Daggerfall Soundtrack (HQ Remake) - Folk 2 Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2026-09-23 | Daggerfall Soundtrack (HQ Remake) - Folk 2
Ultima VII (HQ Remake) - Crystal Ball (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-05-07 | Ultima VII - The Black Gate was released on the 17th of April 1992. Three expansions for this title would be released inside a year's time entitled: Forge of Virtue, Serpent Isle, and The Silver Seed. All of these would compiled into a Complete Edition as well. A SNES port was released in 1994, and a Playstation Portable (PSP) port was released in 2006. The game was translated to German, French, and Spanish.The original box included "feelies" such as a full color map of Britannia made of cloth, a Fellowship medallion, a Fellowship book, manuals for the game, and a demo disk for Ultima Underworld. Forge of Virtue came with a "Guide To The Isle Of Fire" pamphlet.The SNES version was made by in-house by Origin and published by FCI/Pony Canyon. It was unfortunately constrained by the system's hardware limitations, and turned out to be a very different game. It required a redesign from the ground up. The party system was scrapped for a solo Avatar adventure, and the murders were censored to kidnappings to comply with Nintendo's guidelines.A fan recreation entitled "Exult" was created allowing the game to be played on many different platforms and for mods such as fan translations, bug fixes, Serpent Isle graphics, and features that were in the original code that remained unused.As the game begins, the Avatar finds himself in front of his computer screen being taunted by a strange entity referring to himself as "The Guardian". He claims to have taken over Britannia and that he will lead it into a new age before telling the Avatar that he, too will kneel and call him master. A red moongate appears in the Avatar's backyard and transports him to Trinsic in Britannia 200 years later to meet with Iolo. The mayor, Finnigan, bids the Avatar to investigate the ritualistic murder of Christopher the Blacksmith. He soon learns of The Fellowship, a new religion in Britannia, but all is not what it seems. The mages have gone insane, and magic doesn't work as it should. The Avatar must assemble a party of familiar faces and travel to familiar places to find out what the heck is going on in Britannia! The game deals with myriad complex morality and societal issues, monster infestations, and nefarious plots; you know, Avatar stuff!Ultima VII is the first of a trilogy that concludes with Ultima IX. In it, the Guardian creates three Generators that make up the shape of the Electronic Arts ECA logo of the time, who would soon acquire Origin Systems. According to Richard Garriott, the Fellowship was inspired by Scientology, and the real-time RPG aspect was inspired by Times of Lore and Dungeon Master. The game boasts a playing time of over 200 hours.Ultima VII was well received, getting favorable reviews averaging around 4/5 stars. It was nominated for Game of the Year by Computer Gaming World, and PC Gamer ranked it #10 on its 50 Best Games Ever, saying "If you're looking for the best of the greatest computer role-playing series ever, this is the game you want". According to Richard Garriot himself, he considers Ultima VII and Ultima IV to be his favorites, and believed VII to be the most masterfully executed of the Ultima series.The SNES port did not fare as well with critics and received mixed reviews. One of the major issues was that chests respawned when you reentered an area, allowing you to farm them quite easily. Programming credits of Ultima VII go to Origin Systems Director of Technology Ken Demarest, who is know for his work on Wing Commander, BioForge, Ultima Online, and Netstorm: Islands At War.The art was done by Jeff Dee, who worked for TSR, and is the co-founder of UNIGames and Nemesis Games. He is the designer of the "Villains and Vigilantes" superhero tabletop role-playing game.Dana Karl Glover, aka Dr. Glover, or Karl James, is a trumpet player and video game music composer who served as both a composer and the arranger on this project. Besides Ultima VII, he is also known for his work on Wing Commander II: Vengeance Of The Kilrathi.Kirk Winterrowd is a composer who is known for his work on Ultima VII, Ultima VIII: Pagan (where he was a voice actor), Ultima Online, Strike Commander, Wing Commander, Wing Commander Armada, BioForge, Crusader: No Remorse, and Ares Rising.Raymond Benson was the head writer of Ultima VII, and also composed the "Love Theme"Martin Galway is a legendary composer who worked for Ocean during the Commodore 64 days, crafting some of the most legendary songs for that system, including the Ocean Loader songs. He went on to do Times of Lore before he was hired by Origin Systems, where he would work on Ultima VII and several ports of Ultima games to NES, Game Boy, and SNES.This game is available for purchase on gog.com Original score by Dana Karl Glover, Kirk Winterrowd, Herman Miller, Raymond Benson and Martin Galway. Copyright ©1992 Origin SystemsThis version is Copyright ©2024 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Ultima IV (HQ Remake) - Lord Britishs Fanfare (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-05-01 | If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it original or remake, please contact me via the About section of my channel (mobile users may have to use Desktop mode). All proceeds go back into the channel for the benefit of all gamerkind.Released just in time for the Christmas season of 1985 after 2 years of development, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar sees the end of the combat-centric "Age of Darkness" as the series moves to embrace a more virtuous and story-driven gameplay style in the first installment of the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. Now in a time of peace, the newly minted land of Britannia (and despite 3/4 of the world disappearing the game takes place on a much larger map than ever before) allows the player to hone their zeal in the Eight Virtues instead of facing some terrible evil. They battle their inner demons to master the virtues, collect artifacts, and plumb the depths of the Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in order to become the Avatar.When you visit the gypsy fortune teller, her cards will lead you to a dominant virtue that will decide which class of (human only) character you will play. The player must collect the runes for each of the Shrines and gain enlightenment in each of the Eight Virtues. Mistakes can be made upon the path, causing you to lose your way and forcing you to redeem yourself. How you play will determine when you are ready for another Shrine.This is the first time we get to see the world map in full. 16 times larger than Ultima III, this map will lay the foundation for the game world for future titles. This is the first game in the series to have NPC conversations based on keywords you type in, giving far greater depth to interactions than previous titles.Perturbed by the witch hunt against RPGs at the time by fearful parents who didn't understand, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British himself, decided to make this game less about fighting and more about morality. There is no Big Bad, there are deep moral dilemmas (some are 10/10 gritty) where you may think you came out on top only to realize later that you did not. The idea was definitely to get you to think before you act.The game was coded for Apple, and then ported to C64, Atari 8-bit Family, PC, Amiga, Sega Master System and NES. This remake is from the C64 version of the music, and in fact a few of those machines in the list above had no music at all, which was a shame.Highly rated, the game went on to win Game of the Year in 1986, toppling competitor Wizardry's reign as the best RPG. It topped charts for many years as one of the best RPGs of all time and later was inducted in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame. Even today, the game holds up fairy well considering how far things have come since this game was released. I highly recommend it for a nice change of pace from the formulaic "fighting is the only way to improve" character development. Ultima IV is TRUE character development. You can own and play this game FOR FREE here: gog.com/game/ultima_4Original score by Ken Arnold ©1985This version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere Applicable, All Rights Reserved Special thanks to Richard Garriott - you've changed so many lives.
Ultima IV (HQ Remake) - Shrines (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-04-30 | If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it original or remake, please contact me via the About section of my channel (mobile users may have to use Desktop mode). All proceeds go back into the channel for the benefit of all gamerkind.Released just in time for the Christmas season of 1985 after 2 years of development, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar sees the end of the combat-centric "Age of Darkness" as the series moves to embrace a more virtuous and story-driven gameplay style in the first installment of the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. Now in a time of peace, the newly minted land of Britannia (and despite 3/4 of the world disappearing the game takes place on a much larger map than ever before) allows the player to hone their zeal in the Eight Virtues instead of facing some terrible evil. They battle their inner demons to master the virtues, collect artifacts, and plumb the depths of the Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in order to become the Avatar.When you visit the gypsy fortune teller, her cards will lead you to a dominant virtue that will decide which class of (human only) character you will play. The player must collect the runes for each of the Shrines and gain enlightenment in each of the Eight Virtues. Mistakes can be made upon the path, causing you to lose your way and forcing you to redeem yourself. How you play will determine when you are ready for another Shrine.This is the first time we get to see the world map in full. 16 times larger than Ultima III, this map will lay the foundation for the game world for future titles. This is the first game in the series to have NPC conversations based on keywords you type in, giving far greater depth to interactions than previous titles.Perturbed by the witch hunt against RPGs at the time by fearful parents who didn't understand, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British himself, decided to make this game less about fighting and more about morality. There is no Big Bad, there are deep moral dilemmas (some are 10/10 gritty) where you may think you came out on top only to realize later that you did not. The idea was definitely to get you to think before you act.The game was coded for Apple, and then ported to C64, Atari 8-bit Family, PC, Amiga, Sega Master System and NES. This remake is from the C64 version of the music, and in fact a few of those machines in the list above had no music at all, which was a shame.Highly rated, the game went on to win Game of the Year in 1986, toppling competitor Wizardry's reign as the best RPG. It topped charts for many years as one of the best RPGs of all time and later was inducted in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame. Even today, the game holds up fairy well considering how far things have come since this game was released. I highly recommend it for a nice change of pace from the formulaic "fighting is the only way to improve" character development. Ultima IV is TRUE character development. You can own and play this game FOR FREE here: gog.com/game/ultima_4Original score by Ken Arnold ©1985This version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere Applicable, All Rights Reserved Special thanks to Richard Garriott - you've changed so many lives.
