MediEvil (1998)
- This article is about the first game of the series. For general series information, see MediEvil (series).
| MediEvil (1998) | ||
|---|---|---|
| [[Image:<tabber>
PAL=
File:Medievil-front.jpg|250px]] | ||
| Tagline(s) | You'll be dying to play! A Gothic Tale Straight from the Grave. | |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, Playstation Network | |
| Ratings | ESRB: Teen ELSPA: 11+ OFLC: G8+ | |
| Mode(s) | Single-player | |
other= MediEvil (メディーバル 甦ったガロメアの勇者 Medībaru Yomigaetta Garomea no Yūsha) is an action-adventure video game and the first installment in the MediEvil series. It was developed by SCE Studio Cambridge and published by Sony. It was released on October 9 1998 in Europe, October 30 1998 in North America and on June 17 1999 in Japan for the PlayStation. Due to it's success, the game was released in 1999 as a platinum title in Europe. It was also released in a bundle with C-12: Final Resistance on May 9 2003.
The game was followed by MediEvil 2 released in 2000. It was remade in 2005 as MediEvil: Resurrection for the PSP. The game was made available for download for the PSP and PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation store in 2007. In August 2010, the game was made available for free to European PlayStation Plus subscribers.
Gameplay
During the game, the player must go through several places, from a graveyard full of zombies, to a flying ghost ship full of undead pirates, to a levitating board in an enchanted forest surrounded by flying demonettes. There are also several collectible items found in the levels which have to be collected in order to proceed to further areas or levels. There are several books placed upon stands all over areas in the game which may offer advice to Sir Dan, while some others contain humorous jokes or generally the history of the area. Some of them are placed in hidden places, but they are mostly found along the path that Sir Dan takes. They can be read if struck with a close range weapon.
Weapons
Dan starts the game with just his detachable arm, which can be used as both a melee weapon and a projectile, but is incredibly weak. Soon, however he obtains a small sword. The majority of weapons Dan encounters are received from the Hall of Heroes by collecting Chalices in each level, and range from swords, axes and hammers to projectile weapons such as crossbows and spears. There are other weapons that Dan encounters through the course of the game, such as a club that can be used as a torch, but breaks after too much use; a Dragon Armour that lets Dan breathe fire and protects him from flame attacks; and Chicken Drumsticks that can turn enemies into Roast Chicken for health recovery. Dan is also able to find a variety of shields to protect himself, ranging from copper to gold in strength.
Chalice of Souls
Throughout the levels Sir Dan is presented with an opportunity to collect that particular level's chalice, by filling it up with the souls of his enemies. This mystical item enables him to visit the Hall of Heroes after the conclusion of the level. Dan can only collect the chalice in each level when he has dispatched enough "defeated adversaries" to reach 100%. Chalices are hidden well and are not always at the end of a level, so Dan must back-track to the beginning to find it. In the "Hall of Heroes", he can converse with past heroes, "await spiritual guidance" and receive useful items or weapons to help him in his quest. Collecting all the chalices allows the player to see the true ending.
Enemies
Alongside certain weapons, there are also many colourful and varying enemies, though particularly zombies in the opening levels, which Dan must defeat. Later on through the epic journey through Gallowmere, Dan will encounter a number of other monsters and creatures, most of which are modelled after gothic demons associated with the time period. Sticky-fingered Imps, demonic Scarecrows, and Zarok's boiler guards are but a few of the ghastly and varied monstrosities that inhabit the levels.
Very simple weapons will require much use in order to finish off a single enemy. Some enemies can only be attacked either at certain times or using specific weapons, such as the Scarecrows. Many weapons, such as swords and throwing daggers, can be charged up to produce a more powerful attack to finish beasts off more quickly.
Plot
Template:Spoilers The game begins with a retelling of the battle of Gallowmere, where Sir Daniel Fortesque (the game's main protagonist) supposedly defeated the evil sorcerer Zarok, before dying himself. He was known as the Hero of Gallowmere since then. Later, this is shown to be just a lie made up by King Peregrin, however, since Daniel was killed by the very first wave of arrows.
Zarok, although believed to be dead, managed to escape the battlefield, fleeing into hiding. 100 years later, he returns. He steals the souls of the townsfolk and brings the dead and inanimate to life. Unknowningly, however, he also revives Dan, who retains his free will. Being the only one who can stop him, Daniel leaves his crypt and begins his journey through Gallowmere, which, if he succeeds, would make him the hero he had never been in life.
