MAJESTY: THE FANTASY KINGDOM SIM

        Initial Release: 2000            Developer: Cyberlore Studios            Publisher: Microprose
        Recommended version: Majesty Gold HD Edition (by Paradox Interactive)

The Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, The Witcher… excellent franchises that let you run around on epic quests in fantasy worlds. It's a fine concept, but what if you twisted it on itself? What if, instead of playing a thug in shining armour, you were the one hiring them?

Majesty: Fantasy Kingdom Sim puts you on the throne of the intentionally stereotypical kingdom of Ardania. With your Sean Connery-esque advisor by your side, you will play a series of quests where you will be tested against all manner of foes, ranging from the ratmen crawling out of the indestructible sewers that spring up as you expand your town all the way to the mighty (but exploitable) dragons. Build marketplaces, inns and watchtowers to protect them as your taxmen give you the money you need to hire the real attraction of the game: the heroes. Hired from various guilds and temples, these men and women are fully autonomous, and each class of hero has its own personality and preferred activity. Your rangers love to explore the fog of war, your rogues can generally be found robbing your own marketplaces (you can tax it back), while the elves partner with the rogues to establish tax-free dens of inequity that'll suck up your heroes' time and money. You can influence their behaviour by setting up bounties on certain targets, and areas to explore. Prodding your rangers into exploring a nearby area won't take much, and rogues are greedy enough to respond to most any reward (even against their own kingdom, if you're playing multiplayer). A big enough reward and your entire kingdom will scramble to deal with that towering Evil Castle of Doom… for better or worse.

The game's quests will throw huge challenges at you and often limit your hero options. It's up to you to build and hire as intelligently as possible, and try to get the desired behaviour out of your kingdom. (Often easier said than done: most heroes are great at handling themselves, but your uber-powerful wizards melt like butter. Getting one past level one is a minigame in itself.) Even normally you cannot have every hero type at once. The temple heroes refuse to fight alongside the followers of their rival gods. You must decide: the borderline OP paladins and surprisingly tough monks of Dauros, or Fervus' very entertaining cultists and Warriors of Discord? Defense or offence? Lunord or Helia? Which non-human race do you invite? Elves and dwarves detest one another, and no one wants to live near a gnome's hovel. 

It's as frustrating and fun as a family, and the game's aesthetic is full of charm, humour and occasional pathos. The art is memorable and everything reads well, even today. Everyone's well-voiced and the unit banter is memorable, though Budget Connery could shut up every now and then. Most impressive: every unit, every building, every selectable thing has flavour text. Every upgraded building has new flavour text. It's wonderful reading. As silly as Ardania is, someone clearly loved making it.

Paradox Interactive published a sequel to Majesty in 2009, before they became Midas Touched. It is terrible and you should avoid it. What you shouldn't avoid is Majesty Gold HD Edition, which 'supports' higher resolutions and Windows 8.1 (i.e. clicking buttons doesn't always work and the main menu freezes a lot, and 1920x1080 is unplayable.) Still, it mostly works, and it's your best option if you want to play Majesty on a modern machine. 

Zoheb Mashiur is sub-editor for fiction at SHOUT and likes it when people send him large sums of money as gifts. Contact him at https://www.facebook.com/Zohohoho.mash to discuss the wire transfer.