Dune II (HQ Remake) - Rulers of Arrakis Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-04-17 | Thank you for listening! If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it remake or original, feel free to contact me at EpicPiecesof8bit (a_t) g_m.a-i.l (d.o_t) c_o.m. All proceeds go back into this channel for the benefit of all gamerkind. Dune II The Building of a Dynasty, also known as the Battle for Arrakis in Europe and on the MegaDrive/Genesis is a legendary Real-Time Strategy by Westwood Studios. It was released in December of 1992 on PC, Amiga, and then on the Sega the following year.In this classic RTS, Emperor Frederick IV of House Corrino offers whoever can deliver him the most spice (melange) control over the planet Arrakis, aka Dune. The player can choose between the vanilla House Atreides, heavy weapons House Harokonnen, or the wily House Ordos. Once you establish a beachhead, you go about seizing territory from the other houses while avoiding being eaten by Sandworms (the Shai-Hulud) and the rigors of the planet Dune itself as it tears your structures apart. Eventually, if you start to dominate, you will find yourself at odds against both the rival houses as well as the Emperor's elite Sardaukar. Each faction has a different mentat/advisor as well as different units cutscenes/endings.One of the cooler features is that you could capture enemy factories and produce their units, but this feature was broken for Ordos because their Deviator tank, which switched units to your side when you were playing Ordos, also... switched enemies to the side of Ordos even if captured and built them with another faction (WHAT?!). Eventually you will build a palace and harness the power of your faction's superweapons, which I won't spoil for you, but they are pretty sweet.This game will go down in history as one of the greatest early RTS games ever. It's still a fantastic game today, having aged really well, and I highly recommend it to anyone in the mood for some retro gaming. This game is abandonware, so you can download it for free to play with DOSBOX (just google it).Original score by Frank Klepacki and Dwight Okahara ©1992This version is Copyright Pieces of 8-bit ©2021Where applicable, All Rights Reserved
Ultima IV (HQ Remake) - Rule, Britannia! (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-04-04 | If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it original or remake, please contact me via the About section of my channel (mobile users may have to use Desktop mode). All proceeds go back into the channel for the benefit of all gamerkind.Released just in time for the Christmas season of 1985 after 2 years of development, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar sees the end of the combat-centric "Age of Darkness" as the series moves to embrace a more virtuous and story-driven gameplay style in the first installment of the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. Now in a time of peace, the newly minted land of Britannia (and despite 3/4 of the world disappearing the game takes place on a much larger map than ever before) allows the player to hone their zeal in the Eight Virtues instead of facing some terrible evil. They battle their inner demons to master the virtues, collect artifacts, and plumb the depths of the Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in order to become the Avatar.When you visit the gypsy fortune teller, her cards will lead you to a dominant virtue that will decide which class of (human only) character you will play. The player must collect the runes for each of the Shrines and gain enlightenment in each of the Eight Virtues. Mistakes can be made upon the path, causing you to lose your way and forcing you to redeem yourself. How you play will determine when you are ready for another Shrine.This is the first time we get to see the world map in full. 16 times larger than Ultima III, this map will lay the foundation for the game world for future titles. This is the first game in the series to have NPC conversations based on keywords you type in, giving far greater depth to interactions than previous titles.Perturbed by the witch hunt against RPGs at the time by fearful parents who didn't understand, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British himself, decided to make this game less about fighting and more about morality. There is no Big Bad, there are deep moral dilemmas (some are 10/10 gritty) where you may think you came out on top only to realize later that you did not. The idea was definitely to get you to think before you act.The game was coded for Apple, and then ported to C64, Atari 8-bit Family, PC, Amiga, Sega Master System and NES. This remake is from the C64 version of the music, and in fact a few of those machines in the list above had no music at all, which was a shame.Highly rated, the game went on to win Game of the Year in 1986, toppling competitor Wizardry's reign as the best RPG. It topped charts for many years as one of the best RPGs of all time and later was inducted in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame. Even today, the game holds up fairy well considering how far things have come since this game was released. I highly recommend it for a nice change of pace from the formulaic "fighting is the only way to improve" character development. Ultima IV is TRUE character development. You can own and play this game FOR FREE here: gog.com/game/ultima_4Original score by Ken Arnold ©1985This version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere Applicable, All Rights Reserved Special thanks to Richard Garriott - you've changed so many lives.
Ultima IV (HQ Remake) - Combat (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-03-28 | If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it original or remake, please contact me via the About section of my channel (mobile users may have to use Desktop mode). All proceeds go back into the channel for the benefit of all gamerkind.Released just in time for the Christmas season of 1985 after 2 years of development, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar sees the end of the combat-centric "Age of Darkness" as the series moves to embrace a more virtuous and story-driven gameplay style in the first installment of the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. Now in a time of peace, the newly minted land of Britannia (and despite 3/4 of the world disappearing the game takes place on a much larger map than ever before) allows the player to hone their zeal in the Eight Virtues instead of facing some terrible evil. They battle their inner demons to master the virtues, collect artifacts, and plumb the depths of the Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in order to become the Avatar.When you visit the gypsy fortune teller, her cards will lead you to a dominant virtue that will decide which class of (human only) character you will play. The player must collect the runes for each of the Shrines and gain enlightenment in each of the Eight Virtues. Mistakes can be made upon the path, causing you to lose your way and forcing you to redeem yourself. How you play will determine when you are ready for another Shrine.This is the first time we get to see the world map in full. 16 times larger than Ultima III, this map will lay the foundation for the game world for future titles. This is the first game in the series to have NPC conversations based on keywords you type in, giving far greater depth to interactions than previous titles.Perturbed by the witch hunt against RPGs at the time by fearful parents who didn't understand, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British himself, decided to make this game less about fighting and more about morality. There is no Big Bad, there are deep moral dilemmas (some are 10/10 gritty) where you may think you came out on top only to realize later that you did not. The idea was definitely to get you to think before you act.The game was coded for Apple, and then ported to C64, Atari 8-bit Family, PC, Amiga, Sega Master System and NES. This remake is from the C64 version of the music, and in fact a few of those machines in the list above had no music at all, which was a shame.Highly rated, the game went on to win Game of the Year in 1986, toppling competitor Wizardry's reign as the best RPG. It topped charts for many years as one of the best RPGs of all time and later was inducted in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame. Even today, the game holds up fairy well considering how far things have come since this game was released. I highly recommend it for a nice change of pace from the formulaic "fighting is the only way to improve" character development. Ultima IV is TRUE character development. You can own and play this game FOR FREE here: gog.com/game/ultima_4Original score by Ken Arnold ©1985This version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere Applicable, All Rights Reserved Special thanks to Richard Garriott - you've changed so many lives.
Ultima IV (HQ Remake) - Wanderer (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-03-21 | If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it original or remake, please contact me via the About section of my channel (mobile users may have to use Desktop mode). All proceeds go back into the channel for the benefit of all gamerkind.Released just in time for the Christmas season of 1985 after 2 years of development, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar sees the end of the combat-centric "Age of Darkness" as the series moves to embrace a more virtuous and story-driven gameplay style in the first installment of the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. Now in a time of peace, the newly minted land of Britannia (and despite 3/4 of the world disappearing the game takes place on a much larger map than ever before) allows the player to hone their zeal in the Eight Virtues instead of facing some terrible evil. They battle their inner demons to master the virtues, collect artifacts, and plumb the depths of the Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in order to become the Avatar.When you visit the gypsy fortune teller, her cards will lead you to a dominant virtue that will decide which class of (human only) character you will play. The player must collect the runes for each of the Shrines and gain enlightenment in each of the Eight Virtues. Mistakes can be made upon the path, causing you to lose your way and forcing you to redeem yourself. How you play will determine when you are ready for another Shrine.This is the first time we get to see the world map in full. 16 times larger than Ultima III, this map will lay the foundation for the game world for future titles. This is the first game in the series to have NPC conversations based on keywords you type in, giving far greater depth to interactions than previous titles.Perturbed by the witch hunt against RPGs at the time by fearful parents who didn't understand, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British himself, decided to make this game less about fighting and more about morality. There is no Big Bad, there are deep moral dilemmas (some are 10/10 gritty) where you may think you came out on top only to realize later that you did not. The idea was definitely to get you to think before you act.The game was coded for Apple, and then ported to C64, Atari 8-bit Family, PC, Amiga, Sega Master System and NES. This remake is from the C64 version of the music, and in fact a few of those machines in the list above had no music at all, which was a shame.Highly rated, the game went on to win Game of the Year in 1986, toppling competitor Wizardry's reign as the best RPG. It topped charts for many years as one of the best RPGs of all time and later was inducted in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame. Even today, the game holds up fairy well considering how far things have come since this game was released. I highly recommend it for a nice change of pace from the formulaic "fighting is the only way to improve" character development. Ultima IV is TRUE character development. You can own and play this game FOR FREE here: gog.com/game/ultima_4Original score by Ken Arnold ©1985This version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere Applicable, All Rights Reserved Special thanks to Richard Garriott - you've changed so many lives.
