Wyvern Tales |OT| It's been 84 years, but we finally have an RPG

Calling this an “OT” may be a bit aspirational, but at the very least I’ve been wanting to put together some thoughts and impressions on this game, so here we go…

What is Wyvern Tales?
Nearly 30 years since the Atari Lynx was first released, Wyvern Tales is the system’s first traditional RPG. It was created by Jasper van Turnhout / Nomad Studio who had been working on it since 2010.

What’s the game like?
It feels very much inspired by Final Fantasy (NES). Combat is turn-based and the story is basically a “champion’s trial”. You move from town to town, killing monsters and completing quests.

town

What’s to like about it?
What do you mean, it’s a fricken RPG on the Lynx! In all honesty, this was the kind of game I wanted most as a kid back in 1990. Because the Lynx had zero RPGs, I eventually gravitated over to the Game Boy, but I still have a soft spot in my heart for the system. Wyvern Tales is extremely impressive for what it pulls off with such a limited amount of storage (256KB!)

Any issues with it?
Like any game of this nature, things are a little rough around the edges at times. The sound completely stops working when you talk to someone in town, and the music feels a bit generic/repetitive, like it was squeezed in at the end. Also, prepare to embrace the grind because it’s a slow-paced game. The experience points and gold comes slowly and it’s one of the reasons I haven’t finished the game yet.

How can I purchase the game?
Visit the official website http://wyverntales.com/ and sign up on the mailing list. The game is being manufactured/sold in small batches and there is a waiting list. For reference, I signed up in Jan 2018 and it wasn’t until June that I was finally able to buy a copy.

How much does it cost?
I paid $80 to have it shipped to the US. (yikes!) Yeah, it’s pretty steep. The way I justified the expense was that I was supporting a unique project and a developer who had poured years of his life to complete it. And I’m guessing childhood wish fulfillment had something to do with it, too. :slight_smile:

Anything else to add?
Sure! Here are some first-hand pictures of the game and packaging. Apologies for the low quality images of the Lynx screen. I tried all kinds of things to make it look better, but the reality is that it’s just a poor screen in general. (I hear the call of the McWill mod tempting me in the distance…)

The box is very nicely done:

Some magic was needed to create Lynx carts that would allow for save files, something I don’t think had been previously done:

I love physical manuals!

Setting off for adventure:

Rusty armor and bamboo sticks, I guess you have to start somewhere:

Nothing like grinding for XP while watching The Great British Baking Show on the couch with the family:

Let me know if there are any questions I didn’t cover or things you’re curious to know.

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Very cool. Nice OP!

I’m interested in reading more about the development, because I’m not into RPG games. How did he get saves working? Was there a dev blog?

I’m not aware of a dev blog, but there was an interview on Atarigamer that got into some of the development details. The save feature borrowed ideas from a flashcard by “Lynxman” and used a specific EEPROM.

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I’m on the list to buy a copy, but don’t follow the Lynx scene as close as I do the Jaguar scene and got on the list late. Hopefully I’ll get an email soon.

That’s some super cool packaging. Graphics look good too and make good use of that low res screen.

Found a nice thread about it http://atariage.com/forums/topic/205836-wyvern-tales/

A vibrant, active scene on Lynx!