Dan makes his way through the Graveyard and into Cemetery Hill. After a short meeting with Zarok, Daniel proceeds with exploring the area and finds a Witch Talisman. He then continues to the Hilltop Mausoleum, where he fights the Stained Glass Demon for the key that unlocks the Graveyard's gates. He returns to the Graveyard, uses the key to unlock the Skull Gates and battles the graveyard's guardians for freedom. After defeat, they grant him the Daring Dash ability. When he finds his way out of the Scarecrow Fields, Dan travels to the Pumpkin Gorge, where he summons the Pumpkin Witch with his talisman. She promises to reward him with a Dragon Gem if he defeats the Pumpkin King. After defeating the King and getting the gem, Dan travels to Gallows Town, which is soon overrun by Zarok's henchmen.
He learns that Zarok wants to find the Shadow Artefact in order to release the Shadow Demons from their tomb underneath the Enchanted Earth. Daniel manages to find the shadow artefact before Zarok, however. Dan then leaves the for the Asylum Grounds, where he encounters Jack of the Green, a gargoyle that claims the labyrinth as his domain. He gives riddles to Dan, which he must answer if he wishes to find a way out of the grounds. Daniel eventually enters the Asylum, where he finds the Town Mayor. After freeing him from his cell, he tells Dan to take the Dragon Gem Zarok left behind.
Daniel then travels to the Enchanted Earth, where he may summon a witch and help her get her amber from the ant's nest. If Daniel chooses to help the witch, he will fight the Ant Queen and receive some magical Chicken Drumsticks from the witch as a reward. In the forest, he locates the Shadow Demon tomb and opens it with the Shadow Artifact. In order to access the further parts of Gallowmere, Daniel releases the demons from their tomb. After defeating two Demonettes, Daniel makes his way to the Pools of the Ancient Dead - The place where the battle of Gallowmere took place. There, Daniel meets the Boat man. He asks Dan to bring him 10 lost souls in exchange for rowing Dan to the sunken city of Mellowmede. In Mellowmede, Daniel finds a way to the Crystal Caves, where he awakens a dragon using the two dragon gems he collected. The Dragon gives Daniel the dragon potion after Dan defeats him.
Dan proceeds to the Gallows Gauntlet. He uses the Dragon potion to get through the Dragon gates. Finally, he reaches the Haunted Ruins - Once Gallowmere's seat of power. Within this keep, he frees 3 peasants and encounters the ghost of King Peregrin. The King instructs him to unleash the lava behind the castle's floodgates in order to defeat the Shadow demons. Daniel does so, but it brings two stone golems to life. After defeating them, he quickly catapults himself out of the castle. He lands around a huge stone structure, when a Jabberwocky darts out of nowhere. It chases Dan, until Daniel reaches a cliff. In the last minute, he is saved by a giant bird (presumably a dragon bird). The bird drops Dan on the Ghost Ship. Daniel makes his way to the ship's captain and then takes control over the ship.
Using the ship, Daniel travels to Zarok's Castle. He explores it's Entrance Hall, until he finds a passage to Zarok's Time Device, a great city of cogs and clocks built by the darkest of magic - science. Within the city, he finds Zarok's train, which he uses to reach Zarok's Lair. Finally, Daniel confronts Zarok. Zarok summons his troops to kill Dan, but Daniel uses the souls he had collected within the chalices to create his own skeletal army. The two forces battle, until Daniel's side emerges victorious. Zarok then calls upon his champion, Lord Kardok. Once again, Daniel wins. Zarok then casts a spell that transforms him into a monstrous creature. Once Daniel defeats him, Zarok falls to the ground. In a final attempt at defeating his foe, Zarok casts a spell that causes the lair to collapse. He's crushed by the ceiling while Dan runs for the door. The game's ending depends on the amount of chalices collected by the player.
- Not all chalices collected: Daniel is saved by the Dragon bird before falling to his death. He sees Zarok's magic revert - The souls contained within his staff are released, the villagers once again have their own souls. The bird drops Dan by his crypt and flies away. Daniel lies down upon his bed and dies.
- All chalices collected: The same as above, but after he lies upon his bed and dies, he is shown joining the heroes in the Hall of Heroes.
Characters
- Sir Daniel Fortesque - The game's protagonist and playable character. He was King Peregrin's champion when he was alive. He was also one of the first men to die in the battle against Zarok and his Shadow Demons and was proclaimed Hero of Gallowmere by the king, so that the people of the land would feel safe. When Zarok returns to raise an army of dead, he also raises Sir Dan by mistake. Being given a second chance, Dan can finally prove himself a hero that he wasn't in his life by defeating Zarok.
