Played this as the unlock bonus in the 2019 remake. It's a neat reward but playing it directly after said remake can make it feel even more aged than it already did. Many of the points I made in that review stand here
As for the main differences, other than graphics:
-You can now only equip one weapon at a time. I thought this'd be a pain in the ass, but it's surprisingly quick and the enemies pause while you're in the menu so it never puts you at a disadvantage. Plus the remake actually had a small issue where switching between the two equipped weapons would lag a bit and not equip them straight away leaving you defenceless at times. On the plus side this version actually separates your items into stuff like weapons and key items etc instead of one long line of items like the remake.
-Controls are much more slippery. In most cases this isn't actually a problem as the levels seem designed in a way to not need much precision, but in the two lake levels it was a huge pain in the ass.
-The camera is god awful now.
And honestly I think that's about it? There's a few other tiny things, like the books that give you lore or clues are always open here while in the remake they only open when they've been read, making it easier to keep track of what you've done. There's also no prompts for when you can use key items, which can be a pain for first time players but the clues give you enough direction to work it out (though admittedly I skipped all the optional text this time since I literally just beat the game and knew it by heart).
And unlike the remake the extremely shallow combat is excusable here, and unless I'm mistaken I actually think you take less damage to compensate for the lack of good defensive options, while the remake bumped the damage up while giving you no new tactics to use AND keeping the general "enemy touches you and you get hurt regardless of if they're in an attack animation" clunk in. Might just be imagining that though.
Obviously in 2020 there's no real reason to play this version over the remake outside of a novelty, but relative to the time they were released I think this one would have stood out more. Plus even having never played the original back in the day, I still got big PS1 nostalgia from this.
As for the main differences, other than graphics:
-You can now only equip one weapon at a time. I thought this'd be a pain in the ass, but it's surprisingly quick and the enemies pause while you're in the menu so it never puts you at a disadvantage. Plus the remake actually had a small issue where switching between the two equipped weapons would lag a bit and not equip them straight away leaving you defenceless at times. On the plus side this version actually separates your items into stuff like weapons and key items etc instead of one long line of items like the remake.
-Controls are much more slippery. In most cases this isn't actually a problem as the levels seem designed in a way to not need much precision, but in the two lake levels it was a huge pain in the ass.
-The camera is god awful now.
And honestly I think that's about it? There's a few other tiny things, like the books that give you lore or clues are always open here while in the remake they only open when they've been read, making it easier to keep track of what you've done. There's also no prompts for when you can use key items, which can be a pain for first time players but the clues give you enough direction to work it out (though admittedly I skipped all the optional text this time since I literally just beat the game and knew it by heart).
And unlike the remake the extremely shallow combat is excusable here, and unless I'm mistaken I actually think you take less damage to compensate for the lack of good defensive options, while the remake bumped the damage up while giving you no new tactics to use AND keeping the general "enemy touches you and you get hurt regardless of if they're in an attack animation" clunk in. Might just be imagining that though.
Obviously in 2020 there's no real reason to play this version over the remake outside of a novelty, but relative to the time they were released I think this one would have stood out more. Plus even having never played the original back in the day, I still got big PS1 nostalgia from this.
Absolutely outstanding. Loved this on my ps1, still love it today.
what a fun goofy game.
Medievil is still one of the best games on the Playstation: gorgeous visuals and sound, fun combat and great humor converge into a phenomenal package, even 20+ years after the fact.
Some aspects haven't aged as well as most of of the game, however: a couple of its 20 levels are just annoying to play through, featuring punishing platforming that's never fun, especially combined with the very 90s camera that fights you more often than not. Some of the bosses are also little more than wars of attrition, especially the final boss, which is designed solely to extend the length of the game by sending you back hunting for secrets in previous levels to boost your maximum health.
Fortunately doing so is a large part of the fun factor in Medievil: filling up and finding the chalices in every level, and discovering which new weapons and skills they unlock is very rewarding, even though later on in the game, when all of the weapons have been acquired, the yield is usually some redundant gold or even simple health refills, which is a bit of a letdown.
Despite these minor flaws it's still one of the must play games on the platform without a doubt.
