Nethergate Resurrection 4: In the Middle

Didn't play much today but wandered around in the game and found some things I had already done. I had already dispatched the fire lizards in the Goblin dungeons, but had not slaughtered the ghosts that guard the treasure there. So I did that.

Also, I returned, just on a whim, to my "quarters" in the Nethergate village and found that I had already acquired the Rod of Safe Descent, which I will need in the mine in the Roman area that will get me to a major quest item.

I went to Hagfen and talked with the hags, but have not yet ventured into their dungeon to retrieve the Skelkie skin. As I recall, the reward for that is Key V, the only one of Sylak's six keys that I don't yet have. So that will be high on the agenda for tomorrow, I think. 

I also discovered one of the new areas that Jeff added in the Resurrection remake, and I know I have never solved it. I think it has to do with weakening defenses, which is one of Jeff's favorite puzzles. Not in the mood for that right now. 

And plus, I found yet another new quest. The Hags ask me for a horned skull which can be found in the depths of the goblin dungeons. I went there and was able to access an area that in the original game was open only to the Romans. It always bothered me that I could see the place with piercing sight, but couldn't get there! Well, now I can, but the lizards there are too strong for me at the moment.

Finally accessible to Celts! But dangerous!

Also, here's a nice shot of Raven that I grabbed while I was in the Gryphon area. Raven reveals just a bit of the major plot of the game.

Nice birdy.

So I have lots and lots to do! I also checked out one of the dungeons in the early part of the game and found that I had done it already last year--the one where you rescue a very loud girl. That's fine because I always found that dungeon a bit annoying--it isn't easy to figure out how to open certain areas. Glad I already did it.

But for the most part I left off a year ago pretty close to where I should have left off in this new playthrough. Had I not gone to Goagh-Nar I would have gone back to the Inn in Vanarium and picked up my fifth character. So it's all good!

Still a bit too weak to tackle some important areas. I want to basically finish everything else outside of Goagh-Nar before I go back there again.

Next Entry.

Nethergate Resurrection 3: Ahead of Myself

OK, it seems that I tried the Formorian quest too soon. I can finish it as it was intended to be finished--I killed the queen and can escape to the lower caves--but I'm not strong enough yet to do what I wanted to do with it, i.e., kill everybody and loot the place.

And plus, there is a hidden spear that does extra damage to Formorians that you're supposed to find, but you have to win a fight to get it. I can't even get started in the fight because my spellcasters get slaughtered before I can even move.

That isn't right. I gotta be stronger.

Well, I had started a game about a year ago and got to the same levels I'm in now. It's really a good match. I had already added a Roman fighter to my party instead of a Brigantine spellcaster, but that might be the better choice. This way I'll have a fighter bringing up the back that will protect my spellcasters.

OK! So I'll go with that. I only had a couple of different quests in that game, and I had not yet been to the Formorians. Good. I will wander about and do everything else before I tackle that again.

AND I've really actually caught up! I was at almost exactly the same spot, so I just wandered around outside for a bit doing stuff. The only thing I was worried about was: did I free the faerie man when I was trapped in the witches' lair? Turns out I did, so all was well!

After wandering around to the point where I kinda knew where I was I went to Hollow Hills, where I met the faerie man I had saved and got a really good quest--to get a gryphon feather. 

Entering the Gryphon lair

This is a fairly easy level. You do have to fight Formorians, but that's good. I've realized that I shouldn't try the major Formorian quest (Goagh-Nar, a whole chapter title!) until I can at least beat the Formorians on the bridge in the starting area, and probably also wipe out the outside Formorian village. When I'm strong enough to do those things I'll be ready. Meanwhile, there's lots and lots to do!

I'm pleased with my choice of the Roman fighter to be my fifth character. He's a good fighter, about the same level as Bruce and Gordon. While I'd love to have the extra spellcasting power, it's also true that I would need to collect a whole lot more energy draughts and elixers. So, the muscle power is a better fit, and he can protect my spellcasters from rear attacks.

