Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin

The second Dungeons and Dragons licensed game on the Intellivision.  But whereas the first game was a very loose adaptation of the subject matter with an arcadey bent, Treasure of Tarmin draws far more inspiration from earlier D&D-inspired games like Wizardry, Ultima and even the old mainframe clones like Oubilette and DnD.  With a first-person perspective, monsters to vanquish, traps to avoid, some inventory and equipment management, and six stats to keep tabs on, it's an archetypal dungeon crawler.  Melee weapons and spells you find are single-use, while bows and spellbooks can be used repeatedly (the former as long as you have arrows, the latter as long as you have Spiritual Power), but nevertheless have a chance to break on each use.  Potions appear to restore war/spiritual strength and some special spellbooks can allow you to glance through walls, teleport through them, or power up equipment.  One can also find treasures like coins, crowns, lamps and golden chalices, though these are only used for points.  There's a surprising amount of depth and nuance for a game released where and when it was, and as probably the first game of its time to appear on a console, it's worth checking out from a historical perspective.

Developer: APh Technological Consulting

Publisher: Mattel Electronics
Released: 1983
Platforms: Intellivision, Mattel Aquarius

Wizardry I, II, III

The Wizardry franchise is one that needs no introduction to any serious RPG fan; one of the first major D&D-inspired franchises on home computer platforms, it was among the earliest to have a party-based format and color graphics and even implemented some relatively unique features like Prestige classes (only accessible once certain stat thresholds are reached).   In fact, it was so influential that it inspired the likes of other legendary titles like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, and even continues to get spinoff titles to this day in Japan, very few of which have been localized.  However, the first three games do suffer from a bit of poor planning- the original releases of 2 and 3 can only be played with a party created and imported from the previous game, resulting in each game selling less copies than the previous.  It's also just a punishing game in general - there is a lot of grinding required to make headway through the dungeon, and suffering a party wipe at any time means you have to make a whole new party of adventurers and go down there to retrieve them, resulting in even more grinding.  And if you accidentally teleport into a wall or out of a map boundary, welp, that party's gone for good.  It may be rather primitive by modern standards, unreasonably difficult in many ways and have an unwieldy interface even on its newer ports (for the NES and numerous other platforms), but the original Wizardry trilogy is a piece of history that's at least worth a look for anyone developing interest in the genre.

Developer: Sir-Tech
Publisher: Sir-Tech
Released: 1981, 1982, 1983
Platforms: Apple II, PC Booter, MS-DOS Mac, FM-7, PC-98, PC-88, Sharp X1, Commodore 64, MSX2, NES, Turbografx-CD, Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, Wonderswan Color

Ultima: Escape From Mt. Drash

An extremely rare title released exclusively on the VIC-20 computer system in its twilight days.  Despite the name, though, it doesn't resemble Ultima whatsoever in terms of design, instead being more of a simple dungeon crawler - each floor gives you 99 seconds to navigate a simple 8x8 maze and reach the end.  Combat is a strange affair, putting the player in a side-view and having them position their character and try to hit a specific point on the enemy's body with a timed button press before they approach too closely and take one of their few "lives".  The problem, though, is that the game isn't particularly fun; the mazes themselves have no interesting gimmicks, and though the combat seems simple, landing hits is irritatingly precise, making getting through the game a source of extremely tedious trial-and-error and luck rather than a test of skill.  Because of this, as well as being released well after the Commodore 64 launched, the game has since become extremely scarce, with only around thirteen copies known to still exist and selling for thousands of dollars during their rare appearances on eBay. A complete copy of the tape has never been made available online to deter counterfeiting, making it difficult to even emulate.  It may be worth trying out the fan remake for PC platforms briefly as an odd curiosity, but if you've got the money to burn, I can safely say that this one simply is not worth the asking price.  Proof positive that just because something is rare and expensive doesn't mean it's any fun to play.

Developer: Keith Zabalaoui
Publisher: Sierra On-Line
Released: 1983
Platforms: Commodore VIC-20

Ultima III: Exodus

 A year after Ultima II, the third game was released, upping the ante even further for both the series and the genre.  Featuring animated player sprites (a rarity at the time) and a party system that allowed up to four characters to venture across the land together at once, Exodus upped the stakes in other ways too.  One can now interact with the world and characters in surprisingly clever ways - bribing guards to leave their posts, pickpocketing people to earn extra money, and buying horses to traverse the landscape quicker, avoiding enemies and consuming less food as one travels just to name a few.  As per the previous game, there are plenty of secrets to find, but grinding experience and cash is still a big part of the experience - leveling up boosts one's maximum HP, while finding money is required to purchase equipment and food.  Dungeons are required once again, containing important clues as well as four "Marks" which grant the player new abilities necessary to finish the game.  There is a lot to do in Ultima III, and it all feels well-integrated and significantly less grindy than the second, making this a simple but enjoyable early CRPG adventure.

Developer: Origin Systems
Publisher: Origin Systems
Released: 1983
Platforms: Amiga, Apple II, Atari 800, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, FM-7, Macintosh, MSX2, NES, NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-9801, Sharp X1