Some aspects haven't aged as well as most of of the game, however: a couple of its 20 levels are just annoying to play through, featuring punishing platforming that's never fun, especially combined with the very 90s camera that fights you more often than not. Some of the bosses are also little more than wars of attrition, especially the final boss, which is designed solely to extend the length of the game by sending you back hunting for secrets in previous levels to boost your maximum health.
Fortunately doing so is a large part of the fun factor in Medievil: filling up and finding the chalices in every level, and discovering which new weapons and skills they unlock is very rewarding, even though later on in the game, when all of the weapons have been acquired, the yield is usually some redundant gold or even simple health refills, which is a bit of a letdown.
Despite these minor flaws it's still one of the must play games on the platform without a doubt.
A fantastic and generally underrated game, while it got fairly heavy praise at the time of release you can't help but feel the franchise got left behind a little for no good reason.
It deftly combines a fun story laden with melancholic humor and a cool burtonish atmosphere, the game dodges most of the common level tropes, and gives you a quest through a dark fantasy kingdom.
Great music, great replayability, great vibes.
It deftly combines a fun story laden with melancholic humor and a cool burtonish atmosphere, the game dodges most of the common level tropes, and gives you a quest through a dark fantasy kingdom.
Great music, great replayability, great vibes.
Best game of all time
Very burtonesque atmosphere (back when he was good), god tier music, amazing world / artstyle / level design
The combat is like a 0.000001% slight bit clunk but it has a hectic feeling to it and it matches the tone of the game
I spent many sleepless childhood nights playing this and then watching scooby doo reruns back when not sleeping all night was a big deal
Very burtonesque atmosphere (back when he was good), god tier music, amazing world / artstyle / level design
The combat is like a 0.000001% slight bit clunk but it has a hectic feeling to it and it matches the tone of the game
I spent many sleepless childhood nights playing this and then watching scooby doo reruns back when not sleeping all night was a big deal
Over the years this has always been one of those games that I'd play for a couple of hours before getting distracted and essentially dropping it, so I thought it was finally time to actually take the time to sit down and play through it, only to find that it's one of the best games I've experienced on the PlayStation. Medievil has such an unmistakeable sense of atmosphere to it that I can't really think of another game that manages to accomplish quite the same goal, with this gothic horror aesthetic being explored in tandem with this sense of dark humour that not only makes it all feel delightfully charming, but tends to give everything interacted with in the world an additional layer of context that makes it that much more fascinating to delve into. It feels like almost every decision that went into this game ties back around to building some aspect of the world, whether it's enemy design, obstacle layouts, or even the player's own mobility, and it makes for a deeply cohesive, singular experience that knows what it wants to be and accomplishes its goals masterfully.
The element of this game that stands out the most to me lies in the sheer variety and creativity of the level design and how it contributes to a rewarding sense of exploration. If you'd decide to rush through each stage only doing the absolute bare-minimum, you'll be able to clear almost all of these within about 5 minutes each, and yet the average experience ends up clocking in decently longer than that just due to how many little bits and pieces there are to experience within the majority of them. There tend to be a lot of little secret and optional things to do in each level, and while on their own each of these would still be very small, having a few of them being layered within each individual stage lends itself to things feeling as if you're always out looking for the next little reward for your time. This on its own would contribute to a good gameplay experience as is, but what truly separates the way the game handles its secrets is that at no point do these things feel particularly artificial, with each hidden area feeling as if it were properly thought out in both how it would contribute to the game's world itself and why it'd be hidden the way it was, a bit of design philosophy that is also translated into the objectives as well.
My favourite example of this is the sleeping village level and the way it predominantly revolves around a fetch quest where each element is perfectly understandable about why you're going to such lengths to get it. In a mad dash to find the hidden key to a safe that the mayor has hidden to stop the forces of evil from finding it first, you essentially run around a possessed village, not only finding all the components to get to the location of the key that the mayor hid but stealing from houses to fill in the additional gaps that were left with what he provided. It never feels especially contrived in how it’s presented to the player and adds a much richer sense of grounding to the world to further flesh out the wonderful dark fantasy it revels in.
