The Bard's Tale Hints (PS2)

The Bard's Tale is an action-adventure video game developed by InXile Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 gaming console and for the Xbox in October 2004. Later a PC version of the game was developed and in July 2005 it reached gamers worldwide. The game was conceived and marketed as being the successor of the defining role-playing game A Bard's Tale, which was released in the 80s.

The game is very tongue in cheek in its approach to the RPG genre. The main character is an unnamed bard who does what he does not for glory, nobility or to make the world a better place but rather because of the promise of cleavage and of money. The entire story of the bard is recounted by an unseen narrator who is clearly biased against the Bard.

The plot is standard for the role-playing genre, with a bizarre cult promising reward to the bard in exchange for him freeing a princess. Another cult is against such an idea and attacks the bard. So battle and adventure ensue in the game. It's all weirder than the player might expect, with such encounters as loot dropping wolves, trainable fighting dogs, singing tribes of goblins and corpses that like music.

Even if the game is a parody at its core, it has similar mechanics to other role-playing games, with skills and spells that improve as the character gains experience and levels.

GAMEPLAY HINTS

Easy kills

After you kill the giant rat at the beginning of the game, you can go through Houton village and there you will find a puppy in the middle of the village. If you respond nicely the dog will follow you.

Easy money

Early in the game go and talk to the barrel maker inside one of the Brochs. This is the Broch close to the middle of the town, but at the west end; its door is facing north. The name of the place at the bottom of the screen when you walk in will read "Boyd's Barrels", at the west side of Houton. Accept this man's barrel breaking challenge and then go on a rampage and destroy more than 100 barrels, mostly in inns. After you do that the man will give you 500 gold.

When you are able to enter the Fairyhaunt Woods, talk to the hunter. He will tell you that the forest is full of grouses. Buy a bow, shoot one of the grouses, then talk to the hunter again. He will say that he owns some lands full of game. If you have a dog you can easily find grouses. This is a slow but steady way to earn money.

Here's the famous Beer Song from the PS2 version of the game: