The year is 2002. Lord of the Ring Following the movie trilogy, EA acquired the rights to the video game adaptation of the film, and Vivendi created its own console, adapted directly from the source material written by Tolkien rather than being owned by New Line Cinema. I was about to release an adaptation to
It’s no exaggeration to say that the movie trilogy is great. The Fellowship was impeccably cast, Howard’s score for Shore still stands out today as one of his all-time best scores, and each film efficiently delivers Tolkien’s original work through a range of world-building. . Even with a combined running time of less than his 12 hours (an extended version, of course), the film didn’t really capture the entire world Tolkien wrote about.
This presented quite a challenge for filmmakers as well as video game developers, whether to mimic the treatment of the film’s source or to avoid it for rights reasons. (published under the label Black Label Games) needed to create a game that would deliver global justice for Tolkien. The larger versions of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings for Xbox, Playstation 2, and PC took a traditional action-adventure route, but adapted to the greatly reduced hardware capabilities of the Game Boy Advance. It took some serious adaptations to make it work. Vivendi needed a smaller-style game to match Tolkien’s massive world, and developer Pocket Studios took the helm, settling on his RPG with turn-based battles.
Due to the dominance of action games at the time, the team did not hesitate toLord of the Rings: Legolas Archery Battle FPS if you have the means. However, given the prominence of role-playing and D&D in fantasy worlds, and the success the GBA had with titles such as Fire Emblem, Sword of Mana, and (later) Final Fantasy VI Advance, the decision to participate was more of a challenge for mobile games. RPGs seem like the norm these days. A cast of nine heroes traveling through a huge world full of lore and battles? Of course, RPGs are the way to go! The turn-based combat showcases each character’s unique skills and potential only to further benefit the system. presents.We dwarves are dangerous at close range!‘
Still, looking back at the franchise’s console games on the 20th anniversary of Vivendi’s Fellowship of the Ring (GBA and Xbox versions), where are the LOTR RPGs?
Perhaps the GBA game Vivendi ended up letting the console title sour developers loose with this idea. RPGs may seem like the perfect format for a paper series, but as this writer discovered when he tried to personalize his GBA with his biro in the early 2000s, the Gameboy is not paper.
Leaning (inevitably) on the source material, the GBA’s Fellow of the Ring was supposed to offer a Tolkien-fan interpretation that many felt the film didn’t capture. Did. With a buggy combat system that forces players to watch each party slowly move from their starting position to the enemy and back again before making their next move, the game is, simply put, broken. . (Check out the end of the video above to see what we mean).
But this is not to say that there weren’t many good ideas for GBA titles. The turn-based combat is perfect for her well-defined party of nine heroes, and the ability to upgrade character stats is straight out of Tolkien’s fantasy wheelhouse.
Twenty years ago, navigating the landscapes of The Lord of the Rings and crafting a great RPG on the Game Boy Advance would have been as difficult as a hobbit’s journey through the snowy peaks of Caradras. It must have been. EA had the rights to adapt the film to the video game and took a very different approach with hack-and-slash style gameplay. It goes without saying that the more accessible playstyle and explicit link to the story on the big screen make it a much better quality product overall, but EA’s Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ( released the same year) and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the Ring. King received much better reviews critically and commercially on both the GBA and GameCube, touting its real-time action-focused gameplay as: of How to get closer to Middle-earth in a video game.
The tenacity of this approach can still be felt today with the 2014 console. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and in 2017 shadow of war With the innovative and complex Nemesis system, EA continues to wield the sword in the world of Tolkien, setting these games apart from the more typical action slashers.Heck, Skyrim or elden ring Continuing this exploration-based model of fantasy gameplay, it proudly wears its connection to Middle-earth on its chainmail-covered sleeve.
But even considering mainstream success with more action-focused games, EA itself couldn’t resist the appeal of the turn-based format, releasing Lord of the Rings: The Third Age for the GBA and GameCube in 2004. Released. Lord of the rings: Tactics As a tactical RPG, EA’s two post-film releases replaced the value of exploration with a more strategic model (see video above). This means that while the game may not be running, completely Tied to the narrative of the film (for example, you can play as the Witch-King of Angmar in Helm’s Deep) The Battle of Middle-earth, coupled with (S)RPG’s penchant for planning, experimentation, and grotesque attacks, is a dream come true. proved to be something like creature.
EA’s take on RPGs leveraged something that seemed more appreciated and obvious than Vivendi’s Fellowship. Middle Earth is ripe with turn-based possibilities, tactical or otherwise.
Putting an elf’s eye on the state of LOTR console games today, the drought for Shadow of Mordor RPGs is plain to see, but the time to be made has never been better. The genre is more popular than ever and The Lord of the Rings continues to be huge – thank you bezos – Turn-based combat has evolved far beyond its pitfalls Attack, *extend animation*, receive, *extend animation*, repeat. Fellowship’s developers may have looked to Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, EarthBound, or many classic ’90s RPGs for guidance, but Pocket Studios didn’t have a lot of time or a Bezos-sized budget. I don’t think so.
Perhaps the Embracer Group owns the full rights to The Lord of the Rings. *shiver* Change may be on the horizon. Admittedly, it’s not always fun to see an IP as massive as Middle-earth being incorporated into an agglomeration structure. I doubt. we don’t , perhaps opening the rights of Middle-earth to Embracer’s 127 game companies ( wikipedia last count) prompts a shift in the tide, moving away from the EA’s more risk-averse approach.
If you look at the wider game world, the model is already there. Tactical gameplay since the release of Pocket Studio’s Fellowship have It was applied to Middle-earth by bucketloads carried by cave trolls, but moved away from Nazgul-like consoles to the water. Lord of the rings: War, middle-earth journey And countless others have each continued their tactical approach to franchises on mobile in the Third Age. Lord of the rings: Online A full MMORPG that brings the open world aspect to PC.
Looking at the Narsil shards, it’s clear there’s a large sword somewhere, but in its current state I don’t want to bring it into battle. Likewise, you could consider these other non-console titles alongside Vivendi’s old GBA Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings. Amazing All a Middle-earth RPG requires is the skilled hands of an elf swordsmith (or game developer, the earliest available game developer). And preferably available on the Switch.
A prime example of what a Fellowship-inspired Middle-earth game could look like in 2022, like Gandalf staring at his scroll in a wizard-like Ring revision As, you can see something like Live A Live. A Live’s hybrid grid system is amazing for Fellowship members. Wielding swords and torches while battling Nazgul in Weathertop? Yes, please! And the HD-2D style could be a great way to reference the original game while stripping away all its imperfections if you’re desperate to polish up a game that wasn’t loved 20 years ago. there is. Hey, remakes are all the rage, right?
But why not take this idea even further? small, no, let’s think about the big picture here. Playing as King Theoden and controlling the field in the battle of Helm’s Deep How about pushing into SRPG territory? With the boom in mainstream tactical RPG production following the resurgence of Fire Emblem: Awakening in the West, the Lord of the Rings tactical game You would think that would be dead proof by now.
Unfortunately, on consoles, there are very few of them. Whether because of Fellowship’s failure or (more likely) Shadow of Mordor’s success, the LOTR genre should do it It was left for a long time at the bottom of a riverbed in Middle-earth, waiting for a curious hand to cross the river.
But what do you think of all this? Does The Lord of the Rings desperately need an RPG makeover on consoles? Need more LEGO LOTR?
Drop your thoughts in the poll below, leave a comment and share what you think the game should look like!
