The Odyssey (1994)

The Odyssey is a fun Macintosh-only RPG from David Larkin, a lone programmer. The game harks back to the olden days of Ultima IV, when RPGs were played from a bird's eye perspective, and offered a deceptively complex gameplay that would last for months on end. In addition to a neat plot based on Greek myths and an intuitive interface, The Odyssey offers many cool features that are not usually seen in commercial RPGs—let alone shareware games. The game uses a unique and realistic conversation system that is reminiscent of Ultima VI, and offers a fast and furious combat system that is easy to learn, but requires strategy not unlike the Bard's Tale games to succeed. The writing is strong throughout, and the plot is captivating enough and different enough from dime-a-dozen fantasy fodder to maintain your interest. A shareware game, the steep $25 fee for the registered version unfortunately got you nothing other than a hintbook. The shareware version for download is already a complete game, although some puzzles will make you wish you had that hintbook nearby.