Warcraft II: The Dark Saga

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Warcraft II: The Dark Saga
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Electronic Arts (US/EU), Electronic Arts Victor (JP)
Developer: Climax
Licensor: Blizzard Entertainment
Original system(s): IBM PC
Developer(s) of original games: Blizzard Entertainment
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (1Track)
Peripherals supported: Saturn Backup Memory
Genre: Simulation
Number of players: 1
Official in-game languages: English Deutsch Français Español Italiano 日本語
Release Date RRP Code JP 1997-11-27 ¥5,8005,800 T-10623G US 1997-08-20 $49.9549.95 T-5023H EU 1997-07 T-5023H-50 EAX02501273I DE 1997-07 T-5023H-50 EAX02501273I PT 199x UK 1997-07 £44.9944.99 T-5023H-50 EAX02501273I GR 199x PL 1997 BR 199x 191366
Non-Sega versions PlayStation

Warcraft II: The Dark Saga (ウォークラフトIIダークサーガ) is a Sega Saturn real-time strategy game developed by Climax. A combined port of the 1995 Blizzard Entertainment game Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and its expansion pack Beyond the Dark Portal, it was first published in the United States and Europe by Electronic Arts in August 1997, and was later localized and published in Japan by Electronic Arts Victor the following November.

The game is the only title in Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft series released for home game consoles.

Story

Tides of Darkness

The bloodthirsty orcs originated on the world of Draenor, where they slaughtered the other races of their planet. The orcish warlock Gul'dan and the human mage Medivh, both corrupted by the demon lord Sargeras, open a portal between Draenor and the human realm of Azeroth. Gul'dan manipulates the Orcish Warchief, Blackhand the Destroyer, into conquering Azeroth. Blackhand is ultimately killed by his trusted general Ogrim Doomhammer, who replaces him as Warchief and expands the Horde with the ogres of Draenor and the trolls and goblins of Azeroth.

Lord Anduin Lothar, acting as regent after the death of King Llane by an Orcish assassin, concedes that the Kingdom of Azeroth is lost and rallies his countrymen across Great Sea to the shores of Lordaeron. He hopes to forge an Alliance between the human kingdoms as well as with the elves, the dwarves, and gnomes.

Beyond the Dark Portal

The humans have driven back the orcish invaders and destroyed the Dark Portal, but the rift between the two worlds remains. The humans seek to close the rift between the two worlds forever, but the mage Khadgar needs the Book of Medivh and the Skull of Gul'dan to accomplish it. The orcs, now under the leadership of the shaman Ner'zhul, who has gathered the remaining clans on Draenor, have staged a new invasion of Azeroth. Ner'zhul wants the same artifacts to create new rifts to new worlds.

Gameplay

Gameplay

The game is a real-time strategy game with two playable factions. The Human Alliance represents the human inhabitants of Lordaeron and allied races, and the Orcish Horde represents the invading orcs and their allied races. Each side tries to destroy the other by collecting resources and creating an army. The game is played in a medieval fantasy setting, where both sides have melee, ranged, naval, and aerial units, and spellcasters. Both factions have similar units and buildings but with different names and graphics and few other differences, but the more advanced combat units have different spells.

The game contains separate human and orc campaigns for both Tides of Darkness and the expansion pack Beyond the Dark Portal, totaling 52 missions. Campaign missions mostly involve collecting resources, building units, and destroying all enemy forces, though some missions have other objectives such as rescuing units or escorting important units through enemy territory. Some campaign missions feature hero units, which are more powerful than normal units of the same type, have unique pictures and names, and must not die, as that causes the failure of the mission. The player can also play stand-alone scenarios on a number of included maps.

Players must gather resources in order to produce an army with which to defeat their opponents. Buildings produce units, research upgrades, or provide technology to enable the production of more advanced buildings and units. All units, buildings, and upgrades require gold, which is collected from gold mines. More advanced technology requires lumber, which is harvested from chopping down trees. Naval units require oil, which is gathered from oil patches found in the sea. Players must also build farms to provide food, which is necessary to build new units. The screen shows an overhead depiction of the game world with a cursor for making selections and issuing commands. The player can select a unit or building with or cancel a selection with . The player can select multiple units by holding and dragging a box over the units (if the player does not already have units selected); a unit can be added to an existing selection by holding while selecting it with . Players can select up to sixteen units but only one building at a time. The player can view statistics on the currently selected unit with , including the amount of damage done and the number of hit points remaining. If multiple units are selected, it shows a portrait for each unit with a bar indicating its remaining hit points instead of detailed information.

