Order of the Griffon

[vestcoat]

I've been playing this game pretty heavily the last week or so.  I haven't been this engrossed with an RPG in a long time and I think OOTG is one of the best domestic releases.  Many D+D rules affect the game that aren't mentioned in the manual.  This would be a minor nuisance for those without dorky pastimes. 
Anyway, I've been digging it.  This game has never received much discussion on here.  What do you all think?

[GUTS]

I loved that game minus the horrible ending and password system (although if you're playing on a duo that wouldn't be a problem).  Next to Eye of the Beholder 1&2 it's definitely my favorite AD&D game; the graphics are nice, the battle system rules, and the AD&D rules are well implemented (delayed blast fireballs rule).  I've been trying to win a complete one on ebay for the last few months so I could play through it again but I keep getting outbid by sniping a$$holes.

[vestcoat]

I loved that game minus the horrible ending and password system (although if you're playing on a duo that wouldn't be a problem).  Next to Eye of the Beholder 1&2 it's definitely my favorite AD&D game; the graphics are nice, the battle system rules, and the AD&D rules are well implemented (delayed blast fireballs rule).  I've been trying to win a complete one on ebay for the last few months so I could play through it again but I keep getting outbid by sniping a$$holes.

Yeah, I can't imagine playing without the memory on a Duo or TurboBooster Plus.  Too bad because I could be getting some extra gaming in on my TE right now!

Even though I'm a big fan of the Ultima series and have beaten all the NES/SNES ports I've never been into computer gaming.  I probably should be because I prefer less-linear RPGs; none of the Final Fantasy crap.

How do Eye of the Beholder on (SNES) and Warriors of the Eternal Sun (Genesis) compare to OOTG?  They all came out around the same time.  Are they worth tracking down?

Also, the battle music on my copy of Order of the griffon suddenly stops whenever the first sound effect occurs.  Is this normal?

Here's a funny thing I found on Wikipedia:

Order of the Griffon is a video game for the TurboGrafx-16. Frank Klepacki composed its music, and cites it as the low-point of his career due to difficulties working with the TG-16's sound engine.

[esteban]

I've been playing this game pretty heavily the last week or so.  I haven't been this engrossed with an RPG in a long time and I think OOTG is one of the best domestic releases.  Many D+D rules affect the game that aren't mentioned in the manual.  This would be a minor nuisance for those without dorky pastimes. 
Anyway, I've been digging it.  This game has never received much discussion on here.  What do you all think?

From an older post:
"Order of the Griffon is an enjoyable game, IMO. I think you'd be happy with it, especially if you liked the early TSR / SSI games that appeared on various computer platforms back in the day. This HuCard does a decent job of capturing the SSI experience on a console. Also, if you are the least bit interested in D&D, then you have to get Order of the Griffon, since it was the only TG-16 game licensed from SSI."

IIRC, OotG never appeared on any other platform. Can anyone verify that?

[Kaminari]

Order of the Griffon is a honest Westwood game, although I would have a hard time comparing it to Eye of the Beholder in terms of production values. Although I'm certainly glad Klepacki tried to tackle the PSG, I think he could have done much better working with a talented PCE sequencer (which obviously was a rare sight outside of Japan). While he ruled the MIDI scene (especially on the MT-32), FM sound has never been his forte.

[esteban]

Order of the Griffon is a honest Westwood game, although I would have a hard time comparing it to Eye of the Beholder in terms of production values. Although I'm certainly glad Klepacki tried to tackle the PSG, I think he could have done much better working with a talented PCE sequencer (which obviously was a rare sight outside of Japan). While he ruled the MIDI scene (especially on the MT-32), FM sound has never been his forte.

I commented in the other thread while you were posting here, about the very game in question!

I feared that you were completely dismissing Order of the Griffon.

[GUTS]

The SNES version of Eye of the Beholder is pretty poor, its slow and ugly.  If you have a Sega CD get that version, its the absolute best and even way better than the computer version due to the AWESOME soundtrack and improved grpahics.  Warriors of the Eternal Sun is pretty good too, it does a great job of mixing Ultima with AD&D (the overworld graphics look exactly like ultima 6 while the dungeons are pure Eye of the Beholder).

[Kaminari]

I feared that you were completely dismissing Order of the Griffon.

I've tried hard, oh yes... but I'm afraid I'm just incapable of despising any Westwood production

About Eye of the Beholder MCD, the soundtrack was done by Koshiro and Sakimoto. That could have been worse!

[GUTS]

Yeah that's why it totally rules, wandering around the dungeon is awesome when you have a kickass techno soundtrack.

[esteban]

Yeah that's why it totally rules, wandering around the dungeon is awesome when you have a kickass techno soundtrack.

Oh crap, now I am intrigued! Are you serious about there being "techno dancey" music in the Sega CD version? That's not what I was expecting, but it sounds like a nice -- if unorthodox -- change of pace. Awesome.

[GUTS]

Yeah there's one track that plays for the majority of the quest that is a damn cool techno rave song, it gets you pumped for battle and it loops so well that it never gets old, I still pop in my Eye of the Beholder once in a while and listen to it.

[esteban]

Yeah there's one track that plays for the majority of the quest that is a damn cool techno rave song, it gets you pumped for battle and it loops so well that it never gets old, I still pop in my Eye of the Beholder once in a while and listen to it.

Kool, thanks for the scoop. Looks like I'll have to get this game and experience it for myself.

[Necromancer]

I played the hell out of OotG a few years back, but lost my save file and didn't bother to start over.  It's too bad the password system was so cumbersome, as it would be nice to have a solid RPG for the Express.  I'll have to pull OotG out for another shot and make use of the Tennokoe Bank to help with those accidents. 

[m1savage]

This would probably be better asked at the magicengine board but since most people there hang out here anyway I'll give it a shot.

I decided to give this game another shot as I've been in a bit of a dungeon crawl mood lately. Trying it in a couple of versions of magicengine, I notice that during the game, the character on the right is "cut off" (not on screen). Since it had been a loooong time since I'd played the game I had to dig out my hucard to make sure that wasn't the way it was supposed to be.

Do any of you have the same results? Is there an emulator that gets this game "right"?

By the way, I am enjoying the game more this time around even though I know almost zero about D&D.

[rolins]

I decided to give this game another shot as I've been in a bit of a dungeon crawl mood lately. Trying it in a couple of versions of magicengine, I notice that during the game, the character on the right is "cut off" (not on screen). Since it had been a loooong time since I'd played the game I had to dig out my hucard to make sure that wasn't the way it was supposed to be.

Do any of you have the same results? Is there an emulator that gets this game "right"?

Use Mednafen and you'll won't get this problem.