Chess Pieces

The chess pieces were living game pieces used for the chess puzzle in The Asylum Grounds.

Chess Pieces
MediEvil1998-TheAsylumGrounds-LoadingScreen.png
Biographical information
AKA King
Queen
Bishop
Rook
Behind the scenes information
Appears in

History

14th century

These magical, life-sized, talking chess pieces moved in the same directions as in actual chess. To solve the chess puzzle, Dan had to hit them with his weapon to make them move until they landed on the square that matched their colour. Once all the pieces were in place, the hidden entrance to the asylum opened in the centre of the chessboard.

There were four chess pieces:

King

The king was a chess piece that could move in any direction, similarly to the queen. The square tile that corresponded to the king's colour was blue.

Queen

The queen was a chess piece that could move in any direction, similarly to the king. The square tile that matched the queen's colour was red.

Bishop

The bishop was a chess piece that could only move diagonally. The square tile that corresponded to the bishop's colour was green.

Rook

The rook was a chess piece that could only move vertically or horizontally. The square tile that corresponded to the rook's colour was yellow.

Gameplay

"These chess pieces have a will of their own. Notice that each of their colors match colored squares on the board below them."
MediEvil: The Official Strategy Guide

Sir Dan has to guide the chess pieces to their matching tile. Each piece moves in the same way it does in chess.

Behind the scenes

Development

In the MediEvil Rolling Demo, while all the chess pieces are mostly the same, their voices are not implemented yet. After completing the chess puzzle, the hidden entrance takes Dan into underground tunnels which were replaced by the level exit in the final game release.[1]

Gallery

Trivia

  • The pawn and knight are the only chess pieces that were not used for the Asylum Grounds' chess puzzle.
    • The knight chess piece can be seen in the original game's Asylum Grounds loading screen. The knight chess piece can still be seen in the level but as a hedge sculpture.
    • The pawn chess piece, while absent from the original game, is added in the PS4 remake as a hedge sculpture.
  • Most of the chess pieces' voice lines are inaudible, but some can be made out - the chess pieces (excluding the queen) can be heard muttering "Come on, one more!" and "One more time one more time..."
  • The rook in the original game says "Oi!" when hit, but in the PS4 remake, the rook reuses the bishop's "Ouch!" voice clip instead.

References

  1. MediEvil Rolling Demo. Developed by SCEE Cambridge Studio. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment in September 1997.

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