A Dull Game, And Its Great, Yet Disappointing Sequel - Simon The Sorcerer Retrospective - Part 1
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- Опубліковано 6 бер 2021
- Today we take a look at the first two games in the Simon The Sorcerer series. Are they as good as people say they are, or is this a case of misguided nostalgia? Let's find out.
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Simon The Sorcerer 1:
Intro: 02:49
Visuals: 04:13
Music: 07:43
Story: 08:52
Writing: 12:00
Voice Acting: 14:41
Gameplay: 16:09
Simon The Sorcerer 2:
Intro: 20:53
Music: 22: 08
Visuals: 23:03
Story: 23:52
Writing: 25:47
Voice acting: 27:43
Gameplay: 29:44
Outro and why I disliked the game: 33:04
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I played the first Simon the Sorcerer game as a kid back in 1994. The game might be slow with today's standards, but back then you were really starved for games and the impact on me was huge. Walking around in the forest, visiting locations and watching the characters felt like being immersed in an interactive movie. VGA-screens and sound cards had just become affordable, taking the gaming experience to a cinematic level, compared to the cruder games just a few years previously like the early Sierra games. You never wanted the games to end, replaying them several times to hear every last bit of dialogue and finding every litte easter egg, like Simon's idle animation which was something I had never seen a game character do before and made it seem like the character had a life of his own.
There was no internet or UA-cam back then and other way to play or even see games you had heard about except saving your allowance for half a year to afford one or to get it from friends by floppy sharing (which was legal back then). The games were supposed to be slow and non linear, so you could enjoy them over a long time.
I also found some of the jokes you didn't mention pretty funny, like how the half pig/half princess Rapunzel turns into a full pig from Simon's kiss when her curse is lifted and her "beauty is restored", or when Simon forces himself to eat the Swampling stew, vomits behind the Swampling's back and then immediately gets another serving which goes on for as long as it takes to solve the puzzle.
these two games are good! Games doesn't have these sarcastic and rude characters anymore
The blacksmith not moving his mouth even bothered when I was 7 years old or something. But it was my first point & click adventure so it has a sweet spot in my heart and I really like the music and pixel art.
Oh, regarding the "empty" locations, I read an article that they were meant for scrolling and the images can be lined up quite well.
Didn't know about the scrolling thing.
@@SapphireBones you'll find more information in this forum and the linked pages there: forums.scummvm.org/viewtopic.php?t=14868 not really an article but still quite interesting.
I played the first two games when they came out, and i can confirm there was no hotspots feature for the first one back then. they added it for simon 2 and of course when the first one was re-released.
Anyway great video, can't wait for part 2. I loved the first 2 games and i was so sad they didn't finish the story properly because of the terrible 3d one.
About the animations thing, well, consider that when it came out it was really appreciated. As a kid i really loved seeing simon picking up items and throwing them inside the hat, it was something..new, i don't know how to explain it. of course now it's "boring and dull", back then it wasn't.
I have to admit. I played Simon the Sorcerer 2 first and then I went back and played Simon the Sorcerer 1. I loved the second. It was one of my most favourite point and click (comedy) games ever. To me 1 was nice, but maybe because I loved the 1st. Even more so, after playing the 3rd.. yeah.. definitely Simon the Sorcerer 1 was a nice game. The ending left me in such a confused state, mostly cause I was very young, but even if I judge a lot of stories by their ending, I laughed quite a bit in the adventure.
Although, it would be painful to even watch a let's play of the 3rd game.. but I will watch your review of it. I faintly remember there was a 4th and 5th game, but the 3rd sealed the deal for me. Specifically the one that I do not want to even check them out, so I never did. But even in the recent years I replayed the two first.
Oh no, there is no part 2 with the remaining 3 games.. what a shame (seriously I am joking, it is not a shame at all XD)
PS: Subscribed =D
I know I've been absent for well over a year (I think it's 2 years now), but I am actually gonna cover both Simon 4 and 5 in my Simon 3D essay, which should come out this month (if everything goes well)
Thank you so much for subscribing, it truly means a lot.
Classic game, always loved the series, but the first one is just perfection. I just got pissed with part 4 then they made him American. just didn't work, pity because it was a nice game too.
The music sounds much better if you let SCUMMVM emulate MT32. The dialogue being cut short can be fixed by slowing down the subtitle speed (F1 - F3).
