This brings back many memories. And I would also have to say that this game may have contributed to my less than stellar performance at school. So worth it though.
I may be wrong, but it's probably due to the sheer size of the game and the huge amount of 3d graphics taking up all that memory... The title music, on the other hand, is awesome!
I still have the PC version of this game! I bought it in the AD&D Gold Pack thingy after nostalgic memories of playing it on C64 as a kid. I even remember Ohlo was the name of the guy in the old rope guild in the slums XD Hehehe, I think I've played through it like 10 times (between C64, Amiga and PC versions)... and then transferred the characters to Hillsfar (one by one), then to Curse of Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades and Pools Of Darkness :P)
Ah yes this was the best game ever when I was young! Even with the gold old days of having to swap out each one of the half dozen or so floppies every time something happens and then having to wait over five minutes for shit to 'load.' Long live the C-64 and pool of Radiance! The first 'Bards Tale' was pretty bad ass as well.
Thanks for uploading this..this was my favorite C64 game. It got me into the book series, and so much more. And for some reason I loved the 64 version the best also..I dont think the PC version had the theme song (or maybe my PC didnt have the required sound chip at the time..remember that...ad lib. vs. soundblaster? lol). Anyway great retro moment seeing this, ty!
There were three options for the sound 'flag' in the configuration file POOL.CFG for the PC version: T - Tandy proprietary 4-voice audio card (IMO had MUCH better music than the C64 version due to better available hardware to handle the audio), P - "PC sound" aka the standard 'internal speaker', which resulted in NO music, and far simpler (and harsher) sound effects, and S - "silent (no sound)" I guess SSI/TSR couldn't take a chance on guessing which way the Ad Lib/SoundBlaster sound card war was going to turn out, so neither were given the option.
This was, together with Heart of Africa, the only game I actually bought. It was so cool, the explorative nature and everything (I was a AD&D noob). In the end I managed to trace down my foe (lord.. Syrantraxus or what?) but the actual fun were the many side missions.
@400SA In New Zealand, a new C64 cost well over a grand and a half in 1988. Then the Amiga cost close to two grand in 1990. I bought a new PC with 6gigs a year ago for less o.O
@mrsparkle001 nope. i just remember buying pool of radiance for $50. i was already starting high school at that point, but $50 still seemed like a massive amount of money.
I bought this game blindly as a 12 year old. I think i liked the cover. Best game I ever played. Tried to get it to work with emulators without success (could not save my game).
My "save disk" for this game is somewhere in my parent's house. Absolutely loved this game. In the SLUMS, directly next to "Civilized Phlan", I found what I believe was a glitch. While searching the stable, I found an item that was labeled as " 1 mail banded ". I thought it was armor, as in banded mail. But you couldn't equip it as armor. You had to equip it as a weapon . It had a THACO - 11 (negative 11) & 1d 4+138 damage. It destroyed everything and made the game easy to finish. So, after my first time through, I went multiple times again without relying on it because it eventually took some of the fun out of the game. (How about the load times?) I tried repeatedly to find it again with no luck. I even tried on the NES, but not successful. Those were the days, playing POR till 4:00 AM, with high school classes starting at 7:00.
David Byt hmm don’t think I ever encountered that. I know if you fought in the town and entered the temple of Tempus the guards and priests there would attack you and they’d be glitched with levels higher than the game supported and weird spells with strange names
I never played this game, now I guess I will one day. There are so many old games for the C-64 and Amiga and other old computers out there, I'll never run out of RPGs. Most of the RPGs these days are FPS games with RPG elements. This game series was one of the best but I got a job and never had time to play it. I will also go back and play the Wizardry Series and The Might and Magic Series all from the first one.
lol! So happy I found this vid. To this day, in games shops I look for rpg games with Forgotten Realms trademark. This game caused so many bad grades in school back in the day :P
I got this game pirated (like all my games on c64) and still figured out how to play it despite it's thick manual, complex combat system, and language code wheel. I eventually bought it, because they had this thing back then called 'replay value'. They need to make more games in this format, but slightly easier on the eyes with cutscenes.
