Elminage ORIGINAL - Priestess of Darkness and The Ring of the Gods

28 hs de juego y solo pude enfrentar al jefe del tutorial ._.

Oh my god. Even more hardcore than similar Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls here. But I like it. Heard that this should be played before Elminage Gothic because it's supposed to be more hardcore and I'm glad I did.

ウィザードリィライクなダンジョンRPGです。 パーティがあっさり全滅したりキャラがロストしたりして かなりシビアと思いきやダンジョン内ではいつでもセーブができるので こまめにセーブすれば難しくはないです。 キャラクターの育成とトレハンは本当に楽しいです。 どういう順番で転職して最終パーティをそうするか考えるのも楽しいですし 序盤からほとんどのダンジョンに行けるので、いきなり終盤のダンジョンに行って 強装備を手に入れたり、敵からいい装備を盗んだりするのも楽しいです。 小烏丸をKojima Katanaと訳してるのがおもしろかったです。 Kojimaって誰？

Elminage ORIGINAL - Priestess of Darkness and The Ring of the Gods, developed by Starfish-SD Inc and mebius and published by mebiusu., is a dungeon crawler that deliberately resists modern design trends in favor of something far older and more demanding. It draws heavily from the lineage of classic first-person RPGs, particularly those that emphasized player-driven exploration, complex party management, and minimal guidance. From the moment the game begins, it becomes clear that it is not interested in easing players into its systems. Instead, it expects them to learn through experimentation, observation, and persistence. Character creation is one of the game’s most defining features, offering a wide range of races, classes, and customization options that allow players to build a party tailored to their preferences. These choices carry meaningful consequences, affecting everything from combat effectiveness to how characters develop over time. The level of control given to the player is extensive, but it also requires a willingness to engage with systems that are not always clearly explained. For those who enjoy fine-tuning their party and experimenting with different combinations, this depth can be highly rewarding. Exploration is structured around grid-based dungeon crawling, with players navigating labyrinths filled with traps, hidden paths, and unpredictable encounters. Movement is deliberate, and progress often feels slow, but this pacing reinforces the sense of danger. Every step carries potential risk, and the game does not hesitate to punish careless decisions. Combat follows a turn-based system that prioritizes planning and resource management, where success depends on understanding enemy behavior, managing spells and items, and maintaining a balanced party. The difficulty can be unforgiving, particularly in the early stages, but it creates a strong sense of accomplishment when challenges are overcome. Rather than focusing on a tightly scripted narrative, the game presents a broader objective involving the search for powerful artifacts. Much of the story is discovered indirectly through exploration, giving the experience a more open-ended feel. This approach allows players to engage with the world at their own pace, but it also means that direction is often unclear. Objectives are not always explicitly stated, and players must rely on their own initiative to determine what to do next. This design choice contributes to the game’s sense of freedom, but it can also lead to confusion, especially for those unfamiliar with this style of RPG. Visually, the game reflects its origins, combining simple 3D dungeon environments with more detailed 2D character illustrations. The environments are functional rather than visually impressive, serving primarily as a backdrop for exploration. In contrast, the character art adds personality and helps bring the party to life. An unusual feature is the ability to customize certain visual and audio elements, allowing players to import their own images and music. This level of personalization is rare and adds a unique layer to the experience, even if it does not fully offset the dated presentation. The game’s biggest challenge lies in its accessibility. Its interface can feel clunky, and its systems are not always intuitive, requiring time and patience to understand. The lack of comprehensive tutorials or clear guidance means that new players may struggle to find their footing. Additionally, the pacing can feel slow, particularly for those accustomed to more streamlined modern RPGs. These factors make it a difficult game to recommend broadly, as it demands a specific kind of player willing to adapt to its design. Despite these limitations, Elminage ORIGINAL offers a depth that is increasingly rare. It does not simplify its mechanics or compromise its vision, instead delivering an experience that feels consistent and purposeful. For players who appreciate methodical dungeon crawling and the challenge of mastering complex systems, it provides a sense of immersion and accomplishment that few modern games attempt to replicate. In the end, Elminage ORIGINAL - Priestess of Darkness and The Ring of the Gods stands as a dedicated example of old-school RPG design. It is demanding, sometimes opaque, and undeniably dated in certain aspects, but it also delivers a rich and rewarding experience for those willing to invest the time to understand it. Rating: 7/10

