Developer: Icom Simulations Publisher: Kemco Released: 1989 Genre: Adventure
My fascination with point and click adventure games started at a young age. I remember browsing the Electronic Boutique catalogs and reading the descriptions of the PC adventure games which sounded mind boggling. Despite that my first experience with the genre was on the Apple II in Elementary School. I’ve long since forgotten whatever game it was but it stuck with me. While that title was my introduction what really hooked me were the Macventure ports on the NES, of which Shadowgate was the first I played. With its creepy atmosphere and at times brilliant puzzles Shadowgate turned out excellent and has held up, interface aside.
You are an unnamed warrior, the last in a line of great kings. The wizard Lakmir has teleported you to the Castle Shadowgate and given you a monumental task: prevent the resurrection of the Behemoth, a titan of old. As the last in a line descended from kings apparently only you can fulfill this task.
Shadowgate is surprisingly dark; it might be one of the darkest NES titles released in the US. Only the Immortal possibly surpasses it. Nintendo of America was quick to cut any material deemed unfit for the clean image back then. Surprisingly Shadowgate managed to escape unscathed. More than likely that is because it is mostly textual descriptions of your gruesome deaths. And trust me there will be many. Regardless of the reasons it gives the game a mature tone uncommon for that era.
There is no question that this genre is most suited for the PC with its keyboard and mouse. That being said Kemco have adapted the interface as well as can be expected. Rather than visual items on screen they instead list them in your notebook. It is functional but quickly becomes annoying, especially as you’ll have pages of items within a few screens. Cycling through pages of items frequently is very cumbersome but something you’ll have to deal with. The NES controller and its limited buttons are to blame sadly. The interface is the lone aspect of the game that has aged badly but thankfully it doesn’t ruin it.
Shadowgate’s puzzles are its lifeblood, often intricate and sometimes too clever for its own good. There are a deceptively large number of items to collect. In truth you will probably only use 40% of the junk clogging your inventory. But there are puzzles and situations that may require them based on your actions. Literally everything in the environment has some use; even something benign like a map or skull has its uses. The game does its best to provide contextual clues but even then it can be obtuse. Dropping a cold orb in a lake to freeze it makes sense. But how is a 10-year old supposed to guess that you need to use the star (an easily missed item) on the dragon to destroy it? The in-game hint system tries to help but it is frequently useless.
Make no mistake; Shadowgate is hard as death visits regularly. There are a comical number of ways to die, from being crushed, eaten by slime, and even breaking your neck in the dark. Even stopping to ruminate on a puzzle can be fatal as you need to keep a torch lit at all times. Technically that means the game has a time limit as there are a finite number of torches. But there are so many it is non-factor. The game is heavily trial and error based and sometimes that results in failure. For as often as death occurs the penalty isn’t that high. The game sends you back to the previous room, even if you did not save. That is far more merciful than most adventure games.
Despite the high difficulty what will drive you on is the game’s atmosphere. There are intricate descriptions of every room and object, giving a sense of place. There are plenty of locations you don’t need to visit but it makes it seem like a real castle. A very strange one, mind you but still. All of this and it has a fantastic score. The soundtrack is haunting and creates a sense of dread that permeates the entire game. The music frequently shifts, whether it is to signify immediate danger or that your torch is running out. It is genuinely creepy and highly effective and fits the game perfectly.
In Closing
Shadowgate is an excellent port of the Macintosh classic and an underrated gem in the NES library. There is actually a decent selection of adventure titles on the system and Shadowgate is one of the best.
