| ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Funatics Development |
| Publisher(s) | THQ |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows) |
| Release date(s) | July 2002 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure with RPG elements |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) USK: 6 years and above |
| Media/distribution | CD-ROM |
| System requirements
Pentium III 800, 128 MB RAM, 3D-accelerator |
|
ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal is an action-adventure computer game by German Funatics Development, released in 2002 by publisher THQ. An add-on, was in development in 2002, but was later cancelled.
Contents |
The game follows the story of Amy, a young girl from London who on her eighteenth birthday receives the strangest present in her life - a magic rune - from an even stranger creature, a goblin who appeared out of nowhere and disappeared without saying anything. The rune was one of the teleportation runes that the inhabitants of a magic parallel world ZanZarah used to travel across their lands.
Upon her arrival in ZanZarah, Amy discovers that she is the one an ancient prophecy told of and that it is her destiny to become the greatest fairy trainer of all times and save both her world and ZanZarah from impendent destruction. Of course, to accomplish that she must undertake a long journey but being an inquisitive and optimistic person, Amy readily accepts her destiny. After all, this world of ZanZarah looks so much more beautiful and safe than hers...
ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal features a detailed fantasy world called ZanZarah.
Long ago, our world and ZanZarah were one. Magical creatures like fairies, elves, dwarves and goblins lived in peace with humans for a long time and magic was an important part of our world. But then came the dark times, the times of Inquisition and a great magic purge. The magical creatures had to flee from our world to save themselves. And the human Druids, the last wielders of white magic, helped them by creating a world suitable for their existence and sealing the way there for the human race.
For centuries, the two worlds were separated and prospering. The creatures of ZanZarah sometimes visited their former home but generally preferred to stay in the new one. For humans, the way to ZanZarah was forever sealed by a mysterious machine called the Guardian. However, as the time passed, the magic world became more and more a prison rather than a paradise for the magic folk. It became harder to cross the border between the worlds even for the inhabitants of ZanZarah. Wild faeries started attacking the travelers for no apparent reason. Strange creatures calling themselves "dark elves" appeared on the roads. And the White Druid, the last of the mighty creators of ZanZarah, seems helpless against them...
Not only ZanZarah is affected by this strange plague. The ancient and half-forgotten by that time world of humans also suffers from a loss of something very important - the magic. A prophecy as old as ZanZarah itself tells that when time comes, a savior will come from the world of humans to restore the balance between the two universes and between the magic folk and the humans will once again reign peace. Until then, however, fairies, elves, dwarves and goblins have to wait and hope...
The world of ZanZarah is inhabited by a number of fantasy races, all of them smaller than humans in size.
The three peoples mentioned above are actually the three sentient races that fled our world when ZanZarah was created. In order to keep in touch with each other, they at some point decided to build a city that would welcome anyone, no matter what their race. That city was Tiralin, the biggest settlement in ZanZarah, located in the ancient woods roughly in the middle of the world.
The Shadow Realm is a place of great evil in the depth of ZanZarah, even deeper than the lava caves of the dwarves. There are a few entrances into it: one is in the pixie hunter Lucius' cellar where he keeps captured pixies. Another one is in the catacombs beneath Tiralin. But the main entrance leading to the s.c. Shadow Realm is hidden deep in the southeastern swamps of ZanZarah.
Fairies are the pillars of magic and of ZanZarah itself. They are everywhere in the world of ZanZarah - in trees, rocks, waterfalls, even ancient ruins. In a way, their power keeps the world going.
An occult art of fairy training allows a sentient being - be it a human, an elf, a goblin, a dwarf or a dark elf - to train fairies and use their power to affect the world around them. With fairies' help a skilled trainer can control all elements and even other fairies. More important, though, are the s.c. fairy duels, which are often the only way to deal with one's enemies. These duels follow a certain etiquette that, for example, states that only five fairies are allowed per duelist of which only one can enter the spiritual dueling arena at a time. Other rules include fighting until total annihilation of all opponent's fairies and a duelist's right to change the fairy in the field at any moment. And last but not least, fairy training is virtually the only way to guarantee one's survival in the regions of ZanZarah where wild faeries are at large.
Fairy trainers name 77 different types of fairies and divide them into twelve categories by their corresponding element. Some of the fairies can be captured in the wilderness using a special fairy sphere; others may only be acquired by training a fairy until it is ready to switch its type, often becoming even more powerful than before. The fairy elemental categories include:
Different fairy elements react differently with each other, for example, the calming force of Nature is extremely effective against the chaotic energy of Psi and Chaos. On the other hand, Fire and Ice easily destroy anything Nature has to offer. Only by effectively applying these principles, can a fairy trainer become a true fairy duelist. In addition to usual training and form transformation, a fairy can become more powerful by learning new techniques and spells chosen by its trainer. The techniques may, in some cases, not only deal damage to opponent's fairies but also have some special effects, especially in case of Psi and Chaos.
The overall gameplay in ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal is a simple example of the genre. Following the tradition of Pokémon series, the game process is divided into battle and exploration phases. In the exploration phase, the player navigates Amy through the world of ZanZarah. The freedom of movement is limited by many obstacles, such as prickly bushes, huge boulders, enemies, doors or elevators one has to find keys for, etc. In the classic adventure style, Amy explores the environment, solves various puzzles, gathers items and interacts with NPCs. Another aspect of non-battle phase is RPG-like healing, restoring magic powers, assigning spells to the fairies and rearranging the fairy "deck" Amy has with her on her travels.
Traveling via the global map is impossible, but Amy can use magical teleportation runes to shift to virtually any key location - provided, of course, she has already found the corresponding rune. One rune can even teleport her back to London where all fairies she captured but not added to her "deck" stay. It is nearly impossible for Amy to die in ZanZarah (apart from falling from a cliff, drowning in a swamp, and jumping into a river of lava) and even if she "dies", she resumes her journey at the entrance to the location with all the inventory and fairy statistics she had prior to her "death".
The battle phase begins when Amy is attacked by a wild fairy or challenged to a fairy duel and ends when all enemies or her own fairies are defeated. In the latter case, Amy "dies" and respawns at the entrance to the location in the condition she was prior to the battle. While in the battle phase, the player navigates one fairy out of Amy's "deck" through a dueling arena (of which there are dozens of layouts) in a first-person shooter style. Each fairy has two offence-defense pairs of spells which it can switch any time. To actually shoot at an enemy with an offensive spell, the player must hold down the left mouse button to accumulate some charge rather than just tap it. It is important to have some knowledge of arena layouts and a good timing to pull off the most deadly attacks.
Several critics praised the music of ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal[1][2] Most of the themes were created by a German composer King Einstein (also known for his work on the Cultures RTS series). The title theme Come With Me was composed and performed by British-Latvian singer Kariina Gretere (aka Karina Gretere), whom some compare to Enya.[3]
The entire soundtrack can be freely downloaded from the official site.
An unnamed add-on (some fans refer to it as ZanZarah: The Lost Village) to the game has been in development in the second half of 2002. Apparently, it would have featured an entirely new village named Gramire and some new characters including an unlucky King Ironir. However, the project was cancelled due to marketing reasons and only a few materials remained in its wake: