| Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance | |
|---|---|
 NES box art byJeff Easley | |
| Developers | U.S. Gold[3] (Amstrad, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum) Strategic Simulations Natsume (NES)[4] Tiertex (Master System) |
| Publishers | Strategic Simulations U.S. Gold FCI (NES) Pony Canyon (Famicom) |
| Composers | Brian Howarth Iku Mizutani (NES) Seiji Toda (MSX/NES) |
| Series | Dragonlance |
| Platforms | Amiga,Amstrad CPC,Atari ST,C64,FM Towns,MS-DOS,MSX2,NEC PC-8801,9801,NES,Master System,ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1988 Famicom/NES
|
| Genre | Action-adventure game |
| Mode | Single-player |
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance is a video game released in 1988 for varioushome computer systems and consoles. The game is based on the firstDragonlance campaign module for theDungeons & Dragonsfantasyrole-playing game,Dragons of Despair, and the first Dragonlance novelDragons of Autumn Twilight.
Heroes of the Lance is a side-scrolling action game.[5]
The eight heroes from theDragonlance series are assembled for the quest, but only one is visible on the screen at a time; when the on-screen hero dies, the next in line appears.[5]Heroes of the Lance usesDungeons & Dragons game statistics, with character statistics taken exactly from the rule books.[6] Three characters have special abilities (healing magic, wizard magic, and trap removal), but the other five merely act as "lives" for the player as in traditional action-platforming games.
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Heroes of the Lance focuses on the journey of eight heroes through the ruined city of Xak Tsaroth, where they must face the ancient dragon Khisanth and retrieve the relic, the Disks of Mishakal.
Even if it is a faithful representation of a portion of the novelDragons of Autumn Twilight, it was a departure from therole-playing game moduleDragons of Despair the book itself is based on.
The eight heroes that make up theparty are:
Heroes of the Lance was based on the original Dragonlance novels written byMargaret Weis andTracy Hickman.[6]Heroes of the Lance was not part of theGold Box series; the nickname for these otherD&D titles were "Silver Box" games.[5] The NES version was developed byNatsume.
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| Your Sinclair | YS Megagame[7] |
Heroes of the Lance was very successful for SSI, with 88,808 copies sold for computers in North America.[8] After reviewing a pre-production copy of the DOS version ofHeroes of the Lance, the magazineG.M. praised its graphics and "excellent" audio and said that "it would undoubtedly go straight to the top of the computer games charts and stay there for several months. It'sthat good".[9]Computer Gaming World gave the DOS version of the game a similarly positive review.[10] Jim Trunzo reviewedHeroes of the Lance inWhite Wolf, rating it a 4 out of 5 and stated that "Graphically, the product is inspirational, regardless of the machine on which it is being played. Full-figured characters and monsters and detailed backgrounds make the game a joy to look at as well as play."[11]
Electronic Gaming Monthly columnistSeanbaby listed the NES version as the 2nd worst NES game, and as the 11th worst video game.[12][13]
Levi Buchanan, in a classicDungeons & Dragons videogame retrospective forIGN, wrote that if the players don't plan well, they can lose a lot of heroes in a very short period of time. He added that this offered a slight strategy angle, butD&D fans largely preferred thePool of Radiance straight RPG approach.[5]Pool of Radiance' sales were triple that ofHeroes of the Lance.[8] According toGameSpy, although the game was a fairly decent side-scroller for its time, it was also known for it frustrating level of difficulty, and its inability to save the game.[14]
The storyline for this game continued in two subsequent video games,Dragons of Flame andShadow Sorcerer.
