Fable
Release Date: Sept 14, 2004
Platforms: PC and Xbox
Developer: Lionhead Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Action RPG
Prep: Can be played on Xbox systems using OG or on newer Xbox Consoles. For PC it is available on steam. Generally runs find on modern systems with out any needed fixes
Pre-Game: by Filbert
I do want a halo? Or will I prefer to have a mustache I can twirl…
Fable is an early 2000s Action RPG. I still remember my first encounter with the game.
First encounter
I was a freshman and a few of us were over at my buddy Zach’s house. It was a night of playing a lot of Halo 2 and other competitive games. His basement was one of the main gaming hangouts.
This was 2004 but he had what must have been a 50 inch plasma TV. I remember it was the first tv I knew of which used this new plug called HDMI. The basement had a few couches and chairs, it had to be 1am and most of us were looking to nab which couch we were going to crash on before they were all taken, and you were stuck to the floor.
Then, one of my friends Billy picks up this game Fable. Ask how this game is? Mike and others said it is awesome. So Billy goes to play the game to them ironically telling him “No don’t play it!”.
They attempted to explain if he starts it he will not put it down and will be up all night. We all had to be out of the house fairly early. If Billy didn’t want to battle an intense lack of sleep he should just go to bed. Though he claimed he was just going to try it out and wouldn’t get hooked.
I wake up around 7am and Billy is still questing in Fable. The game was still new but Mike who had beaten it at this point let Billy borrow it to take it home because he was hooked.
Back to Pre-Game
There are some games that have that certain gameplay, story, and style. Mix in you playing them at the right time in life they can just pull you in. I think for people in my generation Fable nailed it. Simply everyone I knew at the time who played it was hooked.
Fable as a game didn’t necessarily do a lot of unique things. What it did while it differently did bring some of it’s own ideas to the action RPG genre. What Fable achieved was how it brought the package together and presented it. Specifically in 2004 we hadn’t seen many games like Fable.
Keep in mind this is still fairly new to fully voiced games by professionals. Four years prior most Action RPGs still have very rudimentary graphics or were CRPGs. A be draw of Fable was how immersive it was. The graphics, voice acting, world building, passage of time, and simply how the game reacted to you as a player.
Maybe the keystone of the immersion was how your actions and specifically the alignment in the game affected the world in the game. Fable wasn’t the first game with alignment allowing you to be good or evil nor was it the first to have your actions affect the game.
It was one of the first to do so within such a high standard of quality. That had all the support of quality voice acting, a style of humor and charm that left an impact. NPCs would react to you differently depending on your reputation. You would see your friends save and notice your characters even looked different. Aspects like your stats changed the character's appearance. Alongside normal customization options like hair and armor.
The game, though fairly linear, felt as if it was open world due to how it presented quests, choices, and the fact you could take many unique actions. Such as killing a shop keeper then buying his store front when it went vacant.
I think the first Fable is still a classic example of how to make a linear RPG not feel as if you’re being railroaded along.
Conclusion
When Fable lost chapters were released, it was a game I wanted to build a PC to finally play. Unfortunately I still had to wait for some time. I ended up playing Fable on the OG Xbox after my brother bought one. I have since beaten Fable at least a couple more times with the last play being around 2017.
It is a game I still remember all the major story beats and a lot of the notable moments. It is also a game I have beat playing both the ultra good and ultra evil path. I can recall the last time playing the game thinking certain elements had aged a bit, know the game is still being a blast to progress though.
On my first playthrough I remember how much it just felt like an adventure in all the best ways. You really felt the Heroes Journey. I’m excited to play it again and see if that retains.
