Developer: Origin Publisher: Toho Release: 05/91 Genre: Action RPG
Computer RPGs did not fare well on the NES. Much like with adventure games the interface and their general design did not jive well with a controller with few buttons. The smart ones like Wizardry and Might & Magic tailored the experience for a console audience and it worked. The awful ones were adapted wholesale and failed like Ultima Exodus. Times of Lore is an oddity as it is a western action RPG that takes inspiration from Japanese games like Zelda. While it suffers compared to the games that inspired it due to its PC roots Times of Lore overall is a solid if short experience.
Twenty years ago King Valwyn ended the ten year war by driving back the invading barbarians. After he departs for his homeland for some much needed rest but is never seen again. In his absence the hard fought peace is being shattered. The barbarians are returning, the local lords feud and build their forces for a power play, and monsters begin to appear. Three heroes from different backgrounds have come to the land and unknowingly will be its salvation.
You have a choice between three characters; a knight, Valkyrie and barbarian. All three are virtually identical in terms of strength and speed. Apparently the Valkyrie gets more item drops from enemies while the barbarian gets the least. But in practice you will not really notice the difference so the choice is purely cosmetic. Times of Lore does not have an experience system so you will not level up killing enemies. The only reason to go out of your way to do so is to earn items and gold. Even gold is not all that important; aside from resting at an inn and buying food to regenerate health in the field there are only three items to buy. You can easily get all the gold you will need by completing the first quest. This means you are better off avoiding combat unless absolutely necessary, especially early on.
The beginning stages of Times of Lore is rough. Combat with the dagger flat out sucks and you move slow. But if you can tolerate it for about 10 minutes it gets better once you buy the axe and magic boots. The axe is strong and returns like Thor’s hammer and makes quick work of enemies. With the magic boots you can easily avoid combat if you so choose. The world map is pretty small and finding your current destination is easy. What is not is the game’s conversation system that gives keywords to ask for more information to trigger side quests or key events. It is annoying and adds a layer of frustration that should not exist. Regardless of how stupid I find it does little to make the game any harder.
Times of Lore is an extremely easy game considering you rarely need to fight. Your life bar is very long and drains slowly if you do engage in combat. Once you have the axe you can kill 90% of enemies before they reach you. A stay at an inn costs 10 gold which is measly. The only “complex” parts of the game are its few dungeons with their tedious tile puzzles. The easy difficulty makes an already short game go by that much quicker which is why I wish it were longer. What is here is good it just needs more of it.
Just when the adventure gets going it ends. Times of Lore is a short game; if you know where to go you can finish the game in a little over an hour. There are only seven main quests and three actual dungeons which are brief. Since there are no stats or levels and there are only a few items to purchase there is no need to grind. This is a nice compact action RPG that barely wastes time on extra frills as there are only two side quests that make an already easy game that much shorter if you decide to undertake them. To be honest I do not know how I feel about the game’s length. While I would have liked to see a few more main quests I will admit Times of Lore feels complete as it is. Whether that is good enough comes down to personal preference.
In Closing
I like Times of Lore. While the adventure is brief it is enjoyable while it lasts. I distinctly remember looking over Times of Lore and Conan at the flea market back in the day. While I ultimately went with Crystalis I do not think I would have been disappointed in my choice. But that is the problem Times of Lore faces. Although it is a good game it has stiff competition in the genre and should only be considered after playing the better options available.
