Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun

Dungeon & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun is an RPG created for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive by Westwood Associated and released in 1992.

The game designed by Louis J. Castle is based on the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game rules, and it's set in the Mystara Hollow World. You can control a party of 4 characters, either pre-made or generated. The classes are the ones of the first edition of D&D: cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief, dwarf, elf, and halfling. The choice of basic D&D is quite unusual. Most of the RPGs of the '90s were based on AD&D 2nd edition, with many more races and classes and settings like Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance. I wonder if SSI got the exclusivity regarding AD&D 2nd edition from TSR. This could be the reason.

Anyway, apart from the "vintage" rules, WOTES has other unique features. Two different modes: the outside mode, with an isometric view and a turn-based combat mechanic, and the inside/dungeon mode, with a first-person perspective and real-time combat. The graphics are excellent, every screen is very detailed, and the palette of the Mega Drive is used perfectly. In fact, the dungeon mode looks a lot like Eye of the Beholder (though the screen is smaller), and the outside view reminds me of Ultima VI: The False Prophet.

Programming is also excellent (don't forget that Westwood is the studio behind Dune II: The Battle For Arrakis and Command & Conquer).

Despite this, the game was not a success. Perhaps because console owners were more used to anime-inspired RPGs, this is probably why Warriors of the Eternal Sun is the first and only D&D game ever released on the Sega Genesis.

But retrogamers are discovering this game now, and it won't be difficult to read very positive reviews about it. If you like old-school RPGs and D&D, you have to try this title.