The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (video game)
Encyclopedia
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is an action-adventure game
released in 2005 by Traveller's Tales
. The game is based on the novel-adapted movie of the same name
. It was released in November before the movie for most major consoles including the GameCube, PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance.
Also in 2005, an RPG with an identical name was released for wireless phone systems by Disney Mobile.
A significant feature has William Moseley
, Skandar Keynes
, Anna Popplewell
, Georgie Henley
, Elizabeth Hawthorne
, and Jim Broadbent
reprising their roles from the film.
, Susan
, Edmund
and Lucy
—through the enchanted, wintery land of Narnia as they fight to end the rule of the wicked White Witch
with the aid of Aslan
, the talking lion and true king of Narnia. Divided into fifteen levels
, the game follows a linear style of gameplay, and makes use of various gameplay elements: stealth, combat, puzzle-solving, and strategy. While the first two levels are set in 1940s England, the third one introduces Narnia as the setting. Film clips from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
appear at the beginning and conclusion of each level.The game sports both single player and co-op modes. Only two players may play at once, but there can be as many as four playable characters to switch between in each level.
Along the way, the children will encounter and fight off various hostile creatures in the service of the White Witch. The most physically powerful of the group, Peter wields a sword, and Susan can use archery and attack with ranged weapons, such as snowballs. Edmund carries a torch and can climb, while Lucy can tame and ride various animals. The player can alternate between the characters at any time, taking advantage of each character's special moves and features. Each child possesses nine special "power moves"; Lucy can heal other characters, for example. Additionally, the characters can team up with each other to produce various combo moves. For instance, Peter will swing Edmund around in a circle while Edmund kicks anything in his path.
The player can also collect coins, which may be traded in for special moves and character upgrades, such as an increase in health
. The player may also mark statues of petrified heroes for Aslan to restore; this directly affects the amount of reinforcements that the player will have in the final battle against the White Witch. Other bonus items can be found and collected throughout the game.
Composed of seventeen chapters, the GBA version features a simpler gameplay, with only one character to play as per chapter and no ability to switch between characters during the level. To navigate the frozen land, the characters may have to remove natural obstacles by clearing snowdrifts or moving rocks out of their path. Combat for the characters consists of a normal attack and a stronger one. Certain skills, called nobilities, are learned by the characters as a result of aiding creatures and are accessible to all of the children once learned; one nobility allows the character to heal others, for example. Found throughout the game, chests contain health restoratives, such as tea and candy, and other items.
In contrast, the DS version uses a system of level-based progression. The characters gain experience points as they defeat enemies, and after earning a set number, level up; each level gained allots the player one virtue point to add to a selected character's statistics
and improve either his or her health points, strength, defense or ability to use skills often. In addition to exploring Narnia, the characters can traverse a series of dungeons
, fending off enemies and a boss. The player can also go on various side quests and be rewarded with learning a specific skill. The DS version allows the player to switch between characters, though not all may be available on certain levels. Playable characters not currently being controlled by the player can be commanded to attack, defend or other actions, such as healing.
Both versions introduce an indication of warmth, which shows how cold the player character is in the wintery land. In the GBA version, the depletion of the bar negatively affects the health of the player character, while in the DS version, the cold affects the collection of experience points and the speed of combat. In the GBA version, building a fire or consuming tea or toast will restore warmth to the character. For the DS version, taking shelter will warm the characters. The DS version also features a cycle of day and night which varies the cold and enemy type.
The team style gameplay also has gotten mixed reception. Critics call the AI used to control the other children "dead", complaining that they do not help much when in the middle of battle. The authenticity of the game, that it uses voices, backgrounds, and music from the movie, has been looked upon well.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
released in 2005 by Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales is an English software house founded in 1989 and fully established in 1990 and based in Knutsford, Cheshire.It is part of the TT Games group—after the merger of publisher Giant Interactive and the developer Traveller's Tales—along with TT Games Publishing...
. The game is based on the novel-adapted movie of the same name
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
. It was released in November before the movie for most major consoles including the GameCube, PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance.
Also in 2005, an RPG with an identical name was released for wireless phone systems by Disney Mobile.
A significant feature has William Moseley
William Moseley (actor)
William Peter Moseley is a British actor, currently best known for appearing as Peter Pevensie in the film series The Chronicles of Narnia. Previously, he had a small role as Forrester in a 2002 adaptation of the novel Goodbye Mr...
, Skandar Keynes
Skandar Keynes
Skandar Keynes is a British actor. He is best known for starring as Edmund Pevensie in the Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005. He has appeared in all three installments, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and most recently The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was...
, Anna Popplewell
Anna Popplewell
Anna Katherine Popplewell is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Susan Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005.-Early life:...
, Georgie Henley
Georgie Henley
Georgina Helen "Georgie" Henley is a British teen actress. She is known for her portrayal of Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series, for which she won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth Female in a Lead or Supporting Role in The Lion, the Witch...
, Elizabeth Hawthorne
Elizabeth Hawthorne
Elizabeth Hawthorne, ONZM, is a New Zealand-born actress who is best known for her role as Mrs. Macready in the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the Peter Jackson supernatural comedy The Frighteners. She played Judge Harriet Caldwell in the 2004 TV...
