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The Bard's Tale cover art
Role-playing (RPG)

The Bard's Tale

by inXile Entertainment·published by inXile Entertainment, Vivendi Universal Games

28 October 2004Teen21
PCLinuxWindowsPlayStationPS2XboxMacMobileiOSBlackBerry

Reader score

7.5/ 10

86 votes

Where to get it

Trailer

Gallery

41

Screenshots

Key art

About

The Bard is a cynical, opportunistic musician who roams the country in search of carnal pleasures. However, this impatient and selfish fellow is compelled to accept the greatest quest of his life: save the princess Caleigh from a demonic cult that has kidnapped her. The unlikely hero must now explore the land in search of the princess, accompanied by the omnipresent Narrator who obviously can't stand the Bard and uses every opportunity to sarcastically comment on his actions. Furthermore, Fionnaoch, the mysterious abductor of the princess, does everything he can to stop the Bard, sending his minions after him.

A self-proclaimed "quest for coin and cleavage", The Bard's Tale is an action RPG that is more of a whimsical take on role-playing games than a remake of the classic series. As the Bard, players can fight off hordes of foes with blade and bow, and summon companions through magical Bard Songs. Leveling up allows the player to raise the character's main attributes and invest specialization points in the different types of weapons he can use. Magical companions must be sought out and then summoned during battles. After being summoned, they act pretty much like AI-controlled party members; some of them specialize in physical attacks and offensive spells, while others can heal the hero.

During conversations the player can choose "nice" or "snarky" responses for the protagonist. While mostly used for humorous effect, some of these responses may affect subsequent events. The game uses the Dark Alliance engine and has a similar camera and control scheme.

Ways to play

Modes

Single player

Perspective

Bird view / Isometric

Engine

Dark Alliance Engine

Remastered as

Languages

8 languages, with audio, subtitles and interface
Languageaudiosubtitlesinterface
English—
French——
German—
Italian——
Korean——
Polish——
Russian——
Spanish (Spain)——

Game details

Business Model

Commercial

Drivers/APIs Supported

Pixel Shader 1.1

Media Type

CD-ROM, Download, DVD-ROM

Input Devices Supported/Optional

Keyboard, Mouse, Other Input Devices

Additional Hardware Required

3D Accelerator

Number of Offline Players

1 Player

System requirements

Min. CPU Class Required

Intel Pentium III

Min. OS Class Required

Windows 98SE

Min. RAM Required

256 MB

Min. DirectX Version Required

DirectX 9.0c

Min. CD-ROM Drive Speed Required

12X (1.8 MB/s)

Min. DVD-ROM Drive Speed Required

4X (5.28 MB/s)

Box art

Also known as

Bingcheng Zhuanqi — Simplified Chinese title

The Bard's Tale (2004) — Common title

The Bard's Tale ARPG — Informal title

The Bard's Tale: Opowieści Barda — Polish title

The Bard's Tale: Remastered and Resnarkled — 2017 update title

The Bard's Tale: Song of the Bard — Working title

Reader ratings

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Facts

Released

28 October 2004

Platforms

PCLinuxWindowsPlayStationPS2XboxMacMobileiOSBlackBerryAndroidiPadPS VitaPS4Xbox OneOuyaNintendoSwitchOnLive

Age ratings

ESRBTeenPEGI12USK12ACBM15+

Standing

Top 24% by visits

Tags

Diagonal-down2D scrollingAction RPGFantasy