During the era of the Playstation One, the system was known for its large variety of