D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

[Demetrium]

D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

One of the very few things I didn't like about D2 was the overuse of animal inspired monsters. I understand the concept and argument that the three evils corrupted and twisted the creatures; I just think they went a bit overboard with the idea. It always felt like they got a bit lazy and just threw in a bunch of random creatures that were indigenous to the environment the acts took place in.

I played through D1 this weekend and I realized I had forgot about several monsters which were left behind in the making of D2. I'd personally like to see many/all of these back in D3, especially with the return to Tristram. Its also amazing how well the sprites for these monsters have held up over time.

Hidden - Invisible guys who had the cool decapitation animation
Acid Beast - Could be annoying, but they were original
Overlord - Butcher clones, slow but strong
Magma Demon - Lava golems that threw fire
Horned Demon - Juggernauts with horns that charged
Red Death - The big guys with long claws that threw lightning
Winged Demon - Gargoyles that could go stone-form and heal
Cave Viper - I guess kinda close to Act 2 serpents? Much different look though.

Another thing I appreciated were the stories a lot of these monsters had associated with them. I can't say for sure, but I think the D1 instruction manual had insight on the creation of a few of them. I vaguely remember that Overlords were former angels that had been disfigured and Magma Demons were created from the blood of the prime evils injured during some huge battle. Stuff like this makes the game a bit more immersive than swinging your sword at a bunch of beetles, mosquitos, crows and apes.

 

[NotAgain]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

Let's hope Blizz brings them back to life. D1 monsters FTW! I personally find all of the mentioned masterpieces. They all matched the level layout perfectly, creating the mood we long for so much...

 

[Kiroptus]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

I agree, we need something just as good as D1 monsters.

D2 monsters were very souless in concept.

 

[sirwhere]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

Agree too. D2 monsters were quite hopeless.

The tainted, for heaven's sake (or hell's sake, if you prefer ), are just horrible. A mix of kitten laying down with snake-like toungue. Yuck.

The doom knights of D2 royally sucked. Those of D1 were WAY cooler.

 

[raveharu]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

Hmmm so many D2 haters here?

I disagree, as I think monsters in D2 were good, the monsters fitted the themes, except sadly the expansion. :scratchchin:

Act1 - Fallens, zombies and corrupt rogues.
Act2- Maggots, beetles, locust swarms and mummies, fitted the Tal Rasha desert theme perfectly
Act3- Flayers, spiders, Zakarum and corrupted council members, fitted the forest theme.
Act4- Balrogs, ugly gory things, Abyss Knights, Oblivion Knights, totally fitted the Hell theme of Diablo's lair.
Act5- Added a few new monsters, mostly reused from all previous Acts for nightmare/hell difficulty.

Diablo, well the monsters were basic, they didn't have a huge variety like D2, but I have to agree the monsters in Hell were more terrifying than D2's Act 4.
Those naked but painful Succubus, huge corrupted Knights, dodgy corrupted mages teleporting and spamming spells... it was awesome

 

[Demetrium]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

Hmmm so many D2 haters here?
I disagree, as I think monsters in D2 were good, the monsters fitted the themes, except sadly the expansion. :scratchchin:
Act2- Maggots, beetles, locust swarms and mummies, fitted the Tal Rasha desert theme perfectly
Act3- Flayers, spiders, Zakarum and corrupted council members, fitted the forest theme.

Whoa --- I wouldn't say for a second I hate D2. Its one of my favorite games and I've come back and installed it several times and rolled quite a few hardcore characters up into 80+.

You're kinda proving my point here with your post!

Act 2 is by far the best example:
* Leaper
* Scarab Demon
* Sand Maggot
* Sand Maggot Egg
* Sand Maggot Young
* Vulture Demon
* Swarm
* Bat Demon
* Claw Viper
* Baboon Demon

Doesn't this seem...a bit much?
http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/monsters/act2.shtml

 

[raveharu]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

Doesn't this seem...a bit much?
http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/monsters/act2.shtml

No.

And at least the monsters fitted the desert egyptianish theme.
Remember that one act in D2 has like over 5 different dungeons, with 3 different levels at the max for each dungeon, you don't expect Blizzard to keep reusing the same monsters eh? :scratchchin:

It's different for D1 because they have limited dungeons and levels.
And basically most of the monsters are demons, if you noticed.

IMO, Diablo 3 will be even broader and bigger, expect 10 times more variety of monsters than in D2.