*takes three steps* "OMG...another random battle?????" My favoutite part of the game was the Kobold Caves wehre I'd manuveure a high level fighter into the middle of a big Kobold group: *Fighter Sweeps* ...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK!
I played this game so much as a kid I had over 2 million experience points, that's a lot of gobblins and lizardmen,Its story is unmatched by most games these days.
@drawswithcrayon Before 1988 there was SSI' Wizard's Crown and The Eternal Dagger, the forerunners of the gold box series. Both of those games are great in their own way, and their turn based combat is vastly superior to the gold box series. They simplified combat with the gold box series (oversimplified in my opinion; if you know those two games you know what I mean). Not many are familiar with those two games though.
1:41 title screen!? Too long. Perhaps there was some narration I missed cus I'm here at work and not audio...but still...get on with it please. Enjoyed the rest of it though. Thanks!
Hmm, now that you mention the PC I seem to remember that back then PC versions were typically worse overall. I think the PC had better graphics (marginally, until Pools Of Darkness) but the sound and music were much worse. And that's typical of games of the day.
Hmmm, I wish the DOS version had the music and sfx, but I kind of prefer the DOS graphics. These don't really gel as well for me. A little too blocky. I guess it works out, since the in the youtube playthrough I'm doing of the DOS version I'm just playing some music in the background to make up for the deficiency.
@drawswithcrayon I got mine as a christmas gift, that and The Bard's Tale which I also love. I started high school in 89. Try to find the c64 version of Wizard's Crown, for an emulator. It's out there, I have it. You need to see just how dumbed down the gold box combat was.
a time machine? why do you need one of those? just find an old copy of the game and get a Commodore 1, which is basically a seriously updated Commodore64. Worlds faster than the real C64 and 100% compatible. Even has an underclock switch to make games run at the proper speed.
@ImoenOfTelengard As far as combat goes, it doesn't. The Gold Box turn based combat was was superior to the RtwP mess of a combat system that the IE games had. Shame really, those would of been great if they had turn based combat like in Gold Box games and Temple of Elemental Evil.
I just started playing this game last month on my old C64, and wow the amount of time spent swapping disks and 'missing' your opponents in combat really kills my enjoyment. I remember loving this game back in the day, but I think I've forgotten just how much of a slog it is (at least at the beginning when your characters are low level). I'm still just trying to finish clearing the slums of Phlan, and those Trolls and Ogres are kicking my butt royally.
It's the easiness that makes it bad in comparison. Graphics aside, the NES version is inferior. It's similar to today's debates between console and PC gamers.
NES is too japanese for me. I've never liked japanese console RPGs, and while POR on the NES isn't quite the same as a JRPG, it's enough for me. It's POR with a JRPG look and feel.
I absolutely adored this game. It was my first RPG and I was hooked. I thought the combat system was especially gratifying and well thought out.
This game and the Buck Rogers one was good. I liked Curse of the Azure Bonds, but the adventures were "smaller".
Man, I spent so much time playing this and the other SSI games on my C128.
This brings back many memories. And I would also have to say that this game may have contributed to my less than stellar performance at school. So worth it though.
Cool. I played both Pool Of Radiance for PC, C64 & NES but I love the C64 version espically for the intro song, it's really a great song.
I may be wrong, but it's probably due to the sheer size of the game and the huge amount of 3d graphics taking up all that memory...
The title music, on the other hand, is awesome!
I still have the PC version of this game! I bought it in the AD&D Gold Pack thingy after nostalgic memories of playing it on C64 as a kid. I even remember Ohlo was the name of the guy in the old rope guild in the slums XD
Hehehe, I think I've played through it like 10 times (between C64, Amiga and PC versions)... and then transferred the characters to Hillsfar (one by one), then to Curse of Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades and Pools Of Darkness :P)
Ah yes this was the best game ever when I was young! Even with the gold old days of having to swap out each one of the half dozen or so floppies every time something happens and then having to wait over five minutes for shit to 'load.' Long live the C-64 and pool of Radiance! The first 'Bards Tale' was pretty bad ass as well.