Another interesting element in the level variety is the way it understands how to both come up with a ton of original scenarios not typically as prominently thought of in such a setting, while also knowing how to properly utilise the tropes it does have to keep things feeling familiar, yet with constant twists and turns. While there are some more standard things to see, such as a graveyard where the undead rise, a crystal cave with a slumbering dragon lurking within, and an overrun, ruined castle overtaken by the forces of evil, you also have some really neat ideas, like cornfields with possessed harvesting equipment, a dark, creepy ant tunnel, or even the inside of a castle sized steampunkish clock, with each stage bringing something unique to the table. While the core gameplay itself is definitely on the clunkier side, it’s this constant drip feed of new ideas and unique, atmospheric scenery that is the driving force of Medievil. No two levels play exactly the same and require you to use your limited core moveset in a surprisingly large number of ways to get through the various challenges thrown at you, aided even more by the vast array of weaponry that you accrue throughout your playtime.
While some might consider how weird and janky the movement is as a terrible thing, even this manages to tie in with the narrative on some level, seeing as you’re playing as a skeleton that’s been asleep for years who also hasn’t really ever been in a proper fight, it makes sense that you’d lack dexterity and would be swinging around a sword with all the grace of an elephant. This secondary element of the game not only being about taking down the dark lord, but also proving to all who surround you that you really are capable of great things works so well at bringing the perspectives between the player and Sir Dan closer together and only adds to the immersion.
The hall of heroes system adds a more tangible reward to all of this as well, being the primary way in which the player gains new weapons to use, making them not only have to find wherever a certain collectible is hidden in each stage, but kill enough enemies to activate its powers, rewarding those who choose to take their time without making it feel absolutely essential to do it with each stage, as you only need about 80% of them to unlock all the main upgrades, getting more minor stuff past that point. This ultimately matters very little for the feverish completionists who are collecting everything for the sake of it, but it means that for those who just want to get as strong as possible, they’re still able to skip fully exploring a few levels if any of them are not to their likings, helping things move along even smoother. Overall, Medievil is a janky, eerie masterpiece that crafts a near-constant feeling of wonder and spectacle with a healthy dose of comedy that never quite overpowers the oppressively bleak setting that you’re thrown into. There’s no shortage of pure creativity on display as you slowly uncover all the secrets of the evocative world of Gallowmere and I wish there were more games that managed to nail such a perfect atmosphere and cohesive sense of world design.
The element of this game that stands out the most to me lies in the sheer variety and creativity of the level design and how it contributes to a rewarding sense of exploration. If you'd decide to rush through each stage only doing the absolute bare-minimum, you'll be able to clear almost all of these within about 5 minutes each, and yet the average experience ends up clocking in decently longer than that just due to how many little bits and pieces there are to experience within the majority of them. There tend to be a lot of little secret and optional things to do in each level, and while on their own each of these would still be very small, having a few of them being layered within each individual stage lends itself to things feeling as if you're always out looking for the next little reward for your time. This on its own would contribute to a good gameplay experience as is, but what truly separates the way the game handles its secrets is that at no point do these things feel particularly artificial, with each hidden area feeling as if it were properly thought out in both how it would contribute to the game's world itself and why it'd be hidden the way it was, a bit of design philosophy that is also translated into the objectives as well.
My favourite example of this is the sleeping village level and the way it predominantly revolves around a fetch quest where each element is perfectly understandable about why you're going to such lengths to get it. In a mad dash to find the hidden key to a safe that the mayor has hidden to stop the forces of evil from finding it first, you essentially run around a possessed village, not only finding all the components to get to the location of the key that the mayor hid but stealing from houses to fill in the additional gaps that were left with what he provided. It never feels especially contrived in how it’s presented to the player and adds a much richer sense of grounding to the world to further flesh out the wonderful dark fantasy it revels in.
