Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun

Lore & Background

The game tells the story of a party of adventurers transported to an unknown world. Duke Barrik's army and a goblin army are sucked into a void during battle, and the Duke's castle is transported to a valley under a brilliant red sun. The player controls four characters who explore the environment to find allies, encountering beastmen, lizardmen, and the ancient Azcan race. An unseen force slowly turns the Duke's people insane; the party eventually learns that a creature called the Burrower, brought by the immortal Thanatos, is responsible. The party must summon Ka the Preserver to destroy the Burrower and return their people to safety.

Reader's Guide

Warriors of the Eternal Sun is notable as the only official D&D title for the Sega Genesis, developed by Westwood Associates. It features three gameplay modes: isometric outside adventure, turn-based outside combat, and first-person dungeon exploration. The game uses D&D rules adapted for hardware limitations, with character classes including cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief, dwarf, elf, and halfling. Reception was mixed: Allgame rated it 'Average', a 2004 GameSpy article said it would not entice console gamers away from Phantasy Star or Final Fantasy, and a 2008 IGN retrospective called it a 'mixed bag', praising the battle system and graphical style but calling it a 'crib sheet' effort. The game includes twenty-nine musical tracks and was tested by many unfamiliar with the tabletop game, making development difficult.

Did You Know?

• The game's working title was Dungeons & Dragons: Hollow World.
• It features twenty-nine musical tracks.
• The lightning bolt spell can bounce off dungeon walls and backfire on the party.
• The game was the first and only official D&D product for the Sega Genesis.