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Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore

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Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
Developer(s)Seedy Eye Software
Publisher(s)Limited Run Games
Director(s)Seth Fulkerson
Producer(s)Audi Sorlie
Designer(s)Seth Fulkerson
Writer(s)
  • Seth Fulkerson
  • Audi Sorlie
Composer(s)Jake Silverman
EngineGameMaker
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 5
Windows
Xbox Series X/S
ReleaseFebruary 14, 2024
Genre(s)Action, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is an animated platform game developed by Seedy Eye Software and published by Limited Run Games. It was released on February 14, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows. Arzette is a spiritual successor to the CD-i games Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon.[1]

Gameplay

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Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is an action-platformer.[2][3] The player controls the titular protagonist, Arzette, who explores the land of Faramore on a quest to defeat the evil Daimur. The gameplay is that of a 2D action platformer, with animated cutscenes in an art style similar to that in the CD-i games.[4] The game has been described as an "interactive animated adventure".[5] Level designer John Linneman described the game as having strong similarities to Monster World.[6]

Plot

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In the past, the kingdom of Faramore fell under attack by the demon lord Daimur and his army of evil monsters, aided by the traitorous Duke Nodelki of Amelog. In response, King Rahklin, along with his daughter Princess Arzette, his advisor Wogram and an unlikely hero, Dail, led an assault on Daimur's lair in the country of Oakurin. Using the magical Jewel of Faramore, Daimur was sealed in the Book of Oakurin, and peace returned. As the Jewel shatters into five shards on each use, Rahklin ordered the shards to be protected separately in order to prevent Daimur's release, while Nodelki was sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor.

Ten years later, Nodelki recovers the Jewel shards and frees Daimur from his imprisonment. The demon lord grants Nodelki magic powers in exchange for his soul and charges him and his top four minions with protecting the shards while he exacts revenge on Faramore. Arzette, who was the only one to continue honing her skills in peacetime, takes it upon herself to relight the Sacred Beacons and recover the Sacred Candles that can dispel Daimur's dark magic enveloping the land.

Arzette ventures across Faramore, defeating Daimur's minions to recover the Jewel's shards while helping its citizens with their various problems in exchange for new powers. During her quest, King Rahklin passes on, hardening Arzette's resolve to vanquish Daimur for good. After slaying Nodelki and claiming the last shard, Dail and Wogram encourage her to seal Daimur in the Book of Oakurin again, but Arzette forgoes this plan and instead has her sword infused with the Jewel of Faramore. Upon confronting Daimur in his lair, Arzette defeats him and, ignoring his offer of power, destroys him permanently with her Jewel-infused sword. Arzette is crowned Queen for defeating Daimur, but she insists that the entire Kingdom contributed to his defeat and declares Faramore to become a democracy, holding a feast to celebrate.

In a post-credits scene, an unknown female voice is heard laughing as the Book of Oakurin magically opens itself.

Development

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Arzette was developed by Seth "Dopply" Fulkerson under the developer name "Seedy Eye Software", a homophonic pun on "CD-i".[7][8] In November 2020, Fulkerson released unofficial remakes for Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon on Linux and Windows.[9] To avoid receiving a cease-and-desist notice from Nintendo like many similar unofficial projects, Fulkerson made the remakes unavailable for download two days after their release.[10][11]

The development for Arzette began in late 2020 through developing his company Seedy Eye Software and Limited Run Games as the publisher.[12] On July 12, 2023, the game was announced by Limited Run Games.[13] Jeffrey Rath and Bonnie Jean Wilbur, voice actors for Link and Zelda in the CD-i games, were also revealed to be voicing characters in Arzette.[7] He also contacted some of the original artists of the CD-i games, including artist Ron Dunleavy.[11] Digital Foundry's John Linneman announced his involvement as level designer after the initial reveal,[14] while fellow Digital Foundry personality Audun Sorlie revealed his involvement as lead producer and writer for the game.[15] In an interview with GamesRadar+, Fulkerson stated that the animators were given free rein, with their only limitations being the color palette, resolution, and frame-rate of the cutscenes of the original CD-i Zelda games.[11]

On October 29, 2023, Limited Run Games announced the game would release on February 14, 2024.[16]

Reception

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Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Doolan, Liam (13 July 2023). "Arzette Is A "Spiritual Successor" To The Infamous Zelda CD-i Games And It's Coming To Switch In 2023". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b Hilhorst, Willem (14 February 2024). "Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore Review - Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Musgrave, Shaun (19 February 2024). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'Balatro' & 'Arzette', Plus Today's New Releases and Sales". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  4. ^ Franzese, Tomas (12 July 2023). "The worst Zelda games ever made are getting a spiritual successor". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  5. ^ Serin, Kaan (13 July 2023). "Limited Run Games announce retro revivals for Gex Trilogy, Jurassic Park, Tomba, and more". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  6. ^ Linneman, John (12 July 2023). "Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore Announced for all platforms (Zelda CDi Inspired Platformer)". ResetEra. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b Romano, Sal (12 July 2023). "Interactive animated adventure game Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  8. ^ Shanklin, Will (29 January 2024). "Arzette, a love letter to the CD-i Zelda games, will also revive an awful controller". Engadget. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  9. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (28 November 2020). "Amateur dev remakes CD-i games Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon so we can suffer them again, 27 years later". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  10. ^ Fulkerson, Seth [@thedopster] (30 November 2020). "Just as a reminder, I have pulled the..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ a b c Machkovech, Sam (14 February 2024). "How Arzette turned Zelda's biggest joke into something to laugh with, not at". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  12. ^ Kelly, Josh (14 August 2023). "Owensboro game developer Seth Fulkerson reviving nostalgia with retro-inspired gaming gem". The Owensboro Times. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  13. ^ Romano, Sal (12 July 2023). "Limited Run Games announces over 20 new physical releases at LRG3 2023". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  14. ^ Linneman, John [@dark1x] (12 July 2023). "Yeah, so I've been fortunate enough to do some level and game design work on Arzette..." (Tweet). Retrieved 25 December 2023 – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Sorlie, Audi [@pc98_audi] (12 July 2023). "Finally we can talk about this one! I am the producer and co-writer on this amazing CD-i Zelda successor..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ @LimitedRunGames (29 October 2023). "Spend next Valentine's Day with @ArzetteGame! You heard it tonight at #IndieLand2023: You'll be able to play Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore on February 14th, 2024!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  17. ^ a b "Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  18. ^ Handley, Zoey (14 February 2024). "Review: Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  19. ^ Scullion, Chris (14 February 2024). "Review: Arzette: The Jewel Of Faramore (Switch) - An Adroit Homage To The Worst Zelda Games". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  20. ^ Tailby, Stephen (14 February 2024). "Review: Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore (PS5) - A Charmingly Shoddy CD-i Sendup". Push Square. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  21. ^ Thorpe, Nick (March 2024). "Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore". Retro Gamer. No. 257. p. 98.
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