in the super powerful freak character world of Menzoberranzan.) There was no mention of the disorientation puzzle in the dwarven halls, but maybe this is more common to the games than I knew as a child. I also found the altitude puzzles somewhat frustrating to deal with as well. There were a TON of references to Drizzt related lore. Both the Spider Mage, Jalynfein and the "DnD 5E character", Jarlaxle are House Baenre black sheep and enormous badasses. Matron Baenre and her Illithid advisor (Viddenvelp) are also enormously powerful. I feel like they really pushed to show off these powerful characters for the sake of true fans of the setting and having a credible threat no matter how powerful your party was. All of these drow are Elminster levels of strong at the time of the game's release. The female elf fighter, Azarell, that you mentioned and recruited has a very good reason to be fine in the Underdark, one that becomes apparent if you refuse to take her with you. I am sure you could look up the scene if you were interested.

[@reapersritehand]

Lol as soon as I heard the "5e d&d character " I was like wait is that jarlaxle and jumped in the comments

[@MrEdders123]

Funnily enough, in 1994, when Interplay got the rights, they had another studio (Northstar) working on a 3d action RPG that would've involved going down into the Underdark, fighting Drow and so on. I didn't manage to find out any other details, other than Interplay decided to take it off Northstar and bring it in-house, but it was cancelled. Maybe it seemed too similar to Descent to Undermountain.

[@WilliamSRD]

That's really neat actually! You're probably right, would have been a bit wonky to simultaneously do a pair of games that are set in so similar a location!

[@heilmodrhinnheimski]

Holy moly, the obscure 90’s rpg reviewer-sphere is real!

[@Azhalan]

A youth spent on Dragonlance is NOT wasted! ☝️

[@MrHorse-kv4iy]

chronicles is what got me started playing AD&D. still have my first edition books. stopped after wotc bought the rights. Raistlin was my favorite character. more interesting than drizzit imo.

[@AmicusVirtutis]

Is it what I would call "high fantasy"? Nope. Are the characters iconic? Yep. Did the series introduce me to the wider world of fantasy literature? Absolutely. Did I tear up listening to an audiobook of Dragons of Autumn Twilight the other day? Shut up. Lol.

[@diegofrancisco425]

despite the game being much much less polished than Stone Prophet in terms of Level Design and overall flow, it's still full of memorable moments... one of these moments is when you find a Bracers of Giant Strength which allows you to carry whatever you want without being Encumbered (penalty to Hit Chance, penalty to Evasion Chance and penalty to Attack Damage) and also a Magic Bag, makes things sooooo easier

[@averywisemantle3785]

I love the Dizzt Do'Urden books, and it was really interesting to see how the lore was applied for this game. For one, I think youre on to something that House Do'Urden is under attack. In the second book, before drizzt even starts living on the surface, house Do'Urden is slaughtered by an interhouse alliance led by house Beanre. Also I think the 'dnd 5e character' that helps you out is a chaotic drow mercenary called Jarlaxle who is a major player in the books. Also the matron mother of Beanre was probably fucking with you when she threatened to kill you because she thought you'd end up helping kill house Do'Urden

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

Wasn't that the end of the first book where House Do'Urden gets destroyed?

[@gameoverinsertcointocontin8102]

@@nicholasfarrell5981 The second book I believe. When Malice failed to capture Drizzt in the Underdark and her house lost Lolth's favour as a consequence. Everyone in Menzoberranzan was then turning against them and her house got squished.

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

@gameoverinsertcointocontin8102 oh right, yeah. I got the timeline tangled in my head, my bad.

[@CChissel]

The RA Salvatore books are what first introduced me to literature and reading. I consumed those books as a child and it opened a whole new world to me, I read every single book in that long series, and I eventually branched out to other fantasy series, science fiction, and also nonfiction. I still sometimes go back to read the older books for nostalgias sake, I can’t help but love them. And for as long as I can remember, I have wanted to play a video game set in that world, a GOOD video game. I’ve since given up on that dream though, I doubt I’ll ever see one, not in my lifetime.