Selected units can be issued a default command with . If the cursor is over terrain, it orders the unit to move to that location; if it is over an enemy unit, it orders the unit to attack that unit. Workers can additionally be ordered to mine from gold mines or trees. Alternatively, the player can invoke a menu showing all of the unit's possible commands with . These commands include building or repairing for workers, casting spells for spellcasters, or producing units or researching upgrades for buildings. Buildings have an Auto-Build option that automatically trains a specified number of units when resources become available; this can be set to infinitely build a unit as resources are provided. Buildings also have an Auto-Upgrade option that automatically researches all of their upgrades as resources become available.

The player can invoke a minimap with + that shows a miniaturized map of the entire battlefield (as well as showing the player's current resources). The player can use the D-Pad to pan around the map while it is visible. The "fog of war" hides unexplored territory; terrain that has been explored is always visible in gray tones, but enemy units are only visible if they are within the visual radius of a friendly unit and buildings remain displayed as the player last saw them. The player can save up to three map locations by holding and pressing , , or and recall the location by holding and pressing , , or , allowing the player to move quickly between important parts of the map.

The player can save the game at any point (by pausing the game with  START ) to be continued later. The campaigns also use a password system so that they can be continued without using a conventional save.

Structures

Orc

	Great Hall
	Hit points: 1,200 Cost: 1,200 gold, 800 lumber Provides: 1 food
	The Great Hall is the center of the orc town. It produces Peons and serves as a drop-off point for gold and lumber. It can be upgraded to the Stronghold and then the Fortress. Each upgrade unlocks additional buildings and upgrades, as well as increasing the amount of gold returned with each trip (which is 100 gold with only a Great Hall). Every Great Hall provides 1 food so that it can produce a Peon even if the player has no other units and structures. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Train Peon 400 gold, 1 food 45 — Upgrade to Stronghold 2,000 gold, 1,000 lumber, 200 oil 200 Barracks Auto-Upgrade — — — Auto-Build — — —
	Stronghold
	Hit points: 1,400 Cost: 2,000 gold, 1,000 lumber, 200 oil Provides: 1 food Requires: Barracks
	A Stronghold is upgraded from a Great Hall. It produces Peons and serves as a drop-off point for gold and lumber. When the player has a Stronghold, Peons can build the Ogre Mound and Goblin Alchemist and return 110 gold with each trip. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Train Peon 400 gold, 1 food 45 — Upgrade to Fortress 2,500 gold, 1,200 lumber, 500 oil 200 Barracks, Troll Lumber Mill, Blacksmith, Ogre Mound Auto-Upgrade — — — Auto-Build — — —
	Fortress
	Hit points: 1,600 Cost: 2,500 gold, 1,200 lumber, 500 oil Provides: 1 food Requires: Barracks, Troll Lumber Mill, Blacksmith, Ogre Mound
	A Fortress is upgraded from a Stronghold. It produces Peons and serves as a drop-off point for gold and lumber. When the player has a Fortress, Peons can build the Altar of Storms, Temple of the Damned, and Dragon Roost and return 120 gold with each trip. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Train Peon 400 gold, 1 food 45 — Auto-Upgrade — — — Auto-Build — — —
	Pig Farm
	Hit points: 400 Cost: 500 gold, 250 lumber Provides: 4 food
	Pig Farms provide 4 food each, which is necessary for producing new units.
	Barracks
	Hit points: 800 Cost: 700 gold, 400 lumber
	Basic combat units are produced from the Barracks. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Train Grunt 600 gold, 1 food 60 — Train Axethrower or Berserker 500 gold, 50 lumber, 1 food 70 Troll Lumber Mill Train Catapult 900 gold, 300 lumber, 1 food 250 Troll Lumber Mill, Blacksmith Train Two-Headed Ogre or Ogre-Mage 800 gold, 100 lumber, 1 food 90 Blacksmith, Ogre Mound Auto-Build — — —
	Troll Lumber Mill
	Hit points: 600 Cost: 600 gold, 450 lumber
	Lumber Mills act as drop-off points for Peons returning lumber. When the player has a Lumber Mill, Peons return 125 lumber with every trip (up from 100 lumber). They allow the player to produce Troll Axethrowers from the Barracks and to upgrade Watch Towers to Guard Towers. They contain upgrades for throwing axes (used by Troll Axethrowers and Berserkers) and can upgrade Troll Axethrowers to Berserkers. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Upgrade Throwing Axes (Damage +1) 300 gold, 300 lumber 200 — Upgrade Throwing Axes (Damage +1) 900 gold, 500 lumber 250 Previous upgrade Troll Berserker Training 1,500 gold 250 Stronghold Berserker Scouting (Sight: 9) 1,500 gold 250 Troll Berserker Training Research Lighter Axes (Range +1) 2,000 gold 250 Troll Berserker Training Berserker Regeneration 3,000 gold 250 Troll Berserker Training Auto-Upgrade — — —
