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{{for|Zarok as a character|the boss fights against him|Zarok (boss)|Zarok Serpent}}{{Infobox character
{{about|Zarok's human form|his beast form|Zarok's Beast Transformation|his serpentine form|Zarok Serpent}}{{Infobox character
|name = Zarok  
|name = Zarok {{BookOfGallowmereCategory|Boss}}
|icon = [[File:ZAROK.png|20px|link=|other=]]
|image = MediEvil2019-Zarok-BookOfGallowmere.png
|image = [[File:Zarok_Resurrection.png|280px]]
|titles = King Peregrin's Advisor <small>(1286)</small><br>Court Magician <small>(1286)</small>  
|aka = Sorcerer, Necromancer<br>The Mad Magician
|title = Advisor, Court Magician <small>(formerly)</small>  
|gender = Male
|gender = Male
|death = 1386
|birth = Early 13th century<br>[[Gallowmere]], Britain
|death = 1386 <small>(aged over 150)</small><br>Gallowmere, Britain
|weapons = [[Trident]]
|voice = Paul Darrow <small>(English)</small> <br> Norio Wakamoto <small>(Japanese)</small>
|voice = Paul Darrow <small>(English)</small> <br> Norio Wakamoto <small>(Japanese)</small>
|medievil = [[Cemetery Hill]], [[Zarok's Lair]]  
|designer=[[Jason Wilson]]
|mresurrection = [[Cemetery Hill]], [[Hilltop Mausoleum]], <br>[[Zarok's Lair]]}}{{Quote|Sir Daniel Fortesque, my old nemesis, so we meet again!|Zarok, ''[[MediEvil]]''}}{{Nihongo|'''Zarok'''|ザ・ロック|Zarokku}} is the primary antagonist of ''[[MediEvil]]'' and ''[[MediEvil: Resurrection]]''. He is voiced by Paul Darrow in English and by Norio Wakamoto in Japanese.
|appearances = {{Appearances
==Story==
|medievil1998=
===Background===
*[[Cemetery Hill]]
Zarok was [[King Peregrin]]'s advisor and court magician. Zarok, however, began conducting horrific experiments on the bodies of the dead. When the King found out, he banished Zarok from the land. All of his living dead were routed out and destroyed. Zarok, being an unforgiving soul, went into hiding and vowed to wreak his revenge on the King. He employed the aid of [[Shadow Demons]] to help him build a vast castle.
*[[Zarok's Lair]]
|resurrection=
*[[Cemetery Hill (MediEvil: Resurrection)|Cemetery Hill]]
*[[Hilltop Mausoleum]]
*[[Zarok's Lair (MediEvil: Resurrection)|Zarok's Lair]]
|medievil2019=
*[[Cemetery Hill]]
*[[Zarok's Lair]]
}}
}}
{{Quote|Sir Daniel Fortesque, my old nemesis, so we meet again!|Zarok, upon seeing Fortesque for the first time in 100 years.}}
'''Zarok''' (died 1386) was an evil sorcerer who tried to conquer the land of [[Gallowmere]]. Although he was declared dead after the [[Battle of Gallowmere]] in 1286, Zarok managed to survive. He went into hiding and would not re-emerge until 1386, a hundred years later. His second attempt at conquest was thwarted by his nemesis, the knight [[Sir Daniel Fortesque]].
==History==
===Early life===
Zarok was a smart but scrawny boy who came from a poor family in [[Gallowmere]]. His childhood days were spent with [[Mr Snuffy]], his canine companion. However, on the day of [[Coronation of King Peregrin|King Peregrin's coronation]], Mr Snuffy was killed by a Royal Guardsman who thought the pup was going to attack the newly crowned king. This event changed Zarok's life forever and marked the beginning of his obsession with necromancy. Zarok left Gallowmere to take up an apprenticeship with an [[Zarok's master|infamous dark sorcerer]].{{Bookref|Fates-Arrow}}
===Return to Gallowmere===
50 years later, Zarok returned to Gallowmere, causing the land's crops to fail in order to expose the incompetency of Peregrin's Court Magician [[Mazok the Muddled]]. Mazok's attempts to save the kingdom from the [[Famine in Gallowmere|famine]] failed, forcing the king to seek help from Zarok. Zarok was all too happy to oblige. Once the famine was dealt with, Zarok became the new Court Magician.{{Bookref|Fates-Arrow}}