[@profezzordarke4362]

With "in that world" do you mean the Forgotten Realms? Because, there are a bunch of great games in the Forgotten Realms. But if you mean "That follows the plot of the Drizzt Books" then yeah, nah.

[@DestroyYouAlot]

I got to meet R. A. in like 1991 (he was doing a book signing tour of Waldenbooks for the first installment of the Cleric Quintet - there was NOBODY there, how times have changed), and I remember his being super cool to an excitable little kid, and being shocked by the strong New England accent (he's from Leominster, about half an hour away from where I grew up).

[@darkholyPL]

1:50 Dev to the animator: so, you know how spiders walk, right? Animator: y.. yeah, sure!

[@RIlianP]

Menzoberranzan is an giant S&M dungeons in Dungeons & Dragons, completed with dominatrixes clad in black skimpy skintight leathers and the social events are usually orgies, cool place but outsider visit only as a sacrificial slaves. The funniest thing is that WoTC cant change it because of the legal agreement they have with Ed Greenwood in regards to the Forgotten Realms lore, its hilarious.

[@MedievalFantasyTV]

I have heard Ed himself mentioning that agreement, but I am curious about the specifics. How can I know more about this?

[@Lex-vd2is]

Man, there is something about the early DreamForge RPGs character art style that tingles my nostalgia. Be it Veil of Darkness, Ravenloft and Menzoberranzan or Anvil of Dawn. You don't get such feelings nowadays when everything is just "we need more polygons to look more realistic" what most games go for.

[@yurisonovab3892]

Veil of Darkness was great.

[@LarsOfTheMohicans]

The two Drow with mustaches from 25:50 are by far the two manliest Drow to have ever existed.

[@LuvboneX]

Bro, you need to play the first Eye of the Beholder then.

[@LightStreak567]

They are likely half-drow, because pureblood elves are not supposed to grow hair anywhere else on their bodies besides their heads. Facial hair and body hair is solely a human, dwarf, half-elf (due to one of the parents being a non-elf) halfling and gnome trait.

[@LuvboneX]

@@LightStreak567 Incorrect. That depends entirely on the edition of D&D. Just like at some point Dwarves and Elves had their race as class and some spells were restricted by race (Haste, Sleep, Chromatic Orb were uniquely elven spells if I remember correctly) whether Elves had facial hair changed throughout various editions.

[@LightStreak567]

@@LuvboneX Edition or campaign setting? It is canon in lore that fey creatures cannot grow facial hair.

[@LuvboneX]

​@@LightStreak567 Elves arent Fey Creatures in the D&D lore except for the Eladrin.

[@yuin3320]

When it comes to being attacked despite being "card carrying" and all that, it reminds me of an interview i saw with Richard Garriot (the man behind the Ultima series) where he explained the origin of the hostile children encounter in Ultima 4. It was a long time ago, but if i recall, he said it was originally born out of an oversight in how the engine worked. It was something to do with how it handled Dungeon environments as distinct things from overworld and town environments. These dungeon environments would make all npc tiles become hostile to players. When it was discovered by a playtester who had a viscerally disgusted reaction to it, Richard was like "Hah, awesome. Get gud." And didnt bother reworking the engine _and_ kept the encounter, since the player had a couple nonlethal options even if they were more difficult to progress with... That playtester soon quit. But yeah I wonder if it was an engine limitation, or just a bug that they didnt have or take time to fix. It would certainly line up with what you mentioned about the company's game dev approach.

[@fy8798]

That puts the children encounter in Ultima 8 a bit into context, if so - that'd be a reference. Interesting

[@Kat_Oran]

I enjoyed this game, but always felt it weird that the game gave your low level characters a level 15 npc to adventure with. Also, the young elf you find is actually a yochol (monster you couldn't damage) who changes and attacks you if you reject her.

[@kmoustakas]

I was stuck for months in the dwarven temple, unable to find a simple single button that was just a few ways away from the door it opened.