Ultima IV (HQ Remake) - Merchant (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-03-15 | If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it original or remake, please contact me via the About section of my channel (mobile users may have to use Desktop mode). All proceeds go back into the channel for the benefit of all gamerkind.Released just in time for the Christmas season of 1985 after 2 years of development, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar sees the end of the combat-centric "Age of Darkness" as the series moves to embrace a more virtuous and story-driven gameplay style in the first installment of the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. Now in a time of peace, the newly minted land of Britannia (and despite 3/4 of the world disappearing the game takes place on a much larger map than ever before) allows the player to hone their zeal in the Eight Virtues instead of facing some terrible evil. They battle their inner demons to master the virtues, collect artifacts, and plumb the depths of the Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in order to become the Avatar.When you visit the gypsy fortune teller, her cards will lead you to a dominant virtue that will decide which class of (human only) character you will play. The player must collect the runes for each of the Shrines and gain enlightenment in each of the Eight Virtues. Mistakes can be made upon the path, causing you to lose your way and forcing you to redeem yourself. How you play will determine when you are ready for another Shrine.This is the first time we get to see the world map in full. 16 times larger than Ultima III, this map will lay the foundation for the game world for future titles. This is the first game in the series to have NPC conversations based on keywords you type in, giving far greater depth to interactions than previous titles.Perturbed by the witch hunt against RPGs at the time by fearful parents who didn't understand, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British himself, decided to make this game less about fighting and more about morality. There is no Big Bad, there are deep moral dilemmas (some are 10/10 gritty) where you may think you came out on top only to realize later that you did not. The idea was definitely to get you to think before you act.The game was coded for Apple, and then ported to C64, Atari 8-bit Family, PC, Amiga, Sega Master System and NES. This remake is from the C64 version of the music, and in fact a few of those machines in the list above had no music at all, which was a shame.Highly rated, the game went on to win Game of the Year in 1986, toppling competitor Wizardry's reign as the best RPG. It topped charts for many years as one of the best RPGs of all time and later was inducted in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame. Even today, the game holds up fairy well considering how far things have come since this game was released. I highly recommend it for a nice change of pace from the formulaic "fighting is the only way to improve" character development. Ultima IV is TRUE character development. You can own and play this game FOR FREE here: gog.com/game/ultima_4Original score by Ken Arnold ©1985This version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere Applicable, All Rights Reserved Special thanks to Richard Garriott - you've changed so many lives.
Ultima IV (HQ Remake) - Intro and Towne (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-03-14 | If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it original or remake, please contact me via the About section of my channel (mobile users may have to use Desktop mode). All proceeds go back into the channel for the benefit of all gamerkind.Released just in time for the Christmas season of 1985 after 2 years of development, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar sees the end of the combat-centric "Age of Darkness" as the series moves to embrace a more virtuous and story-driven gameplay style in the first installment of the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. Now in a time of peace, the newly minted land of Britannia (and despite 3/4 of the world disappearing the game takes place on a much larger map than ever before) allows the player to hone their zeal in the Eight Virtues instead of facing some terrible evil. They battle their inner demons to master the virtues, collect artifacts, and plumb the depths of the Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in order to become the Avatar.When you visit the gypsy fortune teller, her cards will lead you to a dominant virtue that will decide which class of (human only) character you will play. The player must collect the runes for each of the Shrines and gain enlightenment in each of the Eight Virtues. Mistakes can be made upon the path, causing you to lose your way and forcing you to redeem yourself. How you play will determine when you are ready for another Shrine.This is the first time we get to see the world map in full. 16 times larger than Ultima III, this map will lay the foundation for the game world for future titles. This is the first game in the series to have NPC conversations based on keywords you type in, giving far greater depth to interactions than previous titles.Perturbed by the witch hunt against RPGs at the time by fearful parents who didn't understand, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British himself, decided to make this game less about fighting and more about morality. There is no Big Bad, there are deep moral dilemmas (some are 10/10 gritty) where you may think you came out on top only to realize later that you did not. The idea was definitely to get you to think before you act.The game was coded for Apple, and then ported to C64, Atari 8-bit Family, PC, Amiga, Sega Master System and NES. This remake is from the C64 version of the music, and in fact a few of those machines in the list above had no music at all, which was a shame.Highly rated, the game went on to win Game of the Year in 1986, toppling competitor Wizardry's reign as the best RPG. It topped charts for many years as one of the best RPGs of all time and later was inducted in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame. Even today, the game holds up fairy well considering how far things have come since this game was released. I highly recommend it for a nice change of pace from the formulaic "fighting is the only way to improve" character development. Ultima IV is TRUE character development. You can own and play this game FOR FREE here: gog.com/game/ultima_4Original score by Ken Arnold ©1985This version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere Applicable, All Rights Reserved Special thanks to Richard Garriott - you've changed so many lives.
Ultima IV (HQ Remake) - Dungeon (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-03-06 | If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it original or remake, please contact me via the About section of my channel (mobile users may have to use Desktop mode). All proceeds go back into the channel for the benefit of all gamerkind.Released just in time for the Christmas season of 1985 after 2 years of development, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar sees the end of the combat-centric "Age of Darkness" as the series moves to embrace a more virtuous and story-driven gameplay style in the first installment of the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. Now in a time of peace, the newly minted land of Britannia (and despite 3/4 of the world disappearing the game takes place on a much larger map than ever before) allows the player to hone their zeal in the Eight Virtues instead of facing some terrible evil. They battle their inner demons to master the virtues, collect artifacts, and plumb the depths of the Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in order to become the Avatar.When you visit the gypsy fortune teller, her cards will lead you to a dominant virtue that will decide which class of (human only) character you will play. The player must collect the runes for each of the Shrines and gain enlightenment in each of the Eight Virtues. Mistakes can be made upon the path, causing you to lose your way and forcing you to redeem yourself. How you play will determine when you are ready for another Shrine.This is the first time we get to see the world map in full. 16 times larger than Ultima III, this map will lay the foundation for the game world for future titles. This is the first game in the series to have NPC conversations based on keywords you type in, giving far greater depth to interactions than previous titles.Perturbed by the witch hunt against RPGs at the time by fearful parents who didn't understand, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British himself, decided to make this game less about fighting and more about morality. There is no Big Bad, there are deep moral dilemmas (some are 10/10 gritty) where you may think you came out on top only to realize later that you did not. The idea was definitely to get you to think before you act.The game was coded for Apple, and then ported to C64, Atari 8-bit Family, PC, Amiga, Sega Master System and NES. This remake is from the C64 version of the music, and in fact a few of those machines in the list above had no music at all, which was a shame.Highly rated, the game went on to win Game of the Year in 1986, toppling competitor Wizardry's reign as the best RPG. It topped charts for many years as one of the best RPGs of all time and later was inducted in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame. Even today, the game holds up fairy well considering how far things have come since this game was released. I highly recommend it for a nice change of pace from the formulaic "fighting is the only way to improve" character development. Ultima IV is TRUE character development. You can own and play this game FOR FREE here: gog.com/game/ultima_4Original score by Ken Arnold ©1985This version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere Applicable, All Rights Reserved Special thanks to Richard Garriott - you've changed so many lives.
Ultima IV (HQ Remake) - Castle (2024) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-02-29 | If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it original or remake, please contact me via the About section of my channel (mobile users may have to use Desktop mode). All proceeds go back into the channel for the benefit of all gamerkind.Released just in time for the Christmas season of 1985 after 2 years of development, Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar sees the end of the combat-centric "Age of Darkness" as the series moves to embrace a more virtuous and story-driven gameplay style in the first installment of the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. Now in a time of peace, the newly minted land of Britannia (and despite 3/4 of the world disappearing the game takes place on a much larger map than ever before) allows the player to hone their zeal in the Eight Virtues instead of facing some terrible evil. They battle their inner demons to master the virtues, collect artifacts, and plumb the depths of the Stygian Abyss to find the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom in order to become the Avatar.When you visit the gypsy fortune teller, her cards will lead you to a dominant virtue that will decide which class of (human only) character you will play. The player must collect the runes for each of the Shrines and gain enlightenment in each of the Eight Virtues. Mistakes can be made upon the path, causing you to lose your way and forcing you to redeem yourself. How you play will determine when you are ready for another Shrine.This is the first time we get to see the world map in full. 16 times larger than Ultima III, this map will lay the foundation for the game world for future titles. This is the first game in the series to have NPC conversations based on keywords you type in, giving far greater depth to interactions than previous titles.Perturbed by the witch hunt against RPGs at the time by fearful parents who didn't understand, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British himself, decided to make this game less about fighting and more about morality. There is no Big Bad, there are deep moral dilemmas (some are 10/10 gritty) where you may think you came out on top only to realize later that you did not. The idea was definitely to get you to think before you act.The game was coded for Apple, and then ported to C64, Atari 8-bit Family, PC, Amiga, Sega Master System and NES. This remake is from the C64 version of the music, and in fact a few of those machines in the list above had no music at all, which was a shame.Highly rated, the game went on to win Game of the Year in 1986, toppling competitor Wizardry's reign as the best RPG. It topped charts for many years as one of the best RPGs of all time and later was inducted in the Computer Gaming World Hall of Fame. Even today, the game holds up fairy well considering how far things have come since this game was released. I highly recommend it for a nice change of pace from the formulaic "fighting is the only way to improve" character development. Ultima IV is TRUE character development. You can own and play this game FOR FREE here: gog.com/game/ultima_4Original score by Ken Arnold ©1985This version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere Applicable, All Rights Reserved Special thanks to Richard Garriott - you've changed so many lives.
Dungeon Master 2: Skullkeep (HQ Remake) - Endless Rain (Cemetery) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-02-14 | This is my symphonic remake of the original Dungeon Master 2: The Legend of Skullkeep soundtrack. The Dungeon Master series was one of the very best first person action RPGs. Other games in this genre include the Eye of the Beholder Series, the more obscure Black Crypt, and the Lands of Lore series. In the modern era, games like Legend of Grimrock series, Dungeon of Dragon Knight, Fall of the Dungeon Guardians and Vaporum seek to revive this beloved genre of action RPGs. Original score by Allister Brimble and Rick Jackson (Amiga), Allister Brimble, Rick Jackson, and Brian Luzietti (DOS). If you know who did the Sega port, please post their name in the comments.This version is copyright ©2020 Pieces of 8-bit.Where applicable, All Rights Reserved.
