Reviewed by: Funkadelic
Rated:
Posted on: 08/21/00

In 1984, a company called RDI Video Systems released Thayer's Quest, a graphically rich interactive adventure, as a conversion kit for the classic Dragon's Lair arcade game. Rick Dyer, the co-creator of Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, was the founder of RDI and the creator of the innovative Thayer's Quest. The fully cel-animated, voice-acted game was an ambitious project, one that offered players a highly unique gameplay experience via a membrane keyboard instead of the traditional joystick/button combination. RDI had even planned to release a sequel that would formally complete the story. Sadly, though, the company went bankrupt before the project got off the ground.

Damn Princess, always bossing people around!

Flash forward to 1995, big-name publisher Interplay brings Thayer's Quest to the home market under a new name: Kingdom: The Far Reaches. This updated version featured different character names and some slight gameplay modifications from the original Thayer's Quest arcade game. Reaches told the story of a young apprentice wizard named Lathan Kandor whose job was to explore a rich Tolkien-like world for missing pieces of a magical amulet. Rick Dyer eventually created the follow-up, Kingdom II: Shadoan (a.k.a. Thayer's Quest 2), exclusively for the home market, and it was supposed to appear on several different platforms, including the 32-bit PlayStation and Saturn systems. Unfortunately, only the computer and CD-i versions ever saw the light of day. Luckily, DVD, LTD. and Digital Leisure have brought Rick Dyer's Shadoan to the wonderful world of DVD-Video for all to enjoy.

Getting started is a snap: Simply place the single-disc game into your DVD player, or DVD-ROM drive of your computer (it is compatible with both; no installation necessary), and you are ready to enter Lathan's magical world. Before the game begins, you can choose either Dolby Stereo or DTS Surround if you have the proper setup (i.e., a DTS decoder and DTS-capable DVD player). You can also choose to enable subtitles within the options menu during gameplay, with a wide selection of languages supported (e.g., Spanish, Japanese, French, etc.).

Since Shadoan is the follow-up to Reaches (available on CD-ROM), it features a brand-new storyline and quest for the protagonist, Lathan Kandor. For those who are not familiar with Reaches, Shadoan conveniently includes video clips that explain the history and detail the events of the previous game. An in-game "library" is also included, which provides even more information about the characters and locations of the game. The manual, although disappointingly in black and white, does a great job summarizing the important events of the game universe, and it even contains an epilogue in the back. In brief, Shadoan's storyline goes something like this: Lathan Kandor, now a mature young man, must set out on a quest to join five magical relics, three of which he has already recovered in his previous adventure. Once he finds the two remaining relics — the Dagger of Arne and the Crown of Malric — he can join all five together to save his kingdom from the wrath of the evil mage Torlock, whose jealousy and greed know no end.

Regarding gameplay, Shadoan uses a point-and-click interface exclusively, with several timed action-reaction sequences à la Dragon's Lair thrown in for good measure. The two difficulty levels included are Apprentice and Wizard mode. Apprentice mode is the easy level in which some of the game's puzzles and action elements are removed to suit the beginner or younger gamer out there. Players also have more time to make key decisions during the game's perilous moments in this mode. The Wizard mode, on the other hand, features normal difficulty and the full uncut adventure in all its glory. In both modes, players have three lives (represented by "liferoses") to make their way through the game and must do so without the aide of continues or a save function — although a spot exists in the game that restores health.

This is where it all begins...on your knees no less.

Playing as Lathan, it is your job to solve puzzles, help fellow townspeople, and battle evil entities — all while clicking on the appropriate icons and choosing the correct items from Lathan's pouch (inventory). At the start of the game, Lathan will already have some items in his pouch that were carried over from the previous game, Reaches. However, Lathan will need many additional items throughout his quest, some of which he can only obtain from his mentor, Daelon, who provides all sorts of magical scrolls needed for the completion of the game. These scrolls do not come in large amounts, mind you, so you will need to use them wisely. For example, one set of scrolls is called The Scrolls of Understanding. These scrolls come in handy when you need to decode foreign languages, or ease relations with hostile humans, but do not provide much use beyond that. Lathan also has a variety of weapons that he can use during battle, but not every weapon will settle each confrontation effectively (i.e., some may get him injured or even killed).

