Donkey Island - Won!

Written by Michael

It feels that every game I play for this blog, there’s one gameplay post where I’m mad at the game for stupid design choices.  This is that post for this game.  Fortunately, it’s also the last post.

Last time we met, I had received a second scroll from the magician as a reward for bringing him the second of four ingredients for a spell.  

Mekka-Lekka-Hi, Mekka-Hiney-Ho

Looking at this scroll, I’m told it has power over magical trees.  I won’t bother using it in the cottage, because I know it will be the same situation as before -- I’ll waste the spell and have to restore, because I’ll be dead-ended.  So, I need a magical tree.  This one is probably obvious, the tree that’s colored differently than all the others.  I’ll head there, save the game, and then read the spell aloud.

State of the Blog - 2025 - and Ideas for the Future

Written by The TAG Team

Which way should we go?

The Adventurer’s Guild started nearly 13 years ago, lovingly inspired by another blog, the CRPG Addict.  Over the years, both blogs have been covering a loose timeline of games in their respective genres.

So when Chet, the chief bottlewasher at CRPG, started to have concerns over the pace of his blog lately, it made us take a look at ourselves as well.

We started the gaming year of 1993 over eight years ago, and haven’t really finished it.  Even though we’ve started a few games from 1994, it is unlikely that we will even start 1995 in the next decade, at the pace we’re playing.  For those of us who read Trickster’s review of The Secret of Monkey Island 11 years ago, wouldn’t it be nice to come full-circle and read the reviews of the Telltale episode games and the Ron Gilbert reboot from a couple of years ago?  At the current rate, we will never get there in our natural lifespans.

Some of us would like to see a broader selection of games.  It’s not helping that many of our past reviewers have had changes in their real-life situations that have interfered with their prior commitments to the blog.  We have been just as dissatisfied as the readers with the slow pace of posts over the last handful of months.

So, we have a few ideas.  None of these are set in stone, we want your feedback and other ideas.  Because we love this blog, and don’t want it to fail.  Right now, it’s having a little bit of trouble.

• One idea that has been suggested before is an emulation of the “BRIEF” at CRPG.  A single post for a game, where a reviewer installs the game, plays it for a little bit, researches past reviews of the games, and posts a comprehensive account.  No score issued, but the game gets the attention.  This would be great for some of the “lesser” titles that often get relegated to "Missed Classic" status, but also would be an option for some of the games on our playlist that no one is rushing to volunteer to play.

• Are there still readers out there who might be interested in writing these smaller, less comprehensive posts?

• This would also be great for some of the disregarded or borderline titles.  Someone paid CAPs to force someone to review MTVs Club Dead, for example, but no one wants to play it.  Given how little time some of our reviewers have, is this really a good use of their time?

• Chet also suggested limiting the number of games per year, and cycling back through the years later to catch up with the ones that are missed.  While it may be too late to do that for 1994, it’s a thought.  Cover most of the mainline games, but only some of the borderline/disregarded titles.  A lot of those titles have bogged down the blog over the years, in the opinions of some, and based on the comment activity on the posts, they are sometimes less favorably received.

• Should we make our review posts less detailed?  Most of our posts now are narrated walkthroughs, but that wasn’t always the case.  Back in the early days, Trickster left out a lot of details, and most games were finished in about two gameplay posts.

• Even the comments on Chet’s post brings up some interesting points.  We’re quoting a few because we’d like some feedback.  Are these valid thoughts about our own blog?

• “To be honest it has been a while since you played a game I found really interesting. Sure, it is sort of interesting what kind of rather unknown games are out there, but a lot of them are just not that interesting.”

• “I'd also suggest that it makes even more sense to focus on 'particularly notable, fun, or important'”

• “Being mechanical about covering every obscurity in order would just mean missing out on more recent obscurities in favor of older ones”

• Should we tighten the standards for the games we play?  We’ve sometimes become very loose, for example, with games without an English-language release.  Do people enjoy reading the entries where the entire game has to be translated for them?  

Maybe some of these ideas can help solve the problem of reviewers not having enough time to blog through enough games each year.  

Please, please comment below with any ideas or suggestions you have, or thoughts about the ideas above.

Alone in the Dark 2 - Saving Grace

 Written by Andy Panthro

So long as we don't have to redo that maze!

A potentially fun little swap here, we shift from the main protagonist of Edward Carnby to the young child Grace, who was the Hero of Halloween in Jack in the Dark. As before, Grace can’t attack or fight anything directly, so no more brute forcing things with a tommy gun. We take control with Grace having left the mansion, and hiding behind a statue.