Under the cover of night, Zarok's dark army spilled forth from their corrupt haven. The army marched south across the Silver Mountains and through the Silver Woods. Soon afterwards, even the [[Pumpkin Gorge|Pumpkin lands]] belonged to Zarok.
[[File:MediEvil2019-ZarokSummonsDemons-Intro.png|thumb|left|Zarok begins to summon an army of demons.]]As part of his secret plot to take over the kingdom, Zarok would go on to kill the [[King Peregrin's Champion|king's champion]] by spooking the champion's horse with a toad, causing him to be thrown in a well where he drowned. Zarok then convinced the King to appoint none other than Sir Daniel Fortesque to be his new champion, as Zarok knew that Fortesque was incompetent and would doom the king's army during his planned invasion.{{Bookref|Fates-Arrow}} At some point, Zarok summoned [[Shadow Demons]] from another dimension to help him build a vast castle on top of a faraway mountain.


Retaliation was swift and violent, King Peregrin's forces led by [[Sir Daniel Fortesque]] drove Zarok's army back from Gallows Town. There was much rejoicing, but the war was not over yet.
===War with Gallowmere===
A day before his planned assault on the land, Zarok informed the King and his Champion about the approaching horde of undead, making excuses about why he cannot stop them. As part of his plan to weaken the King's army, he made the [[Jabberwocky]] attack the castle. He was surprised when the Jabberwocky was defeated by Sir Dan. Later, Zarok discovered that it was indeed Sir Dan who repelled the Jabberwocky attack, but an undead version of him from the future. He ordered his henchmen, [[Boris]] and [[Merek]], to take this Dan to [[The Mystic Maidens]] to kill him.


Zarok's army had then overtaken the [[Pools of the Ancient Dead|flood lands]]. He knew the King would try and stop him, so he prepared an ambush. This lead to the Battle of Gallowmere, in which Sir Daniel was killed. The history books said that he had defeated Zarok, just seconds before dying himself. Zarok survived the battle, however. He remained in hiding, preparing a more powerful, stronger army of unholy monsters.
Under the cover of night, Zarok's dark army spilled forth from their corrupt haven. The army marched south across the Silver Mountains and through the Silver Woods. Zarok's army had eventually overtaken the [[Pools of the Ancient Dead|flood lands]]. This lead to the [[Battle of Gallowmere]], in which Sir Daniel was killed. However, the history books said that he had defeated Zarok, just seconds before he died himself. Zarok survived the battle, however. He remained in hiding, preparing for a second invasion.


===''[[MediEvil]]&nbsp;/ [[MediEvil: Resurrection]] ''===
Some time after Dan's death, Zarok discovered a [[Zarok's spell book|book of Black Magic]] which would become associated with him.{{Bookref|MED2-Manual}} He also gained possession of the [[Shadow Artefact]], the key to the tomb where his Shadow Demons were imprisoned. However, the Artefact was stolen from him by [[The Town Mayor]] before he could free them.{{Gameref|MED2019}}{{Gameref|MED2019-Bestiary}}
100 years after the war, Zarok returns to [[Gallowmere]] once again. Using the powers of a spell book spell, Zarok steals the souls of the townspeople and resurrects the dead. While passing through Gallowmere's many locales, Zarok leaves behind him a green, slimy trail of magic. He is looking for the Shadow Artifact, which is required to open the tomb in which Shadow Demons are held.


