Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore

Last updated
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
Arzette The Jewel of Faramore.jpg
Developer(s) Seedy Eye Software
Publisher(s) Limited Run Games
Director(s) Seth Fulkerson
Producer(s)
  • Audun Sorlie
Designer(s)
  • Seth Fulkerson
  • Audun Sorlie
  • John Linneman
Artist(s) Rob Dunlavey [1] [2]
Writer(s)
  • Seth Fulkerson
  • Audun Sorlie
Composer(s) Jake Silverman
Engine GameMaker
Platform(s) Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 5
Windows
Xbox Series X/S
ReleaseFebruary 14, 2024
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is an animated adventure game developed by Seedy Eye Software and published by Limited Run Games. It was released on February 14, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows. Arzette is a spiritual successor to the CD-i games Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. [3]

Contents

Gameplay

Arzette:The Jewel of Faramore is a hack and slash adventure game. [4] The player controls the titular protagonist, Arzette, who explores the land of Faramore on a quest to defeat the evil Daimur. The gameplay is that of a 2D action platformer, with animated cutscenes in an art style similar to that in the CD-i games. [5] The game has been described as an "interactive animated adventure". [6] Level designer John Linneman described the game as having strong similarities to Monster World . [7]

Plot

In the past, the kingdom of Faramore fell under attack by the demon lord Daimur and his army of evil monsters, aided by the traitorous Duke Nodelki of Amelog. In response, King Rahklin, along with his daughter Princess Arzette, his advisor Wogram and an unlikely hero, Dail lead an assault Daimur's lair in the country of Oakurin. Using the magical Jewel of Faramore, Daimur was sealed in the Book of Oakurin, and peace returns. As the Jewel shatters into five shards on each use, Rahklin orders the shards to be protected separately in order to prevent Daimur's release, while Nodelki is sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor.

Ten years later, Nodelki recovers the Jewel shards and frees Daimur from his imprisonment. The demon lord grants Nodelki magic powers in exchange for his soul and charges him and his top four minions with protecting the shards while he exacts revenge on Faramore. Arzette, who was the only one to continue honing her skills in peacetime, takes it upon herself to relight the Sacred Beacons and recover the Sacred Candles that can dispel Daimur's dark magic enveloping the land.

Arzette ventures across Faramore, defeating Daimur's minions to recover the Jewel's shards while helping its citizens with their various problems in exchange for new powers. During her quest, King Rahklin passes on, hardening Arzette's resolve to vanquish Daimur for good. After slaying Nodelki and claiming the last shard, Dail and Wogram encourage her to seal Daimur in the Book of Oakurin again, but Arzette forgoes this plan and instead has her sword infused with the Jewel of Faramore. Upon confronting Daimur in his lair, Arzette defeats him and, ignoring his offer of power, destroys him permanently with her Jewel-infused sword. Arzette is crowned Queen for defeating Daimur, but she insists that the entire Kingdom contributed to his defeat and declares Faramore to become a democracy, holding a feast to celebrate.

In a post-credits scene, an unknown female voice is heard laughing as the Book of Oakurin magically opens itself.

Development

Arzette was developed by Seth "Dopply" Fulkerson under the developer name "Seedy Eye Software", a homophonic pun on "CD-i". [8] [9] In November 2020, Fulkerson released unofficial remakes for Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon on Linux and Windows. [10] To avoid receiving a cease-and-desist notice from Nintendo like many similar unofficial projects, Fulkerson made the remakes unavailable for download two days after their release. [11] [12]

The development for Arzette began in late 2020 through developing his company Seedy Eye Software and Limited Run Games as the publisher. [13] On July 12, 2023, the game was announced by Limited Run Games. [14] Jeffrey Rath and Bonnie Jean Wilbur, voice actors for Link and Zelda in the CD-i games, were also revealed to be voicing characters in Arzette. [8] He also contacted some of the original artists of the CD-i games, including artist Ron Dunleavy. [12] Digital Foundry's John Linneman announced his involvement as level designer after the initial reveal, [15] while fellow Digital Foundry personality Audun Sorlie revealed his involvement as lead producer and writer for the game. [16] In an interview with GamesRadar+ , Fulkerson stated that the animators were given free rein, with their only limitations being the color palette, resolution, and frame-rate of the cutscenes of the original CD-i Zelda games. [12]

On October 29, 2023, Limited Run Games announced the game would release on February 14, 2024. [17]

Reception

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator website Metacritic. [18]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Legend of Zelda</i> Video game series

The Legend of Zelda is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flagship, Vanpool, and Grezzo. The gameplay incorporates action-adventure and elements of action RPG games.