The while gold box collection comes out next week on steam... damn I'm excited
This was the C64 game that started it all for me 25 years ago...
Thanks for uploading this..this was my favorite C64 game. It got me into the book series, and so much more. And for some reason I loved the 64 version the best also..I dont think the PC version had the theme song (or maybe my PC didnt have the required sound chip at the time..remember that...ad lib. vs. soundblaster? lol). Anyway great retro moment seeing this, ty!
There were three options for the sound 'flag' in the configuration file POOL.CFG for the PC version:
T - Tandy proprietary 4-voice audio card (IMO had MUCH better music than the C64 version due to better available hardware to handle the audio),
P - "PC sound" aka the standard 'internal speaker', which resulted in NO music, and far simpler (and harsher) sound effects, and
S - "silent (no sound)"
I guess SSI/TSR couldn't take a chance on guessing which way the Ad Lib/SoundBlaster sound card war was going to turn out, so neither were given the option.
Wow... This got me right in the feels
this is probably my 2nd favorite video game music theme of all time, behind beyond shadowfire...I love this one!
This was, together with Heart of Africa, the only game I actually bought. It was so cool, the explorative nature and everything (I was a AD&D noob). In the end I managed to trace down my foe (lord.. Syrantraxus or what?) but the actual fun were the many side missions.
Trivia: Both Pool of Radiance and Heart of Africa's themes were composed by David Warhol.
Now 30 years ago !?! :-)
How has it been 30 years? And 10 years since I uploaded this?
"see every city, castle, camp, and dungeon in BEAUTIFUL 3d point of view"
Nice vid :)
@400SA
In New Zealand, a new C64 cost well over a grand and a half in 1988.
Then the Amiga cost close to two grand in 1990.
I bought a new PC with 6gigs a year ago for less o.O
wow
EASILY up there with the Ultima series, Legacy of The Acients and the Bard's Tale series.
@mrsparkle001 nope. i just remember buying pool of radiance for $50. i was already starting high school at that point, but $50 still seemed like a massive amount of money.
I bought this game blindly as a 12 year old. I think i liked the cover. Best game I ever played. Tried to get it to work with emulators without success (could not save my game).
My "save disk" for this game is somewhere in my parent's house. Absolutely loved this game.
In the SLUMS, directly next to "Civilized Phlan", I found what I believe was a glitch.
While searching the stable, I found an item that was labeled as " 1 mail banded ".
I thought it was armor, as in banded mail. But you couldn't equip it as armor. You had to equip it as a weapon . It had a THACO - 11 (negative 11) & 1d 4+138 damage.
It destroyed everything and made the game easy to finish. So, after my first time through, I went multiple times again without relying on it because it eventually took some of the fun out of the game. (How about the load times?)
I tried repeatedly to find it again with no luck. I even tried on the NES, but not successful.
Those were the days, playing POR till 4:00 AM, with high school classes starting at 7:00.
David Byt hmm don’t think I ever encountered that. I know if you fought in the town and entered the temple of Tempus the guards and priests there would attack you and they’d be glitched with levels higher than the game supported and weird spells with strange names
Yep POR and The Bard's Tale were my two favorite games back in the day.
I never played this game, now I guess I will one day. There are so many old games for the C-64 and Amiga and other old computers out there, I'll never run out of RPGs. Most of the RPGs these days are FPS games with RPG elements. This game series was one of the best but I got a job and never had time to play it. I will also go back and play the Wizardry Series and The Might and Magic Series all from the first one.
lol! So happy I found this vid. To this day, in games shops I look for rpg games with Forgotten Realms trademark. This game caused so many bad grades in school back in the day :P
It was such a great game...you can't compare it with today's "role-playing-games"...it was much much better...really difficult ...like a chess game!