, and Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
reprising their roles from the film.
Gameplay
The objective of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is to guide the four Pevensie children—PeterPeter Pevensie
Peter Pevensie is a major fictional character in the children's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Peter appears in four of the seven books; as a child and a principal character in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, and as an adult in The Horse and His Boy...
, Susan
Susan Pevensie
Susan Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. Susan is the elder sister and the second eldest Pevensie child. She appears in three of the seven books—as a child in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, and as an adult in The Horse and His Boy...
, Edmund
Edmund Pevensie
Edmund "Ed" Pevensie is a major fictional character in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. He is a principal character in three of the seven books , and a lesser character in two others .In the live-action films, The...
and Lucy
Lucy Pevensie
Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan...
—through the enchanted, wintery land of Narnia as they fight to end the rule of the wicked White Witch
White Witch
Jadis is the main antagonist of The Magician's Nephew and of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in C.S. Lewis' series, The Chronicles of Narnia...
with the aid of Aslan
Aslan
Aslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...
, the talking lion and true king of Narnia. Divided into fifteen levels
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
, the game follows a linear style of gameplay, and makes use of various gameplay elements: stealth, combat, puzzle-solving, and strategy. While the first two levels are set in 1940s England, the third one introduces Narnia as the setting. Film clips from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
appear at the beginning and conclusion of each level.The game sports both single player and co-op modes. Only two players may play at once, but there can be as many as four playable characters to switch between in each level.
Along the way, the children will encounter and fight off various hostile creatures in the service of the White Witch. The most physically powerful of the group, Peter wields a sword, and Susan can use archery and attack with ranged weapons, such as snowballs. Edmund carries a torch and can climb, while Lucy can tame and ride various animals. The player can alternate between the characters at any time, taking advantage of each character's special moves and features. Each child possesses nine special "power moves"; Lucy can heal other characters, for example. Additionally, the characters can team up with each other to produce various combo moves. For instance, Peter will swing Edmund around in a circle while Edmund kicks anything in his path.
The player can also collect coins, which may be traded in for special moves and character upgrades, such as an increase in health
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
. The player may also mark statues of petrified heroes for Aslan to restore; this directly affects the amount of reinforcements that the player will have in the final battle against the White Witch. Other bonus items can be found and collected throughout the game.
Handheld versions
The gameplay of the Game Boy Advance (GBA) and Nintendo DS (DS) differs from that of the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox.Composed of seventeen chapters, the GBA version features a simpler gameplay, with only one character to play as per chapter and no ability to switch between characters during the level. To navigate the frozen land, the characters may have to remove natural obstacles by clearing snowdrifts or moving rocks out of their path. Combat for the characters consists of a normal attack and a stronger one. Certain skills, called nobilities, are learned by the characters as a result of aiding creatures and are accessible to all of the children once learned; one nobility allows the character to heal others, for example. Found throughout the game, chests contain health restoratives, such as tea and candy, and other items.
In contrast, the DS version uses a system of level-based progression. The characters gain experience points as they defeat enemies, and after earning a set number, level up; each level gained allots the player one virtue point to add to a selected character's statistics
Statistic (role-playing games)
A statistic in role-playing games is a piece of data which represents a particular aspect of a fictional character. That piece of data is usually a integer or, in some cases, a set of dice....
and improve either his or her health points, strength, defense or ability to use skills often. In addition to exploring Narnia, the characters can traverse a series of dungeons
Dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
, fending off enemies and a boss. The player can also go on various side quests and be rewarded with learning a specific skill. The DS version allows the player to switch between characters, though not all may be available on certain levels. Playable characters not currently being controlled by the player can be commanded to attack, defend or other actions, such as healing.
Both versions introduce an indication of warmth, which shows how cold the player character is in the wintery land. In the GBA version, the depletion of the bar negatively affects the health of the player character, while in the DS version, the cold affects the collection of experience points and the speed of combat. In the GBA version, building a fire or consuming tea or toast will restore warmth to the character. For the DS version, taking shelter will warm the characters. The DS version also features a cycle of day and night which varies the cold and enemy type.
Story
The fantasy land of Narnia has been under the spell of the evil White Witch, who makes it always winter but never Christmas, but when Aslan (which is one of the characters in the game) comes, it will be spring again and the Witch's reign will be over. Four children enter Narnia and, along with the legendary lion, Aslan, help defeat the White Witch and her evil minions.Patches and Updates
After the game was released, a system bug was discovered. In the PC version of the game, the White Witch remains behind the rocks. Shooting arrows and other attacks fail to draw her out and into battle. This occurs after defeating the two Cyclopes. This issue is resolved by downloading and installing the Chronicles of Narnia Update from the official siteReception
The game has received mixed reviews. The slightly different style of combat available has been both praised and criticized. Though it offers a good amount of depth, it isn't likely that the player will be using it, as it is just as easy to keep pressing the attack button then to use combos, save for one or two.The team style gameplay also has gotten mixed reception. Critics call the AI used to control the other children "dead", complaining that they do not help much when in the middle of battle. The authenticity of the game, that it uses voices, backgrounds, and music from the movie, has been looked upon well.