Simon the Sorcerer

aka: Shuliyat Hamechashef, Simon the Sorcerer I
Moby ID: 495
DOS Specs

Description official descriptions

Simon is just an ordinary boy living in modern-day England. One day, his dog Chippy discovers a chest with a book inside, entitled Ye Olde Spellbooke. Without thinking too much, Simon throws the book on the floor; as a result, a portal opens, teleporting the boy and his dog into a fantasy world. Simon is promptly captured by goblins bent on cooking and eating him but manages to escape. Soon he realizes that he must play the role of an apprentice sorcerer and rescue a benevolent wizard called Calypso from an evil one, aptly named Sordid.

Simon the Sorcerer is a point-and-click adventure game very similar to contemporary LucasArts titles (in particular Monkey Island) in concept and gameplay. It features twelve verbs displayed on the screen at all times for interaction with the environment. Objects that can be interacted with are highlighted when the player hovers the mouse cursor over them. The puzzles are inventory-based: Simon will have to collect and carry a large number of items in order to advance in the game. Almost every character comes with an extended dialogue tree to explore. Most of the conversation choices are used for a humorous effect and are not required to pursue.

Like in LucasArts' adventures, it is impossible to get irrevocably stuck or die in Simon the Sorcerer. The game world consists of dozens of interconnected screens, most of which are accessible from the very beginning. Although there is usually only one way to solve the puzzles, the player can work on multiple tasks at once, and exploration occupies a large portion of the game. Whenever an important location is discovered, it is marked on the map for instant access, so that the player is not required to retrace his steps in order to revisit it. The game frequently parodies popular fairy tales and fantasy works and sometimes breaks the fourth wall as Simon directly talks to the player, acknowledging he is a character in a computer game.

Spellings

  • שוליית המכשף - Hebrew spelling
  • 魔法师西蒙 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

60 People · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 85% (based on 39 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 115 ratings with 7 reviews)

"What’s the point in talking to an empty hole?"

The Good
So I decided to play Simon the Sorcerer again. Had I not stumbled upon my own review for this game I would have never realized that I already have played it. And then I noticed on many adventure gaming boards that how many people loved this game. So I was thinking that perhaps I was too young to appreciate this game, that perhaps it really is a good game. It was because of those reasons and that my former review of Simon was rather dreadful to read, that I decided to do a review of the review.

Bob the Imaginary Gaming Friend: "Yeah it was pretty bad, especially with lines like: "Well......it did have a nice atmosphere...it was sweet. The game had a innocent fairy-tale like feeling to it....the feeling I have long searched in a fantasy game.It is easy...graphics are tolerable. But if you are searching for originality then I advise you to stay away from this Monkey Island clone(with a sweet fairy-tale alike atmosphere....but it is still a forgettable game)." Like cut it with the dots already."

No wonder the approvers secretly mocked me all these years. Its a good thing that Im crazy now. What would I ever do without you Bob? Anyway, it was hard for me to review this game because after playing it I immediately forgot what happened in the game, and since I strive to be as honest as possible I wrote this review while playing the game (well at least parts of it). Bob will fill you out on what other games came out in 1993, just to give some sense of wider picture.

Bob: "Well to many 93 was a great year - Gabriel Knight, Betrayal at Krondor, Quest for Glory 4, Sam and Max Hit the Road, Wing Commander: Privateer, Doom, etc. – but considering that the release date of Simon the Sorcerer is 2 Jan 1993, I think it’s far more honest to compare it with games from 92 - Legend of Kyrandia, Fate of Atlantis, King’s Quest 6. And basically, the last entry from a game series that Simon greatly got inspired from, came out 13 months before Simon the Sorcerer (I’m talking about Monkey Island 2 of course)."

So the following here is a heavily-edited recording of our gaming session. After that, me and Bob will say a few final words and that`ll be that then.

Bob: "Put it on already."

Start Game

Bob: „Ach! Mine ears! What horrible music.“

That guy in purple is Simon, in case if you were wondering Bob.

Bob: "Some of the comments he makes during the credits sequence are quite amusing - "I would have skipped by now", I was actually thinking of the same thing."

I must say, the voice of Simon is actually a joy to listen to. Well done, Chris Barrie.

Bob: "A boy, living in a perfectly 90’s environment, finds a magic book that transports him to another dimension. Some not-so-funny dialogue between goblins, who intend to eat Simon (btw, the voice acting of goblins wasn't so good at all)... well, I’m excited. Too bad that the animation and character designs are... um... too interesting."