	Blacksmith
	Hit points: 775 Cost: 800 gold, 450 lumber, 100 oil
	Blacksmiths contain weapon and armor upgrades for ground units. The first set of weapons upgrades affect Grunts, Ogres, Ogre-Magi, and Sappers; there is a second set of upgrades for Catapults. The armor upgrades affect Grunts, Ogres, and Ogre-Magi. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Upgrade Weapons (Damage +2) 500 gold, 100 lumber 200 — Upgrade Weapons (Damage +2) 1,500 gold, 300 lumber 250 Previous upgrade Upgrade Shields (Armor +2) 300 gold, 300 lumber 200 — Upgrade Shields (Armor +2) 900 gold, 500 lumber 250 Previous upgrade Upgrade Catapults (Damage +15) 1,500 gold 200 — Upgrade Catapults (Damage +15) 4,000 gold 250 Previous upgrade Auto-Upgrade — — —
	Watch Tower
	Hit points: 100 Cost: 550 gold, 150 lumber
	Watch Towers provide vision of an area. They can see enemy Giant Turtles/Gnomish Submarines, which are normally invisible. They can be upgraded to Guard Towers or Cannon Towers. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Upgrade to Guard Tower 500 gold, 150 lumber 200 Troll Lumber Mill Upgrade to Cannon Tower 1,000 gold, 300 lumber 250 Blacksmith
	Guard Tower
	Hit points: 130 Cost: 550 gold, 150 lumber Requires: Troll Lumber Mill
	Guard Towers are upgraded from Watch Towers. They can shoot arrows at ground, air, and sea targets.
	Cannon Tower
	Hit points: 160 Cost: 1,000 gold, 300 lumber Requires: Blacksmith
	Cannon Towers are upgraded from Watch Towers. They can fire cannons at ground and sea targets. Cannons do a small amount of area damage.
	Goblin Alchemist
	Hit points: 500 Cost: 1,000 gold, 400 lumber Requires: Stronghold
	The Goblin Alchemist produces two specialty units, the Zeppelin, which is used for scouting, and Sappers, which can blow up units and terrain. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Build Goblin Zeppelin 500 gold, 100 lumber, 1 food 65 — Train Goblin Sappers 700 gold, 250 lumber, 1 food 200 — Auto-Build — — —
	Ogre Mound
	Hit points: 500 Cost: 1,000 gold, 300 lumber Requires: Stronghold
	The Ogre Mound enables Ogres to be produced from the Barracks.
	Altar of Storms
	Hit points: 700 Cost: 900 gold, 500 lumber Requires: Fortress
	The Altar of Storms allows Ogres to be upgraded to Ogre-Magi and researches two additional spells for them. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Upgrade Ogres to Mages 1,000 gold 250 — Research Bloodlust 1,000 gold 100 Upgrade Ogres to Mages Research Runes 1,000 gold 150 Upgrade Ogres to Mages Auto-Upgrade — — —
	Temple of the Damned
	Hit points: 500 Cost: 1,000 gold, 200 lumber Requires: Fortress
	The Temple of the Damned trains Death Knights and researches additional spells for them. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Train Death Knight 1,200 gold, 1 food 120 — Research Haste 500 gold 100 — Research Raise Dead 1,500 gold 100 — Research Whirlwind 1,500 gold 150 — Research Unholy Armor 2,500 gold 200 — Research Death and Decay 2,000 gold 200 — Auto-Upgrade — — — Auto-Build — — —
	Dragon Roost
	Hit points: 500 Cost: 1,000 gold, 400 lumber Requires: Fortress
	Dragons can be produced from the Dragon Roost. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Build Dragon 2,500 gold, 1 food 250 — Auto-Build — — —
	Shipyard
	Hit points: 1,100 Cost: 800 gold, 450 lumber Requires: Troll Lumber Mill
	Naval units are produced from the Shipyard and act as a drop-off point for Oil Tankers returning oil. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Build Oil Tanker 400 gold, 200 lumber, 1 food 60 — Build Destroyer 700 gold, 350 lumber, 700 oil, 1 food 70 — Build Transport 600 gold, 200 lumber, 500 oil, 1 food 250 Foundry Build Juggernaught 1,000 gold, 500 lumber, 1,000 oil, 1 food 90 Foundry Build Giant Turtle 800 gold, 150 lumber, 900 oil, 1 food 90 Goblin Alchemist Auto-Build — — —
	Foundry
	Hit points: 700 Cost: 700 gold, 400 lumber, 400 oil Requires: Shipyard
	The Foundry contains weapon and armor upgrades for ships. The cannon upgrades affect Destroyers and Juggernaughts. The armor upgrades affect Destroyers, Transports, and Juggernaughts. Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Commands Upgrade Cannons (Damage +5) 700 gold, 100 lumber, 1,000 oil 200 — Upgrade Cannons (Damage +5) 2,000 gold, 250 lumber, 3,000 oil 250 Previous upgrade Upgrade Ship Armor (Armor +5) 500 gold, 500 lumber 200 — Upgrade Ship Armor (Armor +5) 1,500 gold, 900 lumber 250 Previous upgrade Auto-Upgrade — — —
	Oil Refinery
	Hit points: 600 Cost: 800 gold, 350 lumber, 200 oil Requires: Shipyard
	Refineries act as drop-off points for Oil Tankers returning oil. When the player has an Oil Refinery, Tankers return 125 oil with every trip (up from 100 oil).
	Oil Platform
	Hit points: 650 Cost: 700 gold, 450 lumber
	Oil Platforms are built by Oil Tankers to extract oil from oil patches, similar to how Peons extra gold from gold mines.