Universe of <i>The Legend of Zelda</i> Fictional universe

The Legend of Zelda is a video game franchise created by Japanese video game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka and mainly developed and published by Nintendo. The universe of the Legend of Zelda series consists of various lands, the most predominant being Hyrule. The franchise is set within a fantasy world reminiscent of medieval Europe which consists of several recurring locations, races and creatures. The most prominent race in the series are the Hylians, a humanoid race with elfin features identifiable by their long, pointed ears. The series' lore contains a creation myth, several fictional alphabets, the most prominent being Hylian, and a fictional universal currency, the rupee. Most games in The Legend of Zelda series follow a similar storyline, which involves the protagonist Link battling monsters to save Princess Zelda and defeat a villain, which is often the series' main antagonist, Ganon. Nintendo developed the series' lore into a timeline that spans thousands of years across its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shigeru Miyamoto</span> Japanese video game designer (born 1952)

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in video games, he is the creator of some of the most acclaimed and best-selling game franchises of all time, including Mario,The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox and Pikmin. More than 1 billion copies of games featuring franchises created by Miyamoto have been sold.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time</i> 1998 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a 1998 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in November 1998 and in PAL regions the following month. Ocarina of Time is the first game in The Legend of Zelda series with 3D graphics.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask</i> 2000 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is a 2000 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was the second The Legend of Zelda game to use 3D graphics, following Ocarina of Time (1998). Designed by a creative team led by Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi, and Shigeru Miyamoto, Majora's Mask was completed in less than two years. It featured enhanced graphics and several gameplay changes, but reused elements and character models from Ocarina of Time, which the game's creators called a creative decision made necessary by time constraints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triforce</span> Fictional artifact in The Legend of Zelda series

The Triforce is a fictional artifact and icon of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game franchise. It first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda video game (1986) and has appeared in every subsequent game in the series. It consists of three equilateral triangles that are joined to form a large equilateral triangle. In the fictional history of the series, it represents the essence of the Golden Goddesses named Din, Nayru and Farore who create Hyrule. Imbued with divine power, it is capable of granting any wish to anyone who possesses it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Zelda</span> Video game character

Princess Zelda is a character in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the original 1986 game The Legend of Zelda. As one of the central characters in the series, she has appeared in the majority of the games in various incarnations. Zelda is the elf-like Hylian princess of the kingdom of Hyrule, an associate of the series protagonist Link, and bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom.

Link (<i>The Legend of Zelda</i>) Protagonist in The Legend of Zelda

Link is a character and the protagonist of Nintendo's video game franchise The Legend of Zelda. He was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Link was introduced as the hero of the original The Legend of Zelda video game in 1986 and has appeared in a total of 20 entries in the series, as well as a number of spin-offs. Common elements in the series include Link travelling through Hyrule whilst exploring dungeons, battling creatures, and solving puzzles until he eventually defeats the series' primary antagonist, Ganon, and saves Princess Zelda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganon</span> Video game character

Ganon is a character and the main antagonist of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series and franchise, as well as the final boss in many Zelda titles. In his humanoid Gerudo form, he is known as Ganondorf. A massive and malevolent pig-like creature, Ganon first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda game in 1986, while his alter ego, Ganondorf, was introduced in Ocarina of Time. He has since appeared in the majority of the games in the series in various forms. He is the archenemy of the protagonist Link and Princess Zelda of Hyrule and originally the leader of the Gerudo, a race of humanoid desert nomads before becoming the ruler of his demon army.

<i>Zeldas Adventure</i> 1995 video game

Zelda's Adventure is an action-adventure fantasy video game developed by Viridis Corporation and released on the CD-i format, based on The Legend of Zelda franchise. Set in the land of Tolemac, the game follows a non-traditional storyline, in which Link has been captured by the evil lord Ganon, and Zelda must collect the seven celestial signs in order to rescue him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tingle (character)</span> Fictional character

Tingle is a recurring character in The Legend of Zelda series, designed by Takaya Imamura. He first appeared in Majora's Mask, where he is a 35-year-old map salesman who wants to become a fairy. He has since appeared in several installments, including The Wind Waker, where he provides maps to help Link find pieces of the Triforce. He has gone on to be the star of Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, where his origin as Tingle is shown as him tasked with collecting as many Rupees as possible. He also appears in its sequel Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip, where he is transported into a storybook and has to enter into relationships with women in order to escape.

<i>Super Marios Wacky Worlds</i> Cancelled 1990 video game

Super Mario's Wacky Worlds is a canceled Mario platform video game developed by NovaLogic for the Philips CD-i system. The game was conceived as a sequel to Super Mario World, a game released for Super NES in 1990. An early prototype received positive feedback from Nintendo, but the game was soon canceled due to the declining sales of the Philips CD-i system.

In the 1990s, Philips Interactive Media published three action-adventure games based on Nintendo's Legend of Zelda franchise for its Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-i) players. The first two, Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, were developed by Animation Magic and released simultaneously on October 10, 1993, and Zelda's Adventure was developed by Viridis and released on June 5, 1994. The two latter entries are the first to feature Princess Zelda as the protagonist instead of Link. Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon use the side-scrolling view introduced in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987), while Zelda's Adventure has a top-down view reminiscent of the original 1986 game. All three are non-canon to the Zelda franchise.