I tried slowing down the subtitle speed, but it didn't work. Didn't know about the music though, thank you for telling me. I'll address it in Part 2.
Simon the Sorcerer - Origins coming 2023
I'm gonna review it. I have to, at this point, whether I want to or not lol
Right now, I'm hoping to finish the Simon 3D video soon.
I have really enjoyed watching your analysis especially the Broken sword videos - the depth of your discussion is wonderful. I really look forwards to your future videos. Will you be doing a series on some of the modern point and clicks? I'm sure you are already aware of this game, but just in case, as you mentioned you like horror point and clicks - Kathy rain is an interesting and creepy one. I would be so interested to hear your take on it in the future. Thank you :)
Never played Kathy Rain before, so I'll definitely look into it. I'm glad you enjoyed this video. Thank you.
i still play this game. its the greatest point and click game of all time.
Agree to disagree, I guess.
@@SapphireBones i love the game so much because it has so much nostalgia and the game is about wizards and magic that i love. and it has great humor that i also love. so the game is hitting all my points =)
@@andrer4508 I like it for the same reasons. I can immerse myself in a fairy tale world and escape reality for a few hours.
It's a pretty good game IMO, but nothing more.
@@robinmattheussen2395 its a classic, like monkey island.
Played the first two for the first time around 2008 and found them to be more fun than Monkey Island 1 and 2 which i played for the first time when the Ramke came out.
I agree. I first played them in summer of 2002. I found both to be extremely enjoyable with their fairy tale like qualities. People of course are entitled to have views that differ from my own.
31:00 This "Riddle"
i was on it 2 Hours and as i read the Walktrough i screamed "AWW COME ON!!!"
I loveeee these games
You are so right but dont talk about the swampling. You gotta love the swampling
Never been the biggest fan of adventure games and now I think I know why
...I think I played this as a child. Memories emerging.
Thankfully, I never played them as a kid. Played them for the first time ever in my late 20's.
Someone referred me to your channel and I'm glad they did, you have my sub! Although I don't really agree with you about Simon, but I grew up playing it so I'm more nostalgic about it @13:18 I literally thought of saying that just before 😆 Totally agree with you though about the character of Simon in 2. Are you still planning a video about the rest of the series?
Thank you so much for the sub and for your kind words. And yeah, if you still enjoy the first game, I'm happy for you. Don't forget, this is just an opinion, so don't let it affect how much you enjoy the game.
And yes, I absolutely am planning to cover the rest of the series. In fact, the script is already written, I just need to fix my mic so I can record it and finish the video. I hope it will be out by the end of April.
I liked the review, any update about the review of the next Simon games?
I had to focus on a lot of stuff irl, especially since now I have a full time job along with what I'm doing here, but I'm backing to working on videos now. I'm making a video on the first Gabriel Knight game, so chances are after it, I'll be working on the video for Simon 3D, 4, and 5. I already have the script written, I just need to fix it up a bit, record, and edit.
Thank you so much for liking this video!
I'd be interested in the budget of Monkey Island vs Simon the Sorcerer.
Monkey Island cost the publisher about $200,000, but I couldn't find any info on the budget of Simon The Sorcerer. I did find out that they paid Chris Barrie like 3000 pounds a day, so I doubt their budget was anything to be laughed at. Besides, it ultimately doesn't matter. Good writing is good writing, high budget or otherwise.
I've never played these games so interested in the reviews. Still waiting for your Runaway series review.
I'll definitely get to it soon. Maybe after Part 2 of the Simon games and the Beyond A Steel Sky review. But it's definitely gonna happen.
I'm waiting for the Runaway series too! But that's a game I want to play before watching the review, so will do it in the meantime... have already played only the first one, now will play the second Runaway.
@@SapphireBones No rush just good to know it's on the list. Thanks heaps for your channel, I listen to these reviews while working and they really help the day go by. FYI your patreon link bugged out on me, ko-fi link works fine :)
Thank you so much for your donation, you have no idea how much that means to me. I have no idea why Patreon bugged out, but it's fine, I'll look into it.
Maloke Games I haven't played them in a long time, but I remember enjoying the second game a lot more than the first one.
I understand comparing the game to others that came out in the same period of time, but I feel it's a bit unfair to compare a relatively low-budget game made by an indie developer to games with Star Wars money behind them. I don't know, kind of feels like making a review of The Room and complaining that the filmmaking isn't at the same quality as Return of the King.
