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This game probably sold more than one Amiga. I know it sold one to our family. Coming off the C64, we were stunned by the amazing graphics and sound displayed in Faery Tale. We actually bought the game before our Amiga 500 was shipped, and I remember holding the box, staring in blissful agony at the screenshots.
In terms of gameplay, Faery Tale doesn't hold a candle to many concurrent CRPG's - like the middle Ultimas, Legacy of the Ancients, the Bard's Tales, Might and Magic, etc. The world is too empty, the absence of NPC's too pronounced, the story too undeveloped, and the combat system too dependent on joystick-wiggling. This game really is all style and very little substance.
When you look at a game like Ultima V - which was released only a year later - and see its huge living world, numerous towns populated with NPCs pursuing their own schedules, complex story with ethical undertones, painstakingly designed dungeon levels, and sophisticated tactical combat system, you see that that is the gold standard and Faery Tale doesn't measure up.
Nonetheless, I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Faery Tale. It's one of the first CRPGs to give us a truly vast, single-scale world to explore, and the music by David Joiner is among the best ever composed on the Amiga. And there are few gaming moments as enchanting as first taking a swan-ride over the land of Holm at night.
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Gorgeous, the best ever seen in an RPG up to that point. By modern standards a little weaker - the perspective is skewed and the limited colour palette hurts. Still, a major showcase for what the Amiga could do circa 1987.
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Sound effects are nothing to write home about, but the musical score is one of the very best ever composed for a videogame. The "night time" theme, in particular, is wonderful.
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Weak combat system; empty world almost devoid of NPCs; very little story or background to speak of. Playing Faery Tale today it seems unfinished, almost like an alpha version. Still, great atmosphere and the huge gameworld is enjoyable to explore.
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| Worthy of note because of its stylistic innovation for the mid-80s, and for the nostalgia factor. But judged purely on its own merits as a game, it's deeply flawed. |
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