Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal Review

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Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal

Review by Old RoosterSeptember 2002

Wanted—Innocent and Virginal 18-Year-Old Heroine!

Britney wasn’t available, so our developers have scoured Europe and found, in a London flat, Amy. Indeed, our Amy bears a striking resemblance to one April Ryan—remember her? But on with the game. Zanzarah is an intriguing amalgam of adventure, RPG, and first-person shooter. It creates an alternate universe of fairies, elves, dwarves, and other peculiar creatures. It seems this parallel world, which has really been there all through time, has been hidden from us for thousands of years due to some ancient misunderstandings.  However, there is trouble in River City, or Zanzarah, and the ruling Druids need this naive but bright and good-hearted youngster to heal the breach, solve the problems, bring the factions together, make the universe whole again, etc. To accomplish this, Amy must not only wander the mythical world of Zanzarah, unlocking doors and making discoveries, but also must become a fairy collector and gain skills in fairy fighting!

You’ve Got to Be Kidding!

As one of those rare gamers who likes to read the manual before playing the game, I was ready to consign this one to some kind of banishment. C’mon—fairy fights, card collecting, elves! It seemed like a Pokemon-type children’s game. Well, the banishment didn’t occur, because I installed and started playing in one of the most gorgeous and superficially involving game worlds I’ve experienced. 

“Step into the Realm of Magic and Mist—Into the Unknown” —Opening Theme

After a painless 960 MB installation, we are greeted with an absolutely lovely and original opening theme by one Karina Gretere, an Enya sound-alike. Deliberately lingering at the menu screen to hear the theme more than once, I just had to share some of the lyrics with you:

At last you’ve found your way; Roads may change and roads may end; Shapes may change and colors blend; But time is forever still.

Amy is presented and controlled through a third-person, Tomb Raider kind of perspective. With a combination of arrows and mouse, I found this movement scheme very effective, much more so than with other third-person efforts. Indeed, except for some keyboard shortcuts, the game is completely managed with the mouse and four arrow keys. The interface (health, inventory, conversations, etc.) is also very effectively done, with one possible and fairly large exception, to be discussed shortly. In general, then, installation, controls and overall management are very good.

“I Hope this Isn’t One of Those Dreams Full of Little Green Men” —Amy

As Amy is initially transported to Zanzarah, we find not a world of “little green men,” but rather one of the most lush and appealing game worlds you’re likely to see. Using the same 3D engine that powered Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, the developer has clearly gone to loving pains in a successful effort to involve the player in a set of believable environments. These range from the initial Garden of the Fairies to a City of Fairies, Swamp Village, Village of the Dwarves and the White Cathedral. Most of the inhabitants who desire to communicate instead of fight speak a dialect that is translated into conversational trees for Amy’s response. From friendly and helpful owls to the guidance of Rafi, this world of babbling brooks and swaying trees beckons your active and willing participation. You want to explore, see more, find out more about what is happening here.

Sounds are wonderfully done. Soon into the game, you’ll hear a waterfall in the distance and find it in full force just around a bend. Not only is ambient work effective, but also the voice acting and background themes integrate beautifully into the whole experience.  Indeed, graphics and overall sound/acting/music earn a gold star from my perspective.

“You Need a Fairy Bag to Fairy Fight” —Rafi

Unfortunately, what at first seemed a rather pure adventure (solving puzzles, unlocking mysteries, interviewing citizens) rather quickly deteriorated (in my judgment) to a peculiar skill buildup and collecting game with the primary thrust related to fairy fights, almost in a Quake III or Unreal Tournament fashion!

It seems there is an astral plane in this alternate world, populated by 77 kinds of fairies, in various classes (water, energy, stone, ice, fire, etc.), each with its own specific strengths and weaknesses.  A “Table of Effectiveness” is included with the game, showing which of the 12 classes work best against others (sort of a “rock, paper, scissors” approach). For example, a fairy with a high energy rating will work well against water but not against stone. Further, each fairy has two defensive and two offensive spells, as well as experience levels ranging from zero to 60. In a confrontation—and these appear randomly and often as you explore—it’s important to be equipped with the “right” fairy companion, or at least have the right one immediately available in the set of five you can have with you at any one time. Of course, you can travel back to London to gather alternate fairies, assuming you’ve added them to your collection at some point in your quest.

Then, there’s the fighting itself. Even as an experienced Unreal Tournament player, I had some difficulty with the controls.  It’s a first-person shooter scheme not done very well, I’m afraid.  Movement involves holding down left and right mouse buttons at times, while watching your mana level (health). It all becomes difficult, annoying and unpleasant. Fortunately, there is an “enabler” available that leads to an automatic win in a fight and, in turn, leads to more direct movement toward the final outcome of the game.  Drop a line if you would like that cheat, I mean “enabler.”

Finally, you also have to be thinking about and managing magic spheres (crystal, gold and silver), as well as other various and sundry items necessary for progress in Zanzarah, including a Pixie Bag, herbs, healing potions, golden carrots, an ocean conch, coins, and, my favorite, the garlic atomizer. Collecting various fairy cards enables your visits to different lands or areas (keys).

“Humans Are So Terribly Minded Where Magic Is Concerned” —Rafi

There are about 25 hours of play in Zanzarah if you “skip” most of the fairy fights and proceed as directly as possible. The land is wide open and, although certain keys and tasks are required to proceed to the next level, one really has to search, explore, chat with townfolk. Frankly, for this gamer, the fairy fights and even the collecting became something of a pain, redundant, even mind-boggling. I became frustrated by the action sequences and was pleased to find the enabler code available. Never having played Pokemon, perhaps I’m not of the necessary mindset for this kind of experience.

After my first hour with Zanzarah, I told our fearless leader that I didn’t care what kind of game was incorporated in this world—it was so beautiful and involving that just being there made it all worthwhile. Well, it does make a difference, and the esoteric and rather peculiar gameplay (from my perspective) affected, I’m afraid, my overall viewing of the title. With its stellar graphics, fine level design and wonderful sound, Zanzarah could readily have earned one of our coveted gold stars if the gameplay had been more purely adventure, or even action/adventure, in the sense we typically experience it. Instead, in an apparent desire to be creative and different, the designers went with a strange collecting game coupled with a substandard shooter. In spite of the lovely world, the complexities of managing fairies, together with the difficult fights, brought this down to a thumb up rating. As a disclaimer, this is one Rooster’s opinion, and it’s very possible that others may find this gameplay right up their alley and not as mind-boggling as did this player. Indeed, I would recommend the game to many, given the reservations expressed above and, once the price becomes “budget,” which I suspect will be soon, you may well choose to “step into the realm of magic and mist—into the unknown.” The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Funatics Publisher: THQ Release Date: June 2002

Available for: Windows 

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Screenshots

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System Requirements

PII 500 (PIII 800 recommended) 64 MB RAM (256 MB recommended)

Where to Find It

Links provided for informational purposes only.  FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies).

      Copyright © Electric Eye Productions.  All rights reserved.  No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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