Difference between revisions of "Castle Adventure"

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[[Image:Castle Adventure - DOS - Title Screen.png|thumb|256x256px|Title screen.]]
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[[Image:Castle Adventure - DOS - Screenshot - Title.png|thumb|256x256px|Title screen.]]
  
'''''Castle Adventure''''' is a text-based adventure game designed by [[Kevin Bales]] for [[DOS]] and released in 1984 under a pay-what-you-feel model.
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'''''Castle Adventure''''' is a text-based action-adventure [[puzzle video game]] designed by [[Kevin Bales]] for [[MS-DOS]] and released in 1984 under a pay-what-you-feel model. The game was programmed in [[GW-BASIC]], and owes a lot of its display to ''[[Rouge]]'' but also has elements of a [[Metroidvania]].
  
I first played a hacked version of the game released by [[Keypunch Software]] in the shovelware title, [[Swords and Sorcery]]. They re-titled the game "Golden Wombat," to try and confused buyers into thinking they were getting the [[Infocom]] game, [[The Golden Wombat of Destiny]]. My cousin had the game, and we did quite well at the game, but the hacked copy did not include the game's documentation, so we didn't know we could look on tables, so we missed key items. I remember my cousin called the ugly ogre and "ugly orgy," which caused my older brother to laugh, though my cousin and I didn't know why. Finally, a friend of my cousin's, who had the real Castle Adventure game, told my cousin how to find the other items, and he beat the game. I player it later myself and also beat the game.
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==Personal==
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I first played a hacked version of the game released by [[Keypunch Software]] in the [[shovelware]] title, ''[[Swords and Sorcery]]'' some time around 1987. Keypunch re-titled the game ''Golden Wombat'', to try and confuse buyers into thinking they were getting the text adventure ''[[The Golden Wombat of Destiny]]''. My cousin had the game and we did quite well at it, but the hacked copy did not include the game's documentation which caused us to miss key items. I remember my cousin pronounce the ugly ogre as "ugly orgy," which caused my older brother to laugh, though my cousin and I didn't know why at the time. Finally, a friend of my cousin's, who had the real ''Castle Adventure'' game, told my cousin how to find the other items, and he beat the game. After watching him show me what we were missing, I later beat the game myself.
  
When I was younger, I spent a fair amount of time hacking the Castle Adventure data files and tried multiple times to recreate the game in [[Quick Basic]], but I always got bored with my attempts.
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I have spent a fair amount of time hacking the Castle Adventure files and have successfully decoded the data. In the past, I've tried multiple times to recreate the game in [[QuickBASIC]] and even [[Visual FoxPro]], but I've always got bored with my attempts and never finished a remake.
  
==Status==
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The game was released for free. I have beaten the original ''Castle Adventure'' and the ''Golden Wombat'' hack, though neither with a perfect score.
I have beaten Castle Adventure, though not with a perfect score.
 
  
 
==Review==
 
==Review==
* '''Overall:''' 3/10
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{{Video Game Review|4|2|3|1|2|MS-DOS}}
* '''Best Version:''' DOS
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{{Spoilers}}
  
 
===Good===
 
===Good===
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===Bad===
 
===Bad===
* The story is pretty lame.
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* The story is lame.
* There are a few bugs and typos in the game.
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* There are a few bugs and typos in the game. In particular, saving a game doesn't work properly, effectively making the game use [[permadeath]], although, since it can be beaten in only a few minutes, I don't really consider this a proper use of the term.
* Even with the text parser, there just isn't very much to do in the game. Even a first-time player can beat it in an hour or so.
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* Even with the text parser, there just isn't very much to do in the game. A first-time player can beat it in an hour or so.
 
* The overly-simplified combat hurts the game.
 
* The overly-simplified combat hurts the game.
  