[@WilliamSRD]

I know EXACTLY which hall you're talking about. That button was EVIL

[@tilmatomo]

It has been a long time since I played this game. I think the idea with the monsters in the Drow houses is they are the slaves they use as battle fodder in the wars between houses. You are being attacked because you may be a Drow, but you aren't marked with any sort of house insignia or sigils, so you are assumed to be an intruder bent on assassination. I might be off base there however.

[@jasonblalock4429]

31:00 Not D&D, but one of SSI's most interesting experiments around this time is a totally forgotten one called Renegade: Battle For Jacob's Star, based on the FASA Renegade Legion license. It was a full-on 3D space-sim shooter, a'la Wing Commander. It was actually pretty good too. But I don't think it sold well, since AFAIK they never did another one.

[@VoidSmoker97]

I’m surprised this game doesn’t have much, if any actual reviews on KZbin, something about the graphics of these 90s dungeon crawlers has a lot of charm to it

[@WilliamSRD]

This youtube niche was wide open and waiting for me baybeeeeeee

[@LegalKimchi]

Another banger! Loved the call with Crowe. Real dnd youtuber conversations right there

[@WilliamSRD]

He and I share the exact same single brain cell

[@BRNDMYR]

ACAB = All caves are beautiful

[@fetus2280]

I didnt realize how many RPG games i missed back then, well until i found your channel that is. I started with Zork and moved on to Diablo 1 / Hellfire. Played that game so much i was buying a new mouse almost monthly... wore the clicks right out of them . Had so much fun hosting multiplayer hellfire servers .. I still go back and play once and a while. I may have to try out some of these older ones for shits and giggles. Still have the retro rig to play them on :)

[@Shahanshah_Xeno]

Do you plan to cover other CRPG games/series like Lands of Lore, Eye of the Beholder, Bard's Tale, Wizardry, Anvil of Dawn, Might & Magick, Stonekeep, Dungeon Hack, Betrayal at Krondor, Krynn series, Pool of Radiance series, Ultima, Ultima Underworld, Al-Qadim, Dark Sun, Realms of Arkania or perhaps more modern ones like Aeon of Sands, The Quest, Legend of Grimrock, Legends of Amberland or Islands of the Caliph? I feel like there's definetely a largely unfullfilled niche for this sorta content on youtube, taking a look and doing some background or broader research into older CRPGs, especially stuff that's either not isometric or before the advent of Baldur's Gate, Fallout, etc. Names like those above I feel are rarely looked at beyond the occasional gameplay channels or odd review that's short and between like 4-10 minutes. Especially given the success of your Ravenloft and Undermountain videos I feel like you already got the audience primed for it. Esp for stuff people don't look at often, people know Ultima and Wizardry for example but fewer know maybe Lands of Lore or Anvil of Dawn.

[@spademagna2672]

You may like Mredders then

[@Shahanshah_Xeno]

@@spademagna2672 I know of him but he also doesn't cover many, a lot of his reviews aren't exactly CRPGs either.

[@HoopleBogart]

I have nostalgia for Everquest and that's a game I didn't start playing until 2019 so I know the feeling. Another great video, I love checking out these old dungeon crawlers without actually having to play them 😅

[@Szriko]

I genuinely can't even imagine STARTING everquest in 2019.

[@simondaniel4028]

30:15 I had the NES port of Pool of Radiance as a child. I wasn't even aware that DnD was a thing until my late teens when BG 1 got big. Pool of Radiance taught me so much about RPGs that took years to kick in but I was so much better prepared for complex systems, not just in gaming, because of that game. I used to come up with characters and dynamics between them, little stories they'd tell before camping. It taught me how to PnP years before I found myself doing it. What a game.

[@AamitMorthos]

22:15 😂😂😂 I hate that I went "ohmygod why's the spider dude hot" right before this. Why is everyone hot in these games though!? I love it.

[@MedievalFantasyTV]

By "these games" you mean SSI games?