Elminage ORIGINAL is an easy recommendation, but only for the right audience. If you watched me play, you'd assume I hated it as I rant and rage about bad design choices and frustrating aspects. But at the end of the day, there's not a part of me that doesn't actually love the game. Thing is, EO is a very old-school dungeon crawl by faithful wizardry fans. Everything Wizardry does well is done well, everything done poorly is still just as bad. So, casuals? Look elsewhere. People that want a modern crawl? Not recommended. On the positive side, the systems are EXCEPTIONALLY interesting. The classes and races are actually unique and change up the gameplay. Summoners that can capture monsters, Servants/Maids that get free item slots for consumables and automatically use them each turn, Alchemists that allow a complex and clever weapon enchanting system, one race that is immune to cursed items. It's worth doubling down on the weapon enchanting system. It's awesome. There is no limit to what you can do with this dang system. Bonus damage, multipliers against certain enemy types, damage/status resistance, remove racial/gender limits, etc. It looks like a fantastically cool system that I just can't play with for reasons I'll complain about later. In addition, the core loop is great because you have access to loads of quests and dungeons from the beginning. It feels the best kind of open-world as you need gain fame and track down magic rings that are randomly hidden throughout the world. The combat is great at it's core, though it does sometimes misjudge the line between "Healthy Challenge" and "Annoying BS". You'll have your entire party put the sleep, insta-death'd, nuked by dragon breath, take one step into a dungeon and be forced to leave before you got petrified (I still don't know if it can be cured in dungeon). Or my favorite... I'm one step from leaving the dungeon only to have my thief spring a teleporter trap and be lost again. Rage, anger, bad design... sure... but I do love the experience. The game really falls into three major problems. Map Design, RNG, and Grind. The map design is actually interesting enough with each location feeling different. Some dungeons are maze-y corridors, some wide open spaces with buildings, some room-y castle interiors or temples. The gimmicks are unique enough to be engaging, yet rarely cross the line into bad. Some do frustrate me, but it's well within the range of "Fair" for someone that likes this genre. But there are no hidden treasure chests and very few events hidden on these maps. This means that you encounter hundreds of near identical empty rooms and rarely get that joy of finding something. The design itself is fine, but the experience of exploring the dungeon just tends to falls flat. This is equally frustrating when you have a quest, but it doesn't even tell you what floor you need to be on. It's "Walk on every grid tile until you succeed". The RNG is RNG. Everything about this game feels dictated by random and I've got some of the worst luck on earth. I was using nearly all starter equipment for over 9 hours because I couldn't get any decent drops! The game is heavily gear focused, so until I got these drops I was struggling for every step. The same RNG allows for stat loss on level ups (seems related to age) but this leads to plenty of save-scumming that doesn't feel good. (I generally take losses in games, but the stat losses were adding up fast here. Scummer was my only choice.) Note that I didn't even mention the potential for a battle every step, the RNG super power monsters, or insta-kill spells. I just considered that RNG BS par for the course in the genre. Finally, the thing that hurts MY experience the most is just that for a game with so many cool systems and freedom of choice... they tend to limit you too often and for too long. Crafting requires an alchemist, many quests/items require a summoner. But each class requires you to reach around level 30 to start using their mastery skills and have the class as designed! (I still have yet to unlock the mastery skills of any class, so it takes a while) There has never been a dungeon crawl so in need of multiclassing or a cool ascension system that rewards you for changing classes. While there's reasons to switch classes, it involves rebuilding my character from level 1 onwards and after 20 hours... that's way too much of a time investment! There are so many races and classes to play with but the core systems really make it tedious to do so. Mid-game you even unlock additional races! But is it worth recreating from scratch? I don't know. Anyways, I do think this is turning out to be one of my favorite Dungeon Crawlers from a system standpoint. There's so much here to love. But only hardcore, old-school dungeon crawl fans need apply.

PSP版、DS版やりこんで、だいぶ前に購入したエルミナージュSteam版やるか！と意気込んだ所日本語なし。 日本製のゲームなのにSteam版で日本語なくなってるゲーム多すぎ。 ゲーム自体は1、2とうん百時間とやりこんでいるのでお勧め。 Steam版は日本語ないのでやりません。 DVD版からデータ上書きして日本語化できるみたいですが、海外在住ではDVD版なんて買えません。

If you like classic Wizardry game play this game is for you, and the price is right at only 10 bucks. Elminage Original features more classes than Wizardry, and each has more depth. Thieves in particular are MUCH cooler with their unique ability to steal gear from enemies. Do be aware that it lacks some features that are considered standard for PC games: it runs at a fixed resolution in a window, and you cannot remap controls.

This game is not for every player, only consider this game is you are a real die hard dungeon crawler fan. The game has limited to no configuration al options "separate setup.exe file in the install folder" going trough the menu's and getting a understanding of the details of the equipment and such requires to get used to. maybe i come back to it if i really want to play a good crawler and i am willing to go trough the hardship of the UX/UI but for now i will pass.

I was taking a break from Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup and came across Elminage. It's great.

It took a while to make up my mind, but the further I get into this game, the better it gets. At first look, it seemed like a typical Wizardry-like with a huge grind ahead. The UI is a bit clunky compared to modern games, but it works fine once you get used to it. Worse, the difficulty cliff was daunting since everything after the first dungeon is MUCH more deadly. Likewise, some of the quests are obtuse, and I've ended up smacking my head against the wall more than once before seeking clarification on the internet. However, as I proceed, I'm impressed with the balance between the different classes and abilities. You CAN'T have everything you want, so you have to make hard choices. This is great game design. It's frustrating, but the alternative is a line-up of indestructible all-powerful do-anything adventurers. Furthermore, as I finish quests, world time passes, and NPCs change (or even die), and there are unexpected rewards. For example, when you finish one certain quest, character alignment becomes less of an issue. Considering I was expecting a Wizardry-like this is astonishing. If you like the various Wizardry clones, this game is perfect. If you can't stand them, stay away.