Missed Classic: Urotsukidoji (うろつき童子) - Won (And Summary)

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

Last time, we finished a meeting with Kudo, and we were going to go to class 3-C. Probably.

That's Akemi, but it isn't anyone I recognize. Wasn't she missing? Oh, it is Nagumo, but wait, who was the guy the first time? I guess a member of the student council? Jaku asks about the Choujin, Nagumo says he always asks about that, when in the world is he going to get new material? Now two different people are stealing my lines...I have Jaku talk to Nagumo again, and again, Nagumo mocks him and now Akemi is joining in on the fun. I'm going to click on talk to Nagumo again, Jaku, are we going to talk to him normally? He asks him what's going on, nothing much. How about Akemi? Well, she asks Jaku if he's seen Kumiko, he says yes, but he's cagey about it. Probably because she's dead. Jaku tells Kuroko to watch Nagumo.

Yuuchi is in 3-B. So if Kudo isn't in 3-B or 3-C, where is he? Yuuchi is still pinning over Akemi, and to be honest I sort of don't care about this plotline much. Seemingly, it might just be carryover from yesterday, hopefully that's not a technical issue. I briefly search the rest of the rooms on the third floor, before deciding to speed things along. Which is good, because I didn't examine the Information Room on the third floor enough. Examining it three times reveals that Jaku can hear someone's voice, and because this is the only way we're getting any plot right now, we search the LL room, then I have to go to 3-A, 2-C and 1-B. A green voiced person is saying something about making war in 24 hours...and then eating a bento. On the first floor, Jaku then gets an ominous atmosphere.

To the school infirmary, where a yellow voice says something ominous, and another, this time purple voice, says something mysterious. Jaku enters and...

Veil of Darkness - A Weapon for Every Being

Written by Zenic Reverie

Thanks for hanging around.

The mace I found at the monastery was quite effective against the skeletons, and good thing too because no other weapon made a mark on their bones. Combat beyond normal wolves and bats has required a dedicated weapon to deal damage. This has led me to cautiously approach new enemies, and keep most weapons handy. I dispatched them one at a time, retreating to heal at the gypsy camp. With those two cleared I was clear to explore the graveyard and collected some betony. I found there wasn't much else to do without a means to banish the guardian in front of the crypt. Next location of interest was a crossroads that connected the towns. Here was the man hanged for the murder of Eduard. His soul, still attached to his body, had much to say. He warned me to stay away from a nearby hut that was home to an old crone.

I promise I won't give it to the witch unless it's part of the quest.

Ambrose, the hanged man, wanted his soul redeemed. Finding the true murderer was necessary. Continuing to claim full innocence, he elaborated that the magistrate had to make an example of someone to appease the Dark Lord Kairn. While in this limbo state he communicated with the spirits of the monks from the monastery, blaming their deaths on the nearby witch. The key she sought from the monks unlocks their library where a book called Etheric Rites is held. How Ambrose came by the key wasn't covered.

Missed Classic 128: The Hound of Shadow - Introduction (1989)

Written by Vetinari

The Hound of Shadow is the first of two games created by British developer Eldritch Games and based on the Cthulhu Mythos by Lovecraft.

This game is a bit of a precursor to the other Lovecraftian games which were all the rage in the first half of the 1990s, such as Alone in the Dark, Shadow of the Comet or Prisoner of Ice, but still it was published two years later than Infocom's The Lurking Horror.

Eldritch Games was the child of software designers Chris Elliott and Richard Edwards, who created the company specifically to develop the Timeline computer games series, of which unfortunately only this game and its later sequel (Daughter of Serpents) were ever created.

Elliot and Edwards. I doubt that this was taken during a normal day at the office.

The other credits for this game are Mike Lewis, who is credited with the lion's share of the programming, and Carl Cropley as the graphic artist.

Black Sect - Final Rating

By Ilmari

The story of Lankhor is over in our regular game list, although I might return to do some of their older games as Missed Classics. The company did continue its existence to 2001, but all they did after this was some racing games. I can’t help, but feel a bit sad. Still, I’ll try to maintain my objectivity when rating the Black Sect.

Missed Classic: Johnny Castaway (1992)

by a Random Reviewer

The other genres get all the credit, even though adventures have always been the superior genre.  So many action games have inspired movies, such as Doom, Tomb Raider, Need for Speed, and the Super Mario Brothers series.  Heck, they even got people to pay to see a movie that was really just an advertisement for Mario 3!  

But there’s very few adventure games that have succeeded in that way.  In fact, there’s only one.  (Rumor has it that Les Manley was copied to make a Steve Carell film, but I don’t buy that.)  

Enter today’s game, Johnny Castaway, a 1992 classic from the team at Sierra On-Line.  Dynamix lead Jeff Tunnel did much of the work, causing the game to be noticed by filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, taking a break from directing the smash hit Death Becomes Her. Tom Hanks didn't take much convincing to star in it. According to the press at the time, he took one look at the game and instantly signed on to the movie project.