Units

Orc

	Peon
	Hit points: 30 Damage: 1-5 Cost: 400 gold, 1 food Produced from: Great Hall, Stronghold, Fortress
	Peons are the worker unit of the Horde. They can chop lumber from trees and mine gold from gold mines. They can create basic structures, which have no prerequisites, and advanced structures, which require other structures to be built first. They can also repair damaged buildings. While they can defend themselves if necessary, they are weak and vulnerable to enemy combat units and should be protected. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Repair Repairs a structure. Transports can also be repaired if on a shore. Harvest Lumber/Mine Gold Harvests lumber from a forest or gold from a gold mine. Return with Goods Returns lumber or gold if the worker is carrying a load. Build Basic Structure Builds a basic structure. Build Advanced Structure Builds an advanced structure. Command Cost Time (seconds) Build Basic Structure Build Farm 500 gold, 250 lumber 100 Build Barracks 700 gold, 450 lumber 200 Build a Great Hall 1,200 gold 255 Build Lumber Mill 600 gold, 450 lumber 150 Build Blacksmith 800 gold, 450 lumber 200 Build Tower 550 gold, 200 lumber 60 Command Cost Time (seconds) Requirement Build Advanced Structure Build Shipyard 800 gold, 450 lumber 200 Troll Lumber Mill Build Foundry 700 gold, 400 lumber, 400 oil 175 Shipyard Build Oil Refinery 800 gold, 350 lumber, 200 oil 225 Shipyard Build Goblin Alchemist 1,000 gold, 400 lumber 150 Stronghold Build Ogre Mound 1,000 gold, 300 lumber 150 Stronghold Build Altar of Storms 900 gold, 500 lumber 175 Fortress Build Temple of the Damned 1,000 gold, 200 lumber 125 Fortress Make Dragon Roost 1,000 gold, 400 lumber 150 Fortress
	Grunt
	Hit points: 60 Damage: 2-9 Cost: 600 gold, 1 food Produced from: Barracks
	Grunts are the basic combat unit. They have melee weapons and can attack other ground units and structures. They can be produced early as they are inexpensive and require no lumber or special buildings to produce. However, they are eventually made obsolete by Ogres, which are hardier and stronger. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Patrol The unit patrols between its current location and the selected point, attacking enemies that come near. Stand Ground The unit holds position and does not move even if attacked.
	Troll Axethrower or Berserker
	Hit points: 40 Damage: 3-9 Cost: 500 gold, 50 lumber, 1 food Produced from: Barracks Requires: Troll Lumber Mill
	Axethrowers are the basic ranged combat unit. They are fairly weak and should be protected by a frontline of Grunts and Ogres. Unlike those units, they can attack air and sea units. Axethrowers can be upgraded to Berserkers, which have an additional trio of upgrades that give them increased sight range, increased range, and the ability to slowly regenerate lost hit points. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Patrol The unit patrols between its current location and the selected point, attacking enemies that come near. Stand Ground The unit holds position and does not move even if attacked.
	Ogre or Ogre-Mage
	Hit points: 90 Damage: 2-12 Cost: 800 gold, 100 lumber, 1 food Produced from: Barracks Requires: Ogre Mound
	Ogres are advanced ground units. They are melee units that are stronger defensively and offensively than Grunts. They also have increased sight range and movement speed. They can be upgraded to Ogre-Magi, which retain their combat prowess but gain the ability to learn powerful new spells. Ogre-Magi initially have the Eye of Kilrogg ability, but the other two can be researched at the Altar of Storms. Command Mana cost Description Commands Move/Follow — Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop — Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack — Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Patrol — The unit patrols between its current location and the selected point, attacking enemies that come near. Stand Ground — The unit holds position and does not move even if attacked. Eye of Kilrogg 70 Summons the Eye of Kilrogg, a fast flying unit that can be used to explore the map. The Eye expires after a time. Bloodlust 50 Imbues a friendly unit with Bloodlust, which greatly increases its damage output for a duration. Cannot be cast on Catapults or ships. Runes 200 Casts Runes on an area, which are temporary, invisible mines that deal 50 damage to any unit that touches them (including friendly units).