Another interesting element in the level variety is the way it understands how to both come up with a ton of original scenarios not typically as prominently thought of in such a setting, while also knowing how to properly utilise the tropes it does have to keep things feeling familiar, yet with constant twists and turns. While there are some more standard things to see, such as a graveyard where the undead rise, a crystal cave with a slumbering dragon lurking within, and an overrun, ruined castle overtaken by the forces of evil, you also have some really neat ideas, like cornfields with possessed harvesting equipment, a dark, creepy ant tunnel, or even the inside of a castle sized steampunkish clock, with each stage bringing something unique to the table. While the core gameplay itself is definitely on the clunkier side, it’s this constant drip feed of new ideas and unique, atmospheric scenery that is the driving force of Medievil. No two levels play exactly the same and require you to use your limited core moveset in a surprisingly large number of ways to get through the various challenges thrown at you, aided even more by the vast array of weaponry that you accrue throughout your playtime.
While some might consider how weird and janky the movement is as a terrible thing, even this manages to tie in with the narrative on some level, seeing as you’re playing as a skeleton that’s been asleep for years who also hasn’t really ever been in a proper fight, it makes sense that you’d lack dexterity and would be swinging around a sword with all the grace of an elephant. This secondary element of the game not only being about taking down the dark lord, but also proving to all who surround you that you really are capable of great things works so well at bringing the perspectives between the player and Sir Dan closer together and only adds to the immersion.
The hall of heroes system adds a more tangible reward to all of this as well, being the primary way in which the player gains new weapons to use, making them not only have to find wherever a certain collectible is hidden in each stage, but kill enough enemies to activate its powers, rewarding those who choose to take their time without making it feel absolutely essential to do it with each stage, as you only need about 80% of them to unlock all the main upgrades, getting more minor stuff past that point. This ultimately matters very little for the feverish completionists who are collecting everything for the sake of it, but it means that for those who just want to get as strong as possible, they’re still able to skip fully exploring a few levels if any of them are not to their likings, helping things move along even smoother. Overall, Medievil is a janky, eerie masterpiece that crafts a near-constant feeling of wonder and spectacle with a healthy dose of comedy that never quite overpowers the oppressively bleak setting that you’re thrown into. There’s no shortage of pure creativity on display as you slowly uncover all the secrets of the evocative world of Gallowmere and I wish there were more games that managed to nail such a perfect atmosphere and cohesive sense of world design.
One of the first games I ever played, I liked it going off of what I remember.
Very clunky and pretty dated but nonetheless enjoyable considering I didn't grow up playing with it. Dark and gritty gothic levels and enjoyably British dialogue.
Canım yadigar PS1'im. Oyunla ilgili net şeyler hatırlamıyorum. Sadece güzeldi, o kaldı aklımda.
My first contact with the PS1. A moody, janky, funny and awesome game. It became a tradition of mine to finish this game around Halloween.
I gotta thank my cousin for the introduction to the world of Gallowmere and its unique clumsy hero Sir Daniel Fortesque.
I gotta thank my cousin for the introduction to the world of Gallowmere and its unique clumsy hero Sir Daniel Fortesque.
A nice adventure game with a somewhat wacky and unpretentious gameplay, some cool puzzles and pleasant English humor on its side. The quality of the level design is unfortunately very up and down, going from levels full of various mechanics and puzzles to others that are very linear and boring, but overall it is an enjoyable game to play with a cute aesthetic style.
It has a great atmosphere and most of the time the game works well. The problem starts when the game starts to be a fan of bottomless pits that cause death, with the player needing to walk through narrow terrain in the meantime. It might not even be a problem if it weren't for the bad camera and clumsy controls.
Still, I really enjoyed the game.
Still, I really enjoyed the game.
No sense at all in acting performative and presentable about this, MediEvil stands as a crowning representation of everything I found to be appealing about video games in my youth, and is a welcome reminder of why I still spend most of my precious free time with this embarrassing hobby of mine. This goes beyond just strumming the chords of nostalgia in my old greasy heart though (this isn’t a title I grew up with), there’s simply a childlike-playfulness on display here that you don’t see much of these days. Yeah yeah I know, new game bad old game good, take a shot - this is just one of those things you just can’t really recapture in modern day man.
