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Post by time4tea on Aug 29, 2022 18:05:53 GMT
Hi there, I'm new to this forum. I posted in the Sky Lord thread yesterday, but just wanted to introduce myself properly.
I loved fighting fantasy as a kid in the 90s and had pretty much all the original books from 1-50. However, I gave them all away to a charity shop when I moved from the UK to another country (didn't have room to bring them). I recently had a nostalgic itch for them - I have my own kids now and thought it would be cool to introduce them to FF. I really want the original dragon cover puffin versions that I had when I was a kid, but looking on Ebay some of them seem quite pricey these days. However, I rolled under my luck score and managed to bag a couple of good job lots for reasonable prices, so the FF collection is now resurrected and growing (slowly)! 
It's interesting to read some of them again with adult eyes/brain and compare them to my impression of them when I was a kid, and also to read some of the threads on this forum about which ones are rated better or worse. I always kind of liked the sci-fi FFs and I had fond memories of Starship Traveller; however, on reading it again it seems pretty bad - quite disjointed and poorly-developed. I got Sky Lord too, which seems to be one of the least-liked of the original Puffin books. I've tried it a couple of times and it does seem to have some 'issues'.
On the positive side though, I read through Warlock of Firetop Mountain and managed to eventually find the right keys to beat it. It's a really good book - better than I appreciated as a kid. The plot is obviously basic, but it seems really well-designed and balanced. It's not in a hurry to kill you off with a sudden-death, like some of them are. I didn't remember Beneath Nightmare Castle being particularly good, but that one seems to be quite solid as well. I got Dead of Night, which seems really fun too, with the faith and choice of different abilities. I was surprised to see Slaves of the Abyss rated so highly. I didn't remember it particularly standing out, but I have it in my fledgling collection and plan to give it a try soon.
It's also interesting to see how many different opinions there are on which books are better/worse. It would be cool to try out some of the newer ones as well, although I get the impression many of them are not particularly good, which is sad. I had a go at Bloodbones on the free phone app. It didn't seem particularly good, tbh - there seemed to be a lot of sudden-death branches with little warning (which I'm not a huge fan of).
I put the cover image from Legend of the Shadow Warriors as my avatar, as I really like that pic and that was always one of my favorite FF books. I don't have that one yet though and it seems to be one of the slightly rarer ones. I'll be on the lookout for any good deals on that one online in the near future 
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Post by hallucination on Aug 29, 2022 20:05:39 GMT
I didn't remember Beneath Nightmare Castle being particularly good, but that one seems to be quite solid as well. Agreed! BNC is one that I had as a kid but I don’t remember having been particularly into it back then. (Deathtrap Dungeon and Trial of Champions were my favs at about age 12.) But I love it now, in fact had a jab at it over the weekend. (I’ve been trawling through a few by FFF4 guests in anticipation of Saturday.) Re some others you mentioned, Sky Lord is not one I can get into. Of the fan-disliked ones, I have a soft spot for Star Strider, despite its drawbacks. (it is also the first FF I owned, so there’s that). Like you, Bloodbones I did for the first time via the app. That was about 4 years ago or so. I quite enjoyed it. It took many goes, but I got through in the end. Since then I’ve acquired the printed book as I much prefer a physical copy. Around that time I also got Jon Green’s (other) post-Puffin FFs too which I think are terrific. |
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Post by time4tea on Aug 29, 2022 21:13:39 GMT
Agreed! BNC is one that I had as a kid but I don’t remember having been particularly into it back then. (Deathtrap Dungeon and Trial of Champions were my favs at about age 12.) But I love it now, in fact had a jab at it over the weekend. (I’ve been trawling through a few by FFF4 guests in anticipation of Saturday.) Re some others you mentioned, Sky Lord is not one I can get into. Of the fan-disliked ones, I have a soft spot for Star Strider, despite its drawbacks. (it is also the first FF I owned, so there’s that). Like you, Bloodbones I did for the first time via the app. That was about 4 years ago or so. I quite enjoyed it. It took many goes, but I got through in the end. Since then I’ve acquired the printed book as I much prefer a physical copy. Around that time I also got Jon Green’s (other) post-Puffin FFs too which I think are terrific.
I remember Deathtrap Dungeon and Trial of Champions being really good, but I haven't got those atm. Star Strider is one of the few 1-50 numbers that I don't recall reading as a kid and I may not have had it. It would be cool to give it a try, as I like the sci-fi ones. I remember Rings of Kether and Freeway Fighter being fun, but I don't currently have those ones either. It seems like a shame there haven't been many/any new sci-fi FFs since Puffin. They might not have been among the best, but I felt they added some good variety to the series.
Thanks for the tip on Jon Green. He seems to have been one of the more prolific post-puffin FF authors, but I haven't tried any of his books except Bloodbones. I'll have to give some of the others a try at some point.