	Catapult
	Hit points: 110 Damage: 25-80 Cost: 900 gold, 300 lumber, 1 food Produced from: Barracks Requires: Troll Lumber Mill, Blacksmith
	Catapults are siege units with a powerful, long-ranged attack. They are especially effective against grouped together units because of their splash damage effect and against structures. They cannot target units adjacent to themselves or flying units. Their attack outranges enemy towers and Juggernaughts/Battleships. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Patrol The unit patrols between its current location and the selected point, attacking enemies that come near. Stand Ground The unit holds position and does not move even if attacked. Attack Ground The unit attacks a targeted area of terrain until ordered to stop, whether or not there is an enemy unit there.
	Goblin Zeppelin
	Hit points: 150 Cost: 500 gold, 100 lumber, 1 food Produced from: Goblin Alchemist
	Zeppelins are fast, unarmed flying units used for scouting. They can see Giant Turtles/Submarines. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit. Stop Stops the current action.
	Goblin Sappers
	Hit points: 40 Damage: 1-6 Cost: 750 gold, 250 lumber, 1 food Produced from: Goblin Alchemist
	Sappers are suicide units that can detonate themselves to deal high damage in an area (which is their default action when ordered onto a unit or structure). This demolition is strong against enemy structures and clustered units and can also destroy trees and rocks. Sappers move quickly but have light defense. They have a standard melee attack, though it is very weak. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Demolish Explodes in an area, killing the unit but dealing large area damage. Can be targeted on a unit, structure, or terrain.
	Death Knight
	Hit points: 60 Damage: 5-9 Cost: 1,200 gold, 1 food Produced from: Temple of the Damned
	Death Knights are powerful spellcasters. They can initially cast the Touch of Darkness and Death Coil spells, but more spells can be researched at the Temple of the Damned. They have a weak standard attack (but can attack air units) and run if attacked. As undead units, they are vulnerable to the Paladin's Exorcism spell. Command Mana cost Description Commands Move/Follow — Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit. Stop — Stops the current action. Touch of Darkness — The Death Knight's basic attack, which costs no mana. Death Knights do not attack most units unless ordered, with the exception of Zeppelins/Flying Machines. Death Coil 100 Fires a blast of unholy energy that does 50 damage to biological enemy units in an area, healing the Death Knight for the amount of damage done. Haste 50 Increases the movement speed of the targeted unit. Also increases the attack speed if the targeted unit is a Dragon. Some already fast units are unaffected. Hastened Peons can harvest faster. Raise Dead 50 Summons up to 5 Skeletons from corpses on the ground to serve the Death Knight. Skeletons are basic melee units that last for a limited amount of time. Whirlwind 100 Summons a tornado that wanders the area, damaging units and structures that touch it. The movement of the whirlwind is random and cannot be controlled. Unholy Armor 100 Makes a targeted unit invulnerable for a duration, at the cost of half of the unit's hit points. Instantly destroys Sappers/Demolition Squads rather than making them invulnerable. Death and Decay 25 Corrupts a large area (the size of a Great Hall), doing a large amount of damage to enemies caught within it. The Death Knight casts this spell repeatedly until out of mana or given a different order. The caster is immune to its effects.
	Dragon
	Hit points: 100 Damage: 8-16 Cost: 2,500 gold, 1 food Produced from: Dragon Roost
