So when I started the blog I wanted to give myself a bit of wiggle room with the scoring. Also as I have played more books I have come to appreciate how much they have changed and what I look for has also changed a bit.
I have decided to do a top 20 list of all the books so far and update my scoring for some of them (I will go back and update each post to reflect this eventually).
Original Score New Score
1. Deathtrap Dungeon 9 10
2. City of Thieves 8 9
3. House of Hell 7 8
4. Appointment with F.E.A.R 8 8
5. Sword of the Samurai 8 8
6. Demons of the Deep 8 8
7. Citadel of Chaos 7 7
8. Talisman of Death 7 7
9. Scorpion Swamp 6 7
10. Temple of Terror 7 7
11. Rings of Kether 7 7
12. Island of the Lizard King 6 6
13. Rebel Planet 6 6
14. Forest of Doom 6 5
15. Warlock of Firetop Mountain 5 5
16. Seas of Blood 5 5
17. Space Assassin 5 5
18. Caverns of the Snow Witch 5 4
19. Freeway Fighter 4 4
20. Starship Traveler 3 3
Deathtrap Dungeon is my favorite, I do not see what a book can realistically do to knock it off top spot. So with that it should get full marks. Other books might also get a 10 (I hope they do) but after 20 books I feel this is right.
City of Thieves also gets a bit of a boost. Its such a good adventure. Any coincidence that they were both illustrated by Ian McCaig? Nope.
Bit of a change from my original top 10. I've bumped up House of Hell. The more I have played the more I appreciate its design. The theme is also great and I enjoyed it a lot, I would happily go back to it and play it again. Can't believe I only gave it a 7 first time round.
If you told me Appointment with F.E.A.R would be sitting at four I would have laughed at you. As I said in my review I was not looking forward to it but it is great.
Sword of the Samurai and Demons of the Deep are next up. Both recent and fresh in the mind so that might be why they are high up. But I really feel both are excellent adventures.
Not much has changed in the 7s. I have bumped Scorpion Swamp up into them as its a great design by Steve 2. I have Citadel of Chaos leading the race as I really enjoyed that one. To think it was only book 2 and Steve put a magic system in!
Island of the Lizard King and Rebel Planet stick with 6s. Lizard is the better adventure but Planet has a great backstory and a very good first couple of planets adventure, but it finishes weakly.
Forest of Doom loses a point and goes down to 5. It was good when I played it (and still is fun) but after playing subsequent titles it does not quite stack up the same. Warlock is next and as I said, its not the best but its still the most important so it gets points for that. I've got them ahead of Seas of Blood and Space Assassin, which do feel a bit bland in comparison to to others. Still worth a play though!
Anything under 5 though I do have problems with. Caverns of the Snow Witch annoys me as its a shame. There is a good adventure in there, just needs moved around and some skill fixes.
Freeway fighter though is a struggle to get through. Its a great idea in theory but its just a bit too bland. Both in adventure and artwork.
So that leaves poor Starship bottom of the pile. This is a shame as its a great idea. But to not use 400 paragraphs is criminal and the art in some parts is just childish. Seems rushed. The theory is sound though, a cheeky re-write could sort this.
So that's it. I maintain I have enjoyed moments in each book and I have had fun reviewing them all. Its a great series and I am so glad I enjoy them just as much as I did when I was a kid growing up.
Let me know what you guys think and what your own personal rankings are.
I would have probably put House of Hell top , but my view is heavily tinted by nostalgia. Deathtrap Dungeon really is excellent.
ReplyDeleteAs ever, I greatly enjoy your reviews and am looking forward to seeing how you get on with the 30s.
Thanks Mike, agree nostalgia is a massive factor. I owned Deathtrap and not House of Hell so I have those memories of it that pushes it up for me. Which is why everyone's list is different and that makes things far more interesting!
DeleteI was going to grumble about Caverns' demotion, but then I remembered that ridiculous fight with the equally ridiculous BIRDMAN in the last quarter...
ReplyDeleteThat bloody Birdman! As I said in my review there is a good story in there, its just a shame the adventure is in the wrong order and the encounters mean you need a skill 12 to have a chance.
DeleteI'd probably knock Space Assassin down a few notches too. Much as I like Chapman's stuff more than most people seem to, I don't really think it should have been published in its current state - the core adventure is thin and unengaging, and the entire thing absurdly padded with dull non-sequiturs. It's pretty obviously a beneficiary of Penguin being caught out by the unanticipated popularity of the series, and needing to close a gap in its publishing schedule. Sorry, Andrew!
DeleteAnd its got a thinly veiled maze as well!
DeleteIndeed - and a particularly illogical, boring and irritating one at that. That's worth shaving off another point alone, I reckon, or at least cancels out Geoff Senior's boffo artwork.
DeleteNo complaints about Starship Traveller being bottom so far. Though I fear it may not hold that honour for long...
ReplyDeleteOh my that worries me!
DeleteYou'll be OK for another seven books or so...but the third book after that might just test your 'look for the bright spots' philosophy...
DeleteWeird, I thought I replied to this. One more try then. Generally agree with your list, differences are:
ReplyDelete1) Deathtrap Dungeon = 8. Anything that requires me to pick up specific items to win always score lower because I don't like that kind of design. Otherwise, everything else about it is near perfect.
2) City of Thieves = same issues with Deathtrap for having to fulfill specific criteria, weaker because I also despise Port Blacksand and being stiffed and cheated and such in such places. Probably a 7.
3) House of Hell = not into horror so the subject matter doesn't do much for me. I've very vague memories of it and it'd be a 6 (ordinary) for me.
4) Demons of the Deep = probably a 7 too due to subject matter. The underwater setting is nice, but I don't know, just never found it compelling.
5) Citadel of Chaos = 8, I probably favour books with options that allow for different play too much, and Citadel was one of the earliest with the options to select spells, which was really nice. Sword of Samurai would in theory get a 9 for similar reasons, but I'm stingy and nothing ever really gets a 9 lol. I've looked through the entire FF list and while I'm only going by impressions as I've not replayed any in years, this seems to hold in general. Most of the ones I'd score 8 tend to have similar mechanics (ie, pick one or more unique abilities to help you ingame) and they'd be high 8s and would be a 9 if we rounded by decimals with a few more having unique mechanics and settings like Phantoms of Fear.
Thanks Kibbitz, love hearing where everyone else has them ranked and what makes them go in certain directions. Specific Items can be a pain, I let Deathtrap off with it as it fit the theme though. A unicorn forehead tattoo is a bit less forgiving. I would have been same with House of Hell first time round but now as a depressingly older person I enjoyed it much more. Citadel is great though, and underrated. Especially for just the second book!
DeleteI thought with my current system I would struggle to give anyone a 10 and I really wanted to. Saying that might have to revisit again after another season of books!