ICON: Quest for the Ring

Beautiful maidens live in the river Rhine, protecting the gold that lies there. It is said that the owner of this gold will learn secrets of immense power. But in order to possess the gold, the person has to renounce love completely. Years have passed, and nobody dared make such a sacrifice. But finally, a dwarf named Alberich decided that power was worth more to him than love. He took control of the gold, and became a dark ruler of evil creatures. Will a hero ever rise, brave enough to stop the madness?..

Based on the popular Ring of the Nibelungen story (itself based on tales from the Norse mythology), ICON: Quest for the Ring is a "dungeon crawler" along the lines of Temple of Apshai, but with fully action-based combat, making it to one of the earliest action RPGs. The player navigates the hero through top-down environments heavily populated by hostile creatures. Standing near the enemy and pressing the attack button will make the protagonist swing the equipped melee weapon; ranged attacks require an additional directional key to execute. As the player progresses, defeating enemies on the way, the protagonist gains levels and becomes stronger. Various weapons and other items are scattered around the dungeons; the hero equips a weapon automatically when he finds it.