“But Luke!” you may be exclaiming, “This game is so outdated by today’s standards! It’s clunky and hard to go back to.” In an attempt to be charitable in response to this hypothetical (yet distressingly common) sentiment, I will say that you aren’t exactly wrong about your assessment of the game, but is that really much of a problem? I suppose most people are used to friction in games stemming from stat grinds and seemingly endless pool of meaningless dribble disguised as content to sift through, but I think there's room in the industry for games as bumbling and occasionally cumbersome as this. Say what you will about Dan “The Man” Fortesque; “clunky” this, “slippery” that, your foul words have no ill-effect on him. It’s no skin off his back, for he is literally a pile of bones.
In retrospect, It’s no wonder why my capacity for critical thought was shut off so long ago: I was smitten by this game from the very moment I laid an eye on it’s harrowing field of mindless zombies and a wall constructed from some of the most impressively poor draw distance I’ve seen on the system, but can you blame me? Many people hold up the PS1 as the system where razor sharp aesthetical visions come to life, as a canvas for gorgeous technical flexes of the highest possible calibur of the time, and as an excuse for a bunch of nerds to showcase intelligent teardowns of system OS and architecture to really make Sonic’s ass sing. But how often do you hear the praises of a game like MediEvil? I don’t want to diminish the value of the art itself, the land of Gallowmere is truly inspired and seeing the cartoonish depictions of common Medieval tropes and caricatures delights me, but there’s something to be said for how the crust layered over the vision really amplifies the whole thing. I mean this with complete sincerity, a game like this works so much better when presented with all the grace of corpses tumbling down a hill while draped in the cold moonlight.
That’s to say nothing of the actual structure of the game itself though , creatively nudging you towards cleaning out every polygon of the game’s 20 odd levels lest you miss an important item in the pumpkin patch that won’t be needed until you reach the dragon’s nest. I think it’s this scatterbrained approach to puzzle solving that really brings it all together for me, rarely being as obtuse as to necessitate a walkthrough, and only occasionally being as linear as to promote blind runs through levels. You never know exactly what's expected of you or when certain items will be needed, so I occasionally found myself stumbling over simple problems in pursuit of an answer less complex than was actually required of me. Generally speaking the game is never more complicated than “use this item on that thing” but it just makes the whole thing feel very adventurous, I adore how it feels like there’s an endless treasure trove of shit to find while being so small and compact so as to not feel overbearing.
I’m guessing that this is exactly the type of game that FELT insurmountable as a kid, sharing secrets with friends on the playground in an effort to learn all of it’s secrets and finally make it to the end, but as an adult it still holds up just as much in my mind as a quaint adventure with exceptionally low ambitions and a sharp knack for tickling all the pleasure centers in my brain. I dunno, I just love everything about this lol. I’m sure someone out there far smarter than me can piece together the little sprinkles of worldbuilding that make the world feel more alive, or write a captivating college thesis about how Zarok is an intensely compelling villain with his lofty goals of checks notes ruling Gallowmere(?) but I have no pretensions about this. I’m a simple man of simple needs. I like when the funny British skeleton with bad teeth tries to talk when he doesn’t have a jaw after a lifetime and beyond of spreading falsehoods about his name, only for him to be the one who has to put a stop to the mustache twirling villain and his dubious schemes. Truly the hero the United Kingdom needs, but not the one they deserve. Maybe in MediEvil 3 he can take down the late Queen of England once and for all, I’m sure not even Dan could resist an adventure as treacherous and deadly as that. My DM’s are open Sony if you wanna discuss this further
“But Luke!” you may be exclaiming, “This game is so outdated by today’s standards! It’s clunky and hard to go back to.” In an attempt to be charitable in response to this hypothetical (yet distressingly common) sentiment, I will say that you aren’t exactly wrong about your assessment of the game, but is that really much of a problem? I suppose most people are used to friction in games stemming from stat grinds and seemingly endless pool of meaningless dribble disguised as content to sift through, but I think there's room in the industry for games as bumbling and occasionally cumbersome as this. Say what you will about Dan “The Man” Fortesque; “clunky” this, “slippery” that, your foul words have no ill-effect on him. It’s no skin off his back, for he is literally a pile of bones.
