I’ve been curious about the infamous NES game Heroes of the Lance. While I’ve heard good things about the PC version, the NES edition has earned a reputation for being really rough. I’m interested in learning why this port didn’t hit the mark when it was released. What factors contributed to its poor reception compared to other games from that era?
2 Answers
There were actually about ten versions of Heroes of the Lance released between 1988 and 1991, with the NES version being the only one developed in Japan by Natsume. It’s likely that it was tailored for a Japanese audience since Pony Canyon, the publisher, had success with western RPGs. But by the time they started working on it, 16-bit consoles were taking over, and they rushed to release it. That pressure probably led to some corners being cut, which definitely hurt the game.
The NES version actually isn’t as bad as people think—it’s a pretty accurate port for the hardware at the time. The thing is, action RPG standards were much lower in the 80s. You could get away with slow and choppy gameplay, and companies weren’t expecting the same smooth experience that you’d find in console titles like Rygar or Zelda II. So, if you were used to those, jumping into this game might have felt janky by comparison.
So it sounds like the rushed development was a key reason for the issues they faced with the console version.