Chronicles of the Sword
Encyclopedia
Chronicles of the Sword is a sword and sorcery
adventure game
created by Synthetic Dimensions and produced and released by Psygnosis in 1996 for the PC DOS
and Sony PlayStation platforms.
adventure game with few arcade
elements (optional combat sequences).
; this was the second game from Psygnosis that was based on this theme, the first being The Legend of Galahad. The story is set in King Arthur
's mythical court of Camelot
, located in Albion
, Sub-Roman Britain
, circa 420 A.D. The player takes on the role of Sir Gawain
, a young knight
of Arthur struggling to uphold virtues of the kingdom. Gawain's quest
is to stop Morgan le Fay
, the Arthur's beautiful half-sister who is secretly an evil sorceress, before she can wreak destruction on Camelot. Morgana plots to reveal Lancelot
and Lady Guinevere
's affair to the world, thus overthrowing Arthur and seizing power.
The game begins with Lady Morganna murdering the priest of Camelot just as Gawain was about to be given his knighthood. Early during the course of the game, Gawain discovers her plan and warns the king. Having been banished from Camelot, Morgana then attempts to kill Arthur before vanishing, prompting Merlin
the magician to send Gawain off to get rid of her once and for all. The young knight ventures to ferret out various objects to give himself the ring of protection from Morgana's powerful magic. This task completed, Gawain goes off on the journey to the island Lyonesse
on the final mission to find Morgana. Once in Morgana's castle, Gawain has to find ingredients for the spell spell to defeat the witch and he also to find a way to dispose of her lover and personal guard, the dangerous vampire
named Ragnar, so he can't rescue her. Ultimately, Gawain is unable to end Morgana's life even after he killed Ragnar, but she is however magically trapped by the magic of fairies
and he returns to Camelot as a hero to join the Order of the Round Table
.
was the titular Fair Unknown
(Gingalain), who at the beginning of the game is sent to a Welsh
castle to rescue a queen who has been turned into a serpent by an evil sorcerer. Upon reaching the castle, the player has to fight various creatures, including a giant serpent, a pair of sorcerers and the undead skeletons (battles against a gigantic snake and a skeleton were actually featured in the final version, towards the end of the game). When his initial mission is completed, the player returns to Camelot, "where the real meat of the game begins" (the final version begins in Camelot). The game was also to feature Melin and Morgan le Fay, but was supposed to be released only for PC CD-ROM platform on just one CD (the final 1996 version was contained on two discs).
. According to the GameSpot
review, "Chronicles of the Sword does have some nice elements, most notably the richly detailed background art and the excellent musical score. But the positive features only manage to distract you from the fact that the game is confusing, frustrating and—worst of all—excruciatingly dull." GamePro
also praised the game's graphics and especially audio (featuring "great vocal talents") but concluded: "This sword is dull."
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
created by Synthetic Dimensions and produced and released by Psygnosis in 1996 for the PC DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and Sony PlayStation platforms.
Gameplay
Chronicles of the Sword is a point-and-clickPoint-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
adventure game with few arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
elements (optional combat sequences).
Story
The game's plot is loosely based on Arthurian legendsMatter of Britain
The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the body of literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and its legendary kings, particularly King Arthur...
; this was the second game from Psygnosis that was based on this theme, the first being The Legend of Galahad. The story is set in King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
's mythical court of Camelot
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world...
, located in Albion
Albion
Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island or England in particular. It is also the basis of the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba...
, Sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...
, circa 420 A.D. The player takes on the role of Sir Gawain
Gawain
Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
, a young knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
of Arthur struggling to uphold virtues of the kingdom. Gawain's quest
Quest
In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...
is to stop Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
, the Arthur's beautiful half-sister who is secretly an evil sorceress, before she can wreak destruction on Camelot. Morgana plots to reveal Lancelot
Lancelot
Sir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
and Lady Guinevere
Guinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
's affair to the world, thus overthrowing Arthur and seizing power.
The game begins with Lady Morganna murdering the priest of Camelot just as Gawain was about to be given his knighthood. Early during the course of the game, Gawain discovers her plan and warns the king. Having been banished from Camelot, Morgana then attempts to kill Arthur before vanishing, prompting Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
the magician to send Gawain off to get rid of her once and for all. The young knight ventures to ferret out various objects to give himself the ring of protection from Morgana's powerful magic. This task completed, Gawain goes off on the journey to the island Lyonesse
Lyonesse
Lyonesse is a country in Arthurian legend, particularly in the story of Tristan and Iseult. Said to border Cornwall, it is most notable as the home of the hero Tristan, whose father was king...
on the final mission to find Morgana. Once in Morgana's castle, Gawain has to find ingredients for the spell spell to defeat the witch and he also to find a way to dispose of her lover and personal guard, the dangerous vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
named Ragnar, so he can't rescue her. Ultimately, Gawain is unable to end Morgana's life even after he killed Ragnar, but she is however magically trapped by the magic of fairies
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
and he returns to Camelot as a hero to join the Order of the Round Table
Round Table
The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of...
.
Development
Chronicles of the Sword has been originally being developed by Synthetic Dimensions (then under the name Dimension Creative Design) as King Arthur: The Quest of The Fair Unknown. The early 1994 version's player characterPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
was the titular Fair Unknown
Gingalain
Sir Gingalain , also known as Le Bel Inconnu, or The Fair Unknown, is a character from Arthurian legend whose exploits are recorded in numerous versions of a popular medieval romance. His nickname differs depending on the version and language; he is known in English as Libeaus Desconus...
(Gingalain), who at the beginning of the game is sent to a Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
castle to rescue a queen who has been turned into a serpent by an evil sorcerer. Upon reaching the castle, the player has to fight various creatures, including a giant serpent, a pair of sorcerers and the undead skeletons (battles against a gigantic snake and a skeleton were actually featured in the final version, towards the end of the game). When his initial mission is completed, the player returns to Camelot, "where the real meat of the game begins" (the final version begins in Camelot). The game was also to feature Melin and Morgan le Fay, but was supposed to be released only for PC CD-ROM platform on just one CD (the final 1996 version was contained on two discs).
Reception
The game was mostly poorly received, its PC version receiving the average score of only 41% in five reviews featured at Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
. According to the GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
review, "Chronicles of the Sword does have some nice elements, most notably the richly detailed background art and the excellent musical score. But the positive features only manage to distract you from the fact that the game is confusing, frustrating and—worst of all—excruciatingly dull." GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
also praised the game's graphics and especially audio (featuring "great vocal talents") but concluded: "This sword is dull."
External links
- Official website (archived)
- Chronicles of the Sword at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...