RPGs on the console and the computer have always been different beasts. Ever since Final Fantasy, consoles have settled into a comfortable niche of character and inventory management, broken up by pressing X to continue the story. Computer RPGs had a stronger focus on action and adventure than story, and tended to be a little less formula and more experimental. One of those experiments was upgrading the NetHack style dungeon crawler with new graphics and a consistent world. The result, Blizzard’s Diablo, proved rather popular. What impact did Diablo have on the computer RPG landscape? 1UP has the story.
The original Diablo may be outclassed and outperformed by more modern games, but no other game has matched the feel of Diablo. There’s just something about the atmosphere, the random dungeons, the hidden hazards, and the ambient music that drives home the feeling of fighting for your life in the deep dark. Alone.