[@Lazysupermutant]

Part of me wants to recommend Grimoire: Heralds of the Wing Exemplars. It's a modern game made by an industry veteran that is positively seeped in all the 80's and 90's RPG filigree, at times both wonderfully customizable and frustratingly obtuse. The developers something of an infamous, especially in the jagged alliance scene, basically made the game by himself over the course of 15 plus years. It's for all these reasons I fear you might not want to play it, but I would also like comprehensive playthrough for my own sanity.

[@selinawalsh9075]

26:21 What was the reference with the "D&D 5E character" joke? I've been trying to figure it out, but idk what he means.

[@CosmicCosmo1]

I thought that elf chick you picked up after they kidnap Drizzt was actually a monster that would attack you shortly after you recruit her. Or maybe she just turns into a monster and attacks you if you don't let her join the party.

[@joshmiller7870]

I remember finding a young NPC that turned into a Yochlloll and attacks you. Freaked me out back in the day.

[@someonethere1122]

Your videos on the SSI games have made me want to go back and play them again. Love your work keep it up!

[@DIEGhostfish]

27:28 The monsters have those enchantment sparkles around them. So they seem to be intended to be mindslaves, maybe sent by another house attacking Do'Urden, maybe they are Do'Urden guard beasts but the spell on them had a side effect that lets them see you're transmuted.

[@4fives992]

I would have forgiven all of this game's flaws if thumbnail centaur had been a permanent party member.

[@PurpleXVI]

I always felt like their D&D stuff was some of SSI's weaker offerings. I spent ages being buried by their original game Dark Legions when I got it, that was super fascinating.

[@planescaped]

Drizzt Do'Urden has to be one of the most quintessential Mary Sue characters in all of fiction. Who wins, all the gods and most powerful beings in Faerun in an unholy Legion of Doom-esque alliance... or Drizzt? My money's on Mr Twinkle and Icingdeath....

[@DIEGhostfish]

Drizzt was so popular he basically guaranteed the Forgotten Realms crushing other official DnD settings like Mystara and Greyhawk and Dark Sun. After all if you're making a videogame based on DnD, you can set it in one of the original settings by Gary and co, oooor you can set it somewhere where Drizzt can cameo. 3.0 and 3.5 gave you info on the Greyhawk gods, and made Greyhawk the "Official" main setting, keeping spells named for Iconics from Gary's table, but all the real setting support books were Forgotten Realms

[@guyincognito959]

The Underdark theme is really something weirdly romantic. That otherworldliness combined with mystery... I too remember that I always wanted to try this game, but it was either unavailable or I was not able to get it running (I think it had some weird glitchiness that never was attended or sth) The first books from Salvatore where fun to read, but Iremember we stopped reading because it became cartoonish and much worse, loaded with morally/political statement-monologues that went on for paragraphs... And I have no idea what "underdark radiation" is supposed to be :D

[@D--FENS]

Underdark radiation is called the Faerzress.

[@guyincognito959]

@@D--FENS curious, thanks for the word to look up :) Never read about this in any story or saw this in any game until now. Which is curious because I played a few d+d games that came later. It was only mentioned how very dangerous everything is, and that you'd want at least night vision and magic gear, a to speak.

[@horrendouscauldronofsalt7111]

agree

[@azureascendant994]

I stopped reading Drizzt books for similar reasons. The relationship between Drizzt and Cattibrie is gross too.

[@D--FENS]

I've never read Salvatore. Would you kindly elaborate a bit on what you mean by moral and political monologues?

[@hartthorn]

In regards to the ending... honestly that's how the editions themselves tend to work. Make a new engine, takes a little time getting their footing, make some banger shit, and then they start to coast.

[@profezzordarke4362]

No, not really. It's more like "We have a working system, we published a bunch of okay and some great adventure modules... let's make a completely new system so we can sell new stuff. But, uhm, make it less work. Just copy three paragraphs from the earlier rules about lore and fill in the rest with underpaid artists illustrations."

