Stay a While and Let's Play Diablo

Let's Plays
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#1

I’m sure I don’t need to introduce Diablo, the progenitor of its own game genre. Other games are described as Diablo-likes as a shorthand for how they play and what the systems inside are. So we’re going to be taking a look at the game that started it all, the granddaddy of the point and click and loot genre.

This LP will follow the adventures of Rogue, the Rogue (so named because the official “canon” name is fucking stupid) as she investigates the ruined cathedral in the vaguely Scotch-Irish town of Tristram. I’ll be employing speed-ups and fade cuts liberally so as to keep things moving along at a decent clip. I’ll also be joined by whoever signs up a bunch of guests, so expect to hear things repeated some.

I’m aiming to update twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.

Spoilers!?

Diablo is a 20 year old game, but I would rather not have stuff spoiled. There isn’t a lot of story, so let’s not spoil what little there is. To that end I would also greatly appreciate it if we didn’t get into gigantic lore discussions. For the most part, the lore in this series is pretty bad and the games can be enjoyed without understanding a lick of it.

Also many people haven’t played this game before, so let’s not be a dick yeah?

:nws: Potentially triggering content within :nws:

  • Gore
  • Pixel nudity

Videos:

Direct Link

Direct Link with @YappingEevee :tw:

Direct Link with CirclMastr

Direct Link with @Bohampscious

Direct Link with @YappingEevee

Direct Link with CirclMastr

Direct Link with @Bohampscious

Direct Link with CirclMastr

Direct Link with @YappingEevee

Direct Link with @Bohampscious

Direct Link with @Zeratanis

Direct Link with Aces High

Direct Link with @YappingEevee

Direct Link with @Zeratanis

Direct Link with @Bohampscious

Direct Link with Aces High

Direct Link with @Zeratanis

Direct Link with @Zeratanis

Direct Link with @Zeratanis

7 Likes
#2

I always played this game as the warrior because I am plain. It’ll be good to see it played as something different.

3 Likes
#3

Oh nice, I got into the Diablo series through FATE because I had a ton of fun with that when I was younger and wanted to try out the origin of the genre. I’m excited to see how this goes as not a warrior.

I had to check, since yeah I agree that her canon name is kinda silly, but her name after that one was an even dumber one, Blood Raven. Which if I had watched the video I would’ve seen that you thought Moreina was dumb whoops.

1 Like
#4

I am pretty surprised that anybody stuck with warrior through the mid-late game. I guess it speaks more to my biases that I almost immediately latched onto rogue, because ranged feels so much better to me. I might have to give sorcerer a try some day, though. I hear it gets pretty fun.

1 Like
#5

It probably helps that I like melee characters, but the only other LP I saw of this used Warrior. I actually never had Diablo 1. I am doing an Amazon playthrough in D2 right now though.

1 Like
#6

I love the Tristram theme. Apparently the composer used a guitar he made himself, which is why the tone is so distinct. And the hit sounds are so bassy! Really helps give the combat some impact besides the age. Same trick that helps Phantasy Star Online feel good now.

Also, can you hit the barrels by using Shift + Attack? I forgot how silly the rogue looks running up to melee range to shoot them.

1 Like
#7

Sadly no. Hitting barrels from range was only allowed in Diablo 2. So no way to dodge those explosions. :frowning:

#8

Good first episode, looking forward to more!

#9

damn, that green arrow in injustice tech

#10

My only experience with Diablo was playing through the throwback event in Diablo 3. It’s interesting to finally see this game that spawned a whole genre.

1 Like
#11

It’s always fun to see this game crop up again. Can I ask how it’s running for you? I’ve always had issues getting it to work right on more modern systems, but it looks like it’s running smooth in the video.

#12

It’s running nice and smooth for me. I have to do some roundabout shenanigans to get it to run right on Windows 7, but that’s to be expected for a game of this age.

For those interested, you have to set the Windows theme to Classic, and then open but not change anything in the resolution pane. This is in addition to setting the executable to run in 640x480 and with admin rights for good measure.

EDIT: I should add that the above only applies to Win 7 for whatever reason.

#13

uh just emulate the ps1 version obviously

(I tried that once and wow. Nope. Those controls ain’t good.)

#14

Direct Link

Rogue meets The Butcher, with special guest star @YappingEevee.

EDIT: I forgot, but I’m gonna go ahead and slap a :tw: on for gore, because of the Butcher’s chambers.

EDIT 2: Pixel nudity too just to cover my bases, and to get ahead of the late game.

4 Likes
#15

I had literal nightmares about The Butcher back when I first played this game. In terms of flavor, he’s probably the most effective part of the game as the horrible monster that personally killed most of the brave townsfolk. It’s unfortunate that in terms of gameplay you have to either exploit his melee-only weakness or ignore him and come back when you’re much more powerful.

Diablo is the series I’ve played more than any other by far, and a huge chunk of that time was spent on the first game so it’s always fun to see it again without having to play it myself. The slow walking speed and general lack of conveniences make it hard to get through today, but it still beats the overly-convenient self-playing gameplay of Diablo 3.

1 Like
#16

I’ve been playing Diablo 2 and 3 recently, I started with D3 and while it’s pretty fun and nice to look at and great for just chilling out and bashing some demons in, I think I like Diablo 2 more for when I want an RPG to challenge me a little.

As for the Butcher, knowing how I was as a kid, I’d have probably cried at the room but wanted to hug the Butcher because I was a weird kid. I’m still weird because I’d rather make friends with weird fucked up hell creatures than say, Imperius who is the Archangel of Valor (Because he is a dick. Tyreal and Auriel are shaped like friends though.). I think probably the most terrifying part of the Butcher is that he’s not some high-ranking demon in hell or anything. He’s just some dude, and yet he’s so damn powerful. I kinda want to know how he got that strong in the first place.

1 Like
#17

Lots of fresh meat, of course.

1 Like
#18

The question is whether or not he took Abattoir so he could have more than 125 stacks of meat.

He’s really fun to play in HotS okay? :V

#19

From what I remember, my brother and I just thought the room filled with bodies was AWESOME VIOLENCE because we were both that kind of 90s stereotype.

#20

I love the original cinematic we were supposed to see when you enter The Butcher’s room:

I guess they thought it was too violent and removed it from the game, but it is still on the game disc and can be extracted and modded back in

1 Like