Of course my first thought is, “what if I just leave?” and I try walking towards the front gate. Alas, there is a zombie there with a gun, and this results in a game over. This time, instead of Carnby being thrown into the sea, he is instead suspended by his feet above the pirates as they party on the deck of their ship. 

Donkey Island - An Ordinary Green Bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon

Written by Michael

It’s time for another visit to Donkey Island!  Last time, I had just met a talking orchid flower that I’m trying to convince to give me some of her scent, as an ingredient for a spell for a magician I met under false pretenses.  She offered to transfer some of her perfume to a leaf, if I brought her one.

No, I haven’t been ingesting any wild poppies before writing that sentence.

One or two things come to mind.

So, I start a mad dash around the island looking for a leaf.  I try to manipulate any tree I find, big or small.  I try the hand icon, the pick up icon, even try using my knife on the trees.

In doing that, I accidentally solved another puzzle.

Dragonsphere - Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

Written by Vetinari

Here we are, at the final leg of our quest: inside Tyre nak Branwe, the Dragon's Tears, Sanwe's tower where he was imprisoned oh so many years ago. I will just start exploring the place and...

Oops.

That evil (literally) eye there on the right wall just threw a bolt of lightning at me, killing me instantly. Not to worry, though, because I have the very inventory item that can be used in this kind of circumstances.

Donkey Island - Crimson and Clover

Written by Michael

Said no adventure game player EVER.

Welcome back to scenic Donkey Island!  Last time, I just read the manual and watched the introduction.  Today, I’ll actually play some of the game.

No bananas in the tree.

We start on a sunny beach.  Looking around, there’s only one real object I can interact with, a palm tree, but the best I can figure now is to look at it.  I look at my surroundings, and while some things have descriptions, often the game will default to one of a random selection of dismissive phrases when it doesn’t have a response for me looking at a certain pixel.  For example, “You should get some fresh air”, “Don’t look at every cockroach”, or “I don't have my glasses”.

Alone in the Dark 2 - Clowning Around

Written by Andy Panthro

The creepy teleport room, where I began today

It’s been a little while since I played, it’s not always been the most fun experience, so I put it off for a while. Last time, I’d just been warped to a new area, and it just seems to be either another building or another part of the same house. The room I start in seems to be some sort of ritual area, not sure why it’s there other than I guess if the others can use it to warp around like a teleporter. In the corner is a flask, which I drink immediately, as the health points stack.

Gabriel Knight - Final Rating

Written by Michael

Circumstances came up, and I wasn’t able to finish the rating in time for this post.  Morpheus helpfully offered to take care of it for me.

...heh.  I joke a little.  This is one of the few times the two of us almost agree about a game.  Although, based on his comments, he would still score it lower than myself.

Humor aside, let’s get to the task at hand.  This is going to be tough for me.  I’m not known for covering top-10 games, and certainly didn’t expect Hand of Fate to crack the list.  The titles that I prefer, such as the humor-infused Sam & Max, are not universally acclaimed as high art.   I’m writing this introduction before I’ve figured out the score, but if the readers have any say, this game will blow those titles away.

Dragonsphere – Beauty and the Beast

 Written by Vetinari

Before getting to the Hightower Mountains, the game subjects me to another cutscene.

Gee, calm down girl!

Lak-Hella reminds Fiona that “before he vanished” Ner-Tom said that the sorcerer would emerge when the dragonsphere had burst apart, and that is not even close to happening. Then suggests that Fiona go to the courtyard and play at javelins to calm her nerves. (Play at javelins? How do you play at javelins exactly? And isn't that an unseemly activity for a lady?)

Game 160: The Secret of Donkey Island (Tajemství Oslího ostrova) - Introduction (1994)

Written by Michael

Before I finalize the scoring for Gabriel Knight, I’ll take a slight detour to a more light-hearted title.  Don’t fret -- I’ll post the scoring next. For now, we’ll go for a historic title.

Historic?  Before 1992, there hadn’t really been any real games developed and released from a Czech-based producer.  A pair of teens, Jarek Kolář and Petr Vlček, using a computer at a grammar school in Brno, developed the game we are about to play as a way to prove that Czech citizens really could produce a game up to the standards of the overseas developers.  It was the first point-and-click developed in the country, and one of the first (eventually) made commercially available.

Alone in the Dark 2 - Wining and Dining

Written by Andy Panthro

Party time.

I have tried my best to fully explore upstairs, so the only other places to go are locked doors, filled with trigger-happy zombies, or the kitchen. I managed to get past the trident statue by staying as far away as possible, although later I found out that I had just lucked into the solution of how to pass this obstacle (it depends on the colour of tile you step on, apparently). 

