A winsome medieval tune
surrounds Lydia as she makes her way over the shady path through the
verdant forest. As she crests the hill, the Academy of Magic appears
before her in all its castle-like fortification, with purple domed turrets
and stone parapets reaching into the sky. Lydia is eager to make her way
to the school. Not only is it the first day of her new studies, but she
is also looking forward to a reunion with her best friend Celeste. It’s
been eight long years of tedious labor to raise the money to travel to
this academy run by Nathaniel, Celeste’s father.
Surprisingly, Celeste isn’t at their
designated meeting place, and there is no one else around to greet her
either. In fact the door to the academy is locked. Lydia has worked too
hard and long to let a little thing like that stop her progress, and soon
operates the door mechanism. How strange and beautiful this place is!
The school is enormous, with sumptuous
tapestries adorning the walls; heraldry and intricately carved wood
accents abound. Everywhere the eye can see there are figures of dragons
atop pilasters, cabinets, and stairwells, and one huge dragon that covers
much of the entryway. The decoration suits the academy’s location, which
is in Dragonvale. Chandeliers and fireplaces glow with sparkling magical
light. However, this masterpiece of winding staircases and breathtaking
views is devoid of people. Lydia soon frees a partner locked in a cabinet
-- a talking wolf who claims to be a dragon shape-shifted by magic.
Together they will search the school in an attempt to find the students
and teachers who have so mysteriously vanished. Ominously, Lydia finds a
doll that she gave to Celeste when they swore an oath to be friends
forever. She knows her friend would never willingly have parted with this
keepsake.
Lydia, Keepsake’s protagonist, has a
strong sense of purpose and character. She has worked for everything she
has, and she bears an ingrained moral compass that will never let her
forget her friends or a good deed done on her behalf. Zak the wolf,
however, is basically everything that Lydia is not. He is devious, afraid
of ghosts and heights, and most definitely has his own agenda. He has been
hurt by others in the past, ridiculed for being different, and doesn’t
feel he is worthy of friendship. As they search for Celeste, they come to
know one another. Their conversations are illuminating and sometimes
humorous. For much of the game their interaction is the focus of the
story, as puzzles are solved and the academy unlocks its secrets. But
strange visions of Celeste also assail Lydia, and she begins to learn of
her friend’s heartbreaking past. Lydia knows it is imperative that she
reach Celeste.
This is a bittersweet tale of the magic of
friendship. We see the enduring friendship between the two girls, which
parallels the friendship between the creators of Dragonvale Academy. In
both relationships, one friend was rich in earthly goods. The other was
not, but worked to overcome stumbling blocks to achieve a greater good.
Through the visions, Lydia learns that Celeste, although having the
outside trappings of wealth, is poor when it comes to what she most wants
-- a relationship with her father. And there is also the promise of new
friendship between Lydia and Zak. Zak too yearns for someone to care for
him, to see beyond his physical appearance to the worthy soul beneath. The
development of these facets of the storyline is handled so intriguingly
that the end result is not just a three hankie moment (although there is
that, I assure you) but also an uplifting promise of new beginnings.
Aside from these undercurrents there is a
magnificent world to explore, all contained in one building and a small
amount of the world outside. While in some games this might seem
claustrophobic, it does not in this game. There are many, many winding
staircases and hidden passages and rooms, and in each scene there is much
to absorb. The puzzles are well integrated into the storyline; they are
clever, and each is a work of art.
Keepsake excels in its graphics,
with exquisite 2D rendering of 3D models. From the elaborate carving on
the wood to the darting yellow, blue and red fish in the pond, everywhere
there is something to delight. In the library I played with the puzzles
for an inordinate amount of time to relish the realistic wooden doors as
they were raised and lowered. I was captivated by the first puzzle of the
game, which contains Minotaur statues that are particularly well crafted.
The leaves on the trees are painstakingly rendered, and other effects
(like the liberal use of shadows) are very well done. Unfortunately, the
graphics fall down when it comes to the game’s main characters, which are
not as detailed as their surroundings. Another disappointment -- items in
the academy that I would have liked to touch or to see described, but that
are not interactive.