- Zarok the Sorcerer - The game's antagonist. He was King Peregrin's advisor and mage, until he began dabbling in Necromancy, which led the King to exiling him from the land. Embittered and filled with wrath, he led an army of Shadowy demons into battle against the King. His army was defeated, however, by the King's militia and soon he was proclaimed killed by Sir Dan. In truth, Zarok went into hiding, only to return 100 years later to try and take over the land once again.
- King Peregrin - The past King of Gallowmere. He appointed Sir Dan a knight and banished Zarok from the land. He aids Dan in his quest by telling him how to defeat the Shadow Demons.
- Heroes - Canny Tim, Stanyer Iron Hewer, Bloodmonath Skull Cleaver, Woden the Mighty, Karl Sturnguard, Dirk Steadfast, RavenHooves the Archer, Imanzi Shongama and Megwynne Stormbinder, all aid Dan in his quest by giving him their weapons and other useful items.
Cover art and CDs
<tabber> PAL (European)=
- SCES-00311-F-ALL.jpg
Front Cover
- 1332136-medievilplat eu ps front super.jpg
Platinum Front Cover
- CD.png
CD
- MediEvil - Back Cover PAL.JPG
Back Cover
- 197892 93994 back.jpg
Platinum Back Cover
- SCES-00311-B-ALL.jpg
Alternate Back Cover
|-| NTSC (American)=
- MediEvil - Front Cover NTSC.jpg
Front cover.
- MediEvil - Back Cover NTSC.jpg
Back cover
- NTSC CD.png
CD
|-| NTSC-J (Japanese)=
- Medievil jp 0001.jpg
Front cover
- SCPS-10081-B-ALL.jpg
Back cover
- Medievil jp 0000.jpg
CD
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Additional content
Inside original copies of the game's PlayStation box was a poster featuring an insight into MediEvil's sequel, MediEvil 2. This detailed new characters and levels, set in 19th century London.
On the reverse of this image are map instructions for the first four levels of the game. These include details of the locations of vials, the chalice, life bottles, rune stones, gargoyles, rune hands, copper and silver shields, primary weapons and other secrets which may only be accessible after finding certain items or completing certain tasks.
Soundtrack
- Main article: Les musiques de MediEvil
The original soundtrack of the game was made using electronic synthesizers to simulate an entire orchestra and organ. The tracks were composed by Paul Arnold and Andrew Barnabas. Chris Sorrell, the game's designer, asked them to compose a Danny Elfman-style score, similar to those of Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Batman Returns.[1]
Although there's no official soundtrack release, the 71st issue of the french magazine Joypad featured a CD named Les musiques de Medievil, which contains 10 tracks from the game and is the only "soundtrack" ever released for it.
Tracklist
| # | Track title | Composed by | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Awakening" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:12 |
| 2 | "Quest for Vengeance" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:10 |
| 3 | "Dan's Waltz" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:05 |
| 4 | "A difficult path" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:08 |
| 5 | "Morten's Dance" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:00 |
| 6 | "Enchanted Wood" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:09 |
| 7 | "Desecrated Church" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:14 |
| 8 | "Journey through the Crystal Caves" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:18 |
| 9 | "City in the Clouds" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:09 |
| 10 | "Triumph in Death" | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold | 2:42 |
| 11 | "Stuttgart (Exciting)" | Jason Page | 3:20 |
| 12 | "Stuttgart (Panic)" | Jason Page | 3:05 |
| 13 | "Japan" | Jason Page | 3:15 |
| 14 | "USA" | Jason Page | 3:10 |
| 15 | "Alpine" | Jason Page | 3:45 |
| 16 | "Menu" | Jason Page | 1:54 |
Reception
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 80.40%[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Absolute PlayStation | 91%[3] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.8/10 |
| Game Revolution | A−[4] |
| GameSpot | 8.2/10[5] |
| IGN | 7.8/10[6] |
| Official PlayStation Magazine (US) | 4/5 |
| PSM | 3/5 |
| PSX Extreme | 6.9/10[7] |
MediEvil received positive reviews, with an 80.40% aggregate rating at
.[8] The game received a 7.8/10 from
[9]. IGN heralded it as "A fun game and one of PlayStation's classics".
gave it an 8.2/10, proclaiming that the game is a "welcome surprise"[10]. Game Revolution gave the game an A− and stated that "what we have here is one of the cleverest platform games ever made"[11].
