Shadowgate (NES)

          Cheesy box art aside, Shadowgate saw mild success when it was released for the NES in 1989.  Originally a game for MAC, Shadowgate is a “point and click” RPG adventure where you are charged with saving the world from the Evil Warlock Lord.  The setting for the entire adventure takes place in Castle Shadowgate and proves to be a very tedious, yet rewarding adventure.  Those not from the generation of “point and clicks” or MUDs will barely be able to keep with it as it gets quite repetitive and verbose.

          The meat and potatoes of the game is simple.  Read text, click one object, make it interact with another, rinse and repeat.  As you bore deeper into the castle, challenges get more difficult as there can be more than one solution to some puzzles.  Having a lit torch with you is imperative!  Not doing so will result in you tripping or falling and having to reload your game from the last save point.  Because a lot of the puzzles are pretty much trial and error, there are many opportunities for death in this game.  Luckily, you can save your progress at any time so you will not have to go back through the same gauntlet over and over again.  I find this to be super helpful as in most games of this era barely had a save feature let alone a “save anywhere” one.  There is also a pretty nifty hint option in the NES version to vaguely guide you on your way. 

          Graphics are obviously dated, but pretty much on par for games of this time period.  The interface is neatly set up and well-organized so the ability to find what you need is simple.  Shadowgate’s soundtrack is composed of mostly dark, morose themes.  You truly get the feel that you are marching your way to death with every track change.  The only respite from this is the ending theme which is somewhat upbeat, although it has a depressing mood almost like you should be sad that you saved the world and killed the Warlock Lord. 

          All in all, this game really threw me back into the good ol’ times of point and click adventures and being able to think a moment before making choices.  I find that a lot of current RPGs are so fast paced, they have lost their RP aspect to them.  This game brings an almost refreshing break from that Attack—>Kill—>Level—>Loot mechanism.  This game should definitely be a part of your retro RPG collection and if not, should at least be downloaded as a ROM so you can check it out for yourselves.