Towers II - Atari Jaguar

[m15granger]

Does it just save to the cart? Old school battery save or maybe flash like some 64 games?

[pHr33kAcHu]

ARRRGH OH GOD MY HEAD IS TOUCHING THE CEILING

[dde12321]

the only RPG on the jag?

[AssociationAdmirer]

@dde12321 If that. It's hard to tell from just a 3-minute clip, but Towers II looks more like a first person survival game a la Alien vs. Predator. There's no discernible character enhancement("level up") system, which is what makes a game an RPG, and the Jaguar would hardly be the first Atari console to have zero RPGs. If it IS an RPG though, then it is indeed the only one for the console.

[dde12321]

@AssociationAdmirer well the level up system dose not make it an RPG, RPG stand for roll playing game, level up is a system of power and not all RPG games have it, It was a long time I made that comment you shold check the date next time ;)

[AssociationAdmirer]

@dde12321 I did check it; that comment wasn't made as long ago as you thought. The date is irrelevant anyway, since no one had yet answered your question.

Not only do all RPG games have a quantitative character enhancement system, it's essentially the definition of an RPG. I'm surprised you didn't pick that up from my post.

[drshagstein]

This game actually looks pretty cool. It's a shame it wasn't released during the Jag's lifespan (or when I actually owned one, I should say). I would've bought this game in a heartbeat.

[Sypran]

reminds me a bit of elder scrolls 2 and that is kinda cool

[Abasuto]

Does the cart have built in save ability ?

Couldn't imagine having to play an entire RPG style game in one sitting due to the lack of saving.

[MrHabaki]

@Abasuto Yeah savegame works!

[MrHabaki]

I like this game a lot... it´s like Dungeon Master but in realtime 3D! Unfortunately I haven´t had the time to finish it, yet!

Btw, I prefer the Falcon version!

[bobbystar101]

@MrHabaki Why do you prefer the Falcon version?

[MrHabaki]

@bobbystar101 Hard to tell, I would say I like the control by mouse a bit better and gameplay at all is a bit more fluid on the Falcon... The Jaguar version on the other hand looks better as it uses fullscreen for the action... Maybe it´s just because I use the Falcon more often than the Jaguar ;)

[bobbystar101]

@MrHabaki I will probably pick up the Falcon version to be honest.

A lot cheaper and my falcon needs more games.

[DracIsBack]

This may be my biggest Jaguar disappointment. I waited for this game to come out and was pumped when Telegames decided to release it *AFTER* the system was discontinued.

When I got it though, i just couldn't get into it.

[JAREDJAG1982]

do you gain levels and experience in this? How about a stat screen I only saw that item screen in the vid. What do the other levels look like? I was thinking about bidding on this at an auction but it is expensive and I wanted to see more of the game before taking the plunge.

[ephiany1]

Is this really an RPG? I know this is just a 3-minute glimpse,but I don't see any RPG elements. It looks like a 1st person shooter,just with short-range weapons.

Very low-rent graphics and animation for a late '96 Jag game,though at least it runs smoothly. And it doesn't pause when you open your inventory? That must be a pain when using a controller.

It would be interesting to see what Towers II is like when you get deeper into it,though.

[viMasterJag]

This type of RPG was before the JRPGs (Final Fantasy.)

This is old-school Dungeons & Dragons style RPG.

At that time (before JRPGs,) this style WAS the RPG style aside from the older text-based RPGs.

Obviously, this game was clearly created & released years after JRPGs became popular, but just so you know, it is still an RPG -- just the older kind.

[ephiany1]

I don't understand. Ultima and Wizardry were the first and most popular CRPGs, so if anything qualifies as "old-school RPG", they do - and this game bears less resemblance to either of those games than it does to a JRPG.

Besides, having played around 60 RPGs, and having seen clips of 30 or so others, I don't see any intrinsic difference between a JRPG and any other RPG. They all use the same defining gameplay elements(hence why they're called RPGs). Towers II doesn't appear to have those.

[viMasterJag]

I dunno, that's just what I was told. The only other RPGs I've played are the JRPGs, but I haven't been into those for years.

Maybe it's considered an action RPG?

It appears to be similar to Dungeon Master.

I don't think the character's point-of-view is the defining factor of whether it's an RPG or not -- but it's the basics of the game itself and this appears to have those elements.

But like I said, I'm guessing it's an action-rpg. Check out the wiki on that -- it makes more sense.

[Antonyv1982]

@ephiany1 not sure what anyone else thinks but its classified as an RPG because it is a sword and sorcery adventure (albeit from the FPS perspective, although that is not uncommon in RPG's think Fallout and Elder Scrolls) you run around a level collecting items etc, is your confusion stemming from the fact that it is not turn based? Because most modern RPG's aren't anymore, they are real time battle RPG's which is what this is. I haven't played it so I don't know but just guessing from the vid

[AssociationAdmirer]

@Antonyv1982 No, my confusion(this is ephiany1; I've changed accounts) stems from the lack of an obvious character improvement system. Maybe there is such a system in Towers II - it's hard to tell from just a 3-minute video - but I haven't seen it.

