Description
A playthrough of Synergy Interactive's 1996 point-and-click adventure game for PCs running Windows 3.1, Zeddas: Servant of Sheol.
I finish this playthrough with the good ending, but you can see the bad ending at 1:12:44.
Long ago, Zeddas, the king of demons, summoned an army of goblins and trolls to attack Rodvydel Castle, cursed its people, and cast a spell that hid his new home from the prying eyes of the outside world. You are a traveler who has come into possession of a mirror that reveals the castle's location, and upon entering the front gate, you find yourself trapped. Can you unravel the castle's mysteries, lift the curse, and expel the demon king?
Zeddas: Servant of Sheol, originally known as Horror Tour (ホラーツアー), is the first game in a trilogy of horror-themed first-person adventures from Caravan Interactive, a short-lived developer who built games with Macromedia Director. Its gameplay and presentation are similar in style to other games Synergy localized for North America in the 90s, including https://youtu.be/C58MMwxTSvM and https://youtu.be/4fIY9c9JE_Y.
As you explore Rodvydel, you'll be chatting with its denizens, researching its history, and solving puzzles in your search of an escape. It plays like most Japanese graphic adventures of the time: you navigate through a series of prerendered CGI stills with a simple cursor-driven interface, the inventory and logic-based puzzles are simple compared to those found in Sierra or LucasArts games, and the focus is placed more on atmosphere than plot. It's slow-paced and comes across as a bit cheesy thanks to its modest production values, but I enjoyed its avant-garde approach to storytelling, the stylish (though sometimes grainy) backdrops, the surreal character portrayals, and the soundtrack.
Why does a trio of teleporting strippers hang out in the dungeon? Why does an obese rich lady clap and blink wildly at you when you shoot down skulls with a crossbow? Why does a talking severed head live a few doors down from Cerberus?
I have no idea, but the disjointed nature of it all kept me entertained, even when I found myself wandering in endless circles trying to map out the lower levels. If you find long-forgotten 90s Japanese PC oddities appealing, you might get a kick out of this kooky relic.
(It also had a Sega Saturn port, but the PC/Mac version was the only one released in English. The sequels were never localized, either.)
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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