 

[Demetrium]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

And at least the monsters fitted the desert egyptianish theme.
Remember that one act in D2 has like over 5 different dungeons, with 3 different levels at the max for each dungeon, you don't expect Blizzard to keep reusing the same monsters eh? :scratchchin:

No, I don't expect them to keep reusing the same monsters, but that doesn't mean they all have to become animal-alternatives. Like I said in my original post, it almost feels like they found a act theme (desert, jungle) and then just did a Wikipedia search for a list of creatures that use it as their habitat.

Maybe I'm nit-picking. Its just one of the things that has reflected on me after playing the game 50 times.

And basically most of the monsters are demons, if you noticed.

Well, I can call anything a demon if I just throw the word at the end of it:
Angry Skunk Demon
Vicious Bunny Demon
Crazy Ferret Demon
Sewer Rat Demon

IMO, Diablo 3 will be even broader and bigger, expect 10 times more variety of monsters than in D2.

Lets hope so!

 

[Kiroptus]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

Certainly D2 monsters do fit a theme according to the act that they are in but overall they are just not cool as D1 monsters, its not a matter of theme, its a matter of asthetics.

The Doom Knights from D1 looked like a hulking fallen crusader, a very fearsome figure of a fallen knight's soul possessing an armor while the Doom Knights from D2 are just plain weak and old skeletons that are very very boring to look at.

The sucubus from D2 are more like ugly harpies and... just that... harpies. While the ones from D1 were just more in synch with their origins: A demon that represents lust. In LoD they are just ugly birds, if they were called harpies it would be a fitting demon but that is certainly not how a malicious sucubus demon should be. Plus in D1 they were very smart as they were very good at kiting both melee and ranged attackers, which made them quite nasty to be fought in a group (especially if you were a warrior). The D2 sucubuss just stood there, waiting to be smacked.

The hiddens, what in D2 can even come close to the brilliance of the Hiddens? Nothing, those guys added a level of tension that pretty much added a new genre to Diablo, in the halls of the blind you almost feel like playing a survival horror game.

The horned demons' charge, it was just so much fun when they came in groups and you had to evade their attacks like evading a bull charge. *sigh* if only those boring wendigos could have anything similar...

And many others, I wont cite all of them.

The monsters in D2 accomplish very little to be cool monsters on their own. They are all thematically right on their positions but are really bad in personality and specially on special abilities, the only demon with some remotely interesting ability are the demon sprites which can hop on siege beasts to cast inferno on you but even that is not that well explored. There are some other nifty unique skills that they present like Corpse Spitter which can spit corpses at you (duh! self-explonatory name), the maggot's burrow and the Defiler which can set parasites on the enemies but again, its never that pratical of an ability and even then it is so hardly noticiable on the gameplay while you are fighting them (sometimes its just annoying, like the burrow) that it just never gave them enough personality unlike the Hidden's invisibility, Horned Demon Charge, the corrupted mages teleporting madness, the gargoyle heal or the Kitting from the sucubuss. The most dangerous monsters are the ones with player skills like Black Soul's lighting, Oblivion's IM and LR, Hierophant Blizzard, Moon Lord Frenzy, etc... boring...

Lord De Seis could make your potions drop from your belt with his unique "Thief" mod, it was the only cool defining ability that I can remember but due to a bug it was removed, rather than fixed...

At least the monsters in D3 seem to have more interesting abilities that actually add to their personalities, like how a zombie can sometimes still have its upper torso to fight you while it drags itself, how the corrupted priests can do rituals to summon a more powerful demon or a demon that can burrow itself and move a lot while underneath your feet, etc... it seems to be far more fun than the canon fodder monsters from D2.

 

[Daedrith]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

For me, the Doom Knights and the Spitting Terrors were the most memorable; the former simply because they looked awesome and the latter because in large groups they were a pain in the ***. I do think that the monsters from D1 were more aesthetically fitting, but they only had one environment to fit in. Sure, it changed as you proceeded further through the Labyrinth, but I think it might have been a bit easier for the devs then.

But to answer the topic question, they are now extinct thanks to Diablo 1 players effectively exterminating each and every level of the Labyrinth. Jerks.

 

[sirwhere]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

There are some cool monsters in D2. Just not that many.

The minotaurs, for instance, are pretty fearsome. xfast, xstrong, fana enchanted minotaur boss. Can it get any more scary than that? I bet many urns down at the crystalline passage stay untapped in hardcore

 

[Kiroptus]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

I dont think anyone is really talking about bringing back the cool enemies from D1, its about making the D3 monsters as cool as. But not exactly the same.

