Simon the Sorcerer series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Simon the Sorcerer is a series of point-and-click adventure games created by Adventure Soft. The series follows the adventures of an unwilling hero of the same name. The game has a fantasy setting and is a comedy. The first two games are often compared with the Monkey Island series in terms of style and humour,[1] and the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels and derivative games. Both the first and the second episodes are playable with ScummVM.[2]
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[edit] About Simon
Simon the Sorcerer is a teenager transported into a fantasy world as a sorcerer dressed in a cloak and pointy hat; his cloak and hat are purple in the first game, but change to red in the second and third game. He must use his logic and magical skills to solve puzzles as he progresses through the games.
Simon is rude and insulting to many of the characters he meets. This tends to interfere with the success of his quests, forcing him to go to ridiculous lengths in order to complete puzzles. Simon breaks the fourth wall with his comments about adventure games.
[edit] Simon the Sorcerer
Simon the Sorcerer was released by Adventure Soft on 2 January 1993 for DOS and Amiga formats.[3] The story begins with the protagonist, Simon, as an ordinary teenager. His dog, "Chippy", discovers a chest in the loft of his house containing a spellbook titled "Ye Olde Spellbooke". Simon throws the book onto the floor in contempt, but a portal opens above it. Chippy goes through the portal and Simon follows.
After entering the portal, Simon finds himself in another world. After escaping from some goblins who intended to eat him, he discovers that he has been brought on a quest to rescue the wizard Calypso from the evil sorcerer Sordid.
The game includes parodies of various popular books and fairy tales, including Rapunzel, The Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Jack and the Beanstalk and the Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Simon is voiced in this game by Chris Barrie, known for his roles in Red Dwarf and The Brittas Empire. This game marks the first apperance of two evil, if somewhat inept, demons, who have since made an appearance in all the games.
The tunes to "Poppa, Don't Preach" can be heard during the game, especially near the end when you reach the castle.
[edit] Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe
Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe, commonly known as Simon the Sorcerer II, was released by Adventure Soft in 1995. The title is a parody of the Chronicles of Narnia book: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The wizard, Simon, the Wardrobe, and the lion all feature in the game. Brian Bowles plays the voice of Simon, making him sound older, presumably in his late-teens.
In the game, the father of a peasant boy, Runt, burns his book of magic and throws it into the center of a pentagram on the floor, inadvertently bringing Sordid back to life as a spirit. He transfers his spirit to a robotic body, and sends a magical wardrobe to retrieve Simon from his own dimension. The wardrobe mistakingly brings Simon to the door-step of Calypso's Magic Shop. Upon returning to consciousness Simon learns that, in order to return home, he must find the wardobe's power source, called mucusade (a pun on Lucozade).
[edit] Simon the Sorcerer 3D
The third adventure game in the series, it was originally intended to be a high quality 2D adventure game (with the game going as far as being fully designed in 2D), however due to Publisher hesitation in picking up a 2D title, the developers decided to switch it from a 2D game to a 3D adventure game.
The game follows on directly after Simon the Sorcerer II's open ending, a cut-scene at the beginning tells the player of the connecting story, of how Simon's body was rejoined to his soul by the new character Melissa.
[edit] Simon the Sorcerer: Chaos Happens
The fourth adventure game marks a return to the heralded point-and-click interface and will feature high quality pre-rendered backgrounds. The characters are in 3D.
The German version of this game was released in Q1 2007,[4] and was developed by Silver Style Entertainment.
The English version of this game is due to be released in Q2 2008,[5] and is to be published by Playlogic.
[edit] See also
- ScummVM - Software that allows you to play Simon the Sorcerer 1 and 2 on many computer platforms
[edit] External links
- Adventure Soft Publishing
- Fan page on Simon the Sorcerer series
- ScummVM Music Enhancement Project Enhanced music for Simon the Sorcerer by James Woodcock
- Simon the Sorcerer series at MobyGames
[edit] References
- ^ Tony Gill, CU Amiga review of Simon the Sorceror, EMAP, February 1994.
- ^ ScummVM compatibility list (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
- ^ Simon the Sorcerer release information at Gamespot (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-05-04.
- ^ Simon 4 release information
- ^ Simon 4 release information
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