tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post6807959607496996003..comments2024-03-04T09:12:37.072+00:00Comments on MALthus Dire's Fighting Fantasy Page: #47: The Crimson TideMALthus Direhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15847555508305181801noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-63172442808152193042023-03-03T19:37:13.733+00:002023-03-03T19:37:13.733+00:00i hate this book never could figure out the codewo...i hate this book never could figure out the codeword in the end i just figured out what paragraph to turn to at the end to win. and it wasn't hidden too well either had a big illustration right in front of your face so all that cryptic work is worthless!bladexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01683589730783574155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-84469944648341391922023-01-21T18:29:14.358+00:002023-01-21T18:29:14.358+00:00I know this book was mostly available in the UK an...I know this book was mostly available in the UK and ANZ, but to Yanks "The Crimson Tide" means one, and only one thing:<br /><br />'Bama.Bosk of Port Karhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05382836168231297724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-55351415615656681052022-03-24T11:28:52.108+00:002022-03-24T11:28:52.108+00:00I played this book in my native Portuguese languag...I played this book in my native Portuguese language and, for me, it was simply un-winnable - and afterwards found out it was due to poor translation: one of the codewords, "offers", was translated to a word that means "gifts", and that kinda takes away the sense of the sentence.<br /><br />Other than that, it's a fairly good read, a bit harsh with the "true path" and I do enjoy the true ending (the fact that your clue-less path leads to 400 and an instant death is a cool twist).Professor Doutor por Extenso, Rodolfo Ohnoffris Fabricius Xabregas MossorĂ³ Diashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12542422654668892114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-24551716369374457452019-09-05T13:42:17.469+01:002019-09-05T13:42:17.469+01:00It's funny, I realise that between this book a...It's funny, I realise that between this book and the two Virtuality Reality Adventure titles Green Blood and The Miasma of Hate, I owned some very tricky gamebooks when I was a kid. I don't think I ever finished any of them (This book or the two VRA titles mentioned, I had plenty of others that were a walk in the park).<br /><br />Figures that they're also out of print (although second hand copies don't seem too pricey) and that my parents chucked out my copies eons ago :-/OOPManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16297690248050589689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-28254200478237771512019-06-15T13:07:00.137+01:002019-06-15T13:07:00.137+01:00It's been a while since I last read it, but II...It's been a while since I last read it, but IIRC the true path (which I only ever found by just reading, as opposed to properly playing the book) actually involved taking the non-mudworm path at the start? Could easily be wrong though.<br /><br />Enjoyed exploring this one very much (I always like trying to find the paragraph which the cover art depicts, took me ages with this one) and finally getting the codewords to say what they should is probably the most satisfying 'Eureka moment' in the entire FF series. <br /><br />'Dave' makes an interesting point regarding the endings - as a kid (reading this second-hand in the 00's), I got one of the "you don't right the wrongs but basically get a decent life" in an early playthrough and basically it just felt like a failure, but on re-reading it when I was bit older, those endings actually felt more in the sprit of the book and I appreciated them a lot more.<br /><br />Really good book for it's writing, atmosphere and genuine sense of character developmentBijedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13711569315196458397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-86057927062258665052018-09-15T16:23:08.126+01:002018-09-15T16:23:08.126+01:00Oh, and I forgot to mention: personally I don'...Oh, and I forgot to mention: personally I don't regard the super-difficult ending as the best ending. As with Magehunter, I was thinking it would be good to have a variety of endings, and it's up to the reader to decide which is the best. For me, the endings where you manage to get over it and live a decent life are preferable: and as you pointed out, there are hints liberally sprinkled throughout the book. But in the end, it's the reader who decides, and the readers who wrote to us at Warlock all said how they liked fiendishly difficult FFs...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17746948639339111261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-88590739019866786242018-09-15T16:17:44.485+01:002018-09-15T16:17:44.485+01:00Thanks for the generous review. The idea of your o...Thanks for the generous review. The idea of your own face in the mask wasn't from Empire (I'm not that much of a Star Wars fan) as it wasn't original even to Empire. But you're absolutely right about the Conan the Barbarian lift (and Beastmaster, and Sword and the Sorcerer and all those bloody barbarian movies). I wanted to take that cliched trope and do something a little different with it.<br />Well spotted on the Onibaba, which was probably the biggest inspiration: having the mask itself as the villain.<br />Incidentally, the cover depicts the Tribunal of Hell, so be glad you don't encounter it in the book!<br />Oh, and I'm billed as 'Dave Stone' here, but that's my pseudonym because I was so annoyed at being forced to open a Google+ account at work some years ago.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17746948639339111261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-51164062599925321172017-10-11T20:45:51.635+01:002017-10-11T20:45:51.635+01:00I agree. The more off the wall book designs are no...I agree. The more off the wall book designs are not for everyone but I always like to see something different being done with the FF concept.MALthus Direhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15847555508305181801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-51348841216214128102017-10-11T15:13:47.416+01:002017-10-11T15:13:47.416+01:00After playing alot of good and unique FF titles, t...After playing alot of good and unique FF titles, this one was not like any other, and it got me so much compelled to get his true path that it addicted me hard. Maybe i am masochist, but it turned out to be my favorite. <br />The challenge blow my mind, it wasnt about the luck, it was about the decode, so many times it got me thinking what was going on, but after all the pieces together you can get the story right, and the final path, its some pure philophical explanation. <br />Made me realize that FF like this, are just pure gold. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421481030250157099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3640929554503965005.post-14281245579270831812015-05-31T12:10:06.486+01:002015-05-31T12:10:06.486+01:00Even as a teenager, I assumed the mudworm was a mi...Even as a teenager, I assumed the mudworm was a misprint. Still couldn't get anywhere near the "true end" but loved how different this one was.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05903993127360160864noreply@blogger.com