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Fun, involved, expansive, and just better than DII, single p

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 27
Date: September 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Diablo II fans will love Throne of Darkness. The designer of Diablo moved onto work on ToD in San Francisco based Click in order to move some of his ideas along, I suppose.

The game plays very similar to Diablo II, but makes the game more customizable and gives the user more power to take different paths. My biggest problem with Diablo II was that players basically were forced along in their quests, and that there simply was a "best character." However, ToD will not have this problem since there will be four out of seven characters playing. This creates *infinite* possibilities.

An important note: the demo is quite fun, but does NO JUSTICE to the real game! There are many things missing in the demo that make it seem like a weaker game than it is.

In terms of graphics, ToD represents the samurai age quite well, considering the game is a fantasy game. The style is very fitting and look right. There could be some more detail in characters, but I'm not complaining :)

Listening to the game was pleasuresome to my ears. The music is generally good, and the fighting and speech sounds are also strong.

The tactics system really comes through, though it is a little bit annoying when your wizard runs out of ki (MP) and runs up trying to kill that massive elder kappa (a turtle?). However, death is by no means permanent, and really isn't that big of a deal, unless everyone dies. :)

The magic system doesn't really look that special, but I haven't really gotten far enough to tell for sure. My wizard has been weak, but he's definitely getting stronger with each level. I expect him to be a powerhouse pretty soon!

As for an item system, this is where ToD shines. There is so much customizability that its ridiculous. It's like Diablo II with up to 24 gem slots, but with a larger variety of gems :) I can't wait to have a 24 slot 75-150 damage sword with whatever customizing items in it... Also, no item is wasted. Junk is not junk anymore. These can be given or offered to the blacksmith or priest of your temple which then are put into a material point system which can be used in junction with gold to build up better items with more customizing slots. It makes you want to pick up EVERYTHING! :)

Well, I believe ToD is one of the most innovative games in it's genre since the original itself. I haven't anticipated a game this much since Diablo II! And I'm not disappointed either.

Throne of Darkness Rules!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: November 01, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I love Throne of Darkness. Everything from the multiple tactical plays to the Japanese mythology setting makes this game the best of its kind. The single player options have tons of quests and amazing creatures I've never seen before.

Once you find your Blacksmith and Priest this game takes on a whole other dimension. You donate items and weapons along the way to your Blacksmith and he will make even better weapons with the materials. The Blacksmith can also make hundreds of customizable weapons with different magical items you get along the way. The Priest on the other hand will grant you spells as you gain experience or donate magical items to him.

Combat is very thought out where you control four of your seven possible samurai at once with very smart AI. Playing calling or tactic calling controls your non-active samurai. There is a tactic interface where set plays are also fully customizable. For instance you can set a character as a spell caster, ranged, aggressive, defensive, melee, and so on.

Multiplayer is probably my favorite part about ToD. It's basically your king of the hill type of game play where you fight to kill the Dark Warlord first and then actually become him. You can also co-op with other castles to fight your way to the top or take over their castles and kill their Daimyo, which kicks them out of the game.

I must warn you, this game is very addictive. The graphics and sounds are very well done in great detail and the game play is very fast paced. There is not a dull moment in this game. I highly suggest buying this game.

Multiplayer Mayhem

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: January 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you enjoyed Diablo and Diablo II, then you're bound to love Throne of Darkness, an action/RPG with a backdrop in Japanese mythos. In the single-player game you control a party of up to 4 characters of different classes and rotate up to 7 different characters in and out of the party as you complete a series of linear quests. Controlling the four different characters can be challenging, but it's made easier by an interface that enables customization of the characters' behaviors in combat.

Throne of Darkness shows marked similarities to the Diablo series (no wonder, since the designer also created the original Diablo), but the progression in the game is more quest based, and the action is often more hectic. One of the things I've noticed about the game is that, unlike Diablo, you don't spend a lot of your time hacking up easy opponents for profit and experience. The enemies you fight are all formidable. Sure, you can usually get past the low-level monsters with little difficulty, but unlike Diablo, you face a very real threat every time you enter combat.

The gameplay is also challenging because you have to balance your party's experience acquisition. You have to give each member of the whole party some time in the action; otherwise, they do not level up and remain too weak to help out with the bosses and quest completion. The biggest challenge, I've found, is keeping characters alive and out of the Daimyo, where characters are sent to recover when they've died in combat. Active characters gain experience and progress in levels; others fall behind.

The game boasts a hectic and exciting multiplayer component. You can play with up to 8 other people cooperating in the same house or competing against each other. When I played with one other person sharing one of the houses, our 7 characters were split between the two of us. You have the option of starting wherever you choose, and the game helpfully tells what level your characters should be to venture into the various game locations. If you and your partners work together, you can tackle much more difficult areas than recommended for your character levels, but if you stick with the game's recommendations, you'll find a nice progression.

This game offers a fun single-player campaign and an exciting multiplayer component. I highly recommend it for any Diablo fans looking for something similar yet new. At its current price, Throne of Darkness is a real bargain.

worth way more than 20

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: December 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

this game is one of the best i have EVER played, its sad that it gets such little publicity. the fact that you could customize nearly everything to your own liking is great. and the spells in this game...wow!, i mean, if i get bored while playing, i just sit back and start casting spells, just to look at the effects. to be honest, i dont use the tactics system very much, but in the begining i used it a few times, and it helped. the artwork is just amazing, i mean, the characters are so detailed, you could actually see their sandals. i would definetly recomend this game to anyone who likes games. any type of game, not just action or RPG. this is a great game.

