When this game came out the graphics were revolutionary. Compare it to other 2001 titles and you'll see what I mean. Jak and Daxter, MGS2, ICO, DMC, GTA3 all came out that year. This game not only had fully animated lip-synced dialogue done well, complete with matching gestures and eye movement, but a robust physics engine that had fully simulated water ripples and object trajectory that not only made finding loot enjoyable as it popped out of barrels that break realistically, but also had chunks of flesh fly out of enemies and paint the scene with blood splatter. Almost everything has physics. You can see now the places where they maybe didn't put as much attention into the animation budget such as Ciraxis or your idle animation but when the game first came out we spent a good while running through the water being amazed it was actually tracking everything AND having a good polygon count. Character models looked straight up real compared to what was on offer at the time.
I recently played this on Easy and Normal, and the mountain pass in Act 2 is practically unfair, regardless. Dark Alliance is a potion chugging game, and being cut off from the merchant with no warning is brutal. Especially with enemies being tougher than what you fought before. Sorceress was the easiest to play. Not at first, because of her reliance on mana. But all you need is Melf's Acid Arrow and Ball Lightning. The Arrow will hold you over until you can get Ball Lightning, which will then obliterate everything except the final boss. Who is weak to the Acid Arrow.
The mountain pass in probably the point where ALOT of people quit. On hard it don’t think I expressed just how frustrating it was to just die over and over .. I wish I hadn’t played the archer I now think it was the weakest of the three options 😂
@TheArchieangel907 I didn't play the Archer, but I imagine if it's played mostly ranged, it'd be OK. By Act 3, you're swimming in money, so buying arrows wouldn't be too bad. Since you found out armor is useless, I think the fighter might be rough on Hard. I only played him on Easy.
@@TheArchieangel907 You played him wrong, like a retard. His lightening arrow is the most destructive thing you can get on just about any character and you used two-hand weapons, which is almost exclusively meant for the Dwarf. For sorceress and archer, you use a sword until you are leveled up enough to get Lightening, which if I remember right is level 6 or 8, REALLY early in the game and you will literally destroy everything in your path until you reach act 3.
The GBA version is, in my opinion, easily one of the best GBA games. Its actually incredible how faithful the port is, and the lack of soundtrack really gave it dark souls vibes before dark souls was a thing.
I played this when it came out, couch co-op with my wife. She has barely played any video games of any kind, and she’s largely not interested, but she loved this game. It was simple, so she knew what to do. She wasn’t very good of course, but we had a lot of fun. My wife was very amused by the innkeeper. Anyone who says women don’t want to see objectified women in video games is definitely generalizing because my wife was more fascinated by the innkeepers boobs than I was.
Good video man! I'm surprised your channel doesn't have more of a following. keep it up man, you're talented at this and I feel like you have a lot of potential to grow on the platform
Thank you ! I Normally don’t have time to do these In the summer due to work. The winters I have off to I try to get one or two good videos out . I appreciate the support! I hope you’re come back to see the next one
I loves BGDA, It's one of those games that give me a bit of a nostalgia buzz champions of norrath is a nother. I loved the hack n slash ARPGs of the PS2 era
I think I’m going to try to get it on an emulator. It seems like it would be a lot of fun on the game boy. Did you beat it and unlock the elf character?
@@TheArchieangel907 It's been almost 20 years since then. I can't say for sure, but I'm gonna say I beat it and then didn't replay it on the elven warrior.
