“People say you’re born innocent, but it’s not true. You inherit all kinds of things that you can do nothing about.” - Hugo Hamilton
Ramblings ahead *SPOILER WARNING*
One of the best ND games by far and still one of the scariest. I remember playing this game for the first time when I was around 8 or 9 years old. I remember having vivid nightmares of those red eyes out my window, imagining the beast right outside. Getting through this game as a kid was tough. Even now as an adult, the game still holds such a terrifying atmosphere. Walking down those dark ancient tunnels, hearing chanting in the middle of the night, a cloaked woman you never learn the mystery behind, and of course Nancy’s nightmares.
Everything is truly haunting. I kinda wish it was even MORE scary, just to solidify this game as it’s own “beast”. I feel this game could easily be remade to lean even more into the horror expects. I would buy that shit in a heartbeat!
The story and characters are also very captivating. I love medieval stories, especially those involving long heritages with questionable pasts. I also love a game that has educational elements that are actually really interesting, aka alchemy. The old science of alchemy is arguably so important to human history, and yet I feel I know nothing about it. This game was one of my first exposers to the whole concept.
The “villain” herself stands out amongst other ND games, being literally a child who seems less evil and just more horribly misguided and sad. And of course who could ever forget Ethel lol.
I also really appreciated how many small mysteries seemed left unsolved. Almost like we are left to decide if one of the suspects were behind it, or if it’s truly super natural. Who is the woman dressed in a cloak wondering around at night? She’s too tall to be Jane but it’s possible it’s Ethel, but it never learn for sure. This cloaked woman is behind the red eyes of the beast, implying the beast is not real; but it still all loops back to who was the woman? Who was chanting in the middle of the night? It sounded like a large group of men, but that makes no sense. Was it a recording to scar off Nancy? But who would create/place it? Was it really ghosts or a large cult meeting? We don’t know. Ugh. I wish we knew the answers, but it’s also part of the charm.
“When a man hangs from a tree it doesn’t spell justice unless he helped write the law that hanged him” - E.B. White
Ramblings ahead - *SPOILER WARNING*
This game is one of my all time favorites. For starters, it was one of my first, and happened to be the first one I completed. Hearing “Here’s Shorty” will forever put fear into my childlike heart. It didn’t help that I was a big horse-girl back in the day.
However, nostalgia isn’t the only reason I say this game is one of the best. What makes it great is the story. This game probably has one of the best storylines of any ND game! The tragic love story between Francis and Dirk, as well as the sad relationship of Francis and her father. It is one of the most touching and engaging stories in an ND game by far. I feel this fact is heightened by having all the letters you read from these characters be fully voiced acted. The voice actors do a wonderful job conveying the emotions of the characters and the sad but romantic tale they tell.
On top of that, this game also has generally good puzzles, music, characters, atmosphere, exploration, and pacing. As well as a very good ending in my opinion. Finding the treasure and seeing just how much Dirk truly loved Francis is wonderful. Paired with an intense and scary encounter with Shorty that requires you to think outside the box to catch him. It’s all so good it about brings a tear to my eye. It’s so rare for an ND game to have everything going for it.
Having the bank robber subplot in the ghost town was also really cool. It made going there scary and tense. I wish I would have had more moments where I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, or just a general feeling that they actively stalking me while I was there. But even without that, I still was always on edge while in the ghost town.
I even enjoyed the more mundane side of the game, with chores and horse back riding. It made everything feel more alive and homely. Although some people find the chores (the vegetable one in particular) annoying, I personally liked the challenge and education of it.
This game should be the standard of what a ND game should strive to be! I can replay this game an infinite amount of times and still love every step of Dirk’s treasure hunt and the mystery at hand. There are so many tiny details in this game that make it worth it!
(Okay but I did hate the Cappy’s slot machine! If you play it straight without cheating by constantly loading a save, you will be running back and forth plaything the that dumb Run for Cover game over and over and over again!!)
I don’t know which one is which bit let’s say Frank.
“BUT WE’RE ATAC”
AMERICAN TEENS AGAINST CRIME
I mean okay. If we ACCEPT this as a thing. Nancy should like for SURE be their number one?? Like she shouldn’t hear about this from the two dingus bros?
I don’t even know what to say, I just can’t get over “ATAC”
“I hope they need someone to make hamburgers, because if that specifically happens, I’m going to fucking kill it. Also, do you guys think I should dye my hair blonde and also change my whole face shape? Let me know!”