In retrospect, It’s no wonder why my capacity for critical thought was shut off so long ago: I was smitten by this game from the very moment I laid an eye on it’s harrowing field of mindless zombies and a wall constructed from some of the most impressively poor draw distance I’ve seen on the system, but can you blame me? Many people hold up the PS1 as the system where razor sharp aesthetical visions come to life, as a canvas for gorgeous technical flexes of the highest possible calibur of the time, and as an excuse for a bunch of nerds to showcase intelligent teardowns of system OS and architecture to really make Sonic’s ass sing. But how often do you hear the praises of a game like MediEvil? I don’t want to diminish the value of the art itself, the land of Gallowmere is truly inspired and seeing the cartoonish depictions of common Medieval tropes and caricatures delights me, but there’s something to be said for how the crust layered over the vision really amplifies the whole thing. I mean this with complete sincerity, a game like this works so much better when presented with all the grace of corpses tumbling down a hill while draped in the cold moonlight.
That’s to say nothing of the actual structure of the game itself though , creatively nudging you towards cleaning out every polygon of the game’s 20 odd levels lest you miss an important item in the pumpkin patch that won’t be needed until you reach the dragon’s nest. I think it’s this scatterbrained approach to puzzle solving that really brings it all together for me, rarely being as obtuse as to necessitate a walkthrough, and only occasionally being as linear as to promote blind runs through levels. You never know exactly what's expected of you or when certain items will be needed, so I occasionally found myself stumbling over simple problems in pursuit of an answer less complex than was actually required of me. Generally speaking the game is never more complicated than “use this item on that thing” but it just makes the whole thing feel very adventurous, I adore how it feels like there’s an endless treasure trove of shit to find while being so small and compact so as to not feel overbearing.
I’m guessing that this is exactly the type of game that FELT insurmountable as a kid, sharing secrets with friends on the playground in an effort to learn all of it’s secrets and finally make it to the end, but as an adult it still holds up just as much in my mind as a quaint adventure with exceptionally low ambitions and a sharp knack for tickling all the pleasure centers in my brain. I dunno, I just love everything about this lol. I’m sure someone out there far smarter than me can piece together the little sprinkles of worldbuilding that make the world feel more alive, or write a captivating college thesis about how Zarok is an intensely compelling villain with his lofty goals of checks notes ruling Gallowmere(?) but I have no pretensions about this. I’m a simple man of simple needs. I like when the funny British skeleton with bad teeth tries to talk when he doesn’t have a jaw after a lifetime and beyond of spreading falsehoods about his name, only for him to be the one who has to put a stop to the mustache twirling villain and his dubious schemes. Truly the hero the United Kingdom needs, but not the one they deserve. Maybe in MediEvil 3 he can take down the late Queen of England once and for all, I’m sure not even Dan could resist an adventure as treacherous and deadly as that. My DM’s are open Sony if you wanna discuss this further
It's been a while since I've played this game but it was a lot of fun. I'm not much of a gamer and have only recently decided to give them a try, but I did like this. Most of my enjoyment though came from the fact I used to play this game a lot with my dad and it was probably the funnest thing we ever did together. I have fond memories of fighting all these different creatures and there being this final boss character, it was pretty cool but not something I would seek out to play myself or something I get a deeper fulfillment out of playing.
Dan should have been far bigger. A great western hack 'n' slash that sadly was miscontinued for years after having only one sequel. It shows it age but still, a solid game.
Medievel tinha um puta carisma e foi um dos jogos mais memoráveis que joguei no PS1. Contudo eu nunca consegui terminar, acho que porque eu insistia muito em tentar fechar as fases 100% e acabava preso tentando. Quem sabe um dia retorno.
Na época eu não gostava muito desse jogo, mas vendo hoje em dia ele envelheceu bem na minha opinião.
the stained glass demon is the first boss i ever beat by myself! lots of fondness for this one
This game is so charming and needs more love. I have one big downgrade. I hate the platformer parts, I died so often because of bad controls. But everything else is stunning, even years after its release
Ha envejecido un poco mal, pero la ambientación está muy bien.