I left off exactly where I had stopped about a year ago! So this is good. I really haven't missed anything (well, except a first visit to the GIFTS, but that visit is incredibly annoying so I'm glad I got it over with a year ago. I have their quest).

Tomorrow I can continue almost as though it were a seamless gameplay!

Next Entry.

Nethergate Resurrection 2: Zoom Zoom!

I am having real fun! I'm zooming along quite nicely. Of course, as I'm so familiar with the game, that's helping, but really a lot of this seems new, simply because I'm taking the time to read the descriptions and dialogue.

First, some stuff in the game that I didn't go over last time. Here's the character screen, where you start:

Which side are you on?

Make changes here for your own party

This is where you get info and build your characters

The story begins:

The background story

You've arrived!

And you find yourself in your quarters in the village of Nethergate:

Home sweet home

Your village. Always walk around the outsides of towns in town mode to find loot!

Tips about playing! You'll be saving your games the really, really old fashioned way, through text documents (don't worry, it's automatic).

Type your game save name

You'll purchase your spells from this guy:

Cormac waits for you here

Click on the spell name.

If you have enough points in each spell category, and enough money to buy the spell, you'll get it. You have to buy for each character so be sure you don't waste it.

Also, to sell stuff, look at the inventory next to the character pictured in the bottom left screen. When you are in trading mode, coins and prices will appear by the inventory items. Just click on those to sell. Warning: you can't get it back, so be careful!

One of my favorite parts of these early Spiderweb games is the secret areas. Early on you'll get a spell called "piercing sight" which will expand the map so you can see secret areas, or you can just do "wall bumping" to find them.

You find a treasure box!

And don't forget to search corpses when you find them (just look at them).

This dead guy might have good armor or coins or even messages!

So far I've finished the goblin pit (well, there are still two areas that I'll have to return to down in the lower caves, and I think I might be strong enough now to get through them). I've done the quest to get the sidthe (pronounced "sheee") contract. I've been trapped by the witches and escaped. I've met the dragon Reptrakos:

Here there be dragons!

I've got my curse removed and I've found some kind of puzzle box in the dragon lair, but I'll have to return to get Sylak's nourishing bowl. I'm not strong enough to get it just yet. I know I can. I did it in my very first playthrough, and it comes in very handy when you're going through Anwyn, the world of the dead, and you can't eat anything you find there. May have to kill Reptrakos, this time, though.

I did make one mistake. I should have added a character to my party before entering the current dungeon I'm in. It would have given her time to build strength, and would have given me another character to carry stuff. I'm currently doing the quest with the Formorians. Now, in all dungeons in Spiderweb games you can go back and back to fetch loot and kill more monsters, anytime you want, except this one. Once you leave the area you can't get back into the Formorian palace. because the portcullis closes. 

The solution is to kill all the Formorians, loot the place and pile it all up just outside the portcullis of the castle. That's still in the area, so you can return to fetch it all. It takes lots of trips. There is lots of loot. But it's incredibly frustrating to expect to go back and get it and then find out that you can't.

So I'm currently in the queen's chamber, and I can easily kill her with Hero of Old and Ravage Life scrolls that I conveniently found earlier in the area. After that I have to wipe out every Formorian in the place. I think I have just enough spell energy potions to do that.

But that's quite a lot of progress so far!

I'm so glad I started this again! I'm having real fun!

Next Entry.

Nethergate Resurrection 1: Everything Old is New Again

I see that I do not have a thread on Nethergate Resurrection! The original Nethergate was the first RPG I ever played, and the first Spiderweb game I played, and it hooked me on Spiderweb and the genre (well, as long as the RPG is turn based).

I did do a review of the original game many years ago for Four Fat Chicks, and you can still find the working link to the right under "My Game Reviews."

Now, I've started this game numerous times and have never finished it. In Nethergate, you can play either or both the Celts and/or the Romans, and I did both of those in the original game. But years ago, Jeff Vogel remade the game as N. Resurrection, and added a bunch of new quests and dungeons. I never finished it on either side!