I was thinking of making a video similar to this for my first UA-cam series a "games from my childhood" if you will. But after playing the game I just couldn't bring myself to finish the game and make the video. I loved these games as a kid, but good lord was playing act 2 onwards a struggle
I prefer the first game over the second. In the first game the graphics/textures/level environments/enemy and creature designs just looked better. Even things like the way the blood splatters or enemy death animations just had more time put into them. Part 2 had some ridiculous looking monsters and felt like they made short cuts with some things like certain maps were meant to be larger than they were. As if they blocked off unfinished areas with a bunch of trees, you can tell when you display the map where this is apparent. It did add a couple things the first game didn’t have like camera zoom and adding abilities to weapons and armour
I’m currently working on my drizzt play through on the 2nd one . And I have noticed that there are spots that look you’re supposed to be able to go there and can’t
I remember playing this way too much when I was visiting my first girlfriend... After having played Baldur's Gate 1 seven hundred times, you can imagine I was eager for ANY other Baldur's Gate content 😅
No, Black Rock Studios had nothing to do with these games. They were not a subsidiary of Interplay either. Even if wikipedia entry for the game says so. You only needed to look at the splash screens before the main menu to realize that it's Black Isle Studio and that the Wikipedia entry is wrong
@TheArchieangel907 It's old school, so you gotta be patient with the UI. Outside of that, they've aged really well. The graphics even have a sort of charm that makes 'em almost timeless. I have the .iso files for Champions and Return ripped off the PS2 disks if you find the need for 'em. 😎
You can exploit bosses for XP by importing the character back to the save before a boss. Just make a new file after you beat it and then load up the old one to change the character and just repeat.
Honestly one of my favorite games. I'm surprised to hear you had a hard time with it, my friends and I have always found the game really easy. We would usually have to challenge ourselves by importing level 1 characters into an extreme difficulty playthrough. I usually don't die more than maybe 10 - 15 times on Hard, and on Extreme I don't die much more than that. The last couple levels are a bit of a slog maybe but I still go back to this game even now. Not so much the second game, though it's pretty good too. I just couldn't get into the story of the second game as much, it felt a lot more disjointed like you're just doing random crap and somehow most of it eventually ties together but there's also just this other big bad guy who swoops in last second but isn't connected to anything. And they act like he's a big deal but no Forgotten Realms fan is gonna recognize him because he's not an established character at all. It's just so weird and randomly stitched together and there's such an over-reliance on McGuffin hunting too. I mean you have to hunt down something like four artifacts (one of which you have to take twice) and then you have to go to four elemental planes on top of that. The gameplay makes up for it but still. It felt like a sloppier game overall.
I’ve just finished the 2nd game and I did 2 play through a this time. I think the struggle I had with the first one can be chalked up to that . I did one play through on the hardest difficulty. Instead of multiple play through bringing up the challenge… the first games story I think is more disjointed. But really it All should have just been one game. Both where fun though always one series in my top 10’games
It… it… it’s gone okay 😭😭😭😭 475 hours of work gone 😭😭😭 I honestly accidentally dropped the hard drive in my drive way while Moving.. must have ran it over a dozen time before I realized I didn’t know where it was And started looking 😔
@@TheArchieangel907same game engine but everything is better and the story is way easier to follow. the second one lets you pick good or evil. i dont care about dark alliance and want a remake of champions of norrath instead
Cant wait to play this on my big TV
When this game came out the graphics were revolutionary. Compare it to other 2001 titles and you'll see what I mean. Jak and Daxter, MGS2, ICO, DMC, GTA3 all came out that year. This game not only had fully animated lip-synced dialogue done well, complete with matching gestures and eye movement, but a robust physics engine that had fully simulated water ripples and object trajectory that not only made finding loot enjoyable as it popped out of barrels that break realistically, but also had chunks of flesh fly out of enemies and paint the scene with blood splatter. Almost everything has physics. You can see now the places where they maybe didn't put as much attention into the animation budget such as Ciraxis or your idle animation but when the game first came out we spent a good while running through the water being amazed it was actually tracking everything AND having a good polygon count. Character models looked straight up real compared to what was on offer at the time.
All true
"words aren't my strong suit" sir you are doing a video essay it's like at least half words. keep it up tho thx for helping me sleep
I’m working on it 🫡😂. Thank you 🙏🏻 hope you hAd some amazing dream ! 😴
I recently played this on Easy and Normal, and the mountain pass in Act 2 is practically unfair, regardless. Dark Alliance is a potion chugging game, and being cut off from the merchant with no warning is brutal. Especially with enemies being tougher than what you fought before.
Sorceress was the easiest to play. Not at first, because of her reliance on mana. But all you need is Melf's Acid Arrow and Ball Lightning. The Arrow will hold you over until you can get Ball Lightning, which will then obliterate everything except the final boss. Who is weak to the Acid Arrow.
