Play Bard's Tale, The - Tales of the Unknown Online

Game Overview

If you've ever played the original Bard's Tale on PC, the NES version might feel a little stripped down—no surprise, since they crammed what was originally three floppy disks onto one tiny cartridge. But don’t let that fool you. It’s still got that same first-person dungeon crawling, the weirdly catchy bard songs (yes, you can actually play them), and those brutal difficulty spikes that’ll make you question your life choices.

You start by rolling up a party of adventurers—fighters, mages, the usual suspects—and then immediately get lost in a maze-like city. The graphics are basic, even for NES standards, but there’s something weirdly charming about the way your little party shuffles through dark corridors while monsters pop up out of nowhere. Just don’t expect the full depth of the computer versions; some spells got cut, and the automap is… well, let’s say you’ll be drawing your own on graph paper.

It’s a shame the sequels never made it to consoles outside Japan. This one’s rough around the edges, but if you like old-school RPGs that don’t hold your hand, it’s worth a look.