The reason: This is a long, long game. It takes weeks and months to play, and I always got distracted from it. Plus, I didn't want to start it yet again because I've played at least half-way through numerous time, and I thought I'd be bored.

I'm not bored! It's been so long since I played that, while it certainly isn't a new experience, I'm taking the time to read the text, and am really getting into it! Plus, I have to learn how to play all over again. 

Yes, you will read everything

Including all dialogue (which can be quite funny)

While this is an extremely simple engine with crude graphics, the story and dialogue and text descriptions are all from Jeff Vogel, and that means they're entertaining. Plus, this game may be simple, but it ain't easy. I'm in the dungeon under the goblin pits, and I keep getting killed. There are two areas that I know I'm not yet strong enough to tackle, so I'll have to get more strength and then come back.

Now then. I am not going to limit myself to this game. I will probably mix in some newer, shorter adventures, and if Blackenrock or the full Silent Night come out from Jonathan Boakes, I will stop to play those. But my hope is to keep coming back to Nethergate and finally finish it.

I've started with the Celts, because that's where the basic plotline develops. Might not do the Romans until sometime next year. But I am having fun, and I thought that yet another replay of the early parts of this game would bore me, but that is not happening! 

So I'm happy with my choice, and I'll just keep going.

Next Entry.

The Fall of April 8: Finally Won!

Found the key! Hint: it is not lying out in the open. There. That should be enough.

Turns out that I was only half right about the villain. Oddly, though, there was really no explicitly made tie-in to the 1915 Balloon expedition. Yes, the last names helped, but I really did expect a more definite association with it, because that was, after all, the inspiration for the title of this game!

I expected my final confrontation with the villain to be in the place where I use the key, but no! Had to go wandering in the countryside again, which is at least pleasant.

Love the reptilian artwork

Head down here

As always, we have to use an item on the villain when we're confronted (these days we're always confronted). I was able to figure it out because it's the only item I had not yet used. Hah!

We're rewarded by some nice scenery, including this pretty sunset.

Nice reflection on the water

I must say that this is the longest I've ever taken to play a Carol Reed game, probably because I really resisted looking at the hints! Only needed just a few, which is quite nice.

So, good game as always! Enjoyed it completely! Try it and have fun!

The Fall of April 7: Where are the Keys?

So I did manage to find that elusive bathroom. Really never did encounter it previously, although I'd been to that part of the hotel many times. 

That sent me to this very interesting place, which absolutely must be a real place, although who knows if it's in Norrköpping or not! The Army Museum gave me a couple of clues.

Obviously real exhibits

From there I went to yet another ski slope, where again I had to hunt around to find a special place. It really is a good idea to check the notes, because you won't get an actual hint unless you want one, but it will tell you where to go next when the goal is far from obvious. No sense in checking every single node in every single location. Just look at the notes.

Another view from a ski slope in summer

I have met the villain, and I indeed was correct in my guess about who it is! Yay!

However, now I'm looking for a key. I know the general location, but the only way to find it is the same way I finally found the bathroom: I have to go to each and every node in the place systematically, and check each possible node in order to find it. There is no hint to narrow down the search.

However, I'm now absolutely sure that I'm at the endgame. These games always end when Carol confronts the murderer, and that's what we'll do once I finally find the verdamnten key.

That won't happen tomorrow because I have a very full day. But my next entry ought to be the last for this very fun game!

Till then!

Next Entry.

The Fall of April 6: Graveyards and Sheep

Making lots of progress! I played a bit last night and got into a stuckness, but this morning I came back, looked around the area more and almost immediately found what I needed.

We search another house, and there is another puzzle in there that I'll need to find the clue for. We also wander around in nice wooded areas, one of the attractions of these games is always the scenery.

It's pretty!

