King_Corduroy wrote on 2025-11-07, 02:28:

Hello all, I'm getting some of my vintage computer gear back together and I've been thinking maybe I should try something differ […]
Show full quote

Hello all, I'm getting some of my vintage computer gear back together and I've been thinking maybe I should try something different from what I usually play and play an RPG.
I'm not super familiar with this Genre when it comes to PC games though (aside from Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics) and could really use some suggestions!

The computer in question is a 1997 Packard Bell Corner Computer with the following specs:

Windows 98SE
200mhz Pentium MMX
16MB RAM
4MB Matrox Mystique
Sound Blaster 16 (ISA)
1 GB HDD

(Also if you feel like suggesting good click to adventures that I might not have heard of that would be cool too! I really enjoyed playing TimeLapse recently so I'd be up for another.)

Baldur's Gate and Diablo spring to mind immediately, although they were released in 1998. Might and Magic VI, Lands of Lore and Lands of Lore Ii Guardians of Destiny. Stonekeep.

Realms of the Haunting is more of an adventure/exploration game than an RPG but it's a pretty phenomenal cinematic experience...

keenerb wrote on 2025-11-07, 02:58:

King_Corduroy wrote on 2025-11-07, 02:28:

Hello all, I'm getting some of my vintage computer gear back together and I've been thinking maybe I should try something differ […]
Show full quote

Hello all, I'm getting some of my vintage computer gear back together and I've been thinking maybe I should try something different from what I usually play and play an RPG.
I'm not super familiar with this Genre when it comes to PC games though (aside from Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics) and could really use some suggestions!

The computer in question is a 1997 Packard Bell Corner Computer with the following specs:

Windows 98SE
200mhz Pentium MMX
16MB RAM
4MB Matrox Mystique
Sound Blaster 16 (ISA)
1 GB HDD

(Also if you feel like suggesting good click to adventures that I might not have heard of that would be cool too! I really enjoyed playing TimeLapse recently so I'd be up for another.)

Baldur's Gate and Diablo spring to mind immediately, although they were released in 1998. Might and Magic VI, Lands of Lore and Lands of Lore Ii Guardians of Destiny. Stonekeep.

Realms of the Haunting is more of an adventure/exploration game than an RPG but it's a pretty phenomenal cinematic experience...

Diablo is definitely great, played the hell out of it when I was younger. Although it doesn't have much in terms of RPG aspects, not a lot of story and dialog in it and a very limited cast compared with Fallout or something else.

With C&C being my favorite series I've always wanted to try Lands of Lore: Guardians of Destiny being another Westwood game.

King_Corduroy wrote on 2025-11-07, 02:28:

Hello all, I'm getting some of my vintage computer gear back together and I've been thinking maybe I should try something different from what I usually play and play an RPG.
I'm not super familiar with this Genre when it comes to PC games though (aside from Fallout 1, 2 and Tactics) and could really use some suggestions!

There was a famous lack of good CRPGs in the mid 1990s. The genre kind of died out for a bit. It really came back with Baldur's Gate at the end of 1998, and Fallout the year before.

You'll just barely make recommended sys reqs for Baldur's Gate, but not sure how the experience will actually be. That game has had so many improvements over the years.

Some good mid-90s CRPGs that come to mind:

Daggerfall
Albion
Might & Magic VI

Although none of these are exactly easy to play... Be warned.

King_Corduroy: I'm unhappy with your computer's HDD space. May I make suggestions to better it?

jh80 wrote on 2025-11-07, 09:05:

You'll just barely make recommended sys reqs for Baldur's Gate, but not sure how the experience will actually be.

Recommended specs for Baldur's Gate was a Pentium MMX 200, so they should be okay?

I can't recommend Might & Magic VI enough. It was the RPG that finally got me to try them out. Computer Gaming World was glowing with praise for it back in the day, and it's 4.5/5 star review and editors choice award convinced me to finally play an RPG. Plus the double page ad spreads with "The Return of RPGs" at a time when Baldur's Gate was still "coming soon".

Maybe I should give it another spin, it's been a few years.

It can handle Amulets & Armor, that's more on the action side though!
Birthright should also be ok, as it has speed issues on anything after 1996.
1997 had the (English) release of the final Realms of Arkania game Shadows Over Riva

if you want some bad ones, Elder Scrolls Battlespire and Descent to Undermountain should work 😁. 1997 AD&D game releases were mostly compilation packs.

Should be fine for 97's pointclicks like Riven, The Last Express and Zork Grand Inquisitor

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-11-07, 16:28:

Recommended specs for Baldur's Gate was a Pentium MMX 200, so they should be okay?

1gb space and 16mb ram though.... and having tried packard bells from the time with severe cache issues, I don't want to know how many seconds would be counted between a magic missile and seeing one onscreen!

Recently I started to play again Diablo on 86box in a similar setup to yours, for me it's still a very fun game to spend hours on it but its more of an action RPG.

As for point-and-click I can recommend Urban Runner and its sequel from Sierra, if you are looking for this specific genre Sierra has a lot of offerings.

Harry Potter wrote on 2025-11-07, 15:03:

King_Corduroy: I'm unhappy with your computer's HDD space. May I make suggestions to better it?

No sorry, I'm perfectly happy with it the way it is. In fact this is a hard drive that I installed. 🤣

Shponglefan wrote on 2025-11-07, 16:28:

jh80 wrote on 2025-11-07, 09:05:

You'll just barely make recommended sys reqs for Baldur's Gate, but not sure how the experience will actually be.

Recommended specs for Baldur's Gate was a Pentium MMX 200, so they should be okay?

I used to have a boxed copy and iirc it ran fine? It didn't really grab me though for whatever reason so I never really gave it a chance.