Daniel first encounters Zarok at&nbsp;[[Cemetery Hill]]. Zarok tries trapping Dan in the necropolis by bringing two Gargoyles to life. Later in the game, Daniel releases Zarok's Shadow Demons, because he needs an item located within the tomb to make further progress. The demons are killed, however, when Daniel releases lava upon them in [[the Haunted Ruins|The Haunted Ruins]].
===The Evernight===
100 years after the war, Zarok returned to [[Gallowmere]] once again. Using the powers of a spell book spell, Zarok stole the souls of the townspeople and resurrected the dead. While passing through Gallowmere's many locales, Zarok left behind him a green, slimy trail of magic. He was looking for the Shadow Artefact that was stolen from him.


Zarok awaits in his [[Zarok's Lair|lair]]. He sends [[Fazguls]] and later his champion [[Lord Kardok]] to kill Dan, but Daniel manages to outsmart them. In the end, Zarok decides to confront Dan himself and transforms into a [[Zarok (boss)|monster]]. Upon defeat, he casts a spell that causes his lair to collapse. He is then crushed in the wreckage.     
Daniel first encountered Zarok at [[Cemetery Hill]]. Zarok tried to trap Dan in the necropolis by bringing two [[Boulder Gargoyles]] to life. Later in his quest, Daniel released Zarok's Shadow Demons due to needing an item located within the tomb to make further progress. The demons were killed however when Daniel released lava upon them in [[The Haunted Ruins]].
{{clear}}
===''[[MediEvil 2]]''===
Although Zarok himself doesn't make an appearance, his spellbook is the main cause of the events that occur. A likeness of his monster form can be found in the museum along with a [[MediEvil 2 books#Book 3 - Zarok|book]] declaring him a coward.


==Abilities==
Zarok awaited in his [[Zarok's Lair|lair]]. He sent [[Fazguls]] and later his champion [[Lord Kardok]] to kill Dan, but Daniel managed to outsmart them. In the end, Zarok decided to confront Dan himself and transformed into a beast. Once defeated, Zarok accepted his death and cast a spell that caused his lair to collapse, which he hoped would bring Dan down with him. Zarok was crushed in the wreckage, his magic was undone.
Using the power of his staff and spellbook, Zarok can resurrect the dead, animate the inanimate and steal the souls of living beings. He was also able to built his own boiler guards and city; [[The Time Device]] - using science.
==Legacy==
Five hundred years after his death, pages from [[Zarok's spell book]] resurfaced and were used by an evil sorcerer called [[Lord Palethorn]] to conquer [[London]]. Zarok himself was reduced to an exhibit in a [[The Museum|museum]] in [[Kensington]] where he was described only as a coward.


==Personality==
==Characteristics==
Zarok is a creepy, bitter and twisted soul. He is petty and vain yet intelligent, terrifying and evil yet charismatic, tough and dangerous yet at times campier than a Caravan park.
=== Appearance ===
==Non-''MediEvil'' appearances==
Zarok had pale gray skin. He wore somewhat feminine attire which consisted of red robes with gold highlights and a hat with pointed horns. He was rather thin, and he had two horns growing out of each cheek as well as his chin.
{{Main|Cameos}}
===''[[Creatures]] ''===
An image of Zarok appears in [http://creatures.wikia.com/wiki/Creatures Creatures], an artificial life program created by [[Millennium Interactive]].
===''[[PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale]] ''===
{{Main|w:c:playstationallstars:Zarok|l1=Zarok}}
Zarok appears as a downloadable minion in '''PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale'''. He is also mentioned multiple times throughout Sir Dan's arcade mode.


==Quotes==
===Personality===
====''MediEvil''====
Zarok was a creepy, bitter and twisted soul. He was petty and vain yet intelligent, terrifying and evil yet charismatic, tough and dangerous yet at times campier than a Caravan park. He berated Dan and called him mocking nicknames. He also seemed to be held in high regard amongst his minions.
*''(to Dan) ''"So, even from the shackles of death my old enemy pursues me! You're too late Fortesque - already my army has risen from the grave! You will never leave this necropolis... Ha, ha, ha!"
===Abilities===
*''(to his warriors)'' "Prepare to attack, my warriors, I want the dogs gnawing marrow from those bones within the hour...Aargh! What is that Fortesque, your lucky cup?"
Using the power of his staff and spellbook, Zarok could resurrect the dead, animate the inanimate and steal the souls of living beings. He was also able to build his own boiler guards and city; [[The Time Device]] - using science.
====''MediEvil: Resurrection''====
 