Que tontura ao jogar
This review contains spoilers
I was not expecting to like this game much, but I loved from the second the narrator started talking about the story of the great battle against Zarok, a heroic tale of good vs evil. And the you find out that it was a lie, and it's so funny.
Sir Daniel's tale of redemption is very charming and noble, I'd argue that the game, although making fun of him, raises the point that anyone can be a hero, and sure Fortesque's a bit of a coward but he DID march in the front line in battle, and finally being able to properly guide a small army to victory at the end is a great touch. Getting made fun of across the game for your death is funny, but in a way is encouraging you to try harder to succeed in your quest.
And another thing that encourages you to try harder is the level design, man is it good. Levels are short but build with many paths that eventually connect together, you can finish them fast if you know what to do or if you need to revisit them later.
Of course you have to talk about how this game looks and sounds. The gothic atmosphere is fantastic, I see people calling it "Burtonesque" and I see the inspiration, but it takes influences from many other twisted places, a detail that I love is that I feel like the developers got inspired by actual old medieval paintings, I say this for the colors and the designs of some creatures, animals and Zarok's final form specifically. At one point in the level "The Lake" you go underwater and see weird blue elephants swimming, I'm not sure if it was intentional but it reminded me of old bestiaries and how they mistook some animals for others or tried to mix animals that they knew to try and represent others, idk if they tried to represent something like that in here but I really liked it. But although charming and colorful this game is from a time where "kid horror" was stil horror, there's implications of darkness and death all over the place, some enemies looks and sound terryfing, hell at one point you find a kind of zombie that's impaled to the ground and tries to run towards you to try and stab YOU with the stick coming out of it's body.
This world also feels so alive, there's little bits of lore that come back all over the place, the stories behind certain places, how you get a mention of Zarok's champion being killed shortly after you, and then you fight him at the end of the game! Is amazing.
What hinders the experience a bit is the difficulty, or rather how the game handles it. Sir Daniel feels stiff to move, heavy, and the running momentum is hard to start and to end, this thematically makes sense, him being a skeleton came to life after centuries being stiff in a tomb, but some levels just are not kind to his moveset. At one point I started to think that this game was "baby's first Soulslike", mostly due to some things I noticed in level design, the chalice mechanic, and how 50% of your deaths are going to be you slipping and falling to the abyss somewhere you didn't see properly. Plus I swear some enemies later on are straight up unfair, I bet some developers just thought "this is late game we should make the enemies harder uhhh, I know give them more health/a way to shield, make their hitboxes insane and raise the damage", Sir Daniel's own hitboxes do not help, thank goodness I was going for 100% the second you get the Magic sword is an instant relief.
Leaving that last bit behind, this game was right up my alley, an epic quest for redemption in a gothic land, I loved it a lot :)
Sir Daniel's tale of redemption is very charming and noble, I'd argue that the game, although making fun of him, raises the point that anyone can be a hero, and sure Fortesque's a bit of a coward but he DID march in the front line in battle, and finally being able to properly guide a small army to victory at the end is a great touch. Getting made fun of across the game for your death is funny, but in a way is encouraging you to try harder to succeed in your quest.
And another thing that encourages you to try harder is the level design, man is it good. Levels are short but build with many paths that eventually connect together, you can finish them fast if you know what to do or if you need to revisit them later.
Of course you have to talk about how this game looks and sounds. The gothic atmosphere is fantastic, I see people calling it "Burtonesque" and I see the inspiration, but it takes influences from many other twisted places, a detail that I love is that I feel like the developers got inspired by actual old medieval paintings, I say this for the colors and the designs of some creatures, animals and Zarok's final form specifically. At one point in the level "The Lake" you go underwater and see weird blue elephants swimming, I'm not sure if it was intentional but it reminded me of old bestiaries and how they mistook some animals for others or tried to mix animals that they knew to try and represent others, idk if they tried to represent something like that in here but I really liked it. But although charming and colorful this game is from a time where "kid horror" was stil horror, there's implications of darkness and death all over the place, some enemies looks and sound terryfing, hell at one point you find a kind of zombie that's impaled to the ground and tries to run towards you to try and stab YOU with the stick coming out of it's body.
