The Dungeons & Dragons PS1 Game You Didn't Get To Play
The PS1 is a treasure trove of hidden gems that have stood the test of time. Sony's first foray into the home console market introduced gamers to some of the greatest action/adventure, RPG, fighting games, etc. Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy 7, and Tekken 3 are just a sample size of the PS1's most revered titles. It may come as a shock to some, but the world's most renowned tabletop RPG never made the jump to PS1.
Dungeons & Dragons certainly made an appearance on Sony's other PlayStation consoles with Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (PS2), Dungeons & Dragons (PSP), and Dungeons & Dragons Tactics (PS3). Even Neverwinter, a game that many people don't realize is based on D&D, has appeared on PlayStation consoles.
At one point in time, however, plans were made to bring over an early-90s Dungeons & Dragons PC title to PS1. That game was the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons-themed game, Dark Sun: The Shattered Lands. But as you'll soon learn, that turn-based RPG experience didn't make its presence felt on Sony's very first console.
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands released on PC, but its PS1 port never materialized
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands is a turn-based RPG that owes its inspiration to the Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting called Dark Sun.
The video game's battles take place from a top-down perspective and emphasize a highly strategic approach to attaining victory. Unlike its Gold Box games counterparts, Dark Sun: Shattered Lands focuses more on role-playing elements over dungeon crawling mechanics. This Dungeons & Dragons game is also remembered for letting players command the abilities of three exclusive Dark Sun character races: half-giant, Mul (half-dwarf), and Thrikreen (insectoid).
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands originally released in 1993 by Strategic Simulations on the MS-DOS PC platform. The original release was lamented for feeling unfinished, which is an issue Strategic Simulations remedied by fixing its glitches and bugs months later. According to Sega Retro, Data East was working on publishing the game for PS1 and Sega Saturn. Unfortunately for D&D fans, both console ports were cancelled for unknown reasons.