Awards
- Best PlayStation Game - Gaming Expo
- Best Platinum Seller 1999 -
- Gold Award - Official PlayStation Magazine
- Silver Award - Monthly Games
- Token Prize - Network Games
Production Credits
| Game Concept/Direction | Chris Sorrell |
|---|---|
| Game Design | Jason Wilson |
| Main Programming | James Busby, Paul Donovan, Chris Sorrell, Matt Johnson, Sam Baker |
| Additional Programming | Derek Pollard, Tim Closs, Dean Ashton |
| Mapping/Development Assistant | Katie Lea |
| Art Design | Jason Wilson |
| Rendered Sequences/Presentation Visuals | Jason Riley |
| Additional Mapping | Lindsay Pollard |
| AV Management | Pete Murphy |
| Original Soundtrack | Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold |
| Sound Effects | Paul Arnold |
| Video Post-Production | Tom Oswald |
| Speech Post-Production | Andrew Barnabas |
| Sound Effects/Language Implementation | Gary Richards, William Bell |
| Technologies Management | Mike Ball |
| Technologies Programming | Andrew Ostler, Dean Ashton, Matt Johnson |
| QA Testing Co-ordinator | Sarah-Louise Lloyd |
| QA Testers | Dave Holloway, Alex Sulman, Dan Smith, Stuart Harvey |
| Preliminary Script | Jason Wilson |
| Dialogue Script | Martin Pond |
| Producer | Chris Sorrell |
| Manager (Cambridge Studio) |
Ian Saunter |
| Executive Producer for SCEE | John Roberts |
| Product Manager | Chris Ansell |
| Manual | Written by Jim Sangster
Designed by Steve O'Neill |
| Print Production | Martin Pearce |
| Manual QA Approval | Lee Travers, Stephen Griffiths |
| QA Manager | Tony Bourne |
| Head of the Internal Testing | Steve Archer |
| Testing Co-Ordinator | Jim McCabe |
| Lead Tester | Dave Burke |
| Assistant Lead Tester | Andy Macoy |
| Testers | Ian Cunliffe, Richard Bunn, Anthony Gill, John Cassidy, Dominic Berzins, Ian McEvoy, Phil Bramhill, Dee Norfolk, Lorna Croasdale, Pat Cowan, Carl McKane, Carl Guinney |
| Lead Localisation Tester | Ed Valiente |
| Localisation Testers | Claudia Schuldt, Christa Leonards, Lucie Dupoirieux, Susana Olga Paredes Alcaraz, Ana Maria Juarez-Ordóñez, Andrea Masneri, Miguel Sanchez |
| VOICE ARTISTS | |
| Luis Soto, Paul Darrow, Harry Dickmen, Christopher Kent, Helen Lederer |
Gallery
Screenshots
- Ss1.jpg
- Ss2.jpg
- Ss3.jpg
- Ss4.jpg
- Ss5.jpg
- Ss6.jpg
- Ss7.jpg
- Ss8.jpg
- Ss9.jpg
- Ss10.jpg
- Ss11.jpg
- Ss12.jpg
Videos
- Video:Promotional Trailer (US)
Promotional Trailer (US)
- Video:60 second TV advert (US)
60 second TV advert (US)
- Video:30 second TV advert (EU)
30 second TV advert (EU)
Trivia
- MediEvil was one of the first games to support a DualShock controller on the PlayStation.
- The game has sold over 800k units world-wide.
- On the game's official US website and on promotional game material, it is said that the game takes place in 847, but this is proven to be untrue in the game's sequel, where the year 1386 is revealed to be the true year of the game's events.
- The game is dedicated to the memory of Mr Apple.
- In the Japanese version of the game, Daniel wears a helmet.
References
- ↑ Ittensohn, Oliver, Interview with composer Paul Arnold.
- ↑ http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/197892-medievil/index.html
- ↑ http://www.absolute-playstation.com/api_review/rmedi.htm
- ↑ http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/medievil
- ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/medievil/reviews/medievil-review-2548312/
- ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/10/23/medievil
- ↑ http://www.psxextreme.com/ps1-reviews/29.html
- ↑ http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/197892-medievil/index.html
- ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/10/23/medievil
- ↑ http://www.gamespot.com/medievil/reviews/medievil-review-2548312/
- ↑ http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/medievil
External links
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