Shadowgate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shadowgate | |
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| Developer(s) | ICOM Simulations, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | MindScape (Computer) Kemco (NES) |
| Engine | MacVenture |
| Release date(s) | 1987 (Mac & Amiga) 1988 (PC) 1989 (NES) 1999 (GBC) 2002 (PocketPC) |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Apple IIGS Commodore Amiga CD-I Nintendo Game Boy Color Apple Macintosh NES Palm OS DOS PocketPC (ARM/MIPS) Mobile Phone |
| Media | Two 3,5" floppy disks (Mac) 2-megabit cartridge (NES) |
| Input | Mouse/Keyboard (Computer) Control pad (Consoles) |
Shadowgate is a 1987 video game originally for the Mac and the most popular in the MacVenture series. It was also released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, where it garnered mild success. The game is named for its setting, Castle Shadowgate, residence of the evil Warlock Lord. The player, as the "last of a great line of hero-kings" (and identified in later games as Lord Jair) is charged with the task of saving the world by defeating the Warlock Lord, who is attempting to summon up the demon Behemoth out of Hell.
[edit] Gameplay
The player must solve a series of puzzles throughout the castle in order to proceed to the Warlock Lord's chamber. Due to the castle's perilous nature, at least one lit torch must be in the player's possession at all times; if the torch is extinguished, the player soon stumbles, breaking his neck and must continue from a saved game (the area in which they died on game consoles).
The game is notorious for its many opportunities of death, including being burned by a dragon's breath, attacked by a cyclops, sucked into outer space through a broken mirror, dissolved by acidous slime and mauled by a wolf-woman, not to mention suicide. Many of the game's puzzles rely on a system of trial and error, the problem of which is overcome by the ability to save the game state (as in most adventure games). Subtle hints can be found in books and the descriptive game texts. In the NES version, these are replaced by an outright hint feature which gives vague clues about what is noteworthy in any given room in the castle. The further the player progresses, the more useless this feature becomes, however, deteriorating into nothing but encouraging messages by the game's end.
At the end of the game, the Warlock Lord succeeds in opening the gates of Hell and summoning up the Behemoth, but with a holy artifact called the Staff of Ages, the player is able to mortally wound the demon; as it dies, Behemoth drags the Warlock Lord with him into Hell. The player returns victorious to his kingdom, where he is betrothed to the king's daughter and entitled High Lord of the Westland.
[edit] Sequels
There have been several sequels to the original Shadowgate on other platforms, such as Beyond Shadowgate on TurboGrafx 16 and Shadowgate 64: Trials of the Four Towers on the Nintendo 64. Another N64 sequel, Shadowgate Rising, was planned and well into development, but the project was scrapped when Nintendo announced the creation of the game console which would go on to become the GameCube, and now only exists in the form of a handful of development screenshots and a comic on Infinite Ventures' website entitled Shadowgate Saga: Raven. A remake of the original ("Shadowgate Classic") was released for Windows and the handheld Pocket PC and Game Boy Color systems by Infinite Ventures.
The success of Shadowgate prompted ICOM Simulations to have Kemco/Seika port the other MacVenture titles to the Nintendo Entertainment System.
In the NES version of The Uninvited, a phonograph in the Game room (Rec room in original versions) plays a broken-record version of the main theme from Shadowgate.
[edit] External links
- Prologue "Before Shadowgate"
- Files and screenshots for the Mac version
- Infinite Ventures' Shadowgate site
- Shadowgate at MobyGames
| MacVenture series |
|---|
| Deja Vu: a Nightmare Comes True | Uninvited | Shadowgate | Deja Vu II: Lost in Las Vegas |
