Dragons of a Lost File
Incredibly Rare Dragonlance Video Games
Often times, on mailing lists and newgroups, we hear questions from eager fans about the existence of Dragonlance-inspired video games. Generally their questions are conscientiously answered by fellow fans, some of whom have maintained lists of these games. While these lists are usually accurate, the Dragonlance Underground staff has noticed that they tend to cite only the most popular of these games. Games like Heroes of the Lance, Dragonstrike, and The Dark Queen of Krynn are cult classics, but many Dragonlance games go unremembered and unappreciated.
The following games were inspired by Dragonlance. For one reason or another, all of these titles flopped. Their companies often folded, and now these games are extremely hard to find. Some of these games still pop up on eBay or warez sites from time to time, but most of them are scarce beyond belief.
The Dragonlance Underground staff has painstakingly compiled this list in order to serve the Dragonlance community. We've taken the liberty of removing the relatively common games produced by SSI, as interested fans should have no trouble finding information elsewhere.
We wish ardent Dragonlance fans the best of luck in finding these long sought-after titles.
1985 - Krynn Quest
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Probably the earliest Dragonlance video game, Krynn Quest was well ahead of its time. Designed in what is now often termed "Sierra Game" format, this graphic adventure followed the exploits of Tanis Half-Elven on his search for the mythical Hammer of Kharas. Like all adventure games of its time, Krynn Quest featured a scorchingly fast text driven game engine and startlingly vivid 16 color graphics. Coupled with amazing PC speaker sound, it created a game environment so real, players could lose themselves in the game for minutes at a time. Although Krynn Quest enjoyed a brief popularity, it quickly became lost in a market saturated with such games. A sequel, Leisure Tunic Tanis was planned, but the game was never finished. |  Stunning graphics and sound made Krynn Quest a pleasure to play.  Tanis takes a break in a wooded glade while the player ponders what would happen if he typed dirty words into the interface. |
1986 - Super Majere Bros.
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One of the earliest attempts at a Dragonlance action game, Super Majere Bros., appeared for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. The game was based loosely on the Dragonlance world and featured Raistlin and Caramon on a quest to save Laurana from the Queen of Darkness. Despite the growing number of Raistlin fans, Super Majere Bros. lacked a sufficient fan base, and its production run was cut painfully short. When asked why it failed, critics of the game cited its absurd game physics, its poor connection to the actual Dragonlance novels, and the fact that it looked just like Super Mario Bros. with Raistlin in it. The game proved far more popular in Japan, where it appeared under the title Hyper Dimensional Red Robe Raistlin, and is a cult classic to this day. An original cartridge of Super Majere Bros. is now a valuable collector's item. Even a broken copy will sell for upwards of $150 at auction. Thus proving that the only people crazier than obsessed Dragonlance fans are obsessed video gamers.
|  Raistlin proves once and for all that red mages can jump.  Caramon goes inside for a heaping plate of Otik's spiced potatoes.  The dreaded "Thank you Raistlin! But Laurana is in another castle!" screen. |
1987 - Tasslevania
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In 1987, TSR, Inc. in conjunction with a small, relatively unknown video game company in Japan created this Dragonlance game venture for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Under the working title Tasslevania (thought to be a contraction of "Tasslehoff Mania"), it featured the loveable kender, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, on a trek through the spirit-infested Tower of High Sorcery of Palanthas. To combat the foul creatures he encountered, Tasslehoff merely had to whip them with his topknot. Through the course of his travels, he could find other helpful battle items: sling stones, exploding vials, Flint's Axe, and the ultimate weapon, the Kender Spoon of Turning. His quest was to survive 8 levels of bone-chilling action, only to face his greatest adversary: Raistlin Majere. Although the game was finished, it was never released due to a licensing dispute. The deal fell through before the game ever reached the shelves. According to rumor, the game company changed its name and released a popular line of games with a similar feel and playing style, making millions of dollars in revenue. This rumor has never been substantiated. Tasslevania remains, to date, the rarest and most sought after Dragonlance game. Dragonlance Underground gratefully received its copy through sources that must remain anonymous (Arigatou gozaimasu, Kojima-san!). Despite its age, the Raistlins at DLU hope that one day it will be released for all Dragonlance fans to share.
|  Tasslevania's title screen... what kind of a name is Tasslevania anyway?  Legions of the undead, Shoikan Grove, and an archmage to boot. Makes you wonder why they bothered installing a gate. |
1991 - Sid Meier's Cataclysm!
