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The Dark Queen of Krynn

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The Dark Queen of Krynn
Cover art by Clyde Caldwell
Developer(s)MicroMagic, Inc.
Publisher(s)Strategic Simulations
Director(s)Lester Humphreys
Jason Linhart
Producer(s)George MacDonald
Designer(s)Herb Perez
Programmer(s)Jason Linhart
David Blake
Artist(s)Carol Tanguay
Writer(s)Herb Perez
Composer(s)David Govett
SeriesGold Box
Platform(s)Amiga, MS-DOS, Macintosh
Release1992
Genre(s)Role-playing video game, tactical RPG
Mode(s)Single-player

The Dark Queen of Krynn is the third in a three-part series of Dragonlance Advanced Dungeons & Dragons "Gold Box" role-playing video games. The game was released in 1992.[1]

Plot

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At the beginning of the game, the characters are summoned by General Laurana to investigate rumors of evil creatures threatening the city of Caergoth. The heroes are quickly led to travel to another distant continent of Krynn, Taladas, where the forces of evil are hatching their plans.

Gameplay

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To play The Dark Queen of Krynn, the player generates a party of six characters. The gameplay basics are identical to all games in the series. Characters can also be transferred from Death Knights of Krynn.

The game was more combat heavy than the previous releases in the series and there was less time spent in exploration mode. While the tone of the release was epic in scale, ultimately leading to an encounter with the dark goddess Takhisis, the game was marred by significant bugs.[2]

Game differences

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The Dark Queen of Krynn is similar to its predecessors in terms of gameplay, though graphics were improved, as the PC and Macintosh version of the game could now display 256 colors. The Amiga version still uses 32 colors.

A departure from many of the prior titles (including the Forgotten Realms games) is that the choice of the character's combat icon is restricted. Instead of choosing parts and colors, a player has some pre-drawn icons which can be selected.

Unlike its predecessors, the arrow keys can not be used to select menu options. Those options are selected using hotkeys or clicking on the menu option with the mouse.

Reception

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SSI sold 40,640 copies of The Dark Queen of Krynn.[3] Scorpia of Computer Gaming World in 1992 welcomed the improvements to previous Gold Box games' gameplay, but stated that otherwise "there is very little to like about Dark Queen of Krynn. Playability suffers from a couple of insidious bugs, poor design, and a great deal of gratuitous damage". She concluded that it was "the nadir of the gold box games ... a frustrating exercise in survival that only the most devoted hack'n'slashers would want to experience".[4] In 1993 Scorpia said that it was the "conclusion of the Krynn series, and none too soon ... Only for the dedicated Gold Box fan".[5] The New Straits Times called the game "recycled trash".[6]

Jim Trunzo reviewed The Dark Queen of Krynn in White Wolf #33 (Sept./Oct., 1992), rating it a 4.5 out of 5 and stated that "The significant boost in graphics and sound, the numerous subplots, and the high-level challenge (and be forewarned, this is a tough game) make The Dark Queen of Krynn a standout among S.S.I.'s fantasy roleplaying games. If you've played earlier games in the AD&D line but haven't seen one lately, you owe it to yourself to give Dark Queen a look."[7]

According to GameSpy, "Dark Queen of Krynn was a little bit hard to love, but the level to which it incorporated elements of the DragonLance universe made it worth coping, for a great many fans".[2]

References

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  1. ^ Barton, Matt (2007-02-23). "Part 2: The Golden Age (1985-1993)". The History of Computer Role-Playing Games. Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  2. ^ a b Rausch, Allen; Lopez, Miguel (August 16, 2004). "A History of D&D Video Games". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  3. ^ Maher, Jimmy (2017-03-31). "Opening the Gold Box, Part 5: All That Glitters is Not Gold". The Digital Antiquarian.
  4. ^ Scorpia (September 1992). "SSI's Dark Queen of Krynn". Computer Gaming World. pp. 96–100. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  5. ^ Scorpia (October 1993). "Scorpia's Magic Scroll Of Games". Computer Gaming World. pp. 34–50. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  6. ^ Win, Lim Choon (September 10, 1992), "Apprentice in Search of Fame and Fortune", New Straits Times, American Commonwealth Company, p. 18.
  7. ^ Trunzo, Jim (September–October 1992). "The Silicon Dungeon". White Wolf Magazine. No. 33. pp. 28–29.
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