	Dragons are powerful aerial combat units. They can move quickly over any terrain. They breathe fire, an attack that can hit multiple units in a line. They can target land, air, and sea units. However, they are expensive and slow to train, and their attacks have a long cooldown and do friendly fire. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Patrol The unit patrols between its current location and the selected point, attacking enemies that come near. Stand Ground The unit holds position and does not move even if attacked.
	Oil Tanker
	Hit points: 90 Cost: 400 gold, 1 food Produced from: Shipyard
	Tankers are the naval worker unit. They can build Oil Platforms on top of oil patches and then harvest oil from them. Command Cost Time (seconds) Description Commands Move/Follow — — Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit. Stop — — Stops the current action. Build Oil Platform 700 gold, 450 lumber 200 Builds an Oil Platform on an oil patch, which the Tanker can then harvest for oil. Haul Oil — — Targets an Oil Platform to collect oil from it. Return with Goods — — Returns oil if the Tanker is hauling a load.
	Troll Destroyer
	Hit points: 100 Damage: 2-35 Cost: 700 gold, 350 lumber, 700 oil, 1 food Produced from: Shipyard
	Destroyers are light warships. They can attack land, air, and sea. While outclassed in naval combat by Juggernaughts, they are versatile and swift. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Patrol The unit patrols between its current location and the selected point, attacking enemies that come near. Stand Ground The unit holds position and does not move even if attacked.
	Transport
	Hit points: 150 Cost: 600 gold, 200 lumber, 500 oil, 1 food Produced from: Shipyard Requires: Foundry
	Transports are unarmed ships used for ferrying ground units across the sea. Units can be loaded by ordering them to move onto the the Transport while it is ashore. A single Transport can only carry a limited number of units at a time. Transports can be repaired by workers or attacked by melee units while on the shore. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit. Stop Stops the current action. Unload Transport Unloads all units onto the nearby shoreline.
	Ogre Juggernaught
	Hit points: 150 Damage: 50-130 Cost: 1,000 gold, 500 lumber, 1,000 oil, 1 food Produced from: Shipyard Requires: Foundry
	Juggernaughts are heavy warships. While they do massive damage, they move and fire slowly. They are devastating against enemy ships and also good at bombarding enemy units and structures that are near the shore. Their attack does splash damage but cannot attack air units. Like Catapults, they have the ability to Attack Ground, which can be used to target Giant Turtles/Submarines without being able to see them. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Patrol The unit patrols between its current location and the selected point, attacking enemies that come near. Stand Ground The unit holds position and does not move even if attacked. Attack Ground The unit attacks a targeted area of terrain until ordered to stop, whether or not there is an enemy unit there.
	Giant Turtle
	Hit points: 60 Damage: 10-50 Cost: 800 gold, 150 lumber, 800 oil, 1 food Produced from: Shipyard Requires: Goblin Alchemist
	Giant Turtles are special naval units that move beneath the waves, making them invisible to the enemy. Since they can only be seen by towers, flying units, and other Giant Turtles/Submarines, they are good for ambushing enemy naval units. They can also attack coastal buildings (such as Shipyards) but not land units or buildings. Command Description Commands Move/Follow Moves to a location or follows a targeted unit, ignoring enemies if encountered. Stop Stops the current action. The unit still engages nearby enemies. Attack Attacks a targeted unit or structure. If targeted on the ground, moves to the location while engaging enemies when encountered. Patrol The unit patrols between its current location and the selected point, attacking enemies that come near. Stand Ground The unit holds position and does not move even if attacked.

