The Prophecy

The Good
Ween: The Prophecy is a fantasy point-and-click adventure game, and it shares the same game mechanics as Gobliins 2, Coktel's comedic puzzle game released the same year. However it has a few more impressive features worth talking about here. It is also a sequel to Legend of Djel, released by Coktel three years before. Although it uses a similar fantasy setting and features the same characters, you wouldn't know it's a sequel just by looking at the title.

The Great Eclipse is coming in three days, and it is predicted that the evil wizard Kraal will return to reign over the Kingdom of the Blue Rocks once more. Ohkram, the good wizard, known to have banished Kraal years ago, is suddenly weak and has asked his grandson Ween to fulfill an ancient prophecy that will banish evil from the world. All Ween has to do is search for the three grains of sand and place them in the Revuss, the hourglass of power.

It isn't long into your adventure where you are introduced to a number of characters who will help you overcome the three obstacles blocking your way to the Revuss. Petroy can decipher any alien writings you come across, while Urm the bat can offer you gold (and do other things) if you summon him with a flute and give him strawberries. There is also Uki and Orbi, two annoying gnomes whose only purpose is to lose important items you have trouble finding it.

Ween is presented in first-person, where you don't see your character at all. Interaction within the game world is done using the mouse, mainly to pick up objects and use them on others, and to travel from one location to the next. A neat feature of the game is the ability to make use of jewels and potions. Jewels can be transformed into a range of items which you can make use of, and then use that item to overcome an obstacle. Potions can be mixed together in the cauldron you carry at the start of the game, and trying different kinds of potions produce a completely different potion.

I believe that Ween is the first and only Coktel game to allow you to reach your destination in several ways. In one scene, you come across a bridge halfway through the game that and you have the option of going across it or making your way underwater, bypassing an obstacle that would prevented you from crossing it. In another, you must choose one of two doors to go through, with each one presenting its own problems.

What makes Ween stand out from other Coktel games around its time is the use of full-motion video which is mainly used for cut-outs as well as important cut-scenes. For some reason, nearly all of the characters look as if they are wearing leather masks. The characters have a limited amount of facial movements before the game loops back to the first movement.

Most of the hand-painted backgrounds look fantastic, especially the outdoor scenes. Some of the backgrounds have a hint of sepia to them that blends well with the game's setting. Rarely do you do something that will change the backgrounds colors. The on-screen animations are good, and I enjoyed watching Urm fly around.

Sound-wise, most of the music is re-used for several of the scenes. The music for the basement is the same as the final scene, for instance. In my opinion, the best music is heard when the Prophecy appears on screen in the game's introduction. It's quite energetic.

The Bad
The transformation of the jewels into useful objects, although playing an important role in the adventure, becomes tedious near the end of the game when you are about to face Kraal. Also, the ending to the game is crap.

The Bottom Line
Ween is a fantasy point-and-click adventure with some neat features, such as the use of FMVs and multiple paths. The game has beautiful, hand-painted backgrounds; and good music. However, most all of Coktel's games it suffers from tedious puzzles and bad ending. Don't let that stop you from enjoying the game, though.