*''(to Dan) ''"Ohhh Nooo... YOU'RE back. Looking like something from a butcher's dustbin. And what's that SMELL? Eau dee-Composition? Well, you're too late, anyway - my army has already risen from the grave. Still, never mind, eh? Chalk it up as yet another of your inglorious failures... mwah HAH! ... HAH...! I really need to work on that mocking laugh."
==Gameplay==
*''(after being defeated)'' "CURSE you, Fortesque, curse you! Curse you THRICEFOLD! SO - it's come to THIS, I am finally DEFEATED. Painfully! Ignominiously! But particularly, painfully! But if I am to fail - then all shall perish with me! I didn't get to be the embodiment of evil without mantaining certain traditional standards! You are DOOMED Fortesque! You will NEVER leave this place! Mmwah-ha-HAH! Ha-HARRRRR! Oooh, yes! Now THAT was an evil laugh!"
In his human form, Zarok only appears during cutscenes and is not featured in actual gameplay. See [[Zarok's Beast Transformation]] and [[Zarok Serpent]] for his transformations in the original ''MediEvil'' and ''MediEvil: Resurrection'' respectively.
===''MediEvil''===
====Book of Gallowmere entry====
It is said that Zarok's preoccupation with necromancy stems from an obsession to resurrect his childhood puppy.
 
Let's just reflect for a moment: isn't that just tragic? All this poor, troubled soul has ever wanted is to command the forces of darkness, enslave mankind, and play ball one last time with dear old Mr Snuffy.
 
==Behind the scenes==
===Development===
====''[[MediEvil]]''====
Zarok was designed by Lead Artist [[Jason Wilson]]. Wilson imagined Zarok as both "thin and fey" and "an evil puppet."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jasonwilson-folio.blogspot.com/p/art-and-game-design-medievil.html|site=JASON WILSON - PORTFOLIO: Art and Game Design|title=MediEvil}}</ref>{{Siteref|MediEvil-Boards|13694|MediEvil developers - Q&A;|November 3, 2013}} Wilson also noted that the character ended up being "rather camp" which gave him "an endearing quality as a villain" and suited the "quirky fun nature" of the game.{{Siteref|atomic-city|artwork/Medievil_gallery/medievil_zarok_concept_design.htm|Zarok}}
 
====''[[MediEvil 2]]''====
An early iteration of ''MediEvil 2's'' plot involved Zarok being trapped in the Tower of London. Dan would have had to free him in order to form an uneasy alliance with him to recover his spell book from the clutches of an evil cult.{{Siteref|MediEvil-Boards|11632|MediEvil developers - Q&A;|February 10, 2012}} However, Zarok ended up not playing a major role in the final release.
====''[[Fate's Arrow]]''====
Zarok would have been the main antagonist in the 2003 ''[[MediEvil 3: Fate's Arrow]]'' concept pitch, teaming up with [[Kiyante]], an evil sorceress with similar ambitions.
 
===Portrayal===
In English, Zarok was voiced by the late [[Paul Darrow]], famed for his role of Kerr Avon in ''Blake's 7''. According to Jason Wilson, Darrow was very enthusiastic about playing Zarok and was one of the reasons why Wilson wrote fictional biographies for the game's characters.{{TwitterRef|Wilson|1135627890148745216|June 3, 2019|quote=I’ll never forget writing fictional character biographies for the MediEvil voice actors, mostly because of Paul Darrow.}} Darrow also liked to improvise his lines during recording.{{TwitterRef|Wilson|1144921618587799552|June 29, 2019|quote=Paul was prone to improvising and we very much enjoyed tweaking and playing with the script during recording.}}
 