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Post by hallucination on Aug 29, 2022 21:34:25 GMT
It seems like a shame there haven't been many/any new sci-fi FFs since Puffin. They might not have been among the best, but I felt they added some good variety to the series. The closest thing to it, though not typical FF sci-fi by any means, is perhaps Pratchett’s Crystal of Storms. Would others agree? If you didn’t know already, it’s sort of a “steampunk-lite” detective adventure, featuring a good dose of technomancy, half set on a floating island archipelago in the clouds and half set under the sea. Its various pros and cons aside, it certainly adds some variety to the series. (I do wish its setting in Allansia was handled better though.) |
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Post by time4tea on Aug 30, 2022 11:06:00 GMT
The closest thing to it, though not typical FF sci-fi by any means, is perhaps Pratchett’s Crystal of Storms. Would others agree? If you didn’t know already, it’s sort of a “steampunk-lite” detective adventure, featuring a good dose of technomancy, half set on a floating island archipelago in the clouds and half set under the sea. Its various pros and cons aside, it certainly adds some variety to the series. (I do wish its setting in Allansia was handled better though.)
Ok, thanks for the tip! Crystal of Storms does look quite fresh and interesting - I hope to give it a try at some point |
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Post by paperexplorer on Sept 1, 2022 13:04:36 GMT
I'm working my way through Bloodbones now for the first time after buying a second hand copy. I don't think I could play it off the app, it'd be too frustrating with the number of dead ends in it. I like the atmosphere of Bloodbones though. So far so good
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Post by philsadler on Sept 1, 2022 19:21:43 GMT
That's what put me off about this one - more instant deaths than a fight with King Kong.
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Sept 5, 2022 8:47:44 GMT
Hi there, I'm new to this forum. I posted in the Sky Lord thread yesterday, but just wanted to introduce myself properly. I loved fighting fantasy as a kid in the 90s and had pretty much all the original books from 1-50. However, I gave them all away to a charity shop when I moved from the UK to another country (didn't have room to bring them). I recently had a nostalgic itch for them - I have my own kids now and thought it would be cool to introduce them to FF. Welcome back to the fold, then. You're not alone - quite a few people got rid of their books and then had to re-find them. (I wasn't one of them, the books have either been with me or in a box somewhere safe and sound in the family home) It's interesting to read some of them again with adult eyes/brain and compare them to my impression of them when I was a kid Let us know in the individual books threads or start up your own thread what your thoughts are, if you like. Something I noticed was that as a child I clearly cheated like mad, so the 'balance' aspect of the books was not as apparent to me then as it might be now as a [mostly honest] adult. It's also interesting to see how many different opinions there are on which books are better/worse.
It is. Do feel free to contribute here on the forum and to agree or disagree if you like. I put the cover image from Legend of the Shadow Warriors as my avatar, as I really like that pic and that was always one of my favorite FF books. I don't have that one yet though and it seems to be one of the slightly rarer ones. I'll be on the lookout for any good deals on that one online in the near future Hope you find it, it's a good one. |
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Post by juniorhornet on Nov 23, 2022 22:50:42 GMT
Hi All,
Time4tea I don't mean to highjack your thread but I'm in a similar position to you.
I found my childhood collection out of the loft, 23 books ending in Siege of Sardath. Since the start of the year I've been building the collection, need Deathmoor and Revenge of the Vampire to complete the old 59 (good luck with that I hear you say!)
I've played a few and have plenty more to go at. Would have liked to have got involved in the play throughs in the 40th thread but looks like that has been going all year and is drawing to a close.
Anyway hello to all
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Post by a moderator on Nov 24, 2022 1:22:38 GMT
Welcome to the forum. Would have liked to have got involved in the play throughs in the 40th thread but looks like that has been going all year and is drawing to a close. It has been, but don't let that stop you. King Gillibran only joined in this month. |
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Post by King Gillibran on Nov 24, 2022 12:27:18 GMT
I'm working my way through Bloodbones now for the first time after buying a second hand copy. I don't think I could play it off the app, it'd be too frustrating with the number of dead ends in it. I like the atmosphere of Bloodbones though. So far so good I have completed the free Bloodbones app on steam as they make Cinnabar slightly easier as well as the Scarachna. I enjoyed the colour pictures a lot. |
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Post by King Gillibran on Nov 24, 2022 12:28:22 GMT
Welcome to the forum. Would have liked to have got involved in the play throughs in the 40th thread but looks like that has been going all year and is drawing to a close. It has been, but don't let that stop you. King Gillibran only joined in this month. I have joined so if you do we can do a competition not to be last place and I am really hoping we can do the competition again next year. |
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Post by juniorhornet on Nov 25, 2022 0:58:50 GMT
I'm playing Shadow of the Giants, I'm a fair way through it so will hopefully post my results tomorrow.
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