It has to move on, thats certainly right but it has to move on forward and not backwards like how the monster concepts in D2 were if compared to D1.

 

[Demetrium]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

When i buy new titles specially sequels i prefer to see new content not old models rehashed or revamped. I want to experience something new and fresh. There is absolutely nothing wrong with moving on and letting go.

We all have some great nostalgia from older titles but they belong in the past as far as i am concerned.

I could see your point if they did nothing but bring back the original monsters without any additions, but I don't think this would be the case. Bringing back the monsters that work and were well done is fine. With more monsters you'll be able to do things like having more than 2-3 different enemy types per waypoint area.

Was D2 any less of the game because there were zombies, skeletons, goblins, blinks, minotaurs, etc?

 

[TheWhiz]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

As mentioned before, Death Knights were the most memorable monster from D1 for me. They came back and looked much weaker; they were relatively shorter I think, had less body armor, were a little more colourful/bright and lacked the Great Helm look.

This is one monster type they are likely to bring back; here's to hoping they come back looking like they did in D1!

 

[Demetrium]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

As mentioned before, Death Knights were the most memorable monster from D1 for me. They came back and looked much weaker; they were relatively shorter I think, had less body armor, were a little more colourful/bright and lacked the Great Helm look.

This is one monster type they are likely to bring back; here's to hoping they come back looking like they did in D1!

I agree. Overall, it feels like they put a lot more effort into the death animations of the D1 monsters. The Death Knights are a perfect example of this.

 

[reaperguy]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

No.

And at least the monsters fitted the desert egyptianish theme.
Remember that one act in D2 has like over 5 different dungeons, with 3 different levels at the max for each dungeon, you don't expect Blizzard to keep reusing the same monsters eh? :scratchchin:

It's different for D1 because they have limited dungeons and levels.
And basically most of the monsters are demons, if you noticed.

IMO, Diablo 3 will be even broader and bigger, expect 10 times more variety of monsters than in D2.

Yes, D1 is a small game compared to D2. You have to fill in the story since the game is so small.

You see monsters from different acts that are the same with maybe a color and name chance in D2. I hope we see many more kinds of monsters and less recycling of them. If we have skeletons in different acts for instance, they should look a lot different, even tho they're both skeletons.

 

[Clair de Lune]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

Don't forget sound fx. D1's monsters kicked *** not only because of creativity and asethetics, but it was accompanied with awesome sound.

Everyone remembers how awesome Death Knights died in a burning soul with perfectly fitting scream. Or when DK gets hit, it'd let out a very disgruntled yelp. I still remember succubus moaning every time you cleaved her and her distinctive cry when she dies...

Same goes for acid spitter thingy. It had that very unique and charactistic scream that sounded like gag reflex/throwing up.

Who can forget the sound effects of the magna dude with very rocky sound effects.

D2 and D3 (from previews)'s sound doesn't seem so encaptivating either (same goes for music). I actually wrote a long *** post about this few weeks ago regarding how sound/music makes a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG difference in immersion and experience.

 

[Doctor Salvador]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

This just reminded me of when I had to carry around a bow with my warrior to take care of that one version of zombie that permanently altered your max health every time he hit you.

 

[Wolfgang Abenteuer]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

Ah yes, Black Death zombies. Someone actually had to tell me that they drained max HP because I didn't think anything of it...I did notice that my Warrior was strangely low on max HP one time and didn't understand why. Here's to hoping there's no permanent-damaging enemies in D3.

But the D1 Doom Knights and Lava Throwers were awesome enemies. Wouldn't mind seeing those two return. :thumbsup:

 

[gluecks]

Re: D1 Monsters: Where are they now?

Hey,

imho the Monsters from Diablo1 were somehow more "cool".

Of course there were many cool monsters in Diablo2 as well (e.g. the little Flayers with their blowpipes. A single one didn't even scratch you but a crowd of them was very deadly!), but if I think of both games I can easily name more monster types from Diablo1 than from Diablo2.

Those are some monsters I loved in Diablo1:

- Acid Beast (Catacombs, Caves and Hell...a single of them was a piece of cake, but sometimes in the catacombs level 6 or so there's a blue unique of them with his fellows...he's SO DEADLY)

- Magma Demon (Caves)

- Horned Demon (Caves...totally deadly if you are a low level and get surrounded by some of them)

- The big demons that threw Lightning (Caves and Hell)

- Bloodstar witches (Hell)

- Those Drake Snakes (Hell).

- Blackknights (Hell, the best monster in the game with the best decapitation animation ever)