Ambient sounds abound, from creaking doors
to singing birds. The background score is magical and medieval, and there
is an up-tempo when you complete a task which is reminiscent of the old
Sierra games. It is lovely, this folksy melody. The only change I could
wish for would be a vocalist to accompany the main theme, and perhaps a
few additional tunes. The voices are well done for the most part,
especially that of Zak, whose emotions are brilliantly displayed through
inflection.
Game play itself is simple third person
point and click, although sometimes the navigation is a bit tedious as one
searches for a point to click on in order to move the characters.
Occasionally the camera view was awkward and made one go round in circles
unnecessarily. There were two locations that I had difficulty in locating,
as they required a precise click without making it evident that there were
areas beyond the obvious. A map was a welcome addition for the North
American release. But frankly it would have been better yet to be able to
automatically access areas that had been discovered, as the academy is
very large and contains a labyrinth of passages. Fortunately Lydia and Zak
run almost everywhere, or it would have been a very long stroll. Despite
this, the scenes are so pretty that this was one game where I didn’t mind
being lost very much.
There is a wonderfully innovative hint
system onboard in this game -- a feature I would certainly like to see
duplicated in other games. You can elect to be given a succession of hints
for a puzzle, and even the solution. You need never rack your brain
attempting to find where you must next go in the game -- or what you
haven’t discovered that is necessary in order to complete a puzzle -- for
this system also will provide a visual hint for where the next or missed
step can be found.
There is an interesting small inventory in
which items yet to be found are grayed out. There are a few inventory
puzzles, but mainly the puzzles are of the logic/mechanical sort. Although
these are never a favorite of mine, in this game I didn’t mind them, for
each puzzle has its own magic, with ambient sounds and clear visuals.
There are no sliders and no timed puzzles and you are at your leisure to
complete the puzzles or to solve them via the hint system. There are no
mazes, unless you consider the academy one big maze.
As you progress through the game you also
view Lydia’s visions, and you can access these poignant sepia
moments-in-time again and again if you wish. This is a nice way to explore
the steps that led to the present situation -- gossamer strands of time
captured for your further understanding of the underlying plot.
The plot is linear, but there is much that
you can do in a different order. The first time I played the game, I felt
like I was toing and froing quite a bit. A second playthrough made me
realize that there is a logical path which reduces much of that, had I
picked up certain verbal cues. Speaking of replays, the game has an
in-game tutorial -- a good idea for novice players. I thought the
tutorial was fine the first playthrough, but for the second it was
annoying because you cannot elect to skip the animations, although you can
fast click through the dialogue.
There are subtitles in the game and
sometimes these appear in different fonts and have spelling errors, an
oversight that makes the game look less polished. Perhaps this occurred
when changes were made in the North American version. There is one
occasion where different fonts appear with basically the same question
asked, but with different wording. I was glad for the subtitles, as
occasionally the voices would fade out. In addition, I experienced two
game freezes.
The save system is very strange. You can
save at any point, but if you elect to return to a previously saved game,
your more recent save vanishes. Thankfully the game does warn you of
this. However, two or more people can play this game, with each having a
separate game and separate saves. Confused? I was.
Keepsake consists of three discs and
a written manual. I enjoy having the manual, and I think it is regrettable
that so many companies lately have been taking the shortcut of not
including one. The game plays without the disc in the computer drive.
There are some 20-30 hours of game play in
Keepsake, and it is a splendid romp. Even with the minor quibbles,
the gorgeous fantasy world is enthralling. Like all good fairy tales,
there are morals underlying the story that are important life lessons. The
six member staff of Wicked Studios has made an absolute gem of a game, one
not to be missed.
SUMMARY:
“Time passes so fast when you’re in good
company; am I not right?” – Keepsake
CD- ROM (3
discs)
Point and
click
Third
person
Subtitles
Tutorial
In-game
hint system
No
sliders, mazes, or timed sequences
Puzzles
are mostly logical/mechanical, some inventory
Grade: A
design copyright ©
2005
GameBoomers
Group
