The Bard's Tale

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Comedic action role-playing games have a certain public to appease and The Bard’s Tale, a separate title from the series with a similar name, succeeds. Players control the Bard, a cynical, sarcastic opportunist in the world of magic and swords. He is not interested in saving the world, but when it comes to getting a reward, or his own head is on the line – he’ll gladly jump into the action. And when the cult members recruited him to save the Caleigh, a beautiful princess, he considers that it might be worth his time.
The Bard’s Tale (2004) was a deviation from the main series, not only with a 3D environments but a moral choice system. The Bard has a choice in almost every dialogue to give either snarky or nice response, which might have lasting consequences through the entirety of the game. The game introduces summoning mechanic, which is improved with every musical instrument Bard finds during the story that allows players to call for the help of a companion. Companion specialty varied and they might be attacking defensive or utility. And because the game is focused on a musician, the player will view many musical numbers and songs.

Release Date

Oct 26, 2004

Metacritic Score

70

Rating

Achievements Count

103

DLCs

1

Play Time

14 hours

ESRB

Teen

System Requirements

Minimum:

  • CPU: Pentium III or Athlon equivalent
  • RAM: 256 MB
  • GPU: 32 MB 3D DirectX 9 compatible video card (NVIDIA GeForce2+ /ATI Radeon 7500+)
  • HDD: 1.6 GB

Recommended:

  • CPU: Pentium 4 or Athlon XP
  • RAM: 512 MB
  • GPU: 128 MB DirectX 9 3D compatible video card (NVIDIA GeForce FX+ /ATI Radeon 9800)
  • HDD: 1.6 GB

Interesting Facts

  • The game was marketed as a humorous spoof of fantasy role-playing video games.
  • This game is in a 3D environment with the player watching the only controllable character from an overhead vantage point.
  • The player’s character, The Bard, has magic and weaponry at his disposal to complete the task.
  • The plot involves “a sardonic and opportunistic musician and adventurer, driven by carnal rather than noble pursuits.
  • Many of the names and characters are influenced by Celtic mythology and the stories of the Orkney Islands.
  • These primarily confer new combat abilities such as the ability to use additional weapons, combinations of weapons, or use weapons in additional ways.
  • The largest unit in the game map is the World Area. Houton is the first World Area.
  • Combat is real time rather than turn based.
  • Equipment used for combat can be divided into offensive and defensive equipment.

Mod Support

Yes

Cheats support

Yes

Number of maps

2

Platforms

Android iOS Linux macOS Nintendo Switch Ouya PC PlayBook PlayStation 2 PlayStation 4 PS Vita Xbox Xbox One

Genres

AdventureRPG

Game Engine

Dark Alliance Engine

Protagonist sex

Male

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