THE BOOK OF THREE

I must get this out of the way; this game is adapted from my favorite book series of all time, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Everyone must read those books immediately. But until then, this game may tide us over. It was made by the legendary Lysander, after all.

Taran is a young lad with no family, a boring job and the most humiliating title in the universe. He’d really like to go on fantastic adventures like his idol, Prince Gwydion. But when Hen Wen, the oracular pig, escapes and Taran must locate her, he finds that a life of adventure and danger isn’t all as romantic as he thought…

Balance 3/5:
This was a very odd game to play through. Early In the game, young Taran is alone and the enemies are simple enough, but the first dungeon area throws an unusual gimmick at you, certain treasure chests will stick you with various items that heal enemies and harm Taran every round until you get rid of them. This can make the difficulty of this area, the very first area in the game no less, quite frustrating. Towards the end, the pendulum swings the other way and the game becomes much too easy, as collecting enough of Fflewddur’s songs will quickly decimate any and all enemy groups.

That all being said, the game has quite a lot to offer in terms of character abilities for a simple RM2k game. Eilonwy the enchantress can power up her spells of certain elements by drawing “essences” from enemies, Fflewddur the bard can write songs about every enemy in the game, and Taran himself has five completely separate skill sets with different functions that can be gained throughout the game and changed whenever the party sleeps. The only drawback with this system is that the dialogue box only offers four choices and you cannot re-choose the same skill set you are already using, meaning you are obliged to sleep twice if you want to make use of the same skills you are already using.

Level Design 2/5:
This was one of Lysander’s earlier projects, and it shows. Very few of his clever puzzle elements came into play in this short game. The maps tend to look rather bland and most areas suffer from an overabundance of treasure chests; by the time you complete the first dungeon you’ll already have more healing items than you will ever use. A few gimmicks, such as using a rope to reach a treasure chest, are not used often enough to be properly established. However, the maps are functional and easy to navigate. Treasures are generated randomly, an interesting touch that assures that not every playthrough will be exactly the same.

Characters 4/5:
Lysander did not create these characters or write most of their dialogue, but his portrayal of them is faithful and well-executed. A few touches, such as the sounds of Fflewddur’s harp strings breaking, were very well -implemented. However, the few points where Lysander adds additional dialogue to the characters tend to stand out as their unique and formal speech patterns are sometimes lost. And not quite enough time was spent developing the character of Doli, as many scenes involving him were cut out for time, making his addition to the party near the game’s climax seem unusual.

Storyline 4/5:
With such a great source to draw from, Lysander makes good use of all the lore available to him, including a few references that fans of the novels will recognize. The game’s plot moves at a brisk pace and the few deviations Lysander makes form the novel’s storyline do not detract from the experience. The game’s climax, which essentially consists of the party fighting off an army of enemies, is quite thrilling and probably is a positive change considering the changes in medium.

Music and Sound 5/5:
Lysander has supplemented a game taken form Welsh lore with an excellent selection of Celtic music that compliments the game perfectly. The tracks are unique and in a consistent style and it adds great depth to the atmosphere of the game when the musical selections fit in with the story’s source of inspiration.

Overall 3/5
I fear that my ability to write an unbiased review was compromised for this game, but overall this is still an entertaining game to play and worth the few hours it takes to play through. It is overall an excellent adaptation of a great tale to the medium of a game without sacrificing the narrative. It also reveals much about how Lysander developed as a game developer as many fans of his other works will recognize influences here. A great game to play if you are a Lysander fan, or a Lloyd Alexander fan.