The Bard's Tale is a 2004 action-adventure game for PlayStation 2, diverging from its classic RPG predecessors. Players control The Bard from an overhead perspective, utilizing magic and weapons to navigate a 3D environment. The game emphasizes skill progression through player achievements and features gameplay similar to the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series, using the same graphics engine.
Completely unlike the classic Bard's Tale games, this game is in a 3D environment with the player watching his only controllable character from an overhead vantage point, and it is better described as an action-adventure game than a traditional role-playing video game (i.e. there are no character classes or inventory management).
The player's character, The Bard, has magic and weaponry at his disposal to complete the task. The more the player accomplishes, the better his skills will become. The appearance and gameplay is much the same as the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series, which shares the same graphics engine.