If I was comparing the game's visuals or production value, I'd understand your point. But writing and puzzle making don't factor in these things. It doesn't matter how big or small a studio is, or how much money they have. A good joke is a good joke, and a bad one is a bad one. A good puzzle can be made by any team, no matter how small. Adventure Soft had a bunch of successful games before making Simon The Sorcerer, 2 of which were licensed. Revolution made only one, barely successful game before making the masterpiece known as Beneath A Steel Sky. That game had better writing and better puzzles, yet the team was just as small, if not smaller.
I finished the first game a few weeks ago and the most annoying thing was the fight against the whitch. I always lost and couldn't figure out a pattern or any logic, so I looked it up on google, just to find out that everything is pure luck and you have to repeat the fight until you win. This is the worst thing you can do in a computer game, especially for a boss fight. Btw, this was the only thing I had to look up, very sad for a puzzle game.
5:14 I haven't played the games in a decade so I just checked my Windows version CD (running in DOSBox running Windows 95; being a purist, I'm averse to ScummVM) and F10 does not seem to work in the first game but does in the second.
That's interesting. So maybe the devs retroactively added the feature to the first game when it was released on the Apple App store later on, which was then also implemented on the GOG version?
If you like First person horror point and click games try Scratches, a Argentian horror games
When will we see next part? 🙂
It's on its way. I'm sorry for taking so long. New job, full time parent, barely have enough time to do much. But I am working on it, that much is certain. It will be finished eventually, I promise.
Tony Blair's years as Prime minister surely falls under "Lovecraftian cosmic horror."
The music is much better if you use the Roland MT-32 emulator in ScummVM. You will need a couple of ROMs to do this.
That makes sense, yeah. It was the same issue with Beneath A Steel Sky. Still, I would imagine my opinion on the music wouldn't change much, but I'll give it a listen anyway.
@@SapphireBones 'Sky was clever. Very dark and sinister plot. I actually enjoyed Simon I & II for their fairytale like qualities.
simon is such a sigma
R u gonna continue this with the next games
Yes. And definitely this year. Hopefully before June.
@@SapphireBones fantastic
Wax. Not grease. And that was a cosplayer not... that character.
5:10 I never remember an Hotspot-Feature in the Original. Still it lookes great, it looks so much Worse in Part 2 i think
23:12 This looks terrible in Comparison i think. Maybe it's the "modern" Aspect of the World. Part 1 had some "Fantasy" Visual, and the New was more.....i dunno, i really disliked the Optik in Part 2
Lines from Simon 1 I found funny.
When talking to A drunk dwarf.
“He looks drunk, he probably couldn’t tell his arse from his elbow.”
Line from woodworm.
“Look who’s talking, blubber bum!”
Plus I hated the cliffhanger in Simon 2. It took 7 years to be resolved in a game that bombed. Plus I liked Simon’s less rude attitude in 1.
Yeah, that's a good point. He was pretty decent in the first game. A bit rude every now and again, but still a decent fellow.
Where's part two?
I played the game with a german dub...
and its just much funnier, including the sequels...
(thats a Sentence you dont hear every day)
I loved both games at the time and I think they’ve aged very well. It doesn’t help that you’re offended by everything.
I'm not offended by everything. Just by crappy, dull, and painfully unfunny games such as Simon The Sorcerer ;)
where's part 2?
I took a hiatus from UA-cam, and am trying to get back. The script is done, I just can't find time to finish the video because of so many things happening in my life. But I promise it'll be finished this year.
@@SapphireBones that's nice to hear
While I’ll always have a love for these two games (especially the second, which weirdly was the first one I played) I think your reviews are mostly fair, if a little nit-picky at times. I actually do cringe at some of the humour now, but back in the mid nineties I don’t think I’d have given it a second thought. Times have changed and what was acceptable then is less so now, however I do think that most of the offending jokes are used to show what a jerk Simon is. He absolutely is the kind of guy to make fun of someone’s weight or to make a sexist joke. I really found the games endearing and genuinely pretty funny. I like the mix of oddball characters and even the occasionally “dodgy” voice acting (“you shall not pass” 😂) added to the charm for me. Gosh, just hearing that music and seeing those characters and hearing all those lines of dialogue takes me right back to better times. There’s far more character and charm in these two games than almost anything to come out in recent years, and that’s kind of sad. They really don’t make games like this anymore. Anyway, thanks for another excellent video. ❤️
As I said in the video, I think you can easily make a jerk character without making them blatantly misogynistic. Besides, Simon wasn't even a jerk in the first game, so his character in the second game is completely different. Not to mention, there are offensive jokes that have nothing to do with Simon himself, so that excuse doesn't work for those.
