| Score Summary | |
| Story | 5 |
| Graphics | 9 |
| Controls | 9 |
| Music and Sound | 3 |
| Gameplay | 10 |
| Challenge | 10 |
| Replayability | 10 |
| Overall | 9.5 |
 Senshi |
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 Shades |
Who will win? Find out this and more in Deathlord.
A shining jewel lost in the sands of time
"Stupid adventurers! Even if you defeat my lowly pawn, you still must answer to me, face to face.", taunts the Deathlord. Heeding the emperor's call, six brave adventurers will embark upon the greatest (and deadliest) adventure of their lives.
Story: 5/10
The story in the game is simple: locate and eliminate the source of the world's problems, the Deathlord. Sound easy and cheesy? Think again. First, you're thrown into a world of sheer size spanning 16 unique continents. Second, it's a non-linear game from the beginning. Needless to say, you begin knowing nothing and must gather clues from townsfolk and decipher such mysterious tips like "Seek the seven" and "Find Senju". Third, the game focuses on gameplay, but do we really need a deeper plot other than to stop the Deathlord who's causing the world problems?
Graphics: 9/10
How can this game on the Commodore 64 that lacks the full motion video, 3-D prerendered backdrops, and other modern "eye candy" get a 9 you ask? It's simple. I'm judging the game using the graphics of its time from 1988. Just as it's not fair to compare Atari 2600 games to the Dreamcast's, I can't judge a game using higher criteria 10 years later. With that fact established, the game utilizes the color palette of the Commodore 64 to its highest potential. From the plain white colored humanoids to the more colorful and more interesting monster designs, there is much detail in the game. Every monster looks different with some even resembling the floor. Even the terrain is represented well, with tundras, deserts, shrubs, and cacti all present and accounted for. When it comes to visuals, Deathlord delivers.
Controls: 9/10
The controls might at first seem unusual for someone accustomed to playing console games since the game uses the keyboard. Movement is conducted using the "I", "J", "K", and "L" keys. However, most commands are intuitive such as pressing "A" to attack and "E" to enter. Just give yourself about an hour or so to get used to the controls and you'll be fine. Plus, the game comes with a quick command sheet listing all the game commands for your quick reference.
Music and Sound: 3/10
There's no game music and other than the bleeps, the beeps, and the eeps as your disk drive spins, you won't hear much. There are about 5 different sounds in the game: Walking, invalid move (i.e. bumping into walls), getting hit during combat, missing during combat, and taking damage outside combat (i.e. walking on fire or acid). These sounds are all you need to hear though as the silence sets the mood for some of the dungeons. Besides, who didn't feel nervous from the silence as he or she rounded the corner only to find several groups of demons waiting?
Gameplay: 10/10
If the story is lacking, then Deathlord definitely shines at gameplay. From the beginning to the end, you won't be disappointed. The game is presented in a world of heavy Japanese influence with the names of classes, equipment, spells, towns, and some monsters in Japanese. Of course the manual translates the rough meaning of the terms but unless you have the manual or are fluent in Japanese, how will you know what casting a "Taiyohi" or a "Korosu" does, or what yoroi and hara-ate are? Linguistics aside, the game offers an unheard of 8 races and 16 different classes to choose from. As a result, no two parties you make will be the same. Want to focus on just brute force? How about on just magic? Forget about it. The game forces you to diversify your party by making certain dungeons easier to navigate than others with certain classes. Of course, even the most diverse party will face great challenges as each dungeon offers its own unique design and traps along with monsters eager to end your adventure. Besides dungeon exploration, you will have to go from many towns to towns, even continents to continents, gathering clues and connecting each piece of the puzzle before you finally start to realize how long the game is.
Challenge: 10/10
If it were possible, this game would get an 11 in this category. The challenge lies in the dungeons. These aren't your quick run in and run out types of dungeons. They are very well thought out and designed and each dungeon tests the abilities of all your characters. Also, each level (up to 16) fits on a standard sheet of 32 x 32 grid graph paper. Therefore, good mapmaking skills and a LOT of patience are the keys to success here. You won't get far without accurate maps because some important things are located in areas that aren't obvious unless you have a map. Some levels are aesthetically pleasing to the eye as well. Don't let that distract you though, as things like teleporters, chutes, and multiple stairs will test the limits of your patience, and more often than not, you will curse at the game for teleporting you to another level without your noticing and consequently messing up your map. All this and 128 unique monsters ensure that only the most astute and patient players will enter and leave the dungeons alive.
Replayability: 10/10
Once you finish the game, it's not over yet. There are countless dungeons left to be explored. Even some you previously explored may still have some secret areas that you missed. You can also try replaying with a different party to make the game seem easier or harder. All this serves to enrich the game even after you have sent the Deathlord reeling into the depths of the beyond.
Criticism
Ok, even the best games have their down sides and Deathlord is no exception. One gripe I have is with the movement. No, it's not the controls but rather, your movement is limited to up, down, left, or right. There is no diagonal movement for you, but the monsters can move diagonally just fine. This means that you can't outrun a monster by cutting corners. Talk about unfair advantages. Another problem is the fact that once you kill certain individuals either intentionally or by accident, you can never beat the game. Thus, you must remake a new scenario disk and transfer your characters over.
Also, like I mentioned earlier, the game is presented using Japanese terminology for stuff like chest plate (hara-ate) and spells like death (Korosu) which makes it very difficult to determine what exactly the terms mean. The biggest problem is probably the equipment system. Each character can only carry 1 particular item of a certain category such as 1 hand weapon, 1 missile weapon, 1 armor, 1 helmet, etc. This means that if you acquire a new piece of equipment, you will be asked to replace the old item with the new. For example, this makes it impossible to recover your golden yoroi if you thought yoroi+2 was better. Also, the new item could be unusable by that particular character and again, there is no way to find out unless you're willing to take the risk of losing a valuable item.
To buy or rent?
Well, seeing as this game was released in 1987-1988 which was before renting games from Blockbuster had become mainstream, I can't really say, but if you do see the game in a old computer store today, be sure to grab it! Not only is the game extremely rare (and wanted by some) nowadays, it was also a game that should have made Interplay's Ultimate RPG Archives anthology collection which had included other Electronic Arts hits such as the Bard's Tale I, II, III, and Wasteland.
Overall: 9.5
Deathlord is really a great game. While some may pass it off as yet another Ultima IV rip off, I assure you, Deathlord has many features that make it stand by itself and even surpass Ultima IV. Unlike Ultima IV, Deathlord is still played on my old Commodore 64. To this day, some 10 or more years after the game was released, I'm still mapping, still searching. If you see this game, buy it. Trust me, you'll be making the right decision.