[@Resulka]

I would really love to see you handle the the other Masterpiece Collection games from this era - The hilariously batshit insane Dark sun games, the vastly different games of the World of Aden games and my favourite of the bunch - Al Qadim's The Genie's Curse. I mean, there is the Eye of the Beholder series which had a similar sort of interface to Menzo and the 'Lofts but didn't seem as charming and had required hidden walls in their first area which pretty much made me "M'kay, not for me!" as a kid and I haven't yet returned to that series. Most recently went through the Dark Sun games on stream and I had forgotten what sheer joy the writers had with that game. Every single storylet of that game is bizarre and wonderful. Second game was a bit of a diappointment in terms of tone compared to the first game, but the was enough craziness to the plot to keep me going. Entomorph, the 2nd of the World of Adven games is also a trip - It's in the same engine as Genie's Curse so I was excited to try it and I did not see the storyline coming one bit. I tried Thunderscape which had a surprisingly banging techno-ish soundtrack compared to what I was expecting, but the scenes are just all soo.... brown... I managed 4 hours of wanding around shit covered walls with enemies that sounded like broken radar machines before I called it quits.

[@noukan42]

I played shattered lands about 1 years ago and i was blown away tbh. It was much simpler to learn than expected and it holds up in a lot of ways(case in point, i was playing fucking WotR in the same timeframes and there were time i tought "i'd rather play Shattered lands"). The starting arena is one of the best starting areas i ever seen and i am fairly confident i did not even found all the escape routes. I really feel like i can recomend it with almost no string atached wich is rare even for the CRPG of the early 2000s.

[@shannonwilliams7249]

This game was impossible to figure out as a 14 year old back in the day.

[@FEcluk]

Tell-me about it. I was 7 years old in 95 when my dad picked this up. But there's a catch. I'm Brazilian, i didnt speak any english back then lol. he bought a IBM Aptiva and took this game home for me with it. That's why i never went very far lol, i had no idea what i was doing, always thought it was so hard to play, and such strange game. Recently playing Baldurs gate 3 i remembered Menzo, searched through my stuff and found it. On the Original Box, in very well condition, stored for almost 30 years.

[@Crocogator]

MENZEBERNEBALINE! MENZERBENZANINE! TRAMBAMPOLINE!

[@WilliamSRD]

MARZIPAN MARGERINE

[@Crocogator]

@@WilliamSRD MIZERBAMBEM DRIZZT DONT LEAVE ME

[@Turbodog702]

OH. MY. GOD. No you don't! That Menzoberranzan is mine!

[@Crocogator]

@@Turbodog702 Yesssss you got the reference.

[@kirbygivens8223]

I have a severe allergy towards being captured and forced to work the mines.

[@Xerardo-Ancient-Game-Music]

21:01 Nice you mentioned the game's great music. 'Drizzt's Shelter' and 'Temple of Dumathoin' are both excellent compositions IMO. Great video overall!

[@IosonoRob]

Forget about this big haired Drizzt, I want an entire game about the centaur dude 😳 (I'll leave it to you to decide the genre)

[@Akinohotarubi]

Maybe the creatures in Do Urden house only attack people with mustache.

[@KareemHarper]

These games, along with Origin, Sierra and LucasArts (Microprose & Spectrum HoloByte too) made up my late elementary school, junior high and early high school years. Such memories of avoiding homework to sneak in one more hour...

[@JemyM]

I made a full optimized playthrough of this after Ravenloft 1 and 2, finishing all three for the first time in 2021. My verdict is of course it sucked, especially the large empty labyrinthian caves. But I am still happy I did finish it because it was not void of very memorable scenes and content. The music segment you made made me remember those track immediately as really good ones.

[@mirrorsandstuff]

I found this one from kikoskia's play through. Fascinating piece of dev history.

[@siralexander3359]

Another kikoskia fan :)

[@DoomedSheridan]

I never played the old SSI D&D games, but damn if these vids aren't making me curious to try them sometime.