In Japanese, he was voiced by Norio Wakamoto who is famous for his roles of Oskar von Reuenthal in ''Legend of the Galactic Heroes'', Barbatos Goetia in ''Tales of Destiny 2'', Charles zi Britannia in ''Code Geass'', Xemnas in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series, Cell in ''Dragon Ball Z'', and Count Dracula in various ''Castlevania'' titles, and DIO from ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' drama CD's and many others.{{citation needed}}
===In other media===
{{Main|List of MediEvil references in other media}}
====1996 – ''[[creatures:Creatures|Creatures]] ''====
[[File:Creatures-Zarok-Cameo.png|thumb|right|Zarok in ''Creatures''.]] A portrait of Zarok appears in ''Creatures'', an artificial life program created by [[Millennium Interactive]]. This is because the backgrounds for ''Creatures'' were composited by [[Jason Riley]] who also rendered all the [[full motion video]]s for ''MediEvil''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artificial-lens.com/aaa-games/|title=Successful multi million selling AAA-games I have worked on.|site=Artificial Lens|retrieved=August 28, 2024|author=Riley, Jason}}</ref>
 
====2013 – ''[[wikipedia:PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale|PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale]] ''====
{{Q|Zarok, again? Could the evil wizard somehow have returned once more?|The narrator describes Sir Dan's thoughts.}}
[[File:PlayStationAllStarsBattleRoyale-Zarok.png|left]]
Zarok appears as a minion, a type of support character, in ''PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale''. He was made available for purchase on February 27, 2013 as part of the '''Super Minion Pack 2''', '''Minion Pack 5''' and as standalone DLC. Zarok is also mentioned several times in Sir Dan's arcade mode.
====2023 – ''Clive 'N' Wrench''====
In the '''Middle Age Crisis''' level, one of the buildings in the town section is signposted as Koraz's Apothecary. Koraz is Zarok backwards.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
{{See also|:Category:Zarok images|l1=Zarok images}}
{{Main article|:Category:Images of Zarok|l1=Images of Zarok}}
<tabber>MediEvil=
{{Empty section}}
<gallery widths="150" spacing="small" orientation="portrait"  captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true" captionposition="below" captionsize="medium" bordersize="small">
==Trivia==
zarok_small.jpg|Concept art of Zarok.
*Zarok makes a possible joke about the practice of sheep sodomising before the final battle when he says ''"Oooh... Oh not right now!"'' after he accidentally transforms himself into a sheep.
Posimag3.jpg|Render of Zarok, Daniel and the Shadow Demons.
==In other languages==
ZAROK435.png|Zarok overlooking the battlefield.
{{OtherLanguages
ZAROK453.png|Zarok giving command to fire.
|ar = ”زاروك”
Livelli_2.jpg|Zarok in his library.
|arR = "zaruka"
Livelli_1.jpg|Zarok and Daniel in the Sleeping Village.
|bg = Зарок
JapaneseZarok.png|Japanese artwork of Zarok.
|bgR = Zarok
Zarok.png|Zarok's in-game model.
|ja = ザロック
</gallery>|-|MediEvil 2=
|jaR = Zarokku
<gallery widths="150" spacing="small" orientation="portrait"  captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true" captionposition="below" captionsize="medium" bordersize="small">
|ru = Зарок
Zarok's death ME2.png|Zarok's death.
|ruR = Zarok
ZarokME2.png|Zarok in The Museum.
}}
</gallery>
|-|MediEvil: Resurrection=
<gallery widths="150" spacing="small" orientation="portrait"  captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true" captionposition="below" captionsize="medium" bordersize="small">
Image2.jpg|Resurrection render.
Thmb_Zarok_serpent_rollover.jpg|Zarok's serpent form.
</gallery>
|-|Non-MediEvil appearances=
<gallery widths="150" spacing="small" orientation="portrait"  captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true" captionposition="below" captionsize="medium" bordersize="small">
ZarokCreatures.png|Zarok in Creatures.
ZarokMinion.png|Zarok as a minion in All-Stars.
</gallery></tabber>