This world also feels so alive, there's little bits of lore that come back all over the place, the stories behind certain places, how you get a mention of Zarok's champion being killed shortly after you, and then you fight him at the end of the game! Is amazing.
What hinders the experience a bit is the difficulty, or rather how the game handles it. Sir Daniel feels stiff to move, heavy, and the running momentum is hard to start and to end, this thematically makes sense, him being a skeleton came to life after centuries being stiff in a tomb, but some levels just are not kind to his moveset. At one point I started to think that this game was "baby's first Soulslike", mostly due to some things I noticed in level design, the chalice mechanic, and how 50% of your deaths are going to be you slipping and falling to the abyss somewhere you didn't see properly. Plus I swear some enemies later on are straight up unfair, I bet some developers just thought "this is late game we should make the enemies harder uhhh, I know give them more health/a way to shield, make their hitboxes insane and raise the damage", Sir Daniel's own hitboxes do not help, thank goodness I was going for 100% the second you get the Magic sword is an instant relief.
Leaving that last bit behind, this game was right up my alley, an epic quest for redemption in a gothic land, I loved it a lot :)
The charming and funny story of Sir Daniel Fortesque and the interesting action combat gameplay with a wide variety of weapons make for a really enjoyable experience playing this game.
Now the action combat is not the best it could be, it's still ps1 so it is clunky to a degree, but it's still enjoyable enough to the point in which one gets used to it and embraces it.
Asides from the great charming visuals and to a degree the comedy, i believe a strong point of this game is how it encourages people to 100% it, by obtaining chalices you get better and more weapons to use, and you obtain these chalices by defeating a certain amount of enemies in the level, which of course you can do better if you have better weapons. This point stuck out to me the moment i got my first upgrade and made it a goal to fully complete the game
Asides from the main game there are some side quests that give you pretty good rewards for finishing them and figuring it out, so i feel like the system of rewards is incredibly satisfying
The Ost is actually pretty good, it's not something you'd listen to after you finish the game but it adds to the athmosphere and feel of the game for a better experience
The voice acting is kind of iffy sometimes but hilarious in the tone and context of the game
Overall great game, would definitely recommend to play it, regardless of its' time
Now the action combat is not the best it could be, it's still ps1 so it is clunky to a degree, but it's still enjoyable enough to the point in which one gets used to it and embraces it.
Asides from the great charming visuals and to a degree the comedy, i believe a strong point of this game is how it encourages people to 100% it, by obtaining chalices you get better and more weapons to use, and you obtain these chalices by defeating a certain amount of enemies in the level, which of course you can do better if you have better weapons. This point stuck out to me the moment i got my first upgrade and made it a goal to fully complete the game
Asides from the main game there are some side quests that give you pretty good rewards for finishing them and figuring it out, so i feel like the system of rewards is incredibly satisfying
The Ost is actually pretty good, it's not something you'd listen to after you finish the game but it adds to the athmosphere and feel of the game for a better experience
The voice acting is kind of iffy sometimes but hilarious in the tone and context of the game
Overall great game, would definitely recommend to play it, regardless of its' time
I had a fun time with this one! Though it’s the most flawed game I’ve played recently. The camera REALLY fights against you. I took a lot of damage in the game simply down to bad angles or straight up not being to see. Also, the final boss is surprisingly easy. Still, the audio and visuals are fantastic here. They set the mood so well. Oh and I LOVE the story in this. The idea of your quest being earning your unearned glory is cool as hell.
Spooky scary skeletons gothic medieval mystical vibe of a dark fairytale & the loading screens look like diablo
Nice protagonist
-JUEGO ACABADO EN MI CANAL DE YOUTUBE-
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLk_gzdzc7EsLT8rt4vw608LcruNzA8O8Z
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLk_gzdzc7EsLT8rt4vw608LcruNzA8O8Z
"Bugger!"
When I originally played this as a youngin', I only had the demo on one of those Pizza Hut demo discs they used to give out to people. It used to be scary to me and I had no idea that it was a comedy game. After playing it again in 2022, I realized that it was a comedy game and actually laughed a good amount of times. It's got a lot to do and an interesting story to go along with it.