[@orcwarchiefreviews]

You know I wish there were a lot more ravenloft video games I mean it's such a cool setting

[@WilliamSRD]

Totally! It's one of the reasons I rail against how stingy D&D is with the license these days. There is quite literally 0 good reasons why no one's adapted modern Curse of Strahd into a CRPG, for example. WOTC is just gun-shy about licensing.

[@unisock]

I would love owlcat to do 5.0 modules the same way they’ve done WotR and Kingmaker for Pathfinder. Curse of Strahd, Tomb of annihilation and rime of the frostmaiden would be my top choices

[@LarsSveen]

I really enjoyed this game as a kid. I still have a handful of these old SSI DnD games on floppy/CD, collecting dust in my closet.

[@abyssalproductions0]

I really like the way you cover these old RPGs, so you plan on covering all of the Forgotten Realms titles eventually? I’d love to see a video from you on Savage Frontier

[@codingwithculp]

What is interesting as I only have very vague memory of the two Ravenloft games, but it wasn't a huge Ravenloft fan back then. However, I played the heck out of Menzoberranzen and enjoyed it.

[@HerrCherno]

Looks like SSI liked using that weird resolution that had those wide pixels. The other game I remember using it was Blood & Magic. The graphics in that resolution always looked strange to me, a bit like old C64 games.

[@AnimationMerc]

I remember playing this game when it came out in 1994, after playing Ravenloft before it. Games were different back then and being a PC gamer felt like being a cousin to console gamers, only tangentially related but with totally different genres. As someone who played D&D back then, I remember that these games were the closest thing I'd seen to a CRPG capturing the feel and the systems of a TTRPG. I specifically remember the inventory system which had all the fidelity of actual D&D (2E) rules with slots for each ring, bracers, necklace, hat/helm etc. IT's the kind of thing a lot of modern game design would consider too complicated but I remember loving that they didn't dumb it down for us. I imagine the gameplay doesn't hold up to modern standards, sensibilities and expectations, and these were pre-internet days with a different relationship to getting stuck than we have now. But I remember this one (and Ravenloft) as the closest thing my computer got to capturing the feel of a TTRPG and it held that crown til Fallout came out and remember them fondly for it. Thanks for the memories!

[@Maggerama]

When I hear "Drizzt", I think "free +3 and +5 scimitars". Sorry, Drizzt.

[@poppers7317]

Yeah, summoning an endless amount of dogs and shooting him from afar was how I always handled that situation until I tried the "Enhanced" Edition where they put a limit of 5 as a max amount of summons. Kind of ruins the feel of the game.

[@Maggerama]

@@poppers7317 I usually used wand of poison cloud from outside of aggro range. Also worked on dragons. Cheese was fun when I was younger, but yeah, now I do my best not to break games to keep being immersed and shit.

[@SebaztienHawke-ci5hm]

Twinkle and Icingdeath? Yeah, because it’s totally normal and possible to find legendary SCIMITARS in your northern caves.

[@ashwinnmyburgh9364]

I am actually going to be buying this game soon. Been playing through all games set in the Forgotten Realms setting, except the ones which seem really trash like Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance, and Descent to Undermountain.

[@matternicuss]

Dark Alliance is good though. At least if you like Diablo clones with couch coop.

[@itsaUSBline]

@@matternicuss it's a decent coop game, but I feel like that's the only way it's worth it.

[@Agent789_0]

That description at the end really makes SSI sound like their era’s equivalent of Ubisoft.

[@LuvboneX]

the lack of Dark Elf Tiddies in this video is disturbing

[@apathyonastick]

@8:11 Is this music from the game? It's also in Pathfinder: Kingmaker

[@herpderp9774]

Every time William says Drizzt or Drow, take a shot!

[@CircleOfTheSeptagram]

18:05 I love using cypher scripts! I wish this font asset could be ripped from the game, but I can't find any way to do it.

