Dragon’s Eye (1981) sends players on a quest across the Seven Provinces to recover the powerful and corrupting amulet known as the Dragon’s Eye. As a spellcasting adventurer hired by a mysterious wizard, you’ll explore the realm using a strategic overworld map to select locations, rest, and prepare your inventory. The core of the game lies in its richly detailed, turn-based combat. Battles unfold from a side-view perspective, where players queue up commands and adapt tactics in real time. Success depends on smart spell usage, positioning, and managing resources—especially since the amulet’s power spreads with each passing day, adding pressure to complete the mission. Praised for its tactical depth and well-executed combat engine, Dragon’s Eye stood out among early fantasy RPGs. With its time-based tension, strategic movement, and combat-driven gameplay, it offered a fresh twist on the genre for players seeking challenge beyond dungeon crawling.

This was a very beautiful game for 1981, with surprisingly compelling graphics and great use of color.  It had a fairly elaborate backstory and we think that any game that lets you choose a scimitar as a weapon is pretty groovy.  There’s a great write-up at the CRPG Addict blog, and while it didn’t have all the RPG mechanics of later games, it was time-limited and really drew you in.  Have a read and let us know your thoughts on licensing it.