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)

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 85% (based on 39 ratings)

Players

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

Simon - Cocky Spotty Nose Hero!!

The Good
Simon is often placed in situations that many younger gamers would surely find humorous: bellying up to a bar, uttering minor cuss words, or sassing elders, but adults also will not be able to suppress a chuckle or two at the numerous double entendres and political snipes (though the Dan Quayle joke is a bit dated). Simon is a 12-year-old boy who wants nothing more than a Gameboy for his birthday. Instead, a stray dog with a strange book in its mouth shows up at the front door during his birthday party. Simon's parents don't have the heart to tell him that the dog is not a birthday present and allow him to keep it as a pet. The book is forgotten in the attic. Much later (as we see in a wonderful opening scene), Chippy (for that is now the dog's name) discovers the trunk in the attic that contains the book, and Simon is soon thrust into a world of fantasy and magic sporting the required raiment of all magicians, a ponytail and a pointy hat. What follows is a mix of Fractured Fairy Tales meets Monty Python as Simon must rescue Calypso the wizard, the only person with the power to return Simon to his home world, from the clutches of soon-to-be arch-nemesis Sordid. This game contains much of the one-liners and juvenility so familiar to fans of the Monkey Island series. In the few instances where the characters are fleshed out, it is more because their personalities are developed through extended give-and-take with Simon. In the tradition of a comic book, where the villains are always more interesting than the heroes. Puzzles are well thought-out and progress from the simple to the difficult. The inevitable to-and-froing is eased by providing maps that allow you to visit any location with a simple click. The menu interface is representative of the period in which the games were originally released. Simon the Sorcerer has a list of verbs available at the bottom of the screen, such as Walk To, Give, Pick Up, etc., that allow the player to choose an appropriate command.

The Bad
The only thing this game actually lacked was a decent Out of Europe launch, if this was the case maybe there would have been a longer adventure game life for all of the classics. However, saying that, this game did lack explosions!

The Bottom Line
I would describe this game in a few words: This game is the best of the whole Simon series and is more than capable of beating the first two Monkey Island games. This game is one of the true great classics that not many people have played, and too few have given word of mouth too.

This game has amazing graphics (for the time) Which is why it is such a cult classic of adventure gaming. The storyline is expertly done by Simon Woodroffe. And it is packed full of British humor!! this game will have you laughing at double entendres, and innuendos while also laughing at the 12 year old's apparent Manhood dilemma, of having to cuss at older people and get sarcastic comments out to very old powerful wizards!

Windows · by phil buckley (19) · 2006

Sierra?....Nah, Adventuresoft here we come!

The Good
This game was fantastic! One of the best point-and-click puzzle games I have ever played. It was hilariously funny with loads of toilet humour, and English humour. Although the characters look a bit old compared to todays gaming standards, the story line is one in a million, and although the puzzles aren't overly easy, they are very logical when you think about them. It's very user friendly with a fast map to get you around and a postcard to save/load/continue/quit the game. The game didn't crash on me once and i loved the fact that you could never die!

The Bad
Moving around the game could get a bit tedious, as the map didn't offer every location that you had to go to, sometimes spending 10 mins or so trying to find the place you were last at. Places are also very hard to find, as the game gives you no indication which way you can leave the screen, paths (sometimes completely invisible) can lead up, down or diagonally off the screen. Sometimes the inventory would dissapear also until you left one screen and went on to the next then came back.

The Bottom Line
You undertake the roll of Simon, who magically goes through a porthole in his attic, to a land of goblins, woodcutters and mystical talking trees. He is out to help a mysterious wizard named Calypso, and in the process, become a wizard himself. He doesn't appear to miss home very much? Venture through forests, mountains and strange villages that inhabit talking snowman and two headed shop-workers. A great adventure for kinds and adults a like!

DOS · by Hilary Richardson (12) · 2003

Great British Adventure Gaming

The Good
Simon the Sorcerer 1 is a point n' click, graphic adventure game set in a fantasy world. Fans of the Monkey Island series or Disc World should love this game. Despite its age, it features some impressive animation, graphics and sound. The voice acting is terrific and be on the lookout for some funny British humor, parody and political satire.

The Bad
Die hard fans of point n' click, graphic adventure games might find the game a tad bit on the easy side. The game's ending is something of a let down, mainly because it was originally made for the old school computer disks.

The Bottom Line
Simon the Sorcerer 1 has the point n' click adventure gameplay that fans of Monkey Island will enjoy as well as some great British humor and satire that will remind gamers of Blazing Dragon or Disc World. It is not the hardest adventure game on the market, but is certainly one of the most enjoyable.

Windows · by ETJB (428) · 2010

[ 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.