Ahah, see Bob, now he found a letter that tells him that he has been chosen to save some old guy from the hands of Dark Lord Sordid. See? Thats all the plot that this game has. Youve been told the story and now you must solve some countless puzzles until you can see the ending cutscene.

Bob: "I thought you said that you don`t remember anything about this game. I just hope he doesn't make anymore comments like "not a pizza bar in sight". That was just too unfunny. By the way, did you notice that that horrible credits sequence music is still going on."

Yup, the music just loops endlessly in this game. The interface is just like the interfaces in Lucasarts games, you know: pick up, look, talk, use options and the inventory dividing the screen into half.

Bob: "Which also means that it will rely more on funny dialogues than funny interesting descriptions (like Sierra and Legend did)."

In the town

Bob: "I am really getting sick of this credits music. Is some variety too much to ask?"

Ah, a tavern. Drunken Druid – quite a nice name for a tavern, don`t you think?

Bob: "Finally! A different tune. Oh no, it is even more horrible than the one before."

Look at dwarf. Talk to dwarf. Hmm... no response.

Bob: "Talk to those ugly chicks there."

Bob: "Ach... horrible voice-acting."

Simon: "What are your hobbies?"

Valkyrie 1: "I like killing things and drinking a lot."

Valkyrie 2: "And I like needlework and embroidery... and killing things and drinking a lot."

Bob: "Not a bad attempt at humour at all. Unfortunately the voice-acting killed it."

Exit town. In the Forest

The backgrounds are actually quite nice. Sure its nothing compared to Sierras hand-drawn artbook backgrounds, but I`m really fond of this digitized VGA art (partly because I have soft memories of Westwood games from that time). And the forest tune is not overtly terrible either.

Bob: "Ha! So says you."

Boy, you cant really stand endlessly looping positive midi tunes, can you? If it so pains, Ive heard that there`s an enhanced music project for this game by some guy called James Woodcock. It will still be looping but now it will at least sound good.

.....

Bob: "Much better. Never underestimate guys called Woodcock's. Thank you, your work has not gone unnoticed. And look, he’s working on to enhance other games also."

Yeah, good for him. I just wish I knew what Im supposed to do. So far, Ive picked up many random items like ladders and clangers, talked to many people that want some things and got accused of racism by woodworms. And haven`t really laughed at all. The woodworm thing was mildly amusing though.

Bob: "I liked the barbarian’s "I’m an accountant" line."

Oh dear! That conversation between the goats and the troll has gone on for several minutes.

Bob: "Trolls having a strike against fairy-tale stereotypes is not really your kind of humour, is it?"

Not really, but thats not the case here. The voice-acting is horrible. So far only Simon has been done well, everyone else sounds just like the designers third cousin twice removed. Good voice-acting can make even unfunny things sound funny.

After some hours, DI has fallen asleep and Bob’s playing the game

Bob: "Bob’s diary. Entry 101. Been playing some old adventure game for awhile. Still have no goal – in life nor in the game. Picked up a lot of things. Met a lot of interesting folks in need of some things or others. Not much else to talk to them about. Solved many puzzles, got more things. Kissed a princess, which turned her into a pig. Used her on chocolate door. Got a joint for bees. Used it on beehive. Got wax. Still confused. Di’s sleeping, his snores accompanying the solitude of confusion I dwell in. My voice echoes back to me from the lonely halls of a purposeless life. It’s dawning outside. And I ponder on the question "Do all alter-ego’s go to heaven?" What will happen to me if I die? Can I find life everlasting also. Do I exist at all? Who am I?

Just tickled a sleeping dwarf with a feather. Couldn't think of anything else. Worked. Got a key. Now I'm off to find a door for this key to open.“

After finishing the game

Bob: "Finished the game. Experienced a pretty anticlimactic and weird finale. By the way Di, there was no ending cutscene. Just some demons dancing."

Haha! Dancing demons. How funny is that.

The end of the recording

Bob: "Boy, you really don't know when to stop with the editing. All my best lines were removed. Next time, I’ll edit."

So what did you like about the game?

Bob: "Well I found it quite charming actually. Boring yes, but charming. Some of the jokes were also quite witty. My favorite was the dialogue between Simon and the village druid."

Village Druid: "Leave now or suffer the consequences."

Simon: "I don’t think a man on a rack is in any position to make threats."

Village Druid: "Your emotional torture cannot hurt me, foul fiend."

Yeah, he was great, especially how he insisted on plunging a silver dagger through Simons heart just to see if hes a demon or not.

Village Druid: "Never been wrong yet."

But back to reviewing. Yes, I agree. It was charming: the heartwarming VGA art and the mellow music (especially after the enhancing), some quite witty jokes, the overall old-school fantasy feel of it.