Turn-based RPGs have always been a minority, actually. Hydlide I, one of the first computer RPGs, is real time.

[Antonyv1982]

@AssociationAdmirer ok I kinda see what you mean here, I don't know if you can level up but certainly you can improve the character to some extent as, from what I saw at least, you start out with nothing and eventually begin finding better and better weapons to fight enemies with, as well as learning magic skills and healing yourself, things you couldn't do when you first start playing. That's the impression I get anyway

[Tubson77]

I have to disagree with 'ephiany1', this game is most definately an rpg. There is a great deal of inventory management, strategic use of weapons, looting, level exploration (free form) and puzzle solving. Being an rpg nut since 1985, this game very pleasantly surprised me. The game reminds me of the role playing classic 'Dungeon Master' but with more freedom. The Jaguar truly did have great titles in every genre, which is why it is a great console to own.

[moravallor]

@ephiany1 There were a lot of RPGs like this in the 90's such as the Eye of The Beholder series. Some early Elder Scrolls games, like Arena and Daggerfall looked like it, but did not necessarily play like it... I guess it's more like a WRPG.

[Cyrus7500]

This looks kinda like Doom Mixed with old school D&D or Phantasy Star 1 look & Gameplay thou in Phantasy star it was an rpg here it is more like an Action Adv.

[dstarks80]

I haven't beat this game yet and I've had it for 10 years. I'm at the end and I can't figure out what to do after Daggan goes into that large egg shaped ball in the back of the room. If anyone can help,i'll appreciate it greatly. Game is hard as hell by the way;especially at the end.

[Cyrus7500]

have you tried gamefaqas site or any other internet sites that actually gives away hints and walkthroughs? If not i would suggest you doing that maybe you are luckythere.

[theatarian]

I've beat this game a couple of times and it's a lot of fun and it's fairly long. Most people seem to get stuck on level 4 and never get beyond that point as the first 4 levels are heavy on the puzzle elements. It's not until you get until level 5 that some sort of story starts to evolve (wait until you get the resurrection potion). People need to think of this game as an advanced Dungeon Master - that is what they were shooting for and not Final Fantasy. Awesome video viMaster!

[SauceCaptain]

I got this game about 3 years ago and I loved what I played. I got stuck on a level and had to move out of my house a week or two later and never finished the game. Makes me wanna get it out again. Light on actual RPG elements and more on collecting and fighting. It is cool though that the Jag had a RPG, the system has a little bit of everything even with so few titles released. Not an easy title to come across, and expensive as well, but I love it.

[viMasterJag]

Ya know, as you said, it might be worth getting it out again.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with JaguarSector II, but you can get help there with the game if you need. They're extremely knowledgeable and a couple of them have even been trying to write up a guide for Towers II.

:-)

[NinjaGhostScorpion]

Nice of them to put credits at the beginning. Now, we know whose house to vandalize.

[viMasterJag]

Really?

If I had the time, I might get into this game. You never know. It's not like the completely done-to-death japanese rpg type, but rather the old school D&D rpg type :)

[Guidoman3000]

I've recently gotten a Jaguar and was looking for some quality titles to get a full experience out of the system. I checked out this game after viewing this movie, and I can say that Towers II is worth a bit much for what you get, but the puzzles are very fun to solve and you can find some really interesting secret passages here and there to give the player a pretty involving experience. Of course, Towers II has trouble competing with RPGs on other systems if you want my opinion...

[viMasterJag]

Oh yeah, it has trouble competing with RPGs on other systems for sure.

I mean, I personally haven't ever played any D&D-style RPGs in my lifetime (other than this game,) because I prefer turn-based a la Final Fantasy.

[Adventurestud]

Thanks for posting this. To be honest the game looks kind of lame but since I've never played it I can't make a true assessment. I will say that about 75% of the Jaguars games were pretty lame. Not that any other systems percentage were any better - there were just more games on the other systems.

[viMasterJag]

Unfortunately, I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment of the Jag library :-/

I'm just glad there are some that are fully worth playing :D

[EmOneGarand]

Awesome game, most don't like it cause they don't get far enough into the game :/ quite sad cause it does have an interesting story line though it's upto the player to find the parchments with story details written on them..

[killgore346]

AWESOME VIDEO BUDDY! TOWERS II ROCKS!

[KevinCali24]

Nice job on the video. I had this game, but sold it. Just not my type of game...

[viMasterJag]

Yeah, I dunno if I like it, either. I just haven't sat down and done anything with it yet.

Thanks for the props, though! You da man!