Summoner (game)
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| Summoner | |
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| Developer(s) | Volition, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Release date(s) | PlayStation 2 NA October 25, 2000 EU April 6, 2001 Windows |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Mac OS, Windows |
| Media | PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM Windows/Mac 2 x CD-ROM |
| System requirements | Windows
Macintosh
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| Input | keyboard, mouse, gamepad |
Summoner, produced by Volition, Inc. (now THQ) and published by THQ, is a third-person perspective role playing adventure hybrid video game. It was released on September 25, 2000 for the PlayStation 2 and was subsequently ported to the PC and Mac home computer systems. A sequel, Summoner 2 was released years after.
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[edit] Gameplay
The player can choose how short or prolonged the abundance of optional quests and side stories they will follow will be, which offer a nice diversion from the massive main storyline. The game also includes an abundance of spells that are cast in real time. It makes use of the RPG standard spell elemental alignments (Fire, Earth, Water, Wind/Air etc.) as well.
[edit] Plot
You play as Joseph of Ciran, a young man personally responsible for the destruction of your hometown. As a boy, Joseph summoned a demon to save his village and watched in horror while it murdered his family, friends and neighbours and destroyed all he held dear. Torn between the grief of his loss and the hatred of his new power, he cast away the ring a man named Yago had given him and swore never to invoke his powers again. Joseph fled from Ciran with great haste, leaving behind all his memories of demons, death and horror.
Joseph's goal, achieved through his newly regained powers of summoning, is to defend Medeva from the Orenian invasion and to defeat the evil emperor, Murod, by using rings to summon the ultimate creature. Along the way he teams up with an assortment of characters, each with their own substoryline and optional quests. There are side quests with almost every NPC you meet in the game. Which slowly but surely reveals more of the lore of Medeva, of which there is an abundance. Throughout the game you will experience voyages of many a mile through the use of a world map, similar to that of Final Fantasy IX. Using this completely 3D world map, Joseph can travel to the massive holy city of Lenele, the mysterious monastery on the Isle of Iona and many other exotic and interesting locations.
[edit] Main/Playable characters
Joseph - Born in Ciran with the mark of the summoner on his hand. He was given the dark summoning ring by Yago, and once tried to use it to save his village from attack, but unable to control the great power the demon he summoned razed the village in fire. He was exiled from Ciran and travelled with Yago for a while, before throwing the dark ring down a well and running away to Masad, a sleepy town on the Darhu river. He promised himself he would forget all that happened at Ciran and never use his powers again. When Medeva is invaded Joseph is forced to find Yago, and somehow regain the power of summoning. As well as being able to summon monsters, Joseph is also a good warrior and has access to healing magic.
Flece - Flece was brought up as an orphan in the "Old City" district of Lenele where crime was prevalent. She is supposedly the illegitimate daughter of a prostitute who was knifed to death in the Alley of Dogs. She now works for Tancred, who has crowned himself "King of Fleas" and controls Lenele's underground. Many consider her the best character in the game with the most development. She appears once briefly in the sequel.
Jekhar - Joseph's childhood friend whose family was murdered in the massacre caused by the demon unleashed by Joseph. Jekhar is now a soldier living in Lenele working under King Belias VI. He hates Joseph. He appears once briefly in the sequel alongside Flece, but it is only a cameo and he is left unnamed.
Rosalind - Estranged daughter of Yago. She studies Aosi, the language of Creation. She plays a minor but important part in the game and seemingly appears to Maia, the sequel's main character.
[edit] Important NPCs featured in Summoner
Emperor Murod - The former leader of the Society of the Jade Temple who betrayed the late Orenian Emperor and usurped the throne. He has now enslaved his people and is planning to rebuild the Tower of Eleh and crown himself Emperor of Heaven.
The Four Riders -No one but Murod knows the origins these warriors,as they can be either warriors or beings made by Murod's dark magic. Each Rider has unique attacks and skills.
Yago - A former member of the Order of Iona and Rosalind's estranged father. Yago left the monastery to seek a boy born of the Mark. Yet his efforts to teach Joseph the power of summoning failed and resulted in the destruction of Ciran. After Ciran was destroyed, Yago moved to Lenele. He is a playable character in the sequel who seeks Rosalind.
King Belias VI - Wise ruler of the Kingdom of Medeva, who has been its ruler for sixteen years.
Aoqi - A mysterious "woman in white".
Machival - The Demon of Darkness. He is the demon that destroyed Ciran.
[edit] Reception
IGN rated the game at 8.3, or "Impressive", noting that at the time it was the Sony Playstation 2's best RPG, though it "did not live up to all the hype."[1]
[edit] Trivia
The court intrigues of Medeva bear a strong resemblance to parts of the novel A Game of Thrones, though with some of the characters shifted around: The king does not have any surviving heirs, Prince Yon was fond of climbing and fell to his death from a castle tower after likely being pushed by Sornehan (whom would, in league with the queen, later betray the king), another prince was killed by a boar during a hunt, and another died of fever. In addition, the king married and came to power to conclude a civil war (though as a loyalist rather than a usurper) after which he has presided over a long peace, but while a supurb fighter and military leader, tends to avoid much of his duties in the administration of the kingdom, with the royal treasury heavily in debt.
The Dungeons and Dragons sketch was included as an Easter egg in the game. With permission from the Dead Alewives and the use of virtual characters from the game, a short video was produced using the soundtrack from the Dead Alewives' Dungeons & Dragons Sketch. Eventually, the video was released as a stand-alone movie in Bink and AVI format.