==Trivia==
==References==
*A hedge sculpture of Zarok appears in [[The Asylum Grounds]] level in ''[[MediEvil]]''.
{{Reflist}}
*Zarok makes a possible joke about the practice of sheep sodomizing before the final battle of ''MediEvil'' when he says "Oooh... Oh not right now!" after he accidentally transforms himself into a sheep.
==Navigation==
==External links==
{{TopNav
*{{Icon|Wikia}} [[w:c:villains:Zarok|Zarok]] at the Villains Wiki.
|previous = [[Mazok the Muddled]]
[[es:Zarok]]
|current = Court Magician
[[hu:Zarok]]
|description = 1286
[[it:Zarok]]
|next = N/A
}}
{{MediEvil characters}}
{{MediEvil 2 characters}}
{{MediEvil: Resurrection characters}}
{{MediEvil: The Game Prequel characters}}
{{Occult}}
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:MediEvil characters]]
[[Category:Characters in MediEvil]]
[[Category:MediEvil: Resurrection characters]]
[[Category:Characters in MediEvil 2]]
[[Category:Villains]]
[[Category:Characters in MediEvil: Resurrection]]
[[Category:Male Characters]]
[[Category:Characters in MediEvil: The Game Prequel]]
[[Category:Bosses]]
[[Category:Bosses in MediEvil]]
[[Category:Bosses in MediEvil: Resurrection]]
[[Category:Occult]]
[[Category:Sorcerers]]

Latest revision as of 03:17, 3 November 2024

This article is about Zarok's human form. For his beast form, see Zarok's Beast Transformation. For his serpentine form, see Zarok Serpent.

Zarok (died 1386) was an evil sorcerer who tried to conquer the land of Gallowmere. Although he was declared dead after the Battle of Gallowmere in 1286, Zarok managed to survive. He went into hiding and would not re-emerge until 1386, a hundred years later. His second attempt at conquest was thwarted by his nemesis, the knight Sir Daniel Fortesque.

Zarok
MediEvil2019-BookOfGallowmere-BossesIcon.png
MediEvil2019-Zarok-BookOfGallowmere.png
Biographical information
Title(s) King Peregrin's Advisor (1286)
Court Magician (1286)
Gender Male
Born Early 13th century
Gallowmere, Britain
Died 1386 (aged over 150)
Gallowmere, Britain
Weapon(s) Trident
Behind the scenes information
Designed by Jason Wilson
Voiced by Paul Darrow (English)
Norio Wakamoto (Japanese)
Appears in

"Sir Daniel Fortesque, my old nemesis, so we meet again!"
― Zarok, upon seeing Fortesque for the first time in 100 years.

History

Early life

Zarok was a smart but scrawny boy who came from a poor family in Gallowmere. His childhood days were spent with Mr Snuffy, his canine companion. However, on the day of King Peregrin's coronation, Mr Snuffy was killed by a Royal Guardsman who thought the pup was going to attack the newly crowned king. This event changed Zarok's life forever and marked the beginning of his obsession with necromancy. Zarok left Gallowmere to take up an apprenticeship with an infamous dark sorcerer.[1]

Return to Gallowmere

50 years later, Zarok returned to Gallowmere, causing the land's crops to fail in order to expose the incompetency of Peregrin's Court Magician Mazok the Muddled. Mazok's attempts to save the kingdom from the famine failed, forcing the king to seek help from Zarok. Zarok was all too happy to oblige. Once the famine was dealt with, Zarok became the new Court Magician.[1]

 
Zarok begins to summon an army of demons.

As part of his secret plot to take over the kingdom, Zarok would go on to kill the king's champion by spooking the champion's horse with a toad, causing him to be thrown in a well where he drowned. Zarok then convinced the King to appoint none other than Sir Daniel Fortesque to be his new champion, as Zarok knew that Fortesque was incompetent and would doom the king's army during his planned invasion.[1] At some point, Zarok summoned Shadow Demons from another dimension to help him build a vast castle on top of a faraway mountain.