ToD Worth Playing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: January 27, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I found ToD to be an excellent game that had some very good features to it's credit. It loaded very fast, had good graphics, no bugs (that I experienced), and exceptional playability. While it is, indeed, Diablo-esque in it's format, it was still different enough to make playing it a pleasing change from Diablo. The spell graphics were not as visually stunning, but the melee combat was just as enjoyable. The only detrimental part of the whole game was in making, purifying, and repairing magic items, weapons and armor. Some armor, when customizing it by puting found magic items into it's slots, took up to 4 minutes to create. If you had a lot of things to make, you could, seriously, go get a cup of coffee and a sandwich before it was done. That being said, it was sometimes a welcome respite from the game and made me take breaks from it that I, otherwise, might not have taken. The game world was graphically beautiful and the creatures were well done, both in form and animation. Although you had up to 7 characters to choose from (with a party of 4 being max) I found that I rarely needed to play more than 4. I normally chose the wizard, berserker, archer, and swordsman and was able to cut through all adversaries like butter. I also enjoyed the fact that you can play the game with 4 different clans, each having different quests (depending on who was in your party). I would highly recommend this game if you enjoyed playing Diablo/Diablo LoD. In this day and age, it's hard to find a game that isn't fraught with bugs. It was nice to play something that was graphically beautiful, interesting, challenging, fun, AND stable.

THIS GAME KICKS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: August 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I just spend a lot of time with the demo version of this game and i am very impressed. at first i thought this was just a diablo clone set in feudal japan with a bunch of people following you around (not that that's bad), but this game is very ORIGINAL. the concept (story-wise) is at least. the gameplay is also very fun. you use tactical play calling to make "plays" basically setting formations that your people will loosley follow (meaning they chase people down and run away when theyre gonna die). the AI, music, and difficulty are good. The graphics are a little sub-diablo, but have a different art-type. the only knock with the demo is its very short and there are no saves. there will be saves in the final game. also, did anyone but me notice a bug where the portal in the shrine room wouldn't register?

Captivating and unique character play - Visually stunning

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: August 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing role-playing computer games on and off for over twenty years - from the early days of Rogue up to the graphically intense dungeons of Diablo - and I'm very excited about the debut of Throne of Darkness. I've had the good fortune to spend some time with a prerelease version of the game and found it to be very captivating. They've created a wonderfully elaborate and rich visual world to explore, and the interface controlling a band of samurai adds an element of strategy that is very unique and creates a whole new way of thinking about the possibilities of battle and survival. Definitely looking forward to many, many hours of exploring the universe of Throne of Darkness and ultimately (hopefully) vanquishing the Dark Warlord.

Beta Tester that loves this Game!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: September 13, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was one of the lucky few that had the chance to Beta test the multiplayer the last couple of days, and this game is amazing, as I can't stop playing it. It is definately going to be a hit. The world is huge and rich with Japanese mythology, and the monsters come at you with realistic AI. Throne of Darkness is best game Sierra has put out since Half Life and I am buying it for sure.

I Enjoy Throne of Darkness more than Dungeon Seige

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I haven't gotten back into my Dungeon Seige game yet since I started Throne of Darkness. Although it is not quite as easy to play as Dungeon Seige I enjoy it much more.

As I am learning kenjutsu at my local dojo, I find the feudal Japanese setting and weapons much more interesting. It is even annoying in its realism - your weapons and armor have a durability factor and must be repaired or replaced frequently after battles.

This rates near the top of my list of favorite video games of all time: along with Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Dungeon Seige and Vanguard!

sweet 10 dollar game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: June 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

not a lot of one-year old games that are 10 dollars are really any good. however Throne of Darkness is obviously an exception.

graphics: my computer is an AMD K6-2 350 MHz with 184 megs of RAM and an integrated graphics chipset that uses 8 mb of my system memory. if that makes you sick, believe it or not, ToD runs on it, so the system requirements are quite low, thus resulting in some "OK" graphics, but from that overhead view, no one really is paying attention that the Swordsman's arm. and the 800x600 resolution is only OK.

gameplay: gameplay is good after you find the priest and blacksmith. after you actually understand the system and all of the abbreviations of the item stats, then these guys are pretty cool. customizing armor and weapons with found items (usually from higher level enemies) is pretty cool and sacrificing old items for spell points lightens your load. you really gotta keep all of your characters (7 of them) on the same level. I have a level 25 ninja, and a level 2 wizard. and the spell system is a bit weird. my ninja has a level 15 spell that supposedly does i think like 175-200 earth damage but does nothing to some of the "bosses" of the mountain citadel (the last "level" i think) and also it gets really difficult in the last citadel, and because of my slow computer i keep crapping up in the place, but i can go to other places to level up.

Sound: music is pretty good and the japanese yells are a bit funny.

overall, buy it! its ten bucks, and if you don't like it, big deal. are you going to buy 10 candy bars instead? you will probably enjoy ToD much more!

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