 
===Ugly===
 
===Ugly===
* Without a frame limiter, it's impossible to beat the game on a PC that's even a little faster than what the game was designed for.
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* Without a frame limiter, it's really hard to beat the game on a PC that's faster than what the game was designed for, and impossible if your PC was a lot faster. In a similar problem, if your PC was weaker than what the game was designed for, it becomes trivially easy to kill all the monsters.
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==Download==
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Castle Adventure was released as freeware. This download also includes the [[Keypunch Software]] remake called ''Golden Wombat''.
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* [[Media:Castle Adventure (All Versions).zip|Download]] ([[:File:Castle Adventure (All Versions).zip|Info]]) - All versions.
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
* [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/CastleAdventure/Index.html thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/CastleAdventure/Index.html] - My fan site.
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{{Link|MobyGames|http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/castle-adventure}}
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/castle-adventure mobygames.com/game/dos/castle-adventure] - MobyGames.
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{{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Adventure}}
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Adventure en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Adventure] - Wikipedia.
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{{Link|ModdingWiki|http://www.shikadi.net/moddingwiki/Castle_Adventure}}
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* [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/CastleAdventure/Index.html thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/CastleAdventure/Index.html] - My old site.
  
  
 
[[Category: Games]]
 
[[Category: Games]]
 
[[Category: Video Games]]
 
[[Category: Video Games]]
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[[Category: 1984 Video Games]]
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[[Category: Video Game Prime Order - Adventure, Strategy, Action]]
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[[Category: Video Game Genre - Metroidvania]]
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[[Category: Video Game Genre - Passive Puzzle]]
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[[Category: Video Game Genre - Puzzle]]
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[[Category: Media Theme - Adventure]]
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[[Category: Media Theme - Fantasy]]
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[[Category: DOS Games]]
 
[[Category: Action]]
 
[[Category: Action]]
[[Category: Adventure]]
 
[[Category: Puzzle]]
 
 
[[Category: Rouge-Like]]
 
[[Category: Rouge-Like]]
 
[[Category: Dungeon Crawl]]
 
[[Category: Dungeon Crawl]]
[[Category: Games I've Beaten]]
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[[Category: Monochrome Graphics]]
[[Category: Black & White Graphics]]
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[[Category: Video Games I've Beaten]]
[[Category: Fantasy]]
 

Revision as of 11:22, 11 August 2022

Title screen.

Castle Adventure is a text-based action-adventure puzzle video game designed by Kevin Bales for MS-DOS and released in 1984 under a pay-what-you-feel model. The game was programmed in GW-BASIC, and owes a lot of its display to Rouge but also has elements of a Metroidvania.

Personal

I first played a hacked version of the game released by Keypunch Software in the shovelware title, Swords and Sorcery some time around 1987. Keypunch re-titled the game Golden Wombat, to try and confuse buyers into thinking they were getting the text adventure The Golden Wombat of Destiny. My cousin had the game and we did quite well at it, but the hacked copy did not include the game's documentation which caused us to miss key items. I remember my cousin pronounce the ugly ogre as "ugly orgy," which caused my older brother to laugh, though my cousin and I didn't know why at the time. Finally, a friend of my cousin's, who had the real Castle Adventure game, told my cousin how to find the other items, and he beat the game. After watching him show me what we were missing, I later beat the game myself.

I have spent a fair amount of time hacking the Castle Adventure files and have successfully decoded the data. In the past, I've tried multiple times to recreate the game in QuickBASIC and even Visual FoxPro, but I've always got bored with my attempts and never finished a remake.

The game was released for free. I have beaten the original Castle Adventure and the Golden Wombat hack, though neither with a perfect score.

Review

Video Game Review Icon - Enjoyment.png Video Game Review Icon - Control.png Video Game Review Icon - Appearance.png Video Game Review Icon - Sound.png Video Game Review Icon - Replayability.png
4 2 3 1 2

Best Version: MS-DOS

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

  • The game has some interesting character to it. The room descriptions are a nice touch, there are some jokes, and the parser makes the game feel more interactive than a typical rouge-like.

Bad

  • The story is lame.
  • There are a few bugs and typos in the game. In particular, saving a game doesn't work properly, effectively making the game use permadeath, although, since it can be beaten in only a few minutes, I don't really consider this a proper use of the term.
  • Even with the text parser, there just isn't very much to do in the game. A first-time player can beat it in an hour or so.
  • The overly-simplified combat hurts the game.

Ugly

  • Without a frame limiter, it's really hard to beat the game on a PC that's faster than what the game was designed for, and impossible if your PC was a lot faster. In a similar problem, if your PC was weaker than what the game was designed for, it becomes trivially easy to kill all the monsters.

Download

Castle Adventure was released as freeware. This download also includes the Keypunch Software remake called Golden Wombat.

Links

Link-MobyGames.png  Link-Wikipedia.png  Link-ModdingWiki.png