In the kitchen, the little chef sometimes wanders in but does not attack. The other chef mentions that wine opens doors, and tells me to eat. There’s food on the counter, and I can indeed eat the eggs without any problem. However, after being in the kitchen for a minute, the larger chef opens what looks like an ice-box, and takes out a blowpipe. Annoyingly, this means I have to try and kill the larger chef, which is easier said than done. After his death, I can loot the rest of the kitchen.

Gabriel Knight - Won!

Written by Michael

Gabriel thinks he knows what to do

Hey, we’re in the home stretch.  Day 10 will be the last day of the game.

Last time around, Gabriel had just watched his uncle sacrifice himself to restore the long-lost talisman to the family.  Gabriel, now taking on the family tradition of shadow hunting, is going to need the extra power boost.

If only it was back in 1989, we would have had another option.  And sadly, @arcanetrivia, this isn’t the job at hand.

Gabriel now has the talisman, and heads back to the states.  He arranges for his uncle’s body to be properly buried at the castle in Germany.  On the way back, he tries to reach both Grace and Malia.  Neither answer his calls.

Dragonsphere - Quicksand

Written by Vetinari

Before travelling to the desert, I take stock of my inventory and notice something very interesting.

This is the description of the bird figurine I just got from the Butterfly King...

...and this is one special action command from the sword.

I try to carve up the figurine, and, as expected, I manage to construct a crude flute.

Gabriel Knight - Heartless, Heartless, You Think it's Gonna Fill This Empty Soul

Written by Michael

How I feel every morning. 

So, last time I underwent a hazing initiation ceremony to become a chosen one, just like my uncle, and it seems, practically every male above me in the family tree.  We wake up, sore, and think it might have just been a dream... but then we notice the large brass key at the foot of the bed, the same one that was given to us in the sequence,

I’m pretty sure I know where that key is used.  Wasn’t there an oversized keyhole just next to the bed to another room?

Dragonsphere - Oh! You Pretty Things

Written by Vetinari

Last time in this Dragonsphere playthrough we were just about to embark in a voyage across the Kingdom of Callahach starting from our own castle of Gran Callahach. When exiting the castle waystation, the game takes you to the map of the Kingdom, with the various realms that you can visit: Soptus Ecliptus, Brynn-Fann, Slathan ni Patan and Tyre nak Branwe, Sanwe's tower.

I decide to visit the Slathans first, because they seem to be the underdogs of this fantasy world. It is cool that, while the realms that you haven't visited yet appear on the map as just icons, when you go to them they change to a real 3D version of the place.

Before...

...and after.

Gabriel Knight - Cuts Like a Knife

Written by Michael

When we wrapped up last time, Gabriel had returned from an intense party and was suffering from a hangover of sorts.  Grace struggled to wake us up, and when she did, she gave us some advice:  call Uncle Wolfgang.

Let’s reach out and touch someone, and call Germany, shall we?

Dragonsphere - Heroes

Written by Vetinari

Welcome back to Dragon Ball – I mean Dragonsphere.

The two plots have some passing similarities, i.e. very few dragons.

We start the game proper with former Prince now King Callash in his chambers, being woken up by his wife Fiona (who is now the Queen, I guess?) saying that the dragonsphere is stirring more forcefully with every passing moment.

I just love that one of the possible answers to this dialogue is just “Let me sleep. We'll destroy the sorcerer another day.” We've all been there, right?

Anyway, Fiona and the Queen Mother (that is, Callash's mom) will await our hero in the council chamber before his departure. Callash makes his morning ablutions and then changes clothes, saying that, as per his teacher of etiquette, you must “do nothing in the clothes in which you sleep, except sleep”. Callash thinks that this is very sound advice even if he found some exceptions to the rule as he grew older. Okay, let's keep it PG-13, game.

Alone in the Dark 2 - Play Your Cards Right

 Written by Andy Panthro

Red herrings.

Last time, we found ourselves in the basement of the mansion. After dealing with many machine gun zombies, finally we’re getting some puzzles and the game feels a lot better for it. I basically have two options here, to go upstairs or to go into a side room that sounds like gunfire. Since I want to finish up down here before moving on upstairs, I check the side room.

As I mentioned last time, it turns out it sounds like gunfire because two burly guys with pistols are shooting targets on the other side of the room. Acting quickly with my battledore, I had dispatched them. The room has four posters of four playing cards on one wall: The Jack of Diamonds, the Queen of Clubs, the King of Spades, and the Ace of Hearts. At the other end of the room, are four pillars with pictures of each suit on their four sides. I am assuming I need to rotate the pillars so they match the wall pictures.

