Champions of Norrath is a PS2 action RPG from the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance engine, and it remains a personal favourite on revisit. Five classes, from warrior to wizard, offer distinct builds, with the shadow knight a strong melee and magic hybrid.
The idle dialogue is a lost art, with the character directly calling out the player for standing around doing nothing. The shadow knight’s dark humour, from killing gnomes to redecorating, keeps the downtime entertaining.
Act one is the biggest and most open stretch, full of optional dungeons like the goblin caves and the giant spider boss. Act three covers every biome, from beach and underwater to desert, swamp and a tower of clouds connected by ancient portals.
The boss fights vary widely, from the poison-heavy giant spider to the Lord of Vampires and the cloud giant king. The final boss Inarok offers a unique bad ending, adding a replay hook beyond the three-difficulty ladder.
Carrying capacity is the recurring gripe, forcing constant trips back to the shop and turning progress into a shopping loop. The grid inventory has no compare button and no storage, making every trip a slow process.
The wizard enemies are the worst threat, reviving their allies with full health and no limit on how often. Bosses can stun-lock the character, and the glass-cannon balance keeps the hero always on the edge of death.
Overall, the class variety, the sassy shadow knight and the varied biomes make Champions of Norrath a fantastic PS2 game. The carrying-capacity grind and the reviving wizards are the main caveats.