@@SapphireBones I think Simon being an arsehole misogynist was kind of an artefact from the fact that since Chris Barrie voiced him in the first game, they basically retooled him to be essentially a teenaged Arnold Rimmer. Then again, what adventure protagonist isn't a bit of a jerk, esp. in comedic games? Guybrush poisons the Governor's dogs, maroons his shipmates on an island full of cannibals, and gets some guy fired from his job by putting a rat in the soup and then walks off it with the advance salary. Roger Wilco is also more than happy to screw over others in pursuit of his undeserved ego. Simon, and later on Rufus in Deponia, are arguably this sort of thing taken to their logical extreme (and usually getting their comeuppance in some way or another).
As I've mentioned in the review, you can make a jerk character without making them misogynistic. Guybrush and Wilco are funny because they are assholes in an endearing way. But if they were bigots, they'd have been a lot less funny. Also I hate Rufus for the same reason I hate Simon.
Great video! I've never heard of any of these games!
Have you played Simon the Sorcerer 3D?
Unfortunately I have... Twice lol
Working on a review of it as we speak.
@@SapphireBones I guess you're going to say it was originally going to be like The Feeble Files a 2d style 3d point and click game. But they changed it completely. They were screenshots of Simon running around in Tomb and running away from a light in a corridor.www.google.com/search?q=simon+the+sorcerer+3d&client=ms-android-ee-uk-revc&prmd=ivsn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjd5OCoivvwAhVNecAKHT2BDIoQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=412&bih=772&dpr=1.75#imgrc=kv_L_nk3_FfdYM Then the game was changed again but they've removed the drawf mine and the part where Simon and the Dwarf prince face the dragon. I remember years ago people were disappointed that they've removed parts of the game and would've been more fun. I think you can find some screenshots of the Dwarf mine. Here's one www.google.com/search?q=simon+the+sorcerer+3d&client=ms-android-ee-uk-revc&prmd=ivsn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjd5OCoivvwAhVNecAKHT2BDIoQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=412&bih=772&dpr=1.75#imgrc=hQhfE_M6AAEoIM&imgdii=dBayAbnNLM5SFM
And if you look at this page the 4 screenshots on the bottom were the first 3d version of Simon 3D before it was changed again. And this this was going to be the box cover but Micropose and Hasbro got bankrupt at the last minute. That's why Simon 3d was delayed for another two years and why box cover was changed. My name is on a list of Simon's biggest fans on the end credits of Simon 3D JJ Levy. You can put those pictures I've sent you for review if you like and use the evidence I've said to as well. I love Simon 3d but I wished they don't remove the Dwarf mine and and other version of Simon 3D looked a lot cooler and that's a shame. Looking forward to see your review and I hope my evidence helps.
I'm gonna look into all of this. Thank you so much for this info.
@@SapphireBones You're welcome. Looking foward to see your video.
@@SapphireBones how is your review video about Simon 3d going so far? I hope the evidence I've given you has helped.
Is there a review of the other three Simon the Sorcerer games?
It's in the works. I had to take a hiatus for personal matters, but it will come soon. I already have a script written, I just need to record the voice over and do the editing.
@@SapphireBones
I'm sorry to hear that, your reviews are really good and look forward to seeing it 👍
@@wormupatree Thank you so much. Don't worry about it, I'm fine. I'll be back next week with a new video, then after that I'll finish working on the remaining Simon The Sorcerer games.
I saw your tweet about you working your a$$ off on your channel and game, and decided to check the channel out. I know nothing about games but I'm 20 minutes in and thoroughly enjoying it. I'll definitely be watching more of your stuff.
I genuinely appreciate it, thank you so much. It makes me happy to know that even people who don't play video games can still find something to enjoy in my videos.
Fantastic video and some very well argued points. I was never a fan of this series despite being a huge adventure game fan and could never express exactly why. This video however explains my thoughts exactly however so thank you. Have subscribed and will definitely check out your other videos :)
Thank you so much for your kind words. Glad I could help.
Quite Serious Nejo
Would you review Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis on the channel?
I might. No plans on doing so, but we'll see.
