Dungeon of Death (1979) was an early CRPG published by Instant Software for the Commodore PET. After naming yourself, it rolled you into a randomly generated character on a quest through a twelve level dungeon filled with beasts to retrieve the Holy Grail from...Smaug the Dragon? (a taped thread)

A two-page Japanese ad from early 1994 for Hudson Soft's Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys, an action RPG for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² Hudson Soft's two-page flex once again shows off their handling of Ys on the PC Engine with a huge roster of voice actors, character art, and scenes from the new adventure!

A 1992 advertisement for Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace, an RPG for PC platforms by Cybertech The illustration used in the ad (and the box art) was from a heavily edited piece featured on a DM screen used for TSR's Spelljammer campaign setting. Artist: Erik Olson

Happy 25th Anniversary for the release of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, a CRPG by BioWare for PCs! This grand adventure featured David Warner as the voice of its powerful antagonist shown here in a two-page ad for "the most stunning Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game to date."

BioWare's Baldur's Gate II enjoyed a series of themed ads leading up to its eventual release in 2000. Potential adventurers were introduced to a dark figure lurking in the shadows, a mysterious elven beauty, and now a rogue dangling in the air later asking "whose hands will you place your life in?"

BioWare's Baldur's Gate II had a series of ads in 2000 featuring key characters from the RPG's main story from the villainous Jon Irenicus (voiced by David Warner) to the mysterious figure seen here with deep, painful ties to his past that players will discover during the course of the adventure.

Baldur's Gate II, an RPG for PC platforms by BioWare, had several different ads run for it in 2000; one two-pager featuring the main villain (voiced in the game by the late, great, David Warner) and this one featuring another key character lurking in the shadows with a taste for blood.

Azure Dreams (1997) by Konami is an RPG that was released for the PS1 and the Game Boy Color. There is a tower where monsters thrive and adventurers risk their lives to explore in the hopes of escaping with their eggs and making a king's ransom. And your lost father was one of them. (an egg thread)

A two-page teaser for Stonekeep from 1995, an RPG by Interplay for PCs Stonekeep had a number of different ads including this preview showing off its unique tombstone shaped retail box with a skeleton stepping out from a nifty hologram. It even came with a hardcover novella by Steve Jackson!

Swords of Twilight (1989) | RPG | Commodore Amiga | Free Fall Associates The makers of EA's Archon wanted to take a stab at the state of conversations in CRPGs in this adventure with features such as PC party members speaking up on their own based on their disposition and in building reputation.

AlphaMan (1995) by Jeffrey Olson for DOS PCs was an ASCII-based, CRPG roguelike set on a post-apocalyptic Earth where you play a mutant human on a mission to stop the Grinch from releasing a toxin capable of killing all life. You also only have a week to stop him! (a mission impossible thread)

Terranigma (1995) | RPG | SNES | Quintet This colorful adventure boasted neat features such as using the Super Nintendo's Mode 7 to help visualize the hollow world where it begins. Quintet's creativity also transformed its menu into a magic box you could enter, turning text options into furniture!

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge (1990) by Westwood Associates was the tactical sequel to The Crescent Hawk's Inception. Now serving a powerful House, Jason Youngblood takes his trusted warriors to save his father who was taken in the first game by ruthless invaders. (a cold dish thread)

A 1985 ad for Gemstone Warrior, "a new strategy arcade game" by Paradigm Creators Each new game meant a new maze of caverns to battle through and featured persistent monster corpses (most monsters remained dead) that could be used to temp store extra items. Just remember where you left your stuff!

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge (1990) by Westwood Associates was the tactical sequel to The Crescent Hawk's Inception. Now serving a powerful House, Jason Youngblood takes his trusted warriors to save his father who was taken in the first game by ruthless invaders. (a cold dish thread)

Record of Lodoss War (1995) | RPG | Super Famicom | Thinking Rabbit Translated into English by fans, this RPG adaptation of the famous fantasy series quests across the early history of a few of its major characters. It would begin long ago with Karla and her companions engaged in a dramatic battle!

Computer Gaming World's 15th Anniversary issue in November, 1996, celebrated not only the games but the ads and the developers behind them such as how SSI's "gold box" RPGs transformed their rep from being known only as that "wargame" company to Might & Magic's shrink wrapped success!