In the above area we find a memorial, which is going to send us to yet another location. This appears to be the actual memorial for the three Swedish balloonists who died on their expedition to the north pole, although I don't know just how much "history" Mikael invents, and how much is real.

The memorial to the adventurers

We go on to the next location, which turns out to have a nice little hut that we can explore, and in that area we find evidence of a real crime. (I have my ideas of who the criminal might be, although often in these games the villain will turn out to be someone we never met.)

In yet another house, I found yet another clock with no hands!

To the right of the window

We also visit the area university, and from the photo it's obvious that Mikael has invented the name.

Probably just an official building in the area

After yet more wandering, backtracking to areas when we find an inventory item that we will need and eventually visiting ancient carvings that do appear to be real, we find another two puzzle boxes.

Easy to solve if you look around

And we see actual animals in this game! That quite unusual for these games. We have live, but immobile, sheep!

Baaaaa!

I'm now back at the hotel looking for the bathrooms. I found one, but apparently there is another. I know what to do when I find it, but I can't find it! So, I'll have to make a more systematic search next time!

Next Entry.

The Fall of April 5: Can I Finish on My Own?

Zooming along in the game although I haven't had much playing time. But locations are disappearing from the map, so I know I'm pretty well advanced in the game. I got into the computer, but still have not found the combination to the safe in the hotel.

I found Bigge! But . . . it's a different actor! Still uses the same voice, but has a younger, far different appearance!

Is this they old guy's son perhaps?

I'm mad at myself because I found a clue and didn't interpret it correctly. Looked at the verdamnten hint and realized that I had figured it out, just put things out of order—and the order was the default decision! Tried to be too clever for my own good.

Also had to look at a hint to find the address of one of the characters. I'm not mad at myself for that one—it was in an extremely obscure location.

But that location revealed a talk with Mikael Nyqvist, the game developer, who, like Alfred Hitchcock, always appears somewhere in his games.

He usually plays a villain or strange character

As of now I'm pretty firmly stuck. Gonna hunt around a bit more tonight and see if I can break through.

Till then!

Next Entry.

The Fall of April 4: New Challenge

Very little playing time today, but I still wanted to find that colors puzzle! Took a bit of hunting, because I couldn't quite remember where I had seen the puzzle. However, found it, solved it, and it sent me to a new location with more color clues.

Sometimes we get really nice scenery on these little jaunts into the countryside.

Nothing here. Just a pretty shot of daisies

But with my new color clues, I could only think to go back to the same puzzle I'd just solved, and that turned out to be correct! 

I did find a clue about these games' recurring comic character, Bigge. He hasn't shown up yet, but I found evidence that he is here somewhere!

Things to come . . .

At last I found my way to yet another clue. The villain in this game left a trail of clues that normally sends us to the next location, but this one is different:

What will this lead to?

I found a numbers puzzle in this location that I'm quite sure I do not yet have a clue for. I'll hunt about a bit more tomorrow, but I think I've covered it pretty well.  It does have a nice view though!

I wonder is this is Norköpping.

Anyway, enough for today!

Next Entry.

The Fall of April 3: Colors and Puzzles and Scenery Too!

Not much playing time today and probably will have even less tomorrow, but that's fine! I usually zoom through these games too fast. I'm doing just fine with this one. 

I've encountered one puzzle that I was able to solve on my own:

Just try stuff. You'll figure out how it works.

And one that I knew would need a clue (you can easily bulldog your way through three choices, but not four):

The arms and legs turn colors.

When solved, the boxes tend to contain keys:

This should come in useful!

So I found what I needed in this location, but had to go to three other locations in order to tackle another puzzle here. But that's what I enjoy about these games—we're always moving around.

One of the locations was very scenic. You do need to press the spacebar to find hotspots, however, because there are items all along the way here:

I really enjoy the scenery!

Having found what I needed here, I hastened back to that location, where I will find another puzzle. I think I know where it is, if I can just find it again! And I know there's another numbers puzzle there too.

So I'll do more puzzling and clue hunting tomorrow!

Next Entry.