The mountain pass in probably the point where ALOT of people quit. On hard it don’t think I expressed just how frustrating it was to just die over and over ..
I wish I hadn’t played the archer I now think it was the weakest of the three options 😂
@TheArchieangel907 I didn't play the Archer, but I imagine if it's played mostly ranged, it'd be OK. By Act 3, you're swimming in money, so buying arrows wouldn't be too bad. Since you found out armor is useless, I think the fighter might be rough on Hard. I only played him on Easy.
@@arellajardin8188 if the archery Machanic was better the archer would be more fun and probably way easier to play
@@arellajardin8188 but I think you’re right about the sorceress it is probably the best Choice
@@TheArchieangel907 You played him wrong, like a retard. His lightening arrow is the most destructive thing you can get on just about any character and you used two-hand weapons, which is almost exclusively meant for the Dwarf. For sorceress and archer, you use a sword until you are leveled up enough to get Lightening, which if I remember right is level 6 or 8, REALLY early in the game and you will literally destroy everything in your path until you reach act 3.
The GBA version is, in my opinion, easily one of the best GBA games. Its actually incredible how faithful the port is, and the lack of soundtrack really gave it dark souls vibes before dark souls was a thing.
I’ll have to find and give it a play sometime
I played this when it came out, couch co-op with my wife. She has barely played any video games of any kind, and she’s largely not interested, but she loved this game. It was simple, so she knew what to do. She wasn’t very good of course, but we had a lot of fun. My wife was very amused by the innkeeper. Anyone who says women don’t want to see objectified women in video games is definitely generalizing because my wife was more fascinated by the innkeepers boobs than I was.
Eldrith is still one of my favorite final bosses, but I definitely agree with you on her lack of build-up.
And the boob physics are phenomenal.
You could say that they are revolutionary 😂.
I love the two dark alliance games, so many good memories playing those games. I wish we got a third.
Good video man! I'm surprised your channel doesn't have more of a following. keep it up man, you're talented at this and I feel like you have a lot of potential to grow on the platform
Thank you ! I Normally don’t have time to do these In the summer due to work. The winters I have off to I try to get one or two good videos out . I appreciate the support! I hope you’re come back to see the next one
I just started playing this game this week. Glad UA-cam recommended me this!
I hope you enjoy the game ! Number 2 is even better !
I loves BGDA, It's one of those games that give me a bit of a nostalgia buzz
champions of norrath is a nother. I loved the hack n slash ARPGs of the PS2 era
It was amazing for the time. I think it would have this game would have honestly been more fun playing with a friend.
I have to say I love this game. And I did the new game plus thing so many times. It makes it tolerable to go to higher levels.
I feel like I really shot my self in the foot playing it the way I did . Maybe I’ll do a new game plus just for shits and giggles.
@@TheArchieangel907 I did it especially in BG Dark Alliance 2, and I once got my barbarian to max level and even then Extreme Difficulty was a pain.
I remember playing this on GBA! It was fun.
I think I’m going to try to get it on an emulator. It seems like it would be a lot of fun on the game boy.
Did you beat it and unlock the elf character?
@@TheArchieangel907 It's been almost 20 years since then. I can't say for sure, but I'm gonna say I beat it and then didn't replay it on the elven warrior.
I don’t blame you 😂 these days you’d have to pay $4.99 to unlock the elven warrior. So I feel like just getting it is an achievement onto its self😂
I was thinking of making a video similar to this for my first UA-cam series a "games from my childhood" if you will. But after playing the game I just couldn't bring myself to finish the game and make the video. I loved these games as a kid, but good lord was playing act 2 onwards a struggle
THANK YOU!!!
