Thursday, January 10, 2019

Dungeon archetypes in RPGs.

Been sick of my life for the past few days. Let's see if I'm sick of the next cliche on our analyzing tour which will probably span into next year because I'm so unmotivated.

"There's always a fire dungeon, an ice dungeon, a sewer maze, a misty forest, a derelict ghost ship, a mine, a glowing crystal maze, an ancient temple full of traps, a magic floating castle, and a technological dungeon."

This certainly qualifies for a boatload of games. Wanna list some examples?

Fire dungeon: Mt. Zublo in Breath of Fire 3, Thor Volcano in Treasure of the Rudras, Thwomp Volcano in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
Ice dungeon: Jokes End in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, White Dragon Cave in both Lunar titles, Great Glacier in Final Fantasy VII.
Sewer Maze: Nortune D Block Sewers in Xenogears, Sewer Access in Chrono Trigger, Viper Manor Sewers in Chrono Cross.
Misty Forest: many forests in Legend of Legaia, Guardia Forest in Chrono Trigger, Misty Forest in Grandia
Derelict Ghost Ship: The one from Legend of Dragoon, the Ghost Ship from Dragon Warrior 3, the Ghost Ship from Grandia.
A mine: The mines from Brave Fencer Musashi, Moon Stone Mountain in Skies of Arcadia, Tinto Mines in Suikoden II.
A glowing crystal maze: Abandoned Laine Village in Grandia, Lunar Subterranae in Final Fantasy IV, Crystal Tower in Final Fantasy III.
An ancient temple full of traps: Temple of Memory in Wild Arms, Ankor Wat (sp?) in Illusion of Gaia, Tombs of Amenti in Valkyrie Profile.
A magic floating castle: Doom Island in the Lufia series, Beauty Castle in Rhapsody, Floating Castle in Legend of Legaia.
A technological dungeon: Factory in Breath of Fire 3, Geno Dome in Chrono Trigger, The Grindery in Lunar 1.

So three examples of each. Obviously, not every game has these compulsories, and it's not a bad cliche in the slightest to have any of these. Perhaps the bigger focus would be on how the compulsories can have adverse effects on the battles, such as in Odin Sphere with the fire and ice locations requiring specifically crafted potions that way you won't suffer draining damage wherever.

No comments:

Post a Comment