The primary reasons this game, despite all the flaws, magically works are twofold:
1. The absurd brokenness works in its favour.
Ale makes any food production obsolete (you can run the entire game with a self-sustaining ale system without having to ever produce a singe piece of food for your population), bread far exceeds any other food production, catapults destroy castles in seconds, shields are insane, etc. - all of this actually works in its favour. Because it's so broken, it FORCES you to engage with its mechanics on a deeper level if you wish to get any enjoyment out of it. You have to utilize everything and anything if you're actually trying to have fun with the game and refuse to abuse the broken stuff. Due to that, it holds up with games that are FAR more complex.
2. The childlike wonder.
The game SHINES with personality. Each lord is extremely memorable and unique in their own way. Every villager has a name and something to say about you. All the units have different, entertaining dialogue. All the while, the game never tells you everything. For example, Emir mentions his mother only once in his dialogue, leading you to fill in the blanks yourself, imaging how his life with his mother might have been. It thrives in this sense of a bigger world that you can never fully know - it's perfect for a childlike sense of wonder that lets you be really curious about the world around you and imagine how things might work at large. This is why Wolf is one of the most memorable characters in ANY game I have played, despite the fact that he has only a bit of dialogue in both the original and Crusader. It leaves you to fill in the blanks, letting you find a far more interesting character than it initially seems within your mind.
So, yeah. Play this game if you haven't abandoned your childlike wonder. It's such a beautifully crafted thing if you're just ready to engage with it.
1. The absurd brokenness works in its favour.
Ale makes any food production obsolete (you can run the entire game with a self-sustaining ale system without having to ever produce a singe piece of food for your population), bread far exceeds any other food production, catapults destroy castles in seconds, shields are insane, etc. - all of this actually works in its favour. Because it's so broken, it FORCES you to engage with its mechanics on a deeper level if you wish to get any enjoyment out of it. You have to utilize everything and anything if you're actually trying to have fun with the game and refuse to abuse the broken stuff. Due to that, it holds up with games that are FAR more complex.
2. The childlike wonder.
The game SHINES with personality. Each lord is extremely memorable and unique in their own way. Every villager has a name and something to say about you. All the units have different, entertaining dialogue. All the while, the game never tells you everything. For example, Emir mentions his mother only once in his dialogue, leading you to fill in the blanks yourself, imaging how his life with his mother might have been. It thrives in this sense of a bigger world that you can never fully know - it's perfect for a childlike sense of wonder that lets you be really curious about the world around you and imagine how things might work at large. This is why Wolf is one of the most memorable characters in ANY game I have played, despite the fact that he has only a bit of dialogue in both the original and Crusader. It leaves you to fill in the blanks, letting you find a far more interesting character than it initially seems within your mind.
So, yeah. Play this game if you haven't abandoned your childlike wonder. It's such a beautifully crafted thing if you're just ready to engage with it.