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#011 – AD&D: Heroes of the Lance

The Dungeons & Dragons marathon continues with Heroes of the Lance, one of the worst games to ever grace the NES.
At least the cover’s awesome.
This painting accurately represents the horrors found in Heroes of the Lance.

PLAYERS: 1

PUBLISHER: FCI

DEVELOPER: Natsume

GENRE: RPG

RELEASE DATE: January 1991

Heroes of the Lance is bad. Really bad. Select one of eight porn stars- er… “warriors of justice” and find the Disks of Mishakal. These warriors’ names would purge chuckles from the stoniest heart: Sturm Brightblade, Flint Fireforge, Tanis Half-Elven (?!), and my personal favorite, Tasslehoff Burrfoot. Yes, that’s right… Tasslehoff. The warriors are displayed at the bottom of your screen, giving you the illusion of choice. In reality, each warrior is like an extra life. When one dies, you’re given another warrior at random. Like Dragon Strike, Heroes of the Lance was originally made for PC and ported over to the NES. The stiff atmosphere is telling, as are the controls. The game feels like it should have analog control for eight-way movement, yet our beloved NES controller has only four rigid directions. I never fully figured out what ‘A’ and ‘B’ did, except that ‘B’ was for attack when an enemy was near. ‘A’ seemed to help you run sometimes, but other times, it just stopped you dead in your tracks. The graphics are of an Atari standard, which isn’t something one would expect for a NES game published in 1991. Music is tolerable, surprisingly, but it doesn’t soothe your soul when you’re trying to slay some old curmudgeon because he’s kicking your Achilles tendon and draining your Burrfoot blood. Heroes of the Lance is suited for the patrons of the late-night S&M bars in downtown L.A.. If you enjoy code words and pain, Tasslehoff will be waiting.

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3 replies on “#011 – AD&D: Heroes of the Lance”

“This game is suited only for the patrons of the late-night S&M bars in downtown L.A., where people go to feel pain. If that’s you, Tasslehoff will be waiting.”

This quote should be on the game’s box description!

Hey now, the game may suck and all but don’t go hating on my dragonlance peeps just because you think their names sound funny. Those were some damn awesome books, give them a shot.

I found a glitch to make yourself invincible in this game… Sadly, it didn’t help me get anywhere, do anything or find a point to it.

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