Ad for Dragon Wars (1989), a CRPG by Interplay Dragon Wars started out as Bard's Tale IV but when Interplay left EA to go indie (and with EA still holding onto the Bard's Tale rights at the time), renamed it. Instead of demonic horrors, dragons would be shoehorned in. Illustration by Boris Vallejo

Larn (1986) is a roguelike RPG by Noah Morgan that debuted on UNIX and was later ported to other systems like DOS PCs. Players explore a ten level dungeon to cure their daughter while under a time limit. It was also one of the earliest roguelikes to feature an overworld area. (a heals quest thread)

This 1993 ad from Japan for the PC Engine CD port of Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra tempts readers with exciting adventure thanks to Akihiro Yamada's detailed illustrations The ad also mentions its flexible character creation system and over 100 quests awaiting players in a grand, new epic!

Tunnels & Trolls: Crusaders of Khazan (1990) was an RPG for PC platforms by StarCraft based on Ken St. Andre's Tunnels & Trolls tabletop RPG. Players became would-be heroes traveling the land and questing to free it from the cruel grip of the Death Empress and her evil horde! (a noisy dragon thread)

A 1993 ad from Japan for Gaiapolis, an arcade action RPG by Konami Art by Akihiro Yamada filled with heroic poses illustrates the page, showing off the three heroes that players can pick from in Konami's colorful attempt in bringing a bit of fantasy role-playing to arcades!

Bugs and Drugs (1978) released on the PLATO mainframe by Mark Gorback, Dave Tanaka, and Paul Alfille is an early edutainment RPG. Targeted mainly towards medical students, players explore a hospital "dungeon" fighting diseases with fists or with medicine! (a deadly residency thread)

Bugs and Drugs (1978) released on the PLATO mainframe by Mark Gorback, Dave Tanaka, and Paul Alfille is an early edutainment RPG. Targeted mainly towards medical students, players explore a hospital "dungeon" fighting diseases with fists or with medicine! (a deadly residency thread)

The post-apocalyptic world of Evolution beckons readers with scenes of adventure and mystery thanks to this ad from Japan! Released in 1999 and developed by Sting for the Dreamcast, players quest to explore roguelike ruins for artifacts armed with a mechanical arm and aided by a mysterious girl.

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception (1988) by Westwood Associates was a CRPG set in the early 31st century. As Jason Youngblood, you barely escape a surprise attack on your home! Now you must try to find allies and train yourself (and them!) as you quest for the truth! (an Inner Sphere thread)

A two-page "coming soon" ad from 1998 for Baldur's Gate, an RPG by BioWare taking place in TSR's Forgotten Realms campaign setting On one page looms your nemesis. On the other, screenshots and text teasing the "most anticipated RPG of the year" featuring "an immense, intricate game world".

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception (1988) by Westwood Associates was a CRPG set in the early 31st century. As Jason Youngblood, you barely escape a surprise attack on your home! Now you must try to find allies and train yourself (and them!) as you quest for the truth! (an Inner Sphere thread)

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom by Capcom debuted in 1993 boldly taking arcade goers on a grand adventure through a licensed adaption of TSR's fantasy world! It seems to have also arrived in Europe the same year and was advertised with a neat multi-page flyer showcasing characters and monsters.

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (1996) was a fantasy arcade beat 'em up with light RPG elements by Capcom and a sequel to 1993's D&D: Tower of Doom. Two years have passed since the defeat of Deimos, the big baddie in Tower of Doom, but now a new evil threatens conquest. (a dragon's thread)

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (1996) was a fantasy arcade beat 'em up with light RPG elements by Capcom and a sequel to 1993's D&D: Tower of Doom. Two years have passed since the defeat of Deimos, the big baddie in Tower of Doom, but now a new evil threatens conquest. (a dragon's thread)

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara, a 1996 arcade adaptation of TSR's D&D campaign setting by Capcom, had a number of regional flyers created to help promote it. One of these was a multi-page "secret file" that came out in Japan filled with concept art, illustrations, and even a developer Q&A!

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (1996) | beat 'em up with RPG elements | arcade | Capcom A few years after 1994's Tower of Doom, Capcom followed it up with a new entry in '96. Once again bringing a slice of TSR's Mystara setting to arcades, it added the Thief and Magic User to the lineup!

Brave Prove (1998) | action RPG | Sony PlayStation | Data West Accidentally setting the apocalypse in motion and with the love of your life hanging by a thread, it's up to you to set things right in this Japan-only RPG translated by fans. The good news? A fiery guardian spirit will be by your side!

