“At the time, ninjas were new and exciting and everyone loved them […] So basically ninjas meets Lord of the Rings was what we came up with and it turned into a hugely successful game book series.”
-- Mark Smith
A part of our rapid-fire countdown to Christmas, here's a look at Gremlin Graphics' Way of the Tiger computer game from the 1980s.
Having played very briefly in Mark Smith's Orb campaign, I always thought it was a pity it got overshadowed by martial arts mania. There weren't any ninja in the original Orb setting, which was a masterclass in how to use Tolkien-like fantasy elements in a D&D game. Prancing around flinging shuriken and flash powder was far less interesting than all the richly original flourishes Mark had put into his world.
The gamebooks are still available, and there's occasional talk of publishing an Orb RPG. (Basic Roleplaying or Mythras would get my vote.) Fingers crossed -- and I'm not talking about the kuji-no-in.
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