Drakkhen

Overview

Drakkhen is an RPG released in 1989 for the Atari ST and Amiga. It was originally published by Infogrames, a French company that eventually became Atari SA. It was eventually ported to the MS-DOS with several additions, and then to the Super Nintendo by Kemco in 1991.

The game had a few novel features for the time, including an open 3D overworld (actually just an effect created by vectors and sprite-scaling, similar to the SNES's Mode 7) and a real-time day/night cycle. It received a SNES-only sequel Dragon View, known in Japan as Super Drakkhen.

Story

The prophecy has been fulfilled. The world shall be ruled by the dragons. On an island far away, their lords prepare for the conquest of the lands. There is only one hope for mankind. The emperor sends out four heroes -- warriors and magicians -- to solve the puzzle of tears and prevent the invasion of the Drakkhen.

Gameplay

The player needs to explore the environment with their group of adventurers, visiting various castles to solve the quest that been given to them. The player can also choose to wander off the path and explore the countryside, though various dangers await to quickly slay an under-leveled party.

Combat is done automatically whenever the party encounters an enemy. The adventurers wander into the first-person view and fight the creatures they've encountered until either side is defeated or the player decides to flee. Characters switch to this third-person view inside locations as well.

Among the many regular monsters the group can encounter, there are also dragons that can be found by wandering too far away as well as several "special" monsters that can be fought when certain conditions are met. These include a colossal panther head that strikes if the group interferes with any graves in any way, powerful beings that descend from space should the party look up at specific constellations, and the chilling "Shadow Man" - a fully black humanoid figure who emerges from the ground to an ominous tune. These creatures are almost certain death, especially to low-level parties, and will often eradicate confused newcomers who stray off the beaten path.