[@AndrewRayGorman]

Love it! Been sitting in my game library for awhile, need to give it a play. BTW, got to love your presentation. Reminds me a lot of early youtube game reviews. A nostalgia type video already full of nostalgia. You got a good hook haha

[@joearnold6881]

Man, I read a bunch of Dragonlance as a kid in the early 90s. That weird Mormon trash I loved had NO effect on me. _none_

[@WilliamSRD]

WE TURNED OUT FINE

[@613aristocrat]

@@WilliamSRD Raistlin! How could you do that to your own brother! Gah!

[@joearnold6881]

@@WilliamSRD *FINE*

[@gravecactus]

I didn't play this myself but it kind of reminds me of the Might and Magic series. I really liked those, even the bad ones (but not the last one which doesn't exist)

[@jw6588]

0:55 Is it wrong that I hear "Your Drizzt is on My List" to the tune of that Halls and Oates song "Your Kiss is on My List"?

[@delphidelion]

As soon as I saw the first 4 words of the title I thought "I wonder if it is Menzoberranzan?"

[@counterhitasmr9196]

I love how he brings up 90s drow being perfect targets for thumbnails, but then the actual thumbnail is a shirtless human man.

[@garykelley9027]

Glad the algorithm showed me your channel, this was a slice of nostalgia, I got a 10 game set of a bunch of SSI games with this game in it as the last. Takes me back. Sorry to hear you're doing Neverwinter... I mean solid game except for MMO's it's one of the worst microtransaction you to death one, I stopped playing years ago because I had enough. Still, if you do find fun it it good for you.

[@user-jq1mg2mz7o]

"a d&d 5e character-" i damn near choked laughing at that, thanks

[@Nikademus1969]

Drizzt is like the Wolverine of D&D

[@demiraichan]

Not gonna lie, I've probably watched your Stone Profit review at least 9 times now if not more. I really like these reviews, especially since I most likely will never play these games and love d&d adventure games like this (I just don't have the time for em anymore)

[@CosmicCosmo1]

Have you done the eye of the beholder series yet? They were the predecessors of these Ravenloft style games but they actually play much smoother since you are on a grid instead of on ice skates in a 3dish world.

[@nassattack]

I had this game as a kid and oh man do I have complicated feelings on it. I wanted to like it so much but I think like 99% of my playtime was being lost in those fucking caverns. I don't think I ever made it to the actual city. However, this game did get me into the Drizzt books, which I know is absolutely wild that I played this not knowing who that was.

[@cmdrarcturus8197]

Great that you're bringing up these old gems. I bought all these back in the day as part of their "Masterpiece" collection along with the Dark Sun games in very elaborate packaging. I was enthralled for weeks. I know that it's not specifically part of D&D, but any chance you'll give a lengthy review of SSI's World of Aden: Thunderscape? I've always felt that it was a bit underrated and would love to see a modern remake.

[@DarkOmegaMK2]

So what's the Music Box for? The one where you trade it for the Helm Of Fakhiurm'Om.

[@TherinCreative]

Free (infinite, maybe) healing.

[@jmhaces]

Man, I'd forgotten how much that old design of Drizzt that looks like a random weirdly-clored middle-aged dude with an equally weird metal forehead cover freaking sucked. Who thought that looked like a cool character?

[@joseignaciofarias2617]

Loving these old dnd games!

[@skullcultist]

A lovely and fun video, as always! Ahhh, I fondly recall 1994, and thinking exactly what you pointed out: That the SSI D&D games were getting stale (or, lacking innovation, etc). I still enjoyed playing them (usually), but yeah. This was also during an era when tabletop AD&D/D&D just wasn't kewl anymore (hello CP2020, KULT, WFRP, SLA Industries, Talislanta, et al), and TSR seemed to being going down in sad flames. Quick question: I love that undead dude on throne t-shirt; where'd you get it? Thanks again for the awesome videos, sir.

[@TNTITAN]

To be fair they were trying other things. You had the civilization D&D game (Stronghold), the Risk D&D game (Fantasy Empires), and the rogue like D&D game (Dungeon Hack). So they were trying but I think it was at the time gaming was saturated with either FPS or RTS games.