System Shock (2023) Po8 HQ Remake Music Mod Demo Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-01-24 | The HQ Remake Music Mod is now available for the 2023 remake of System Shock. The mod injects my HQ Remakes of the original music into the new 2023 game by Nightdive Studios.If you like what I do, be an awesome person and help support my channel for free by liking, subscribing and leaving a comment. System Shock 2023 HQ Remake Music Mod by Po8 and Xerardo:nexusmods.com/systemshock2023/mods/95Here is a link to the all the HQ Remake Music Mods:nexusmods.com/users/144232178?tab=user+files&BH=0System Shock 2023 HQ Remake Playlist (just the music):youtube.com/watch?v=5sKwO8B3w1Q&list=PLe4GPzW9S9fOct1Sh6HQVyQ0NQoeY5ieo
System Shock (HQ Remake) - End Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2024-01-01 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Cyberspace Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-12-12 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Maintenance Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-12-07 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Security Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-11-28 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Ultima Online (HQ Remake) - Forest (2023) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-10-26 | Ultima Online (UO) is a MMORPG that was released in September of 1997. Since then, the game has seen 8 expansions and other updates, including an entire overhaul with the release of Kingdom Reborn in 2007. Besides the original world of Felucca, where PVP is harsh and unforgiving, those expansions added new worlds: Trammel, Ilshenar, Malas, Tokuno, Ter Mur, and the Valley of Eodon. In these new worlds, rules could be set to consensual PVP, and other features such as new monsters, dungeons, cities, and more space for player housing were added. The themes of these worlds range from the land of Gargoyles, to Japanese inspired islands, to a prehistoric continent.One of the most remarkable event in MMORPG history occuredd on UO. Richard Garriott's in-game character, the esteemed Lord British himself, appeared in a beta test on August 9, 1997 and was assassinated by a player known as Rainz. While Lord British was supposed to be invulnerable, Mr. Garriott had forgotten to turn his god-mode back on after the server had crashed, which made him to vulnerable to Rainz's Fire Field spell. Rainz then began rampaging and killing nearby characters at the event. He was banned from beta testing after the incident, citing repeated complaints of exploting the game's bugs instead of reporting them. This event went down in MMORPG history.The left beta and went public in September 1997 and quickly became popular. Within 6 months, it had reached a subscriber count of 100,000 people, the largest in history up to that point and far exceeded Origin's projections. By 1999 servers had opened up all over the globe as that popularity grew in Europe and Asia. In 2000, Origin pulled out and Richard Garriott left with them, prompting players to come up with their own story as to why Lord British had abandoned them. By 2003, subscribership peaked at 250,000, but by February 2004 Origins was shut down and EA took the reins. More expansions were released, adding new worlds, new content, and fine-tuning PVP. In 2006 EA handed UO to Mythic Entertainment, who wanted to implement PunkBuster to curb cheating, but it never manifested. In August 2007, Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn massively upgraded the graphics of the game. Mythic would go on to release the final expansion to day in 2009. In 2014, developer Broadsword took control of UO and holds it to this day. In 2018, a free-to-play model was adopted to replace the 2 week trial that was previously in place, allowing F2P players to play the game as long as they like but being highly restricted without being a paying subscriber. Two sequels were canceled before release: Ultima Online 2, which would have added Steampunk to the game, and Ultima X: Odyssey, which was to be set in the world Alucinor created by the avatar after Ultima IX: Ascension.Ultima Online holds multiple Guinness World Records such as "First MMORPG to Reach 100,000 Players", and yes, they even gave one to Rainz for being the "First and Only Person to Kill Lord British".UO still has a cult following today and remains a favorite of streamers. If you are interested in playing the game, you can get started for free on the UO website.Thank you for listening (and reading). If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it remake or original, please feel free to contact me at epicpiecesof8bit (a_t) g_m-A_I-L (d.o_t) C_o.m for details. All proceeds go back into the channel to the benefit of all gamerkind.Special thanks to Wikipeda.org and MobyGames.com Original score by Todd Mitchell Porter (Ultima VI)The Ultima Online score was arranged by Kirk Winterrowd,Joe Basquez, and Hal MiltonThis version is Copyrighted ©2022 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Flight Groves Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-09-27 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Dark Legions (HQ Remake) - Track 1 Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-09-19 | Dark Legions was developed by Silicon Knights Inc. (of "Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain", "Darksiders", and "Fantasy Empires" fame) and published by Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) for MS-DOS. It was released in April of 1994 on CD-ROM, or 7 floppy disks.Enter the realm of Tahr Carog, where two Orb Keepers battle to wield the ultimate power of the twin orbs combined. Dark Legions is a turn-based fantasy strategy game with real-time battles. Each player has credits they can spend to customize their units, purchase traps (void, insanity, fire), and rings of power (speed, protection, rejuvenation) to upgrade them. There are 16 unit types to choose from to form a legion of up to 50 creatures and battle either another human player (via modem), or the computer's AI. The player must choose a unit to be the "Orb Keeper" to protect. If they lose that unit, the game is over. The units are: Berserker, Conjurer, Demon, Fire Elemental, Illusionist, Orc, Phantom, Seer, Shape Shifter, Templar, Thief, Troll, Vampire, Water Elemental, Wizard, and Wraith. Each has their own stat blocks and powers unique to them. The game functions like chess on a isometric battle map. Instead of instantly killing the unit instantly, players go into a top-down, real-time battle to decide who wins. Depending on the units involved, such a battle may not be on equal terms. This game is an updated version of the Archon series that came over a decade before it.Dark Legions has a lot of replay value in a number of various setups and scenarios that keep the game fresh, as well the ability to play another human via modem. The game received favorable reviews (average 7/10) by many major magazines at the time and remains a cult classic today.You can get the game on GOG.comOriginal Score by UNKNOWN (leave a comment if you have a clue!), but I suspect it was either Denis Dyack or Ralph Cooksey-Tallbott ©1994This version is Copyright ©2023 Pices of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved.
Daggerfall Po8 HQ Remake Music Mod Demo Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-09-13 | Here's a demo of the Po8 HQ Remake Daggerfall Music mod, which you can download for free to use with Daggerfall Unity here (as well as all our other mods): nexusmods.com/users/144232178?tab=user+files&BH=0The mod puts my true-to-original remakes of the Daggerfall soundtrack into the game to replace the original MIDI soundtrack. Special thanks to Xerardo!Daggerfall is the second installment of Bethesda Softworks LLC's Elder Scrolls series. It was released on the heels of the success of the first Elder Scrolls title, Arena, after almost 3 years of production, on schedule, on September 20th, 1996. The game was never ported, so it is an MS-DOS exclusive.Daggerfall is set in the fantasy world of Tamriel in the Bretonian province of High Rock (whose capital is Daggerfall) and the Redguard province of Hammerfell. The game begins with the player as an agent of the Emperor Uriel Septim who has been sent to do two tasks: free the ghost of King Lysandus, and to find out what happened to a letter from the Emperor to the former queen of Daggerfall. I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say the plot gets really wild and results in one of 6 endings. The replay value of this game is extreme.Daggerfall is on open-ended action RPG set in an expansive world featuring over 15,000 locations in 47 areas on a continent the size of Great Britain, and a population of around 750,000, Daggerfall's world is HUGE. Boasting the new Xngine (also used in The Terminator: Future Shock, Terminator: SkyNET, and XCar: Experimental Racing, as well as the two Daggerfall spin-offs Battlespire and Redguard) to replace Arena's Raycasting Engine, Players could create any class they wanted with the new RPG system, and enjoy an unprecedented freedom that they had never felt before in an RPG (and not since, IMO). Along with class creation, mages could also create their own spell (it was a rite of passage to make a super powerful spell you couldn't even cast). Players could join various factions in what is now a standard gameplay feature, but it was pretty fresh at the time (and still awesome today). Which faction they joined would affect how NPCs reacted to them. On top of all that, you could also become infected and be one of two kinds of lycanthropes or a vampire.Combat allowed you to use a variety of weapons, each with their own graphics, and fight enemies in an admittedly clunky by today's standards Doom-style sprite real-time battle controlled with the mouse. The more you use a skill, the more powerful you become, so you can level up your sword skill by swinging it in battle, for example. This same improvement system also affects non-combat skills. Once you raise enough skills, you level up.Daggerfall sits proudly in pantheon of the greatest games ever made. The game was a massive critical and commercial success that outsold expectations at the time (100,000 copies in 2 days!) and was still selling copies 4 years after release. It had sold around 700,000 copies by mid-2000. Today the game is freeware thanks to Bethesda's generosity, and you can find it on Steam and add it to your library. Fans have also been fighting for over a decade to keep the game alive before Bethesda released it as freeware. One project that ran for years, DaggerXL, didn't make it, but another project called Daggerfall Unity was able to finish the job, and it's available on gog.com. Today, there is still a thriving community of modders for Daggerfall, including Xerardo and myself. You can download the PO8 HQ Remake Music Mod here, which will replace the original music with all of my remakes in Daggerfall Unity: nexusmods.com/daggerfallunity/mods/314Original score by Eric Heberling ©1996This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Stonekeep (HQ Remake) - Theras Temple Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-09-05 | This song was commissioned by Xerardo (thank you!). If you'd like to commission a piece of your own, remake or original, to help support the channel, please contact me via the email address on my channel.Stonekeep is a first-person action role-playing game developed and published by Interplay Productions. It was released November 8, 1995. At its head was Brian Fargo, of Wasteland and Fallout fame. It boasts full motion video cutscenes and is fully voice-acted throughout. It also has an amazing soundtrack by Brian Luzietti (Wolfenstein and Descent series, among many others). Plot:1,000 years ago, the dark god Khull-Khuum imprisoned the nine gods in orbs (one for each planet, which dates this game :) ) during the Devastation. 