Unfair review
What's unfair about it?
I enjoyed the games back in the day, but I am glad you pointed out the bigotry! good job!
This means a lot to me, thank you so much. Yeah, the second game would've been such a great game otherwise.
Pretty saucy commentary on what is considered a classic.
Young blokes dont know how to respect anymore.
The game is just as boring as your pathetic attempt at transphobia.
The humour is hilarious and no PC madness. Great game!
It's amazing how bad Chris Barrie's performance is given how talented a voice actor he is. He was on spitting image for goodness sake, the red dwarf novels and his lister/Holly voices in queeg are great
I saw a few episodes of Spitting Image, and his voice acting there was leagues better than it is here. It almost feels like he just didn't care enough when doing Simon's voice.
@@SapphireBones I kinda disagree with that. It's not that great nowadays, but for a game from 1993 it's really good. Most games didn't have voice acting this good in them back then. I think he did a great job for a medium he had probably never worked with before. Again, in 2022 it's not the best, but in context it's very decent. And this still happens all the time in 2022. High profile actors are hired to do voice work in video games (for some reason), but voice acting is often very different from actual on-stage or film acting, so they don't always do the best job. For example, I think Martin Sheen is a great actor, but he kind of sucks in Mass Effect 2 (even though critics praised him at the time for some reason). He kind of ends up reading his lines and adding a thick layer of Sheenism.
Part two will be out in a week!
... He said, a year ago...
She*
And I'm working on it, I swear. It's just that a lot has changed in my life, including being a full time parent and having a day job, it became very difficult to work. But I swear I am working on upcoming videos.
Agree on the humor not working in this game, i love me great British humor as well
I'm 100% sure that hotspot highlighting was in the sequel (Win version). I don't remember if it was mentioned in the manual.
It was in the sequel (STS 2) and mentioned in the manual. If you play the first game through ScummVM the feature is available.
"Blackadder's Mr Bean"??
You need to do some better research buddy 😂
I guess I'm not allowed to make jokes, huh.
You complain too much. This game was great at the time.
Thank you so much for watching and replying. That really helps with the algorithm :)
Uuh bro could you stop complaining please? It's kinda killing my buzz.
great review till you started on the woke shit, some jokes are offensive but it's a choice to be offended by them
Well it sounds like you CHOSE to be offended by my review.
@@SapphireBones ahh you right ya got me there
Did you ever make a retrospective vid for games 3-5? You are so hypercritical I think that would be fun... Especially the absolutely dreadful voice acting and awful, awkward humour (lost in translation?) from the two German ones!
I was enjoying this review up until the moment you pulled the ever so tired "mysogyny EEEK racism EEEK homophobia EEEK " neo progressive virtue signaling card out and slapped it on the table for everyone to smell. You have earned a solid downthumb from me, Nancy.
Also, don't play Deponia. It might make you "uncomfortable" or put you into cardiac arrest or something
Thank you for the view and interaction, that helps a lot as well. And I'm glad you at least gave the video a chance. As for the stuff I said, you can dislike it all you want, doesn't make me less right :)
@@SapphireBones One very simple concept you neoprogs can never seem to grasp: your level of outrage is not directly correlated to your righteousness. Just because you are *offended* does not inherently make you *right*.
You're welcome! Never again :)
"Neoprogs" lol
I'm sorry that I think bigotry is bad, I guess. Anyway, look forward to my next video where I become even MORE woke lol
@@Lucifierium As someone who is conservative and allergic to anything progressive, I think you are highly dramatizing here. He did not shame anyone for liking the game or its jokes, asking for the game to get banned or made unavailable. All he did was saying he was put off by the harsh jokes in the game. Which was a commentary on the dialogue in the game, besides talking about the puzzles, story, etc. I certainly share your frustration about the current zeitgeist, with people showing how “morally superior” they are and all kinds of things getting canceled by the progressive hivemind. I just think this is the wrong target to throw your frustration at.
@@deemster4249 EEEK conservative!
But seriously, no, this is the exact proper target to throw my frustration, as it's exactly this kind of person that generates it. This creature is so deeply invested in the US government's social division and distraction tactics that it actually went trans, embarks on a hate campaign against hetero white men (just like practically every M2F trans out there) and *still* somehow clings onto the ideas of virtue and righteousness. These creatures are hypocrites of the highest order, and deserving of every bit of contempt that comes their way, and much, much more