[@Mordakai]

Well lads, we've finally arrived at Menzies :D

[@kaggykarr]

Sooo... the SSI was basically kinda like an Ubisoft of it's time?

[@fernandosacchetto5215]

One minor thing that really irritated me about this game was the dialogue with that wizard who enchants the gem at the beginning. You say a line that includes the word "drow" and he goes "drow?!?! Oooh, DARK ELVES!" and I'm like, okay, I'll use the right nomenclature. So, in the next line, you actually call them "dark elves" and he goes "dark elves...??? oh, the DROW!" Which one is it, jackass?

[@n.henzler50]

What? These adventurers are destined to cause my downfall? Quick, send in my worst assassins! Like, the ones that are good enough to get to the surface and let them know I hate them, but not good enough to win. I don't want to waste my best forces on this.

[@azarisLP]

This game killed AD&D games for a while because who the hell is going to walk into a GameStop and tell the clerk they want to buy a copy of "Menzoberranzan".

[@texasbeast239]

I would. And I would delight in saying it in several different accents.

[@allewis4008]

"One copy of 'Marzipan', please."

[@azarisLP]

@@allewis4008 Menzoberranzan sounds like a brand of laxative you see advertised on television. "Suffering from uncomfortable stools? Ask your doctor if Menzoberranzan is right for you."

[@TheGlock30owner]

Did GameStop exist in 1994? I got my copy at Babbage's and just needed to pick it off the shelf.

[@Taricus]

@@TheGlock30owner I was about to say that LOL! We went into department stores and media stores to buy video games back then. Or like.... Toys R Us if you go back far enough.

[@banks3388]

Drizzt cosplays are amazing, we need more lol...

[@JnEricsonx]

I've yet to see one at a con. Which is depressing.

[@Elka-qg5lt]

Hey! I just recently stumbled over your channel, you reviewed the games i watch most on YT, so here i am :-) Thanks for those videos!

[@chrismurphy4398]

Have you done a wizardry retrospective yet?

[@Tommyknox777]

Awesome video. This game was an absolute banger for me, I played it as a kid so didn't even notice the lack of difficulty I thought I was doing big things the whole time lmao.

[@thegblob]

Great video. I'd like to see a video on what modern, party based, first person, adventure games are available.

[@Matthew-cc4xt]

This was such a great game back in the day. Very mysterious and a fun rpg grind, and leaps and bounds ahead of the old dungeon delvers. I didn't play any D&D video game as much as this til Icewind Dale 2.

[@elilevinger5981]

Love the vid and jokes 😂 - cod the bugs be guards in the city? - whats is underdark radiation?! 😂🤪

[@Cassandra112]

Should be noted. Ultima Underworld was 1992.

[@VisiV]

Dang, if it weren’t for the music, VO and sound effects, it would be so hard to know how to feel about any of these locations. I love the look, too, but it’s bare enough that it’s very interlocked with the audio for tone. I miss that.

[@lloyd011721]

dragonlance you say? in 8th grade i read 2 books with raistlin and carmoran in them... i remember loving them. i had no idea what dnd was back then

[@RetroMaticGamer]

Don't feel bad. I much preferred Dragonlance novels over Forgotten Realms, too. Still do. Way more interesting characters by far. Fight me.

[@LolaliciousSmiley]

He was the best choice, but I wouldn't have been opposed to putting all the sexy characters in the thumbnail at once.

[@DVX_BELLORVM]

As a young nerd who knew nothing about this game before I dove in, I have to say that it was extremely cool to get Drizzt Do'Urden in your party back in 1994. Menzo still holds a place in my heart thanks to its atmospheric visuals and absolutely fantastic soundtrack. I completely agree, however, that the middle portion of the game is mostly a boring, repetitive slog. It's a shame because both the Icewind Dale plains and the City of Menzoberranzan are very fun and engaging.

[@MiriOhki]

I remember grabbing this from a computer booth at the BX when I was on Okinawa. Fun but a little clunky.