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Following quickly on the heels of Sid Meier's award-winning Civilization came this Dragonlance Game with a similar premise. In Cataclysm! players took the roles of the leaders of twelve mortal races: the Irda, the Kagonesti, the Silvanesti, the Qualinesti, the Ergothians, the Solamnics, the Istarians, Mountain Dwarves, Hill Dwarves, Kender, Minotaur, and Gnomes. Players then managed their race's political, economic, and intellectual growth, spurring them to build mighty empires and become an advanced civilization. Despite its initial popularity, Sid Meier's Cataclysm! failed to heed the warning signs of its impending doom. Players quickly became frustrated with the game's seemingly unbeatable nature. No sooner did a player create an advanced culture, when the Gods chose to punish all mortals with a fiery mountain. Sid Meier insisted the game could be beaten with persistence, but players became bored with the constant setbacks. In the end, Cataclysm!'s reign was short-lived. It can sometimes be found in the bargain bins and value packs at consumer electronic stores. Said Sid Meier, "The game did not turn away from the fans; fans turned away from the game."
|  12 races, 12 styles of play. At last, a game where kender world domination is possible.  Cataclysm! provided an in-depth resource management interface, making this game only slightly more complicated than filing your taxes. |
1993 - MYSSED
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With its photorealistic graphics, MYSSED was a different sort of puzzle game. Players assumed the roll of an intrepid gnome, launched by a gnomeflinger into the deepest, darkest abandoned parts of Mount Nevermind. The only way out was blocked by a fiendish assortment of half-completed inventions, locks, and safety mechanisms. Only by solving each puzzle, fixing each invention, could a player progress beyond each level and reach the end. MYSSED was doomed before it hit the shelves. Incredibly, a similar game with a nearly identical title was released just two weeks prior to MYSSED's release. Although MYSSED received wonderful revues, the resulting confusion destroyed any chance for the game to become a success.
|  Somehow this gnomish submarine ended up at the very peak of Mt. Nevermind. This and dozens of other puzzles gave MYSSED and undeniably gnomish feel. |
1994 - SimSolace
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Little is known about this game. Dragonlance Underground has yet to uncover a working copy. Presumably, it plays much like the other Sim games, however there is some suggestion that this game featured a much more involved style of play. Recently, one of our staff uncovered an original package for SimSolace. The following is taken from the back of the box:
THE ULTIMATE KRYNNISH CITY SIMULATOR
This morning, you approved a new false god, designed a swinging-rope transportation system, and jumped five points in the polls. Then you allowed draconians to capture citizens to work as slaves at Pax Tharkas (and lost 10 points), fertilized the vallenwoods, built an extension for the local jail, and relocated the Inn of the Last Home. It's now time for lunch—unless, of course, there's dragonfire, a cataclysm, or a dragonarmy invasion.... SimSolace really brings your Krynnish city—and its resident Sims—to life! If this game were any more realistic, it'd be illegal to turn it off!
"This game is Sim-ply marvellous!" |  Cover art from the SimSolace packaging. |
1995 - Kender Trigger
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Everyone's favorite annoying Kender, Tasslehoff Burrfoot made his debut on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in this RPG title by Rhombus. Tasslehoff, with his unerring ability to find trouble borrowed Par Salian's time traveling device yet again. Troughout the game, he traveled across time and space, meeting important figures like Huma Dragonbane, Cartlin Majere (Palin's Great-Great-Great-Grandson), Lord Soth, Kith-Kanan, and Fieldsparrow (Leader of the Que-Shu of the distant past). This game, more than any other fueled the controversies of Dragonlance Canon. Tasslehoff's lovable adventures stirred up disputes ranging from Dragonlance Timeline inconsistencies to the location of Lord Soth. Fans, convinced this was another attempt by TSR to exploit thair customers, boycotted this game vehemently. Today, it is difficult to find a copy, as many cartridges were burned in anti-TSR rallies.