I got this game pirated (like all my games on c64) and still figured out how to play it despite it's thick manual, complex combat system, and language code wheel. I eventually bought it, because they had this thing back then called 'replay value'. They need to make more games in this format, but slightly easier on the eyes with cutscenes.
*takes three steps*
"OMG...another random battle?????"
My favoutite part of the game was the Kobold Caves wehre I'd manuveure a high level fighter into the middle of a big Kobold group:
*Fighter Sweeps*
...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK!
Wow ... this takes me back. :)
Wolfe
Kewl Beans! They don't make 'em like this no more!
OMG this was the first RPG i played, i LOVED it !!
Just as long as you have plenty of sleep spells and strong cleric and you'll clean up well.
I played this game so much as a kid I had over 2 million experience points, that's a lot of gobblins and lizardmen,Its story is unmatched by most games these days.
@drawswithcrayon Before 1988 there was SSI' Wizard's Crown and The Eternal Dagger, the forerunners of the gold box series. Both of those games are great in their own way, and their turn based combat is vastly superior to the gold box series. They simplified combat with the gold box series (oversimplified in my opinion; if you know those two games you know what I mean).
Not many are familiar with those two games though.
1:41 title screen!? Too long. Perhaps there was some narration I missed cus I'm here at work and not audio...but still...get on with it please. Enjoyed the rest of it though. Thanks!
Best RPG ever
On GameFAQs this game's board was dedicated to Buddhism.
It's music. I guess when you have no audio it's really bad.
Gameplay starts at 1:48 you’re welcome
That’s the demo that plays after the intro music, and it’s the music people are nostalgic for
Agree!
Hmm, now that you mention the PC I seem to remember that back then PC versions were typically worse overall. I think the PC had better graphics (marginally, until Pools Of Darkness) but the sound and music were much worse. And that's typical of games of the day.
I think I just welled up a bit...
Hmmm, I wish the DOS version had the music and sfx, but I kind of prefer the DOS graphics. These don't really gel as well for me. A little too blocky. I guess it works out, since the in the youtube playthrough I'm doing of the DOS version I'm just playing some music in the background to make up for the deficiency.
@drawswithcrayon I got mine as a christmas gift, that and The Bard's Tale which I also love.
I started high school in 89.
Try to find the c64 version of Wizard's Crown, for an emulator. It's out there, I have it. You need to see just how dumbed down the gold box combat was.
I thought it was much earlier than 1988.
I remember duping the manuals but once stats hit 26 + the game would crash
a time machine wouldn't do much good then... you'd probably need a lobotomy to have the magic there again by now :P
Amiga version dominates! ;)
a time machine? why do you need one of those? just find an old copy of the game and get a Commodore 1, which is basically a seriously updated Commodore64. Worlds faster than the real C64 and 100% compatible. Even has an underclock switch to make games run at the proper speed.
@ImoenOfTelengard As far as combat goes, it doesn't. The Gold Box turn based combat was was superior to the RtwP mess of a combat system that the IE games had. Shame really, those would of been great if they had turn based combat like in Gold Box games and Temple of Elemental Evil.
I just started playing this game last month on my old C64, and wow the amount of time spent swapping disks and 'missing' your opponents in combat really kills my enjoyment. I remember loving this game back in the day, but I think I've forgotten just how much of a slog it is (at least at the beginning when your characters are low level). I'm still just trying to finish clearing the slums of Phlan, and those Trolls and Ogres are kicking my butt royally.
It's the easiness that makes it bad in comparison. Graphics aside, the NES version is inferior. It's similar to today's debates between console and PC gamers.
NES is too japanese for me. I've never liked japanese console RPGs, and while POR on the NES isn't quite the same as a JRPG, it's enough for me. It's POR with a JRPG look and feel.
myth!