The Quest of Merravid

The Good
Judging from the title itself, I was right in assuming that The Quest of Merravid would be a text adventure game. It was one of the few games that came out on a single cassette with a version for the Commodore 64 on one side, and the VIC-20 (16K) version on the other. I think this was a good idea at the time, given that it encouraged more people to upgrade their machines if this style of marketing was more adopted at the time.

The game is set in the land of Thargon. The dwarves have asked you, Merravid, son of Aranoid, to recover a firestone from the dragon. For your own protection, you need to first find the only armor in the land. The problem with this is that its pieces are scattered across Thargon and you must find all of them before the confrontation.

This is a text adventure in the same style as Scott Adams’s Adventure series. The text tells the reader where they are and the possible exits. The text is colorful and it stands out against the white background. A prompt then follows, allowing players to enter two-word commands (although up to eight are accepted here). Keywords are also accepted.

One of the rules of adventure games is to make a map of the land, with each location that you come across, and any items in that location. This is so that there is less chance that you will go around in circles. As with other adventures, death can occur if you make the wrong move. For instance, I died from hypothermia by not wearing a coat before I entered the icy regions.

The Bad
One of the annoying things about The Quest of Merravid is that when I first played the game, the initial screen says that you can go west, north, and east. I decided to go east by typing GO EAST or E (both these commands worked in other text adventures I played), only to be told that I can’t go there. Strangely, I had to type GO E to get anywhere in the game.

The game does not allow you to save the game, so you have to go back to the beginning if you happen to die or if the game locks up.

The Bottom Line
The Quest of Merravid is a text adventure game that fans of Scott Adams’s Adventure series might like. It is the first of its kind from Martech. It is also the last, because the game probably did not sell well. I feel that the game did not employ the “show, don’t tell” technique very well; all you get is a name of the location you are at, followed by a list of possible exits. This makes it hard for anyone to imagine what each location looks like. Martech’s attempt also lacks a save game feature, and players who are just getting used to this game may have a bit of trouble going in a direction. Still, this is a good game that should be played by fans of Scott Adams’s games.