10 years ago, the mad god Khull-Khuum the Shadowking tore a path of destruction across the world. Then a young boy, Drake was saved from his wrath and the destruction of Stonekeep by an unknown person. 10 years later, he returns to his destroyed home. Among the ruins, he meets Thera, Goddess of Earth, who bids him to descend into the lost city of Stonekeep and retrieve 9 receptacles. To protect Drake from the magick of the dark realm, Thera must free his spirit from the confines of his body. She bids him to free her and the other gods and restore the land, or to be doomed by the forces of darkness forever. To aid him in his quest, Thera grants unto him the Mystic Mirror of Afri and Aquila's Scroll (as a way to integrate the UI/menu system in the story). On his quest, Drake will find many items and rescue many allies to aid him.Production:The Stonekeep project started with projections of 6 months to completion at $50,000. They were off by a little bit. In total, the game cost $5 million (just over $10 million adjusted for inflation at the time of this video's posting) at the time, took 5 years to make, and had a crew of over 200 members. During that time, the PC requirements went from 80286, 640k and running straight from 8 floppy disks to requiring a hard drive, CD-ROM, and a 386 CPU. Because the CD was required to continuously load the complex graphics (at the time), MIDI music was used instead of CD audio. Unboxing:The game came in a gravestone-shaped box with a hardcover novella by game designer Steve Jackson (of GURPS, Munchkin, and Steve Jackson Games fame) and freelance writer/game designer David L. Pulver (GURPS, TSR, WEG, ICE, etc.) entitled "Thera Awakening". An easter egg on the CD-ROM was a text file "muffins.txt", which detailed the recipe for "Tim Cain's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins".Reception:Stonekeep received above average reviews by critics. Despite the fact that people did enjoy it, and everything that had gone into the project, sales were anemic. By 1998, Interplay had only sold 300,000 copies of Stonekeep. It was criticized as being vaporware because of its 5 year production cycle, and Interplay blamed that as the cause of its weak sales performance.Legacy:Unfortunately, this game is a bit polarizing because of its flaws. Combat is a little clunky and difficult, the inventory system is a mess, and the puzzles are on the weak side. This, paired with a bit of a cliche story, led to a bit of a somewhat monotonous experience that holds the game back from being a true masterpiece. The final gut punch was that the ending of this epic adventure is incredibly short and underwhelming. Even so, this ambitious title has become a cult classic. I would highly recommend it anyone who is a fan of titles like Eye of the Beholder, Dungeon Master, or the newer Legend of Grimrock series. For people who are not yet fans of the first-person dungeon crawler genre, it's a good idea to start with the Dungeon Master or Eye of the Beholder series first. A sequel, "Skullkeep 2" was planned by Black Isle Studios, but was canceled. A novel was written by Troy Denning (of old TSR Dungeons and Dragons novel fame, especially Dark Sun's Prism Pentad) called "The Oath of Stonekeep" in 1999 (Berkley Boulevard Books). Another title in the series, but not a direct sequel, is "Skullkeep: Bones of the Ancients", which is available on WiiWare.You can purchase Stonekeep on Steam and GOG.comOriginal score by Brian Luzietti ©1995, Interplay Productions.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Intro Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-07-31 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Download the Po8 HQ Remake Mod for the new System Shock Remake, which injects my remakes of the original soundtrack into the new game for free here:nexusmods.com/users/144232178?tab=user+files&BH=0 Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Energy Systems/Engineering/Flight Deck Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-07-05 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Po8 HQ Remake Music Mod for Doom II: Hell On Earth Compilation (Brutal Doom - Hurt Me Plenty) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-06-27 | This is a compilation video featuring the Po8 HQ Remake Music Mod for Doom II: Hell on Earth. Gameplay footage by Xerardo. The Doom II: Hell On Earth Po8 Music Mod is compatible with Brutal Doom. Difficulty is set to Hurt Me Plenty.You can download this mod for free (and others) at nexusmods.com/users/144232178?tab=user+files&BH=0Original score by Robert Prince ©1994This version is Copyrighted ©2022 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Po8 HQ Remake Music Mod for Doom (1993) Compilation (Nightmare Difficulty) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-06-20 | This is a compilation video featuring the Po8 HQ Remake Music Mod for Doom (1993). Gamplay footage by Xerardo. You can download this mod for free (and others) at nexusmods.com/users/144232178?tab=user+files&BH=0Time Index00:00 - 00:36 At Doom's Gate (Hangar)00:37 - 01:42 The Imp's Song (Nuclear Plant)01:43 - 02:03 Intermission02:04 - 02:42 Dark halls (Toxin Refinery)02:43 - 03:44 Kitchen Ace and Taking Names (Command Control)03:45 - 04:38 Suspense (Phobos Lab)04:39 - 06:01 On the Hunt (Central Processing)06:02 - 07:22 Demons on the Prey (Computer Station)07:23 - 08:14 Sign of Evil (Phobos Anomaly)08:15 - 09:28 Hiding the Secrets (Military Base)09:29 - 10:07 I Sawed the Demons (Deimos Anomaly)10:08 - 11:34 The Demons from Adrian's Pen (Containment Area)11:35 - 12:02 Intermission (Refinery)12:03 - 13:20 They're Going To Get You (Deimos Lab)13:21 - 13:47 Demons on the Prey (Command Center)13:48 - 15:22 Nobody Told Me About id (Tower of Babel)15:23 - 15:35 Intermission15:36 - 18:53 Sweet Little Dead Bunny (Victory)18:54 - 20:46 Fortress of Mystery (Hell Keep)20:47 - 21:05 Intermission21:06 - 22:09 Donna To The Rescue (Slough of Despair)22:10 - 23:19 Deep into the Code (Pandemonium)23:20 - 25:01 Facing the Spider (Dis)Original score by Robert Prince ©1993This version is Copyrighted ©2022 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Beta Grove Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-06-13 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Elevator Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-06-07 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Faxanadu (HQ Remake) - Branch (2023 Remake) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-05-29 | Faxanadu was developed by Hudson Soft and released in Japan in November 1987, but wasn't released in North America until August 1989. It is a rare early Action RPG Side-Scrolling Platformer, or as some people like to call them, a Metroidvania title.The Elven hero of Faxanadu remains nameless (though he can be named in the Japanese version). He returns home (basically naked) to Eolis in the shadow of the World Tree to find that the water has stopped flowing, the river has dried up, the flora is dying, and the water that remains has been poisoned. The first thing you should do as a naked elf is die by the hands of the first creature you see. That will give you a free trip to town and give you an item. You can go meet the king, who will explain that the Elves' fountain has dried up. In a "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this!" moment, he gives you 1,500 "golds", which isn't going to cut it. If you can get back down to 0 golds, he will keep giving you 1,500 golds for some reason. NICE! That's way better! Our hero will battle lots of monsters platformer style, as he climbs the World Tree and visits the Dwarven mountain in his quest to turn the water back on and un-poison it. You will need lots of gear, a special sword, powerful spells, and a couple pairs of winged boots if you expect to take on and defeat the Evil One.This game does not have a battery backup, so it uses the old school password save technology (which you'd screw up and have to revert to a previous save, even if you triple checked it). You get these passwords from Gurus in the churches. The passwords are called "Mantras". Your rank determines how much gold you get to start with when you load up a password, which isn't the greatest system, but you have to admit that it was a clever workaround.The music was composed by Jun Chikuma (of Bomberman fame) and her arrangements were programmed with the assistance of Toshiaki Takimoto. She was given complete freedom over the project and I think she came up with a pretty charming songs. Faxanadu was featured in Nintendo Power (#6 on their top 30 games at debut), had two episodes set in its world on Capain N: Game Master (S2E8 "The Feud of Faxanadu" and S2E13 "Germ Wars"), and was generally well received with a 7.5/10 being about the average. It was (and still is) considered a better Metroidvania title than Castlevania 2 and Zelda 2.You can play Faxanadu today by buying a cartridge for the NES (around $10 used (loose)), emulation (save states eliminate the need for passwords), and it was released on the Wii's Virtual Console (which also eliminated the password feature).A scholarly discussion on the game title's pronunciation:Everyone I knew always called it fax-ANN-uh-doo, but the name actually comes from the combination of "Famicom" and "Xanadu". To get the exact pronunciation, I turned to Japanese. The katakana for the title is ファザナドゥ, or literally fua-zah-na-doh-oo (there is no empasis on syllables in Japanese). It is spelled this way because of a lack of letters to pronounce foreign words, so it would be simplfied to fah-zah-nah-doo. This is pretty straightforward and is the intended name (fah-mee-com + zah-nah-doo = fah-zah-na-doo). However, in the Captain N: Game Master episode "The Feud of Faxanadu", they call it fax-ANN-uh-doo. youtu.be/o9Vh0ZmPPlM?t=242 . One thing is for sure, to this day no one really agrees on what to call it.Faxanadu was actually a sequel to the Dragon Slayer series, one of the founding fathers of the Action RPG genre (some say it was the first), which inspired series like Zelda and Ys. The sequel, Dragon Slayer 2: Xanadu, is where we get the name from. The previous games were released on the NEC PC-8801 and 9901, so Xanadu on the Famicom was a big deal and kind of goes with the same naming convention we'd see on the SNES where everything was "Super". Two other sequels in the Dragon Slayer series would make it to American shores entitled Legacy of the Wizard (1987 NES) and Sorcerian (1987 MS-DOS, Mega Drive).Original score by Jun Chikuma (composer) and Toshiaki Takimoto (programmer) ©1987This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-Bit HQ RemakesWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Ultima Underworld 1 Unity Po8 HQ Remake Music Mod Is Out Now!!! Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-05-26 | After honing our virtue and braving the perils of the Stygian Abyss, Xerardo and myself have returned victorious to announce the release of the new Ultima Underworld 1 Po8 HQ Remake Mod.This mod injects my Po8 HQ Remakes of the Ultima Underworld 1 soundtrack into Ultima Underworld Unity and brings new life to the experience. We sincerely hope you will enjoy our efforts in bringing this to you.You can download the Ultima Underworld mod (and all our other mods) for free here:nexusmods.com/users/144232178?tab=user+files