War with Gallowmere

A day before his planned assault on the land, Zarok informed the King and his Champion about the approaching horde of undead, making excuses about why he cannot stop them. As part of his plan to weaken the King's army, he made the Jabberwocky attack the castle. He was surprised when the Jabberwocky was defeated by Sir Dan. Later, Zarok discovered that it was indeed Sir Dan who repelled the Jabberwocky attack, but an undead version of him from the future. He ordered his henchmen, Boris and Merek, to take this Dan to The Mystic Maidens to kill him.

Under the cover of night, Zarok's dark army spilled forth from their corrupt haven. The army marched south across the Silver Mountains and through the Silver Woods. Zarok's army had eventually overtaken the flood lands. This lead to the Battle of Gallowmere, in which Sir Daniel was killed. However, the history books said that he had defeated Zarok, just seconds before he died himself. Zarok survived the battle, however. He remained in hiding, preparing for a second invasion.

Some time after Dan's death, Zarok discovered a book of Black Magic which would become associated with him.[2] He also gained possession of the Shadow Artefact, the key to the tomb where his Shadow Demons were imprisoned. However, the Artefact was stolen from him by The Town Mayor before he could free them.[3][3.1]

The Evernight

100 years after the war, Zarok returned to Gallowmere once again. Using the powers of a spell book spell, Zarok stole the souls of the townspeople and resurrected the dead. While passing through Gallowmere's many locales, Zarok left behind him a green, slimy trail of magic. He was looking for the Shadow Artefact that was stolen from him.

Daniel first encountered Zarok at Cemetery Hill. Zarok tried to trap Dan in the necropolis by bringing two Boulder Gargoyles to life. Later in his quest, Daniel released Zarok's Shadow Demons due to needing an item located within the tomb to make further progress. The demons were killed however when Daniel released lava upon them in The Haunted Ruins.

Zarok awaited in his lair. He sent Fazguls and later his champion Lord Kardok to kill Dan, but Daniel managed to outsmart them. In the end, Zarok decided to confront Dan himself and transformed into a beast. Once defeated, Zarok accepted his death and cast a spell that caused his lair to collapse, which he hoped would bring Dan down with him. Zarok was crushed in the wreckage, his magic was undone.

Legacy

Five hundred years after his death, pages from Zarok's spell book resurfaced and were used by an evil sorcerer called Lord Palethorn to conquer London. Zarok himself was reduced to an exhibit in a museum in Kensington where he was described only as a coward.

Characteristics

Appearance

Zarok had pale gray skin. He wore somewhat feminine attire which consisted of red robes with gold highlights and a hat with pointed horns. He was rather thin, and he had two horns growing out of each cheek as well as his chin.

Personality

Zarok was a creepy, bitter and twisted soul. He was petty and vain yet intelligent, terrifying and evil yet charismatic, tough and dangerous yet at times campier than a Caravan park. He berated Dan and called him mocking nicknames. He also seemed to be held in high regard amongst his minions.

Abilities

Using the power of his staff and spellbook, Zarok could resurrect the dead, animate the inanimate and steal the souls of living beings. He was also able to build his own boiler guards and city; The Time Device - using science.

Gameplay

In his human form, Zarok only appears during cutscenes and is not featured in actual gameplay. See Zarok's Beast Transformation and Zarok Serpent for his transformations in the original MediEvil and MediEvil: Resurrection respectively.

MediEvil

Book of Gallowmere entry

It is said that Zarok's preoccupation with necromancy stems from an obsession to resurrect his childhood puppy.

Let's just reflect for a moment: isn't that just tragic? All this poor, troubled soul has ever wanted is to command the forces of darkness, enslave mankind, and play ball one last time with dear old Mr Snuffy.

Behind the scenes

Development

MediEvil

Zarok was designed by Lead Artist Jason Wilson. Wilson imagined Zarok as both "thin and fey" and "an evil puppet."[4][5] Wilson also noted that the character ended up being "rather camp" which gave him "an endearing quality as a villain" and suited the "quirky fun nature" of the game.[6]

MediEvil 2

An early iteration of MediEvil 2's plot involved Zarok being trapped in the Tower of London. Dan would have had to free him in order to form an uneasy alliance with him to recover his spell book from the clutches of an evil cult.[7] However, Zarok ended up not playing a major role in the final release.