The Bad
But it was also terribly boring. Adventure games aren`t just puzzle games. They also need a plot. No, not just a story, but a well-done plot. Monkey Island for example made-up for those crazy puzzles it had with an exciting swashbuckling plot.

Bob: "I would like to add that thanks to Lucasarts IMUSE program Monkey Island 2 had a dynamic soundtrack, which most likely also helped to enhance the appropriate mood for the specific scenes."

And thats why Simon the Sorcerer fails in my opinion. It is just a collection of random puzzles and an ending sequence with dancing demons. This game hasnt any tension at all. Which also is bad for the humour, because jokes work best when introduced in with a feeling of tension. I mean, Simon just walked and picked up stuff. There`s nothing funny in seeing a guy walk.

Bob: "I don’t know about that. I laugh when you walk."

Part of the reason I think the early Space Quests were so funny was that because they provided that tension (of course they did that in a survival horror kinda way... perhaps survival comedy is the more appropriate name). And Simon the Sorcerer doesnt. Not only does it make the game boring in the adventure sense, but also humour, well at least for me, just didnt do it for me.

Bob: "Of course, we have to take into consideration that it wasn't just your taste. You have a different taste in humour and this game has a different taste. And that is why you did not get it."

Well, what about you?

Bob: "Um... I guess, it's pretty hard in a game to do a correct timing for a joke. And some games go way overboard with jokes and bad puns. Simon the Sorcerer avoided those pitfalls, and that's a good thing in my eyes. Sure, many of the jokes were pretty meh, and there weren't that much jokes at all - for example when Simon looked at something he mostly said "It's an object x" and nothing else. But it's way better to keep the jokes few than to throw many of them into and hope that some of them will make the player laugh. No, the biggest fault of Simon is that it's just a boring adventure game."

You do make a point. I guess it`s boring also because many of the dialogues were just "Give me object x and I give you object y. Deal?" in nature.

Bob: "Yes, this game really did lack characters."

Lot`s caricatures though.

And music while nice, was pretty annoying because it was always looping. Even the better-sounding enhanced music started to bug on my nerves.

Bob: "May my ears never hear cheerful midi tunes ever. And don't forget the voice-acting. Apart from Chris Barrie as Simon, everyone else were dreadful."

Yes. Well thats just it then. The game is charming, but boring. And the bad parts out-value the good parts in this game. Thus well come to the verdict.

The Bottom Line
I would give this game 2 out of 5. What about you?

Bob: "I'm more into 3 out 5 for this one. It is an experience, and not a bad one in visuals and atmosphere. Just mediocre in the overall experience."

So 3+2 equals 5, divide by 2 and it`s going to be 2,5 stars out 5.

As to the usual recommendation, I would say that by judging on how many people liked this game, it is possible that you, dear reader, would enjoy this game.

It's just didn`t work for me.

Bob: "There are great games and there are horrible ones - this game is neither."

DOS · by The Fabulous King (1332) · 2011

Silly hat, great game

The Good
Almost everything, that fairy-tale parody present through all the game its real charming, the humour in that game is also real good, with good made characters and great dialogue lines. The puzzles are very well thought as maybe you will spend some time with some of them. I really like the backgrounds too, the forest, the snowy mountains, and so on... Also if you are a Tolkien reader you may find funny some of the references in the game (the ring,The Fiery Pits of Rondor,and some more...) A real cool game, a classic, a must-have.

The Bad
Maybe there are too much similarities to Monkey Island and the ending was really short (i think it was because it was originally released in disks and there wasn't enough space) anyway, that's nothing really annoying.

The Bottom Line
If you like old style adventure games you really must try Simon the Sorcerer 1, it's really worth of it.

DOS · by Depth Lord (934) · 2004

A nice adventure game from the British version of LucasArts

The Good
Simon is a teenage boy living at home with his parents. He gets distracted when his dog Chippy starts wandering out of his bedroom. He follows the dog up the ladder to the attic where Chippy discovers a book called Ye Olde Spellbooke and shows it to Simon, who, showing a lack of interest in it, decides to throw it on the floor. This causes a portal opens and Simon and the dog enter a new dimension. There, he realizes that he must rescue the wizard Calypso from the evil sorcerer Sordid.

In Simon the Sorcerer, you will meet characters that can help you or hinder you, and most of these characters are based on fantasy and myth. During your travels, you'll encounter goblins, dwarfs, trolls, devils, and witches – the same type of characters from The Lord of the Rings. I enjoyed the parodies from different fairy tales, including Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and especially The Three Billy Goats Gruff, in which the troll refuses to be thrown into the water because the actual story says so.