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Executive Quarters Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-05-23 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Ultima Underworld 1 (HQ Remake) - Armed Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-05-15 | Thank you for listening. This piece was commissioned by epic retro gaming legend Xerardo. If you would like to be awesome and commission a piece of your own, be it remake or an original piece, please contact me via the 'About' section of my YouTube channel page (click to reveal email - mobile users may need to use desktop mode to see it). All proceeds go back into the channel for the preservation of this great music to the benefit all gamerkind. If you would like to support my efforts for free, you can always obliterate that like button, subscribe, and share my videos on social media. Every little bit helps me continue on my great quest.Made by a small team of developers, Blue Sky Productions (who would later become Looking Glass Studios), Ultima Underworld : The Stygian Abyss was groundbreaking for the Ultima series. Released in March of 1992, it is historically significant because it was the first 3D Action CRPG. While not originally a huge success upon release, it became a cult hit and sold just under half a million copies, winning the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1992. It paved the way for a sequel, Ultima Underworld : Labyrinth of Worlds. An attempt was made at a third installment to the series, but Origin declined. That project would go on to become a spiritual successor of Ultima Underworld known as 'Arx Fatalis'. The importance of this game cannot be overstated, as its success led to the creation of a new genre of RPG, and by extension to the creation of other beloved first person 3D action role-playing game series such as The Elder Scrolls.Ultima Underworld : The Stygian Abyss begins with the avatar being haunted by an apparition who tells him of trouble stirring in Britannia. Deciding to check it out, he watches helplessly as the Baron's daughter Arial is kidnapped. Framed for the crime, the baron banishes him to the Great Stygian Abyss, setting him on a mission to rescue her. Once inside the vast dungeon, the avatar discovers the ruins of a fallen utopia and his true mission starts to unfold. Will you take up his quest?This game is currently available on GOG.com for $5.99 for both Ultima Underworld 1 : The Stygian Abyss, and Ultima Underworld 2 : The Labyrinth of Worlds.Original score by George Sanger and Dave Govett ©1992 Origin SystemsThis version is Copyright ©2021 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Daggerfall TES:II (HQ Remake) - Swimming 2 (2023 Remake) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-05-05 | Daggerfall is the second installment of Bethesda Softworks LLC's Elder Scrolls series. It was released on the heels of the success of the first Elder Scrolls title, Arena, after almost 3 years of production, on schedule, on September 20th, 1996. The game was never ported, so it is an MS-DOS exclusive.Daggerfall is set in the fantasy world of Tamriel in the Bretonian province of High Rock (whose capital is Daggerfall) and the Redguard province of Hammerfell. The game begins with the player as an agent of the Emperor Uriel Septim who has been sent to do two tasks: free the ghost of King Lysandus, and to find out what happened to a letter from the Emperor to the former queen of Daggerfall. I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say the plot gets really wild and results in one of 6 endings. The replay value of this game is extreme.Daggerfall is on open-ended action RPG set in an expansive world featuring over 15,000 locations in 47 areas on a continent the size of Great Britain, and a population of around 750,000, Daggerfall's world is HUGE. Boasting the new Xngine (also used in The Terminator: Future Shock, Terminator: SkyNET, and XCar: Experimental Racing, as well as the two Daggerfall spin-offs Battlespire and Redguard) to replace Arena's Raycasting Engine, Players could create any class they wanted with the new RPG system, and enjoy an unprecedented freedom that they had never felt before in an RPG (and not since, IMO). Along with class creation, mages could also create their own spell (it was a rite of passage to make a super powerful spell you couldn't even cast). Players could join various factions in what is now a standard gameplay feature, but it was pretty fresh at the time (and still awesome today). Which faction they joined would affect how NPCs reacted to them. On top of all that, you could also become infected and be one of two kinds of lycanthropes or a vampire.Combat allowed you to use a variety of weapons, each with their own graphics, and fight enemies in an admittedly clunky by today's standards Doom-style sprite real-time battle controlled with the mouse. The more you use a skill, the more powerful you become, so you can level up your sword skill by swinging it in battle, for example. This same improvement system also affects non-combat skills. Once you raise enough skills, you level up.Daggerfall sits proudly in pantheon of the greatest games ever made. The game was a massive critical and commercial success that outsold expectations at the time (100,000 copies in 2 days!) and was still selling copies 4 years after release. It had sold around 700,000 copies by mid-2000. Today the game is freeware thanks to Bethesda's generosity, and you can find it on Steam and add it to your library. Fans have also been fighting for over a decade to keep the game alive before Bethesda released it as freeware. One project that ran for years, DaggerXL, didn't make it, but another project called Daggerfall Unity was able to finish the job, and it's available on gog.com. Today, there is still a thriving community of modders for Daggerfall, including Xerardo and myself. You can download the PO8 HQ Remake Music Mod here, which will replace the original music with all of my remakes in Daggerfall Unity: nexusmods.com/daggerfallunity/mods/314Original score by Eric Heberling ©1996This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
8 Eyes (HQ Remake) - Egypt (2023 Remake) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-04-28 | 8 Eyes was developed by now defunct Thinking Rabbit and published by Taxan. It was released in January 1990 in North America (Q3 1988 in Japan and has a wildy different, and definitely not family friendly, story). 8 Eyes is a game that flew under the radar for a lot of people. Featuring an aesthetic very similar to Castlevania, it was one of the rare NES titles to feature co-op gameplay. The game lacked a save feature and used a password system.8 Eyes takes place after a nuclear apocalypse has ravaged the earth. In the aftermath, a Great King uses his magic gems to rebuild the world. These "8 Eyes" are jewels that were created in the epicenter of the nuclear blasts. The Great King's 8 ambitious dukes have stolen the 8 Eyes and now threaten to destroy the world. It is up to Orin the Falconer and his trusty falcon Cutrus (who can be controlled by Player 2) to retrieve the 8 Eyes and save what is left of civilization. Orin wields a sword as well as a variety of sub-weapons such as molotovs and magic orbs.There are 8 levels to the game that you can visit in any order, but there is an optimal order hinted at throughout the game. Each level ends with Orin getting a new sword to which only one of the dukes is vulnerable. After all 7 levels are defeated, then the player takes on the House of Ruth. When Orin gets all of the 8 Eyes back, he must set the jewels in a specific order (hinted at throughout the game) in the Altar of Peace, or all is lost. What this in essence does is combine a core mechanic of Mega Man with the gameplay of Castlevania. What a cool idea!Despite not being well-received by critics, this game sold decently and is considered common as far as rarity goes. The gameplay was a bit stiff to the point where engaging in combat almost assured taking damage, making evasion the best option (and that's no fun at all). 8 Eyes has since risen to a sort of cult status. I think retro gamers appreciate what the game was trying to do and (if you're like me) wish that there was a sequel that had a bit more polish that would have made the game a smashing success. Sadly, this game is all we will have. Still, it is a rare couch co-op game and there's really nothing like before or since.To understand how this game fits in, imagine a world where Castlevania 1 was an old title when 8 Eyes was released. Many people weren't in love with Castlevania 2, which had come out over a year earlier. Castlevania 3 wasn't out yet. The only Castlevania anyone had ever known featured a Belmont with a whip. Now here comes Orin with his 2P bird wielding A SWORD! We wouldn't see swords in Castlevania until Symphony of the Night over 7 years later. Now add in the Mega Man formula and I think people really wanted 8 Eyes to work and were ready to forgive some of its gameplay flaws because of that.Original score by Kenzou Kumei ©1988 Thinking RabbitThis version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Research Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-04-18 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