Versions

The console versions of the game contain a number of changes to make it easier to play with a control pad (rather than a keyboard and mouse, as the original PC version is played). The game does not support the Shuttle Mouse. It adds Auto-Build, which produces units automatically as resources become available, and Auto-Upgrade, which researches all the upgrades in a building as resources are provided, to buildings. It also allows up to sixteen units to be selected at once, up from nine in the original. The game adds a password system for campaign missions.

The PC version runs at VGA resolution (640x480); since the Saturn version runs at 352x240, most of the user interface is concealed unless explicitly invoked by the player.

Most of the cinematic sequences from the PC version of the game are absent, but the Saturn and PlayStation versions of the game have brief new cinematic sequences that are unavailable in any other version (including a unique introduction). Some minor art, such as splash screens for campaign missions, are also unique to the console versions.

Production credits

• Original WarCraft II Game Design: Blizzard Entertainment
• Beyond the Dark Portal Development: CyberLore Studios

Electronic Arts

• Executive Producer: Steve Rechtschaffner
• Associate Producer: Dennis Hirsch
• Assistant Producer: Kevin Loh
• Senior Development Director: Pauline Moller
• Production Assistants: Wendell Harlow. Adrienne Travica
• Technical Director: Yggy King
• Product Manager: Peter Rovea
• UK Marketing Manager: Sean Ratcliffe
• Public Relations Manager: Keith Dundas

Climax Development Team

• President: Karl Jeffery
• Executive Producer: Tim May
• Vice President: Chris Bergstresser
• Lead Programmer: Dave Looker
• Programmers: Damian Stones, Tom Pinnock, Darren White, Dave Thorburn, Tony Mack
• Art Director: Thor Hayton
• Artists: Mike Baxter, Andy Oakley, Alan Weaver, Mike Oakley, Lewis Cooper
• Audio Lead: Matt Simmonds

Electronic Arts QA

• QA Project Coordinator: Rod Higo
• Lead Testers: Tim Lewinson, Geoffrey Ball
• Assistant Leads: Edwin Singh, Lori Wilson
• Testers: Aaron Watmough, Ryan Yewell, Octavio Izaurralde, Ryan Savella, Colin Currie, Ian Ritchie, Greg Chan-Eather, Randy Deluna, Fausto Mazzuto, Joel Frigon, Avinash Narayan, Koji Sato, RJ Thompson, Patrick Donaghy, Justin Wiebe
• Mastering: Peter Petkov, Cary Chao, Jeff Hutchinson
• QA Database Support Guru: Bob Purewal
• Documentation: Jason Armatta
• Documentation Layout: Corinne Mah
• Package Design: Mary Mitchell
• Package Illustration: Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
• Package Art Direction: Jennie Maruyama
• Quality Assurance: Matthew "The Tick" Murphy, Big John Hanley, Gregg Pollack
• Thanks to the gang at Blizzard: Shane Dabiri, Mike Morhaime, Joeray Hall, Pattrick Wyatt, Bill Roper, Duane Stinnett, Paul Sams
• Special Thanks: Don Mattrick, Paulette Doudelle, Steve Fitton, Julio Valladares, James Fairweather, Patrick Ratto, Sue Garfield, Louis Mutter (Davidson), Chris Yashimora (Davidson), Susan Wooley (Davidson), Kirby Leung

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Warcraft II: The Dark Saga/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Consoles + (FR) #67: "Juillet 1997" (1997-0x-xx)

Print advert in Sega Magazin (DE) #45: "August 1997" (1997-07-09)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GamesMaster (UK) 81 №59, p34/35

	81
Based on 1 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Consoles News (FR) PAL 88 Computer & Video Games (UK) 75 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 85 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 68 Fun Generation (DE) NTSC 100 Game Power (IT) 81 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 68 Hobby Consolas (ES) 91 Level (TR) 75 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 85 Mega Force (FR) PAL 95 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 92 neXt Level (DE) PAL 85 Playmag (FR) PAL 85 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 78 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 75 Saturn Power (UK) PAL 88 Sega Magazin (DE) PAL 94 Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL 91 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 70 Super Juegos (ES) 89 Video Games (DE) PAL 89

	84
Based on 22 reviews

Warcraft II: The Dark Saga

Saturn, JP
Cover
Disc

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, PT
Cover
Disc

Saturn, GR

Saturn, BR
Cover
Manual

Technical information

Main article: Warcraft II: The Dark Saga/Technical information.

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	634,364,976		CD-ROM (EU)	T-5023H-50 V1.000
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	505,715,280	1997-09-27	CD-ROM (JP)	T-10623G V1.000
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	634,367,328		CD-ROM (US)	T-5023H V1.000