Gamers who have played adventure games from LucasArts will feel comfortable with Simon's interface, which is split up into two sides. The left side consists of twelve commands. The most common ones are Walk To, Pick Up, Talk to, Open, and Use. The rest of the commands are unusual and consist of Consume, Wear, Remove, etc. Your inventory is displayed on the right side.

Simon uses 256-color VGA to display graphics. The game features amazing environments that include forests, snowy mountains, swamps, and castles. The characters and the different objects that you have to manipulate are well done. I can even say that the graphics are even better than those in a LucasArts game.

There is humor in the game. Since it is impossible to die in Simon, you are free to experiment with the commands and use those with objects in each scene, and it is likely that whenever you do so, Simon will produce a somewhat funny response. For example, farm animals such as pigs and ducks can be seen throughout the game, and if you try to Talk to them, he will say “I'm not Dr. Doolittle, you know.” If you enter the dwarf cave, you are asked for a password by the head dwarf. If you get it wrong, he will keep on saying “No, try again.” until you get it right. Too bad you don't have that going on in real life.

The sound is excellent as well. Whether you play the game with MT-32 or Sound Blaster enabled, I enjoyed listening to almost all of the music, especially those that included some beats. The sound effects are slightly better than what you hear from a few adventure games. I enjoyed listening to a crow that sits on top of the well in the witch's house. The crow doesn't even produce a crow sound at all. The voices are great and the characters are funny to listen to.

The Bad
The main problem this game has concerns the inventory. For example:

  • A postcard that you carry throughout the game allows you to save, load, and quit games. This is annoying if you have quite a number of items sitting in the inventory, resulting in the postcard being invisible unless you scroll down. The same can be said with the somewhat-ancient map that you use to travel between locations. I don't think that there was anything wrong with putting a huge button in the middle of the interface that is labeled “MAP”.
  • When I ended up having heaps of shit sitting in inventory and decide to save and load a game, the scroll arrows were gone, and the only way that I could make them appear was to click on empty space.
  • When you pick up items, they are added at the beginning of the inventory, rather than the end. This can be annoying when you are near the end but have to scroll to the beginning in order to use it on something on the screen.

Calypso is mentioned at the beginning of the game, as well as throughout. Yet, he doesn't make an appearance in the game; not at the beginning, not throughout, and not near the end. I only know his existence by voice. I had to play the second episode of the series to see what he looks like.

The Bottom Line
Simon the Sorcerer is an adventure game similar to the ones that were created by LucasArts around the same time Simon was made, which is 1993. It features nice graphics and sounds, and, if you have the CD-ROM version, the different characters are funny to listen to. Since you can't die in the game, the user is free to explore with different commands, and use those commands with items that are seen on screen, more often than not causing a funny response from Simon. The sequel is a bit better than the original and does away with the commands. The ending leads in to that sequel.

DOS · by Katakis | カタキス (43092) · 2005

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Trivia

CD-ROM version

This game first had a disk version and then a CD-ROM version. The CD-ROM version features full speech.

Legacy

The success of this game prompted Adventuresoft to abandon their previous Horrorsoft brand in favour of focusing on mass-market non-adult titles.

Graphics

Graphics of the game were entirely hand-drawn on paper. Later they were scanned and manually colorised using computer's software.

Awards

  • Amiga Joker
    • Issue 02/1995 – #3 Best Game in 1994 (Readers' Vote)
    • Issue 02/1995 – Best Adventure in 1994 (Readers' Vote)
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 12/1999 - #90 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
  • Power Play
    • Issue 02/1995 – Best German Localization in 1994

Information also contributed by Martin Smith

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Related Sites +

  • Game Nostalgia
    Provides extensive background info for Simon the Sorcerer, with pictures of the cast and examples of voice-overs, credits with pictures of and info about the design team, a demo of the game, specific details about the game, all musical themes, shots of every location in the game, video clips, saved games, a list of reviews, including a "nostalgic "review and tech specs.
  • Playing Simon 1 in Windows XP
    Complete instructions by Inferno
  • iPhSoft
    official game website for the iPhone version

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 495
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by IJan.

iPad added by MrMamen. Android added by Ingsoc. Acorn 32-bit, Macintosh added by Sciere. iPhone added by Kabushi. Amiga, Amiga CD32 added by Martin Smith. Antstream added by lights out party. Windows added by MAT.

Additional contributors: Roger Wilco, Itay Brenner, Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, Sciere, Martin Smith, formercontrib, martin jurgens, Patrick Bregger, mailmanppa.

Game added November 29, 1999. Last modified February 8, 2024.