The Po8 (HQ Remake) Doom 2 (1994) Mod IS HERE! #shorts Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-04-14 | After many months of kitchen ace and taking names, Xerardo and myself are pleased to announce that the official Po8 Doom 2 (1994) HQ Remake music mod is live! Now you can play Doom with my remakes instead of the original music FOR FREE! Thanks for listening.Special thanks to Xerardo.You can find the mod here:nexusmods.com/doom2/mods/30Doom 2 (1994) Po8 HQ Remake OST : youtu.be/l7GQUqvQHB4Doom II: Hell on Earth took the original formula of Doom and turned it up to 11! Bigger levels, super shotgun, brand new enemies, and the megasphere power-up. A total of 30 levels have been added via two expansions since this game was released on a "Doomsday" (see also: John Conway and his Doomsday Algorithm), exactly 10 months after the original on October 10, 1994. John Romero also created a new level in 2022 to raise money for the Ukrainian Red Cross and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.Doom II received generally favorable reviews and sold its first run of 600,000 copies three times faster than anticipated for the holiday season, being sold directly from the pallet instead of shelves and very hard to get your hands on. It sold 1.2 million copies in its first year, charting as the 10th best-selling game of 1996, selling a total of 1.81 million copies.This game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, Game Boy Advance, Tapwave Zodiac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 1, Playstation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Sega Saturn, and finally iOS and Android (after the source code was released). Ports for the Atari Jaguar and 3DO were announced but never released.The game has two official expansions: Master Levels of Doom II (1995), and No Rest for the Living (2019, Xbox Live Arcade)Musically, the soundtrack was once again composed by Robert Prince (who did the first game), but it featured a much chiller soundtrack by comparison. Again, we find tributes to famous grunge and metal songs from the era, some of which were written for Doom 1 and refined for Doom 2.Original score by Robert Prince ©1994This version is Copyrighted ©2022 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Doom (HQ Remake) - Unreleased #30 (2022 Remake) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-04-12 | This track was never used in the game. Romero: "I like its funkiness. Reminds me of Wolfy." If you would like to commission a piece of your own, remake or original, feel free to contact me at epicpiecesof8bit (a_t) g_m-a_i,L (d,o_t) c_o,m. All proceeds go back into the channel to the benefit of all gamerkind.Doom was originally released at midnight on December 10th, 1993. Believing that they couldn't rely on media, id adopted a shareware direct-to-consumer model and offered the first episode ('Knee-Deep in the Dead') of nine levels for free. A mail order version contained two more episodes ('The Shores of Hell', and 'Inferno'). A full retail version, Ultimate Doom, was released in 1995 with an additional episode ('Thy Flesh Consumed') that contained levels of increased difficulty. They would follow up with Doom II: Hell on Earth (October 10 1994) and Doom 3 (August 3, 2004). In modern times, Doom was rebooted in 2016 (although it was originally slated to be Doom 4), and then followed up with the highly-successful Doom Eternal (2020), proving that the Doom franchise is still very much alive and kicking almost 3 decades later.Doom features a nameless space marine hero (that gamers have dubbed "Doomguy") facing countless armies of demons on the moons of Mars and in Hell with modern day (pistol, shotgun, gatling gun, chainsaw) and futuristic weapons (plasma rifle, BFG9000). id is famed for its clever level design. Players traverse various environments fighting demons while looking for secrets and precious power-ups such as: weapons, ammunition, health, armor, invisibility, invulnerability, and a berserk power-up. Each level gives you a readout at the end letting you know what percentage of the enemies you killed, items and secrets you found, as well as how quickly you completed the level compared to the par.While the game originally was decried for its depiction of then realistic violence, Doom is now seen in the eyes of many as the father of the FPS genre and would spawn an entire franchise, as well as countless clones and imitators. The number of awards it has won are too numerous to list here, but no one can dispute that it is one of the most important video games ever made. The various versions of Doom sold several million copies at the time, and some estimates hold 10-20 million people played the shareware version in just the first 2 years. Doom would go on to be one of the most widely ported games of all time. It has seen versions for: MS-DOS, NeXTSTEP, OS/2, IRIX, Solaris, Sega 32X, Atari Jaguar, Mac OS, PC-98, SNES, PlayStation, 3DO, Windows, Sega Saturn, RISC OS, Game Boy Advance, Xbox, Xbox 360, iOS, PlayStation 3, Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (so far).Original score by Robert Prince ©1993 This version is Copyrighted ©2022 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
System Shock (HQ Remake) - Medical Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-04-07 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Syndicate Like Youve Never Seen It Before Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-04-03 | Sadly, a Syndicate mod remains elusive, but we can dream, can't we?youtube.com/watch?v=Qy83xY9OUgs&list=PLe4GPzW9S9fPjSdUsdOWy9KIdQbntusvC&index=1
System Shock (1994) (HQ Remake) - Title Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-31 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo (@AncientDigitalGames). Thank you! You can help support this channel by commissioning a piece of your own. Contact me via email at the address in the ABOUT section. Released September 23, 1994, System Shock is an immersive cyberpunk FPS Action RPG title that was developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published Origin Systems. The game was Directed by Doug Church (Ultima Underworld 1+2, Thief, Deus Ex, CS:GO) and Produced by Warren Spector (Ultima VI, Wing Commander Series, Thief, Deus Ex, Epic Mickey).The year is 2072. You take on the role of a famous unnamed hacker who awakens from a coma after a job gone wrong on a space station called the Citadel (owned by the TriOptimum Corporation) to find that everything has been turned upside down. You must battle robots, cyborgs, and mutants on this massive multi-level space station who defend a ruthless AI known as SHODAN.System Shock's core gameplay loop revolves around exploring the Citadel and making your way past obstacles put in place by SHODAN, solving puzzles, and battle enemies various projectile weapons such as energy weapons, a tranquilizer dart gun, landmines, and concussion grenades. You gather up various pieces of hardware that you can slot onto your character which aid you in your quest, such as a flashlight or energy shield. Another key gameplay feature is hacking your way through cyberspace, taking down SHODAN's security in a vector graphic "3D" environment and gathering data which has an impact on the real world. System Shock's pioneering emergent gameplay has likely helped cement what are now staples of FPS adventure titles like Dishonored, Half-Life, Deus Ex, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Prey, and Resident Evil. The game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, and Microsoft Windows.System Shock stands tall in the annals of video game history, and in multiple Halls of Fame as a breakthrough in immersive and emergent gameplay. It was very successful with over 170,000 copies sold at the time, and to sparkling reviews/ratings, but it somehow still managed to lose money. A sequel, System Shock 2 was made and was also very successful, receiving very high ratings. A third title was announced, but it became vaporware. An enhanced edition of the first System Shock was released by Night Dive Studios and it made many quality-of-life improvements to the title without ruining it. More recently, a new re-imagining has been announced entitled simply "System Shock", to be released late May 2023. There is also talk of a forthcoming System Shock TV series for Binge by Greg Russo, screenwriter of Mortal Kombat (2021).Sadly, even on the back of successful game series like Ultima Underworld, System Shock and Thief, poor handling of the company led to the shuttering of LookingGlass in 2000. Night Dive Studios, a developer known for acquiring rights to abandonware video games (Turok, Forsaken, Doom64, Quake, Shadow Man, Bladerunner, SiN, Rise of the Triad), hopes to revive the franchise for future generations. If their work with the System Shock Enhanced Edition is any indication, the series appears to be in good hands.You can purchase System Shock Enhanced Edition on GOG.com on Steam.Original score by Greg LoPiccolo and Tim Ries ©1994 LookingGlass Technologies.This version is Copyrighted ©2023 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Doom (1993) Po8 HQ Remake Mod Sample #4 Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-30 | After many months of kitchen ace and taking names, Xerardo and myself are pleased to announce that the official Po8 Doom (1993) HQ Remake music mod is live! Now you can play Doom with my remakes instead of the original music FOR FREE! Thanks for listening.Special thanks to Xerardo.You can find the mod here:nexusmods.com/doom1993/mods/12Doom (1993) Po8 HQ Remake OST : youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4GPzW9S9fOZR6NaCv9N_5GF1pe-3g6e
Doom (1993) Po8 HQ Remake Mod Sample #5 Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-30 | After many months of kitchen ace and taking names, Xerardo and myself are pleased to announce that the official Po8 Doom (1993) HQ Remake music mod is live! Now you can play Doom with my remakes instead of the original music FOR FREE! Thanks for listening.Special thanks to Xerardo.You can find the mod here:nexusmods.com/doom1993/mods/12Doom (1993) Po8 HQ Remake OST : youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4GPzW9S9fOZR6NaCv9N_5GF1pe-3g6e
Play Doom (1993) With The Po8 HQ Remake Mod! Sample #2 Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-29 | After many months of kitchen ace and taking names, Xerardo and myself are pleased to announce that the official Po8 Doom (1993) HQ Remake music mod is live! Now you can play Doom with my remakes instead of the original music FOR FREE! Thanks for listening.Special thanks to Xerardo.You can find the mod here:nexusmods.com/doom1993/mods/12Doom (1993) Po8 HQ Remake OST : youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4GPzW9S9fOZR6NaCv9N_5GF1pe-3g6e
Doom (1993) Po8 HQ Remake Mod Sample #3 Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-29 | After many months of kitchen ace and taking names, Xerardo and myself are pleased to announce that the official Po8 Doom (1993) HQ Remake music mod is live! Now you can play Doom with my remakes instead of the original music FOR FREE! Thanks for listening.Special thanks to Xerardo.You can find the mod here:nexusmods.com/doom1993/mods/12Doom (1993) Po8 HQ Remake OST : youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4GPzW9S9fOZR6NaCv9N_5GF1pe-3g6e
Play Doom (1993) With The Po8 HQ Remake Mod! Sample #1 Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-28 | After many months of kitchen ace and taking names, Xerardo and myself are pleased to announce that the official Po8 Doom (1993) HQ Remake music mod is live! Now you can play Doom with my remakes instead of the original music FOR FREE! Thanks for listening.Special thanks to Xerardo.You can find the mod here:nexusmods.com/doom1993/mods/12Doom (1993) Po8 HQ Remake OST : youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4GPzW9S9fOZR6NaCv9N_5GF1pe-3g6e
The Po8 HQ Remake Doom (1993) Mod IS HERE! #shorts Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-25 | After many months of kitchen ace and taking names, Xerardo and myself are pleased to announce that the official Po8 Doom (1993) HQ Remake music mod is live! Now you can play Doom with my remakes instead of the original music FOR FREE! Thanks for listening.Special thanks to Xerardo.You can find the mod here:nexusmods.com/doom1993/mods/12Doom (1993) Po8 HQ Remake OST : youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4GPzW9S9fOZR6NaCv9N_5GF1pe-3g6e