This took a bit of figuring out, as hitting the pillars did not always rotate them once. Then immediately I’m stumped, as I try Diamond, Club, Spade, Heart and it does nothing. Then I try them in reverse, still nothing. I’m curious if the suit means anything, or perhaps I’m just seeing puzzles where none exist.

Gabriel Knight - Lions, Tigers, and Bears... Oh My!

Written by Michael

Or, like a bad penny, I always turn up.

Good morning!  Like Gabriel, I’m writing this while I drink some coffee, but unlike Gabriel, I’m not reading the newspaper, because those have not travelled through time with us to the future.

Actually, that’s the only item so far that would be anachronistic in our world today.  No pay phones yet in this game, a staple in the 1980s-90s graphic adventure game world.

And we were able to receive a call at the payphone without everyone assuming we were a drug dealer.  My, how times have changed.

Game 159: Dragonsphere - Introduction (1994)

Written by Vetinari

Welcome to the first game of 1994 which will be reviewed for The Adventurers Guild!

What do you mean “there are other games from 1993 that haven't been played yet”? Hey buddy, I don't make the rules, I just follow them! They told me I could start with the first game from 1994 in the Master List, and since this game came out in January 1994, it is as good a candidate for this as any other. So, do me a favour, random internet stranger which I just made up for the purposes of starting this introduction post, and slink back into the shadows from whence you came. Really, the nerves of some people...

Where was I? Oh yes, Dragonsphere.

Why have I chosen to play and review Dragonsphere? Because of two factors: 1) it is commonly regarded as the best of the three adventure games which came out from Microprose, and 2) dragons. Everything is better with dragons.

Missed Classic: Dracula Hakushaku (ドラキュラ伯爵) - Flashback, Heart Attack

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

One person watching another person in the darkness, we need a lot of words for this one.

Welcome back to Dracula. It's been far too long. To bring everyone back up to speed, last time Dracula had just drained the blood of the maid of another paramour of his called Franceska. We start with him staring at her alone, in a gazebo in the forest. She's not yet aware of him.

How's she doing? She's gotten past her fear, but she looks like she's about to break out crying. This amuses Dracula, in such a way that he could laugh. How's Dracula doing? Sucking that girl's blood has made him more...vital. Well...I wasn't missing that. Now I can talk to her. Dracula introduces himself and apologizes (ha) for making her wait. She already wants to get out of here. He asks if she's here on her lonesome. She mentions her maid, but wonders where she went to. He wonders if she'll return. After a little more talk, he says they should go to the palace, because she must be cold out here.

Alone in the Dark 2 - A Barrel of Fun

By Andy Panthro

A classic locked door puzzle.

We return to the underground caves beneath Hell’s Kitchen, California. I’ve somehow lost my guns, and so I’m hoping the rest of this will be much more adventure game focused, and much less of a terrible third person shooter. There’s a large metal door blocking my progress, but thankfully I have quite an array of odd objects in my inventory, and surely one or two of these will help me progress.

Gabriel Knight - Well, Sonny, it Looks Like the Gremlin Has Struck Again...

Written by Michael

Game over.  Time to switch to my next title.

Last post, I had just landed in day 4.  I had a few plans for the day, such as getting the bracelet from our friendly jeweler, Sam, following up with the professor at the college, and asking Mosely why the investigation was put on hold.

Let’s start with that.  I head down to the police station, and as usual, walk behind the counter and into Mosely’s office without the officers on duty saying a word.  Mosely drops the news on us, which we kind of already knew from the newspaper: the mafia from Chicago was trying to muscle in on the drug trade here, because Florida isn’t as appealing right now.  “What we had here was a little resistance from the local ‘businessmen.’”

Alone in the Dark 2 - I Am Not Amazed

Written by Andy Panthro

All work and no play makes Carnby a dull boy.

So last time I explored the start of the game, found a weird skip or alternative path, and instead chose to explore a maze. We all love mazes in adventure games don’t we? Don’t we? Uh… well nevertheless, this is the task before me. Now I’ve nothing against mapping my way through a maze, this one doesn’t even seem like the most complex one. What I dislike is the way there’s a gun-toting zombie behind every corner, not as a way to punish you for taking a wrong path, but just behind every path.