Tower of Doom (1987) | action RPG | Intellivision | INTV ToD began as another AD&D licensed game after 1983's Treasure of Tarmin and was half-completed before Mattel Electronics folded in 1984, consigning this to what could have been a permanent end until it was finished and released by INTV.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom (1994) | beat 'em up with light RPG elements | arcades and various ports | Capcom A feast of beat 'em ups flourished in the early 1990s involving heavy hitters such as Capcom who dove into the fray with this licensed adaptation of TSR's Dungeons & Dragons world!

Jeff Easley's illustration of a very angry dragon appears in this 1999 ad for Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons Collection for the Sega Saturn Blending RPG aesthetics and beat 'em up action, both Tower of Doom and Shadow Over Mystara came home from the arcade packed together in a two CD set!

Abandoned Places: A Time for Heroes (1992) | RPG | PC platforms | ArtGame Heroes conveniently turned to stone long ago are awakened to face an evil threatening the land of Kalynthia in what was the first chapter in a new RPG series. From these heroes, four can be chosen to create your party!

Gunnm: Kasei no Kioku (1998) | action RPG | Sony PlayStation | Yukito Products Gally, a cyborg rescued and restored by Daisuke Ido, attempts to drum up help to hunt down a vicious bounty! Unfortunately, others didn't care for this battle angel's harsh criticism of their courage when they refused.

King's Field II (1995) is an action RPG by FromSoftware for the Sony PlayStation. Introduced outside of Japan as King's Field, you take on the role of the brave Alexander sent to the cursed island of Melanat to recover a fabled blade stolen by the wicked Necron! (a get used to dying thread)

This adaptation of Rambo: First Blood Part II finds its way to the MSX as a top down "real time" action game starring you as the famous one-man army shown in this 1986 ad from Japan It also plays fast and loose in labeling it as an RPG as you head behind enemy lines to rescue a VIP!

Dragonia (1988) is an "animated role-playing game" only for the ZX Spectrum by Astros Productions. Denied a seat on the Great Wizard Council, you whisk yourself off to the world of Dragonia to prove your worth by finding the Golden Crown to defeat the wicked Zeridan! (a deadly walk thread)

A 1997 teaser ad for the upcoming release of The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall, an RPG for PC platforms Daggerfall was the sequel to 1994's TES: Arena, this time focusing on only two provinces -- Hammerfell and High Rock -- set in a "world twice the size of Great Britain".

Dragonia (1988) is an "animated role-playing game" only for the ZX Spectrum by Astros Productions. Denied a seat on the Great Wizard Council, you whisk yourself off to the world of Dragonia to prove your worth by finding the Golden Crown to defeat the wicked Zeridan! (a deadly walk thread)

Tangled Tales' potpourri of fairy tale tropes and humor wink at readers in this 1989 ad for the CRPG and adventure game hybrid As a wizard's apprentice who has accidentally gotten on his master's bad side, you'll need to work your way back into his good graces questing through Violet Valley!

The Dragon & Princess (1982) is a text and graphics based tactical RPG by KOEI released in Japan for the FM-7 and PC-88 PCs. With a text-parser and a menu of commands as your ally, you and your party are charged by the king to fight bandits and eventually rescue a princess! (a simple party thread)

A two-page ad from 1992 for Dark Sun: Shattered Lands, an RPG for PCs by SSI Part of an illustration by Gerald Brom fills the backdrop of the ad for SSI's first adaptation of TSR's Dark Sun TTRPG setting where a world defiled by the ruinous use of magic is ruled by cruel, immortal sorcerers.

The Dragon & Princess (1982) is a text and graphics based tactical RPG by KOEI released in Japan for the FM-7 and PC-88 PCs. With a text-parser and a menu of commands as your ally, you and your party are charged by the king to fight bandits and eventually rescue a princess! (a simple party thread)

An ominous, 1984 ad for the Gateway to Apshai, an action RPG published in '83 by Epyx. Lurking behind Gateway's box in the bottom right is its iconic and groundbreaking predecessor, the 1979 classic, Temple of Apshai.

PoPoLoCrois Monogatari (1996) | RPG | Sony PlayStation | G-artists and Sugar & Rockets Young Prince Pietro's life is about to become a lot more adventurous when a villain steals his father's crown. But with the help of friends that he meets along the way, his quest becomes the first of many!