Below the Root

Moby ID: 602
PC Booter Specs

Description official descriptions

Below the Root is based on Zilpha Keatley Snyder's fantasy book series "The Green-Sky Trilogy". Following the events in those books, The Kindar and the Erdling societies have joined together. However unrest and distrust still remains. An old woman, D'ol Falla has heard the words "The Spirit fades, in Darkness lying. A quest proclaim, the Light is dying". Choosing one of five available people (of different ages and of either Kindar or Erdling descent) either she believes can help, D'ol Falla assigns the quest of discovering what these words mean and how to quell the racial and political tensions building between the races.

Below the Root is a adventure game and a platform game. Choosing one of five characters (each very different from one another), the player explores the tree-based lands Erdling and the underground-based lands of the Kindar. As an adventure game, goals are primarily accomplished by talking to people (though each character is treated differently by others) and finding the right items to use in specific situations, but also dealing with the challenges of level design in a platform game.

Each character can obtain different items to help with their movement as well as psychic abilities such as pensing (telepathy), kiniporting (telekinesis) and grunspreking (plant manipulation). Violence is abhorred among the Kindar and the Erdling and violent actions tend to harm the player's reputation. Kindar or Erdling factions may kidnap the player's character if they wander into the wrong areas, throwing them into a local "prison house" from which they must escape. The player must eat constantly to retain their energy, however Erdling characters do not eat meat.

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Screenshots

Credits (PC Booter version)

5 People

Programming
Graphics / Artwork
Writing / Dialogue / Story
IBM PC/jr Version
Apple II Version

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 65% (based on 2 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 29 ratings with 6 reviews)

This is the one I wish I still had!

The Good
Below the Root was absolutely enchanting. I played this on my Commodore 64 computer, and was totally into it. The game included a cool fold-out map where you could plot out your movement in the game environment. Like someone else, I was never able to finish it. I got to a certain part "below the root" where I couldn't progress any further.

After moving on to the IBM environment, I got rid of all my Commodore stuff. Now that I've repurchased a Commodore 64 on ebay, I would love to get a hold of this game again!

Very warm and fuzzy memories from my childhood.

The Bad
Difficult to complete the entire game.

The Bottom Line
This game really made you think your way through, while providing a great background fantasy/myth world within which to play. It was a lot of fun, as I remember it.

PC Booter · by Kat_Girl (7) · 2002

A Great classic that could use an update!

The Good
The graphics are great for 1985 on the Commodore 64. It is still a great game to play nowadays as you have to rescue a man below the root.

Unlike other text adventures, this game has an arcade element into the game, in which you jump from branch to branch on the grounds, talk to people to get some wisdom and gain skills, like kiniporting, pensing, and growing limbs.

This game is similar to Alice in Wonderland, except that you have to deal with rest and hunger. If any of those stats fall below 0, you go right back to your home, recovering from whatever failure you endured. So, you have to gather some things, like Roast Lapan and all that other stuff, and if you are extremely tired, you'd better hope that someone offers you a nap.

Graphics are excellent, it's an arcade with a twist, and it's a role-playing game all in one.

The Bad
My complaint: Why CAN'T you swim!? It would be a nice addition to the gameplay. Also, sometimes your scuba gets torn if you even fall once or twice. Maybe if some company does make a sequel to this game, then they should at least let them swim.

The Bottom Line
Despite my complaint that you can't swim unlike Alice in Wonderland, it is several games in one. It's an arcade, it's a strategy, it's a role playing game, and it's a command-driven game. Ever since this game came out, it became an instant classic.

Well, if you can still play this game, then by all means go for it! It's still a fun game, despite it being 20 years old, and if they would've update this game and create a sequel, that would be nice!

Commodore 64 · by JDonahue (2) · 2004

Side Scrolling Masterpiece

The Good
Well, like everyone else, its been years since I've played it, on my good ol' Commodore 64, which I still have, so I'm reviewing off childhood memories here. =) Anyhow, the graphics for the time were pretty good, and the general theme of the game was great, as well as the game play itself.

The Bad
The plot was somewhat sketchy, I couldn't always figure out what I was supposed to do next.

The Bottom Line
Unlike the rest, I have finished it. =) The main goal is to rescue a guy named Rammo from the tunnels underground, Below the Root, as it were. There's either, a few large trees you have to traverse, or just one big one with some rather large limbs, I couldn't tell you without seeing the fold-out map again.. But you have to save a few people, help out some others, gather items, and get below the trees to save Rammo... what I'm not sure of, however, is who he is really, and why he's stuck under the roots...

PC Booter · by Joe Jackson (2) · 2002

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Sold on Ebay! BostonGeorge (751) Nov 11, 2011
Who is the publisher BostonGeorge (751) Feb 18, 2009

Trivia

Inspiration

Below the Root is adapted from the original 1978 'science fiction fantasy' novel written by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, and is the first in Green-Sky Trilogy, Followed by the books: And All Between (1979) and Until the Celebration (1980).

The game was a direct result of readers' dissatisfaction with the ending of the books. Agreeing with a lot of the criticism, author Zilpha Keatley Snyder decided that a computer game might be used to continue the story and provide a better resolution to the series' events. Much of the game focuses on discovering the hidden truths behind some of the events described in the final novel.

Information also contributed by WildKard

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  • MobyGames ID: 602
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Andy Roark.

Commodore 64, Apple II added by The Red King.

Additional contributors: Jeanne, The Red King, Garcia, Patrick Bregger.

Game added December 19, 1999. Last modified August 14, 2023.