Perhaps the single most annoying thing about Japanese RPGs is that the main character is nearly always an angst-filled teenager with something to prove and is usually surrounded by a cast of misfits or egomaniacs. The formula has been used over and over again to the point that it's become ingrained into our consciousness as part of what a Japanese RPG should be. Sure, some progress has been made with titles like Shadow Hearts: Covenant and a handful of others, but those are few and far between. There has always been a yearning, for me at least, to play a somewhat adult-themed RPG featuring a typical adult male who just wants to make a few bucks and likes to go out gallivanting. In other words, someone similar to me.

Enter the Bard's Tale's single most compelling strength: the adult-themed storyline with a main character who is almost an anti-hero in how human and weak he is. Gone are the noble causes of chivalry and good deeds. In are the single-minded goals of getting rich and getting laid. Prepare ye, oh faithful RPGer, for what is quite probably the most entertaining RPG story that you've ever come across.