One of the earliest PC games I remember being genuinely obsessed with was a side-scrolling action RPG platformer called Zeliard.<\/p>\n
After a long and mighty struggle, I got the game and was pleased to find that it would still run on the old IBM XT compatible we had at the time.<\/p>\n
For many hours we would fight through the underground labyrinths of Zeliard to reclaim the Tears of Esmesanti, defeat the evil Jashiin and reverse the petrification of beautiful Princess Felicia.<\/p>\n
What an amazing surprise, then, when I discovered Chasm, an action RPG in the spirit of Zeliard with a modern twist \u2014 randomised dungeons.<\/p>\n
Others refer to it as a \u201cMetroidvania\u201d game, including the developer himself, but that is simply because there is a grand conspiracy to deny Zeliard the recognition it deserves.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve heard it argued that Metroidvania does sound cooler than \u201cZeliard-like\u201d, \u201cDiabliard\u201d, or \u201cZeliaroid\u201d, or that Metroid and Castlevania were more widely played, but that doesn\u2019t mean the conspiracy isn\u2019t real.<\/p>\n