Animation Magic was a Russian-American animation studio founded in Gaithersburg, Maryland in 1991, with offices later added in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a 100%-owned subsidiary in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The company developed animations for CD-based software. It was acquired in December 1994 by Capitol Multimedia.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</i> 2017 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a 2017 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U. Set at the end of the Zelda timeline, the player controls an amnesiac Link as he sets out to save Princess Zelda and prevent Calamity Ganon from destroying the world. Players explore the open world of Hyrule while they collect items and complete objectives such as puzzles or side quests. Breath of the Wild's world is unstructured and encourages exploration and experimentation; the story can be completed in a nonlinear fashion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo 64 Game Pak</span> Nintendo 64 storage medium

Nintendo 64 Game Pak is the brand name of the ROM cartridges that store game data for the Nintendo 64. As with Nintendo's previous consoles, the Game Pak's design strategy was intended to achieve maximal read speed and lower console manufacturing costs through not integrating a mechanical drive, with a drawback of lower per dollar storage capacity compared to a disk. From the console's first year from late 1996 through 1997, Game Pak sizes were 4 to 12 megabytes with a typical third party retail price of US$75.99, then available in 32 megabytes in 1998, and finally 64 megabytes from 1999 onwards.

<i>Link: The Faces of Evil</i> and <i>Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon</i> 1993 video games

Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon are action-adventure games developed by Animation Magic and published by Philips Interactive Media for the CD-i on October 10, 1993 in North America and December 25 of the same year in Europe. They were released on the same day, were developed simultaneously, and look and play similarly because they use the same graphic engine. Both games are based on Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda franchise, but are not acknowledged as official, canonical entries and are the first two games of three Zelda games released for the CD-i. The third, Zelda's Adventure, was developed separately and plays differently.

References

  1. ↑ Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore - Official LRG3 Reveal Trailer - IGN, 2023-07-12, archived from the original on 2023-07-14, retrieved 2023-07-15
  2. ↑ "Anunciado Arzette, una suerte de sucesor espiritual de los 'infames' Zelda de CD-i". Vandal (in European Spanish). 2023-07-13. Archived from the original on 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  3. ↑ Doolan, Liam (2023-07-13). "Arzette Is A "Spiritual Successor" To The Infamous Zelda CD-i Games And It's Coming To Switch In 2023". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on 2023-07-14. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  4. ↑ Peeples, Jeremy (2023-07-12). "Arzette Brings CDi Zelda-Inspired Thrills to Modern Hardware in 2023 - Hardcore Gamer". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  5. ↑ Franzese, Tomas (2023-07-12). "The worst Zelda games ever made are getting a spiritual successor". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on 2023-07-12. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  6. ↑ Serin, Kaan (2023-07-13). "Limited Run Games announce retro revivals for Gex Trilogy, Jurassic Park, Tomba, and more". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  7. ↑ Linneman, John (2023-07-12). "Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore Announced for all platforms (Zelda CDi Inspired Platformer)". ResetEra. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  8. 1 2 Romano, Sal (2023-07-12). "Interactive animated adventure game Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  9. ↑ Shanklin, Will (2024-01-29). "Arzette, a love letter to the CD-i Zelda games, will also revive an awful controller". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  10. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2020-11-28). "Amateur dev remakes CD-i games Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon so we can suffer them again, 27 years later". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 2023-07-14. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  11. ↑ @thedopster (November 30, 2020). "Just as a reminder, I have pulled the..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. 1 2 3 Machkovech, Sam (February 14, 2024). "How Arzette turned Zelda's biggest joke into something to laugh with, not at". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  13. ↑ Kelly, Josh (2023-08-14). "Owensboro game developer Seth Fulkerson reviving nostalgia with retro-inspired gaming gem". The Owensboro Times. Archived from the original on 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  14. ↑ Romano, Sal (2023-07-12). "Limited Run Games announces over 20 new physical releases at LRG3 2023". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  15. ↑ @dark1x (July 12, 2023). "Yeah, so I've been fortunate enough to do some level and game design work on Arzette..." (Tweet). Retrieved December 25, 2023– via Twitter.
  16. ↑ @pc98_audi (July 12, 2023). "Finally we can talk about this one! I am the producer and co-writer on this amazing CD-i Zelda successor..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ↑ @LimitedRunGames (October 30, 2023). "Spend next Valentine's Day with @ArzetteGame! You heard it tonight at #IndieLand2023: You'll be able to play Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore on February 14th, 2024!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. 1 2 "Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  19. ↑ Handley, Zoey (14 February 2024). "Review: Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore". Destructoid . Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  20. ↑ Scullion, Chris (14 February 2024). "Review: Arzette: The Jewel Of Faramore (Switch) - An Adroit Homage To The Worst Zelda Games". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  21. ↑ Hilhorst, Willem (14 February 2024). "Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore Review - Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  22. ↑ Tailby, Stephen (14 February 2024). "Review: Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore (PS5) - A Charmingly Shoddy CD-i Sendup". Push Square . Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  23. ↑ Musgrave, Shaun (February 19, 2024). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'Balatro' & 'Arzette', Plus Today's New Releases and Sales". TouchArcade . Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.