The Faery Tale Adventure
System: Genesis
Release Date: July 1991
Developer: New World Computing
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: RPG
Save the princess and save the day in the Faery Tale Adventure! One bad harvest is all it takes to mess with the peace of the land. The shrine had been ransacked and the protective Talisman stolen by an army of the undead. On his death bed, your father relays his final message that a Necromancer is the one responsible for all this terror. It’s up to you and your brothers to finish many quests. The land of Holm needs you and your strength. Can you save the world?
You begin in the town of Tambry, which is one of only two towns left in the world. Getting acquainted with the screen, on the bottom left is the narration scroll. All the information of what you are doing, seeing, hearing, going, and picking up is relayed to you here. The bottom of the scroll shows you your bravery, luck, kindness, and vitality. You gain a bravery point every time you kill an enemy. This increases your strength and defense and by the time you get a few hundred points, you’ll be nearly invulnerable. Luck allows you to be revived if you die in combat, as long as you have at least five points. Kindness rises when you give money to beggars and is necessary to get an important quest. Vitality are your hit points and the maximum is equal to one third of Bravery. These replenish slowly over time, when you drink a flask, or when you speak to the priest.
Next to that is the Action Menu, which after pressing the B Button, allows you to check your inventory, take items you find on the ground and from bodies, look for hidden items, buy items from the shop keeper or give money to beggars, talk to NPCs you find, turn music on and off, and save and restore your game. The passwords are long, but helpful in case you die. Pressing the B Button again takes you to your items. Pressing the C Button uses the highlighted item, while the A Button takes you back to play. Vials heal vitality, green jewels allows for night vision, bird totems gives you a map of the area. Jade skulls kill enemies on screen, while gold rings freeze them in place. Crystal orbs reveal secret doors, and Blue Stones allow you to teleport among stone circles placed through the land.
To begin your quest, you talk to the mayor of Tembry. He tells you to go to the castle of Manheim. You get to walk and the trip is not short. The land of Holm is actually really huge. It takes a long time to get anywhere. While you’re walking, the music may change to herald approaching enemies. I believe my very first battle killed me. Only having a weak Dirk equipped made killing enemies difficult at first, but holding the A Button and facing your foe is all you need to do. Enemies drop upgrades and once I got a sword, battle was a lot easier. Reaching Manheim, all the buildings are locked and require a certain color key, of which there are six. Killing enemies gets you keys… sometimes. It’s important to have a lot of keys, because you can get stuck if you don’t have enough. The king is sad because his daughter has been kidnapped, so add that onto the list of things to do.
I’m lucky the manual tells you the quests and what to do, because I didn’t find anyone that really spelled it out. You need to collect 5 golden statues that are hidden all about Holm. The first requires you to save the sea turtle’s eggs and then ride it to the Isle of Sorcery. The Sorceress here will give you a statue and also increase your luck up to 60. Then the Dragon’s Cavern holds a magic wand, the strongest weapon. The Tombs of Hemsath hold another statue and a bone for the Wraith Lord. Your reward is a crystal shard, a fight with the Dream Knight for a Sunstone, and a trip to the Sea Hold for the third statue. Grimwood is the home of your next statue, and this is a forest you cannot walk through, so enjoy the maze. Walking through the maze and back took me 45 minutes and I was fast forwarding time liberally. A witch lives here, as well and keeps the Golden Lasso. This allows you to rope the Golden Swan, which allows you to fly anywhere you want quickly. This allows you to rescue the princess from the Forbidden Keep and receive the last statue from the Priest. This unlocks a hidden, abandoned city and a magic rose that allows you to walk over the lava ridden Plain of Grief. The Citadel of Doom holds the Astral World and the path to the Necromancer. Defeating him grants you the Talisman and the title of savior!
Graphics: 2.5
It looks pretty decent, the landscape is easy to discern, and the camera moves well enough.
Sound: 2.0
The music is pleasant initially, but really loud. It gets annoying by the end of your journey.
Gameplay: 2.0
I think this is the first real walking simulator I’ve played so far. There may be a lot of battles, but they aren’t very interesting.
Difficulty: 2.0
You can bumble through with help from the manual, but trying to do it blind is not advisable.
Fun Factor: 2.5
I had an alright enough time, but having to walk back through Grimwood and the Tombs was maddening.
Overall Rating: 2.2
The Faery Tale Adventure earns a C+. This is a pretty decent game, but not the best of the New World Computing trio released this month.