|  Everyone remembers that gripping scene in the novels where Tasslehoff, Huma, and Raistlin battle Lord Soth.... or... something... like that... |
1996 - Huma's Tomb Raider
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After many long years, Dragonlance fans witnessed a return to the action game format with Huma's Tomb Raider. Unlike its predecessors, Super Majere Bros. and Tasslevania, this game was fully rendered in 3D. Based on dragons of Winter Night the game followed Silvara as she journeyed through Huma's Tomb in search of artifacts and the lost art of forging dragonlances. Unlike the novel, however, Huma's Tomb in the game was inhabited by the forces of the Dark Queen. This suited just fine, and during the course of the game she proved her fighting prowess with such diverse weaponry as the cudgel, the spiked cudgel, and the magic cudgel. Unfortunately for Silvara, Huma's Tomb Raider wsa only released in Europe, where it received a luke warm reviews. Fans are still petitioning for a U.S. release, but as the game is now four years old, that possibility is becoming remote.
|  Even on the CD cover, Silvara demonstrates that she has the ... assets ... necessary to be a great adventurer.  Unfortunately, you'll be looking at her back for most of the game.  Silvara's got a secret. It's a good thing Gilthanis isn't here to see this. |
1996 - Tanis' Tantric Tetris
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Without a doubt this game ranks as the most bizarre Dragonlance games ever created. Like all Tetris clones, Tanis' Tantric Tetric involved the fitting together of rapidly falling puzzle pieces. Instead of funny shaped blocks or gems or hats, the player had to line up Dragonlance characters. Naked Dragonlance characters. Here is an excerpt from the back of the box:
The irresistable half-elf of Dragonlance now has his own version of Tetris! Test your puzzle-solving skills in fitting this unstoppable lover of both human and elf into dozens of sexual positions with Kitiara and Laurana. Will the elven part of his blood make him choose Laurana over Kitiara? Or will his human side win out? WHO CARES? The aim of the game is to have the amorous half-elf bonk as many Lauranas and Kitiaras as possible. MAJOR BONUS POINTS if you can make one Tanis do both Kitiara and Laurana at once! As you progress in level, Tanis' growing sexual prowess will attract additional Dragonlance characters to drop in on the fun, including Brandella from Preludes, and draconians with suspicious bulges under their robes! Rumor has it that the rights to this game were secured during the darkest days of TSR, Inc. Wizards of the Coast has disavowed all knowledge of this game's existence. Not for players under 18 years of age.
|  Hours and hours of fast-paced, frenzied fun. And the game's pretty good too. |
1998 - Neverending LifeQuest
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Most recently, a 3-dimensional, first-person role-playing network game was created, set deep in the heart of Mount Nevermind! (A modem was needed to connect to a LifeQuest server.) Players created and customized their gnome, taking advantage of such features as joining guilds, climbing levels (35 in all) and interacting with other player gnomes in real-time. Players could use LifeQuest simply to role-play (and things could get physical with the cyber gnome-sex feature). Or, they could activate the PK mode, explode their rivals, concentrate on their LifeQuest and catapult their way to success. Okayers lost so much time to this meaningless game that eventually the United States decreed Neverending LifeQuest a dangerous addictive sutstance and banned the use of its servers. Only one server (based in Finland) exists currently, and access within the United States is strictly prohibited. Foreign markets may still be able to play this game, but the software is becomeing scarce, and server space is limited. Good luck! Because of the sex and violence, this software is not recommended for people under 18 years of age. |  Gnimrionshallinoposthienashojowarokerielisalifax runs from the heat-seeking killer robots sent by his bitter enemy.  Control Screen: You've just been rendered unconscious by someone's Steam-powered self-cleaning combination eight course lute and chicken slicer. |
The Future...
| What will the future bring from Dragonlance Video Games? It's difficult to say. Perhaps we will see totally immersive fantasy environments, or perhaps we will return to the simpler styles of the past. One thing is certain: we haven't seen the end of Dragonlance video games. Keep searching those bargain bins. The next flop is just around the corner. |
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