More important, however, is the fact that Lathan has a limited amount of time to make the correct decision(s) during action sequences. Whenever Lathan is in a trying situation, "The Sands of Time" will begin to trickle down an on-screen hourglass, which is accompanied by a nerve-racking ticking sound. If you fail to make the correct move before the final grains of sand trickle down, Lathan will meet his demise. Sometimes you can simply click on Lathan's map and select an alternate location to avoid death; other times you must use your wits and stick it out.

Arguably two of the biggest aspects that fuel great gameplay are plot and atmosphere. Simply put, Shadoan has both. However, the most important elements of gameplay itself are player interaction and replay value, both of which are limited in Shadoan. Granted, Shadoan does contain more variety and plot choices than Rick Dyer's previous efforts, but most of these lead to extra death animations or do not directly affect the outcome of the story. And while players will need to return to several locations — of which there are more than 250, littered with around 70 NPCs — most of the transition and noninteractive scenes are painfully repetitious and cannot be bypassed.

Nope, this isn't Dragon's Lair, but this dragon would love to have you for lunch all the same.

This leads to my next problem with the gameplay: lack of features. Besides the lack of a save feature, the DVD version of Shadoan does not include Lathan's interactive journal (used to type notes) or allow for "hot keys" like its PC CD-ROM counterpart. These are not major faults, and the omissions are understandable since the game was made to work with both DVD-ROM computers and DVD-Video players. Yet, the manual lists both features (the journal and the hot keys) even though they are disabled in this version. All in all, Shadoan has a fair amount of challenging and exciting moments, but unfortunately, does not have much in the way of player interaction or replay value.

Graphically, Shadoan contains great-looking full-screen animation during cut-scenes (the interactive portions are displayed in a medium-sized box), and it consists of more than 70,000 hand-painted cels overall. While not a huge leap above Reaches, Shadoan's graphics show a natural progression, displaying more mature-looking characters and richer colors and landscapes. The lip-syncing and animation are good for the most part, although a few characters could have used a bit more refinement. Special graphical effects are in abundance and do wonders to pull the player into the game world. For the concerned parent out there, Shadoan effectively advances the story without any blood or gore. Therefore, parents will not need to keep a watchful eye on the television screen or computer monitor when their youngsters are playing this game. Overall, Shadoan's graphics may not eclipse those of the Don Bluth–animated Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, but they certainly stand out on their own.

Run, Lathan, run!

Accompanying the terrific visual presentation is an aural experience that is easily on par with the graphics, and it keeps pace with the on-screen action wonderfully. The sound effects and voice-acting are solid, and the 30-song soundtrack is well produced and varied. In fact, the same musical talent behind such popular animated films as Beauty and the Beast and Pochahontas wrote and arranged the music for this game. Shadoan is also the first video game to use 5.1 DTS Surround, which really pushes the game's audio to the max. Another interesting tidbit is that Shodoan's title track — "Where do we go from here," sung by Julie Eisenhower — managed to crack the top 30 on the Adult Contemporary charts. Not bad for a video game theme song.

Reviewing an interactive DVD-Video title like Shadoan is not an easy task. On the one hand, this semi-interactive title features stunning graphics, awesome sound/music, and a great fantasy-based storyline. On the other hand, Shadoan is essentially Dragon's Lair — in terms of player interaction — only with a point-and-click interface and less linearity. Still, Shadoan does have its market, namely, Rick Dyer/Dragon's Lair fans, casual gamers, and parents who are looking for a kid-friendly title the whole family can enjoy. Being the huge fan of Rick Dyer and Dragon's Lair that I am, I thoroughly enjoyed the DVD version of Shadoan, but I realize it will not appeal to everyone. Nevertheless, with its superb presentation and fantastical storyline, Shadoan is an enjoyable DVD for those looking to immerse themselves in a fully animated interactive adventure. Just do not expect groundbreaking gameplay or large amounts of replay.