Ishar: Legend of the Fortress

Ishar: Legend of the Fortress is a fantasy RPG developed and published by Silmarils in 1992 for DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST.

It was part of a trilogy that includes Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom and Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity. Crystals of Arborea, released previously by Silmarils, is considered the unofficial prequel of Ishar.

In Legend of the Fortress, you begin your adventure as Aramir, a warrior on a quest to dispatch the evil offspring of the dark god and witch from Crystals of Arborea. As you travel, you can recruit other characters of different classes to help you, like thieves, priests, and hypnotists, to name a few. You can have up to 5 people (including yourself) at your party at any given time. When you encounter enemies, combat occurs in real time, and back attacks can surprise you without warning. You will also have access to a map to help you get your bearings and figure out where you need/want to go.

Legend of the Fortress plays from a pseudo-3d first-person perspective, with fixed directions, like many RPGs of the time. The difference is that most games are set in open environments, not dark and creepy dungeons. Another innovative feature is the different personalities of each member of the party. You will discover that the members might disagree with you and even leave the group if they are unhappy.

The gameplay is very straightforward, with you being able to click on words like “action,” giving you several options, or “attack.” You also move around by clicking on different arrows in the directions you want to go. The simplicity of the gameplay makes it easy for anyone to pick up.

Ishar takes me back to when I first fell in love with RPGs, and it is very much recommended whether you are a veteran of the genre or just getting your feet wet.