Fate's Arrow

Zarok would have been the main antagonist in the 2003 MediEvil 3: Fate's Arrow concept pitch, teaming up with Kiyante, an evil sorceress with similar ambitions.

Portrayal

In English, Zarok was voiced by the late Paul Darrow, famed for his role of Kerr Avon in Blake's 7. According to Jason Wilson, Darrow was very enthusiastic about playing Zarok and was one of the reasons why Wilson wrote fictional biographies for the game's characters.[8] Darrow also liked to improvise his lines during recording.[9]

In Japanese, he was voiced by Norio Wakamoto who is famous for his roles of Oskar von Reuenthal in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Barbatos Goetia in Tales of Destiny 2, Charles zi Britannia in Code Geass, Xemnas in the Kingdom Hearts series, Cell in Dragon Ball Z, and Count Dracula in various Castlevania titles, and DIO from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure drama CD's and many others.[citation needed]

In other media

Main article: List of MediEvil references in other media

1996 – Creatures

 
Zarok in Creatures.

A portrait of Zarok appears in Creatures, an artificial life program created by Millennium Interactive. This is because the backgrounds for Creatures were composited by Jason Riley who also rendered all the full motion videos for MediEvil.[10]

2013 – PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

"Zarok, again? Could the evil wizard somehow have returned once more?"
― The narrator describes Sir Dan's thoughts.
 

Zarok appears as a minion, a type of support character, in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. He was made available for purchase on February 27, 2013 as part of the Super Minion Pack 2, Minion Pack 5 and as standalone DLC. Zarok is also mentioned several times in Sir Dan's arcade mode.

2023 – Clive 'N' Wrench

In the Middle Age Crisis level, one of the buildings in the town section is signposted as Koraz's Apothecary. Koraz is Zarok backwards.

Gallery

Main article: Images of Zarok
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Trivia

  • Zarok makes a possible joke about the practice of sheep sodomising before the final battle when he says "Oooh... Oh not right now!" after he accidentally transforms himself into a sheep.

In other languages

Language Name
Arabic ”زاروك”
"zaruka"
Bulgarian Зарок
Zarok
Japanese ザロック
Zarokku
Russian Зарок
Zarok

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2   MediEvil: The Game Prequel. Written by Chris Sorrell. Art by Jason Wilson. Published by Titan Comics in 2019.
  2. ↑   MediEvil 2 manual. Written by Jim Sangster. Designed by Steve O'Neill. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment America in May 2000. Download.
  3. ↑   MediEvil. Developed by Other Ocean Emeryville. Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment on October 25, 2019.
    1. ↑ Book of Gallowmere in   MediEvil. Developed by Other Ocean Emeryville. Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment on October 25, 2019.
  4. ↑ MediEvil on JASON WILSON - PORTFOLIO: Art and Game Design.
  5. ↑   MediEvil developers - Q&A; on MediEvil Boards. Published November 3, 2013.
  6. ↑ Zarok on atomic-city concept art and design of Jason Wilson (archived version). Published Unknown.
  7. ↑   MediEvil developers - Q&A; on MediEvil Boards. Published February 10, 2012.
  8. ↑   "I’ll never forget writing fictional character biographies for the MediEvil voice actors, mostly because of Paul Darrow." — Jason Wilson (@GunnWriter) on X (formerly Twitter) (archived version at Internet Archive Wayback Machine). Published June 3, 2019.
  9. ↑   "Paul was prone to improvising and we very much enjoyed tweaking and playing with the script during recording." — Jason Wilson (@GunnWriter) on X (formerly Twitter) (archived version at Internet Archive Wayback Machine). Published June 29, 2019.
  10. ↑ Riley, Jason, Successful multi million selling AAA-games I have worked on. on Artificial Lens. Retrieved August 28, 2024.

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