I have died so many times, and made so little progress. The zombies are far better at aiming their guns than me, and also seem to be faster on the trigger. If this were The Quick and The Dead, they are the quick and I am the dead. Did I ever mention I’m not a big fan of fast zombies? But I digress. Part of me thinks you’re supposed to just run past them, but the problem with that is some of them also seem to have useful items.

Gabriel Knight - Dancing with Man's Best Friend

Written by Michael

Can we talk about this game for a while?

It’s time for me to go back down to New Orleans again, and continue where I left off on Day 3.  Last time around, I learned a few new things, such as many details about African Voodoun practices and the fact that anyone who owns a snake is instantly a suspect in the Voodoo Murders.

Alone in the Dark 2 - Shot to the Heart

Written by Andy Panthro

What if I just left?

I’m finally back! Apologies for the delay in properly starting this. After quite a long gap from the introduction post, I finally found the time and energy to resume playing this game. Hopefully my progression should be swift, although I had to refamiliarise myself with the controls, which are as awkward as ever. I can never get the hang of the proper tapping of a direction to run with any regularity. 

Gabriel Knight - It's Better Than a Stick in the Eye

Written by Michael

Last time, I had just settled into day 3, by waking up, stumbling out of my studio apartment, and behaving like a caveman in front of my amazingly dedicated employee, Grace.  Now, it’s time to caffeinate and begin our day.

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. III - Final Rating

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

It's time to put the final pieces in place.

I now have the unenviable job to review not only the arguable worst game in a series, but as the guy who didn't even review (or finish) the last two games. If I am too easy on the game, I am being generous to a game I at first bounced off. If I am too hard, I am attacking a game I did not care for to begin with. So, let's do this with all the cards on the table, what I didn't care about in the past, why my rating is probably different from what Joe would have given, and where I think this went better than my experience with the first game.

Gabriel Knight - Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Investigator

Written by Michael

Time for us to sit down together again and talk about this game.

Glad to be back with you as we finish out another day in the life of Gabriel Knight, investigative author.  Earlier in this game day, I visited Dr. John at the museum, voodooienne Moonbeam at her residence, and then spent some time at the park.  There’s got to be more to this day.  The formula for the game seems simple enough: research enough until you find at least the one trigger that causes you to ask Grace to do research, and then the day ends.  So, I figure the best plan is to do as much research as possible each day before returning to the bookstore.  From some of the comments I’ve seen so far, it seems some items can be done sooner or later, so I might be front-loading the game and taking away later tasks, and I’m certainly fine with that.

Well, that eliminates one possible solution...

Missed Classic: Dracula Hakushaku (ドラキュラ伯爵) - Predator and Prey

Written by Morpheus Kitami

Horror of Dracula seems to be the vague vibe that this game is trying to get across, where Dracula is clearly a charming figure yet no less an obvious predator.

Over the years vampires have been depicted many ways, sometimes straight-forwardly, like a monster, a predator or a demon, or sometimes metaphorically, like for disease or oil. Count Dracula, the name of this game in English which I would title it if I had the guts, depicts Dracula firmly as a predator. A charming predator who insists upon himself. His victims have little chance of escaping once they're within his spell.

But as I've played more of this game, I'm not so sure that this game came across this theme entirely intentionally. Dracula is only unique in being a vampire, predators like him roam the world, seeking women to hurt themselves. We've seen that with Jack the Ripper, but soon we'll see that these are not isolated characters in an otherwise hopeful world. I said that Dracula was darker than I expected in the first entry, and it's gotten darker still. So, be warned.

Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. III - The Spirpt is Willing...

Written by Morpheus Kitami

The cover to the original 1981 edition of the board game.

This one really isn't going to make any sense if you haven't read previous entries for this particular game, I'm afraid.

Now that we've seen all the cases the computer game has to offer, it's time to see how they played out in the original board game. I say original compared to the reissued board game, released about a decade ago. I'm sure the differences are minor, but still, it should be interesting. And of course, after that there's the final case, untouched by the computer games for reasons that I once knew but have since forgotten.

Gabriel Knight - Now Go Do That Voodoo That You Do So Well

Written by Michael

Oh, if only they knew what was coming in 30 years...

I’m back to start another day in the life of Gabriel Knight, gentleman scholar.  My last post ended at the close of the first full day, leading up to the wee hours of the morning, where a familiar ritual occurs, the paperboy arriving at the bookstore a mere second before my assistant Grace.

We learn nothing new because our convenient police source keeps us in the loop.

As is my usual ritual, I stumble out of the back-room bedroom, drink some coffee, and read the newspaper.  This is much like my own life, minus the now-extinct newspaper.

Wait, I keep using the word ritual.  Somehow, it seems appropriate when narrating this game.