I felt like I’d get WAY more hate for that. Everything thing you see is “a hidden gem” type thing. Thank you 🙏🏻
I prefer the first game over the second. In the first game the graphics/textures/level environments/enemy and creature designs just looked better. Even things like the way the blood splatters or enemy death animations just had more time put into them. Part 2 had some ridiculous looking monsters and felt like they made short cuts with some things like certain maps were meant to be larger than they were. As if they blocked off unfinished areas with a bunch of trees, you can tell when you display the map where this is apparent. It did add a couple things the first game didn’t have like camera zoom and adding abilities to weapons and armour
I’m currently working on my drizzt play through on the 2nd one . And I have noticed that there are spots that look you’re supposed to be able to go there and can’t
I remember playing this way too much when I was visiting my first girlfriend... After having played Baldur's Gate 1 seven hundred times, you can imagine I was eager for ANY other Baldur's Gate content 😅
Number 2 is just SO much better .the game is fun. But after baldurs gate 1. This game is a cosmically disappointing story line
No, Black Rock Studios had nothing to do with these games. They were not a subsidiary of Interplay either. Even if wikipedia entry for the game says so. You only needed to look at the splash screens before the main menu to realize that it's Black Isle Studio and that the Wikipedia entry is wrong
Hey, what happened to the... ahh, nevermind.
Man, Champions of Norrath doesn't get near enough love. Great games. 🤙
Ill have to find a copy. I’ve already had a few people tell me it’s REALY good.
@TheArchieangel907 It's old school, so you gotta be patient with the UI. Outside of that, they've aged really well. The graphics even have a sort of charm that makes 'em almost timeless. I have the .iso files for Champions and Return ripped off the PS2 disks if you find the need for 'em. 😎
You can exploit bosses for XP by importing the character back to the save before a boss. Just make a new file after you beat it and then load up the old one to change the character and just repeat.
I didn’t even think of this 😂😂. Same loop as the loot duping.
Guess what I’ll be doing for BGDA2 👀
Didnt she also play as Leia from diablo?
Honestly one of my favorite games. I'm surprised to hear you had a hard time with it, my friends and I have always found the game really easy. We would usually have to challenge ourselves by importing level 1 characters into an extreme difficulty playthrough. I usually don't die more than maybe 10 - 15 times on Hard, and on Extreme I don't die much more than that. The last couple levels are a bit of a slog maybe but I still go back to this game even now. Not so much the second game, though it's pretty good too.
I just couldn't get into the story of the second game as much, it felt a lot more disjointed like you're just doing random crap and somehow most of it eventually ties together but there's also just this other big bad guy who swoops in last second but isn't connected to anything. And they act like he's a big deal but no Forgotten Realms fan is gonna recognize him because he's not an established character at all.
It's just so weird and randomly stitched together and there's such an over-reliance on McGuffin hunting too. I mean you have to hunt down something like four artifacts (one of which you have to take twice) and then you have to go to four elemental planes on top of that. The gameplay makes up for it but still. It felt like a sloppier game overall.
I’ve just finished the 2nd game and I did 2 play through a this time. I think the struggle I had with the first one can be chalked up to that . I did one play through on the hardest difficulty. Instead of multiple play through bringing up the challenge… the first games story I think is more disjointed. But really it All should have just been one game. Both where fun though always one series in my top 10’games
😍😍
Oh no you dont! what happened to the Dragon age video?
It… it… it’s gone okay 😭😭😭😭 475 hours of work gone 😭😭😭
I honestly accidentally dropped the hard drive in my drive way while Moving.. must have ran it over a dozen time before I realized I didn’t know where it was And started looking 😔
@@TheArchieangel907 oof sorry to hear it
What is it with these d&d video games and making small mooks sound like monkeys? The kobolds here, goblins and kobolds in neverwinter nights...
RIGHT?!
champions of norrath 1 and 2 were better
I’ve never played them . But they are on the list of things I’d like to play. I keep hearing they are good
@@TheArchieangel907same game engine but everything is better and the story is way easier to follow. the second one lets you pick good or evil. i dont care about dark alliance and want a remake of champions of norrath instead
@@vampirefox7 now I gotta go find how to get my hands on this game !
@@TheArchieangel907emulator for the ps2
Game has amazing story with very bad story telling.
bruhhhhhhhhhhhh, I'll be back when you figure out your audio levels
Thank for watching I’ll work on it 🙏🏻