Wizardry 1 NES (HQ Remake) - Proving Grounds Of The Mad Overlord (Crystallized) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-24 | This piece was commissioned by Xerardo.Thanks for listening! If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it remake or original, please feel free to email me at epicpiecesof8bit (a_t) g,M-a_i,L (d_o,t) c_o,m. All proceeds go back into the channel to the benefit of all gamerkind.Wizardry 1 Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord was released in September 1981 after 2 and half years of coding. This allowed the game to be extensively playtested and balanced. As a result, it was an immediate commercial success. Wizardry 1 was the beginning of an amazing video game developer by the name of Sir-Tech. In those days, CRPGs were pretty rare. In fact, Wizardry was the first CRPG to feature color graphics. It would make its way all the way over to Japan, along with Ultima, where it had a huge impact on what would be the formation of JRPGs as we know and love them today.The game itself is fairly simplistic by today's standards. Much of the game was text based, with a tiny window for graphics. It featured four basic classes to choose from: Fighter, Thief, Mage, Cleric, and character with exceptional stats could become one of the four elite classes: Lord, Samurai, Ninja, and Bishop. You would randomly roll your character's stats -- there was no point buy system. You would sit there for hours rerolling over and over trying to roll the perfect combination of stats that would allow you to make a character who was an elite class (who would often be killed right away). Character alignment would further complicate things as good and evil party members could not be added to the same party.This dungeon crawler features turn-based combat. Combat was text based and party members faced up to 4 groups of monsters, whose pictures were shown on the screen (a big deal back then). There was no map. Players of that era were notorious for always having graph paper handy. Developers, however, knew this, so they LOVED to add darkness, teleporters, and spinners to absolutely ruin your map (this feature was also prevalent in Bard's Tale Trilogy, and even went so far as Dungeon Master into the 1990s).This game is brutal and unforgiving. You cannot save in the dungeon, and the game features permadeath. You could, however, collect the items and bodies of your fallen players. Beating Wizardry 1, which could take hundreds of hours, was required to play Wizardry 2 and 3, as they would port your characters over to face new challenges in the sequels, of which there are a total of 8 Wizardry titles.Wizardry would go on to be ported to a number of different systems (Apple II, C64, C128, FM-7, Game Boy Color, Macintosh, MSX2, NEC PC-9801, NES, IBM PC, Sharp X1, Super Famicom, TurboGrafx-16) almost a full decade after release, and it would go on to outsell Ultima. By the end of the 80s would sell more than 500,000 copies, especially dominating in the Apple market. This number may not seem that special today, but there were fewer people in the world back then, and fewer still who had a home computer.In conclusion, the influence that this series had on modern RPGs cannot be overstated. We all owe a great debt to this game and its developers. Unfortunately, I could find nowhere that sells this game, so that means that it is likely abandonware. I can't say you'll have an easy time with this game, but at least there are some luxuries like cheats and well-drawn maps that original players of this game did not have. It will definitely still offer you an unforgettable experience, which may or may not be a bad thing depending on your patience levels. :)The music from this remake is from the NES version. Original score was written by Kentaro Haneda 羽田健太郎 (はねだ けんたろう) using a special program created by Nobuyuki Ohnogi 大野木 宜幸 (おおのぎ のぶゆき) ©1987This version is Copyrighted ©2022 Pieces of 8-bitAll Rights ReservedSpecial thanks to MobyGames!
Doom 2: Hell On Earth (HQ Remake) - Intermission (2022 Remake) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-15 | Doom II: Hell on Earth took the original formula of Doom and turned it up to 11! Bigger levels, super shotgun, brand new enemies, and the megasphere power-up. A total of 30 levels have been added via two expansions since this game was released on a "Doomsday" (see also: John Conway and his Doomsday Algorithm), exactly 10 months after the original on October 10, 1994. John Romero also created a new level in 2022 to raise money for the Ukrainian Red Cross and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.Doom II received generally favorable reviews and sold its first run of 600,000 copies three times faster than anticipated for the holiday season, being sold directly from the pallet instead of shelves and very hard to get your hands on. It sold 1.2 million copies in its first year, charting as the 10th best-selling game of 1996, selling a total of 1.81 million copies.This game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, Game Boy Advance, Tapwave Zodiac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 1, Playstation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Sega Saturn, and finally iOS and Android (after the source code was released). Ports for the Atari Jaguar and 3DO were announced but never released.The game has two official expansions: Master Levels of Doom II (1995), and No Rest for the Living (2019, Xbox Live Arcade)Musically, the soundtrack was once again composed by Robert Prince (who did the first game), but it featured a much chiller soundtrack by comparison. Again, we find tributes to famous grunge and metal songs from the era, some of which were written for Doom 1 and refined for Doom 2.Original score by Robert Prince ©1994This version is Copyrighted ©2022 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
Doom 2: Hell On Earth (HQ Remake) - Title (2022 Remake) Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-14 | Doom II: Hell on Earth took the original formula of Doom and turned it up to 11! Bigger levels, super shotgun, brand new enemies, and the megasphere power-up. A total of 30 levels have been added via two expansions since this game was released on a "Doomsday" (see also: John Conway and his Doomsday Algorithm), exactly 10 months after the original on October 10, 1994. John Romero also created a new level in 2022 to raise money for the Ukrainian Red Cross and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.Doom II received generally favorable reviews and sold its first run of 600,000 copies three times faster than anticipated for the holiday season, being sold directly from the pallet instead of shelves and very hard to get your hands on. It sold 1.2 million copies in its first year, charting as the 10th best-selling game of 1996, selling a total of 1.81 million copies.This game was ported to MS-DOS, Mac OS, PC-98, Game Boy Advance, Tapwave Zodiac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 1, Playstation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Sega Saturn, and finally iOS and Android (after the source code was released). Ports for the Atari Jaguar and 3DO were announced but never released.The game has two official expansions: Master Levels of Doom II (1995), and No Rest for the Living (2019, Xbox Live Arcade)Musically, the soundtrack was once again composed by Robert Prince (who did the first game), but it featured a much chiller soundtrack by comparison. Again, we find tributes to famous grunge and metal songs from the era, some of which were written for Doom 1 and refined for Doom 2.Original score by Robert Prince ©1994This version is Copyrighted ©2022 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights Reserved
DreamWeb (HQ Remake) (Amiga Version) - Track 1 Pieces of 8-bits HQ Remakes 2023-03-13 | This soundtrack was commissioned by Xerardo. If you would like to commission a piece of your own, be it remake or original, please feel free to contact me at EpicPiecesof8bit (a_t) G_m-A,i.L (d.o,t) c_o,m . All proceeds go back into the channel to the benefit of all gamerkind. Thank you for listening!DreamWeb is a cyberpunk adventure game that was released in 1994 on PC and Amiga, the same year as the ESRB (who rates the appropriate age range of games for minors). It may very well be the first adventure game "Rated M for Mature" for the pixel depictions of nudity and violence. In fact, clothing had to be added to a certain character in order for DreamWeb to be allowed for sale in Australia.The game featured a booklet with a prequel story written by author Stephen Marley, who is known for creating the genre of "Chinese Gothic" in his Chia Black Dragon series. He is also known for writing Judge Dredd novels. The booklet, entitled 'Diary of a (Mad?) Man' expanded upon the background of Ryan and also acted one of the last forms of text-based copy protection as we moved into the CD-ROM era (Phew! That phase was annoying! You were always looking for the book, or a decoder wheel, or a red film that you had to use to see the answers just so you could play)."Unseen, a dwelling of pure thought is shaping our futures: The DreamWeb. Watched over by servants billions of years old, for centuries the DreamWeb remained stable, but now evil is about to take control. Keepers, the web of dreams is slowly unwinding. The seven evil powers on earth are joining forces. If they become too strong, the DreamWeb will be destroyed. Who will be the Deliverer?" -Excerpt from the intro of DreamWebIn DreamWeb, you take on the role of a bartender named Ryan in a dystopian future who has been having strange dreams lately. A Keeper, communicating with you in your dreams via the DreamWeb, tasks you with becoming the "Deliverer" and to kill seven evils that threaten to destroy the Dreamweb and sink the world into chaos. You awaken in your bedroom next to your girlfriend Eden and begin your search for the first evil, the weakest of the seven, a rockstar by the name of David Crane...DreamWeb is a gritty, noir-style top-down view adventure. It features very adult content that was very uncommon for the adventure game genre outside of the Leisure Suit Larry series. It bucked certain conventions of the adventure genre, and many people complained about the number of useless items that would clog your inventory (we always called them "red herrings" back in the day). The puzzles are really simple. All of the conversations are scripted, and there are no dialog choices (a feature the developer David Dew hated). Instead of using objects, or giving them to NPCs to get past them, you oftentimes were required to shoot them (which gets messy fast). Despite these issues, the game is full of atmosphere. It was fully voice-acted on the PC CD-rom version (link to the free game below), but the most memorable part of the game is by far the incredible soundtrack (which is why we are here). Sadly, because it was ported to CD-ROM from a disk version, the amount of music is actually very little and it was just looped, but it managed to set the mood anyway.DreamWeb took a lot of inspiration from the films 'Blade Runner' and 'Highlander'. Despite its best attempts to channel that energy, it was released to very polarizing reviews. It tended to get worse reviews in the USA, while European reviewers tended to think very highly of the game. Love it or hate it, the music is fantastic.Original Score by Matthew Seldon ©1994This version is Copyrighted ©2022 Pieces of 8-bitWhere applicable, All Rights ReservedDreamWeb was re-released as freeware in 2012. You can download the fully narrated CD-ROM version for Windows 10+ here: archive.org/details/DreamWebCDVersionInstallerWin10There are also sites that will let you play the non-narrated version in your browser, easily found with a search.
