Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Pool of Radiance

Reviewed by Sho (July 12, 2004)

Set the torches ablaze, lads! Hold on to your codpieces, start flourishing those short swords of sharpness, and get ready to gather ‘round the wet dungeon walls – another Dungeons & Dragons review draws near, and the pungent stench of mildew emanates! But for those of you keeping score at home, I’m afraid that this isn’t going to be anything like my scathing commentary for Hillsfar. No, POOL OF RADIANCE not only manages to deftly avoid the poison spike-lined pits of suckery, but has the further audacity to send us on a stunningly deep quest that’s full of brilliant combat and actually faithful to its source material!

Reviewed by dagoss (October 30, 2008)

Pool of Radiance is an unusual game in that it has entirely fallen from the perspective of the average gamer, but still enjoys an almost legendary status with those familiar with the name. Among the right audience, it will still be brought up with the same type of reverence that NES owners talk about Super Mario Bros 3 or Zelda acolytes discuss Ocarina of Time. It wasn't just another RPG or a good RPG, it was the RPG that defined the late 80s and the first successfu...

Reviewed by overdrive (April 21, 2004)

As any fan of retro role-playing games can tell you, the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Master System were the originators of the console RPG. Games like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy on the NES and Phantasy Star on the SMS became inspirations for multitudes of games spanning generations of systems.