Simon the Sorcerer (Windows)

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Description

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.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "魔法师西蒙" -- Chinese spelling (simplified)
• "שוליית המכשף" -- Hebrew spelling
• "Simon the Sorcerer I" -- Alternate title
• "Shuliyat Hamechashef" -- Israeli title

Part of the Following Groups

• Game Engine: AGOS
• Simon the Sorcerer series

User Reviews

Simon - Cocky Spotty Nose Hero!!	phil buckley (22)
Great British Adventure Gaming	ETJB (480)

Critic Reviews

Adventure Classic Gaming	Sep 12, 1999	5 out of 5	100
Retro Gamer	Jun 18, 2009	85 out of 100	85
GameZebo	Jun 21, 2009		80

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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

Related Web 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. )
• iPhSoft (official game website for the iPhone version)
• Playing Simon 1 in Windows XP (Complete instructions by Inferno)
• ScummVM (Get "Simon the Sorcerer", as well as many other adventure games, to run on modern systems by using ScummVM, a legal and free program.)