Crystals of Arborea
| Developer: Silmarils | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Silmarils | Sound: |
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| Year: 1990 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Role-playing game | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
6/10 | |
Arborea is your typical RPG setting: trees, elves, and a mischievous lord of chaos who’s just swiped four magical crystals, the pillars of natural balance…
And here’s Jarel, the typical hero: prince of the elves, young, brave, pointy-eared. He’s decided to retrieve four magical crystals, kill a lord of chaos, and restore natural balance…
The only vaguely original feature I noticed is an integrated manual, accessible from the main menu (just click on the book). It’s very brief. In any case, the game’s mechanics can be summed up in a few lines. You guide Jarel and his band of loyal companions (all six of them) across the countryside by clicking on icons, following the Dungeon Master model. Occasionally, you run into enemies, triggering a battle. A “tactical” grid appears, where characters shuffle around square by square, trading blows in turn, like a board game. Ugly and basic, if you ask me.
Still, wandering through Arborea has its share of surprises: caves to explore, cottages inhabited by hermits of varying generosity, the option to send one or more characters scouting—or to leave them behind to rest. That said, the world map is tiny, and the single quest won’t keep you busy for more than a few hours.
The artwork, however, is well above average and nearly fills the screen. The day-night cycles are marked by lovely changes in lighting and colour. The trade-off? Constant choppiness, along with clunky controls that force you to return to the status screen for certain actions (complete with a loading time, naturally).
In conclusion, think of Crystals of Arborea as a humble prototype, paving the way for a far more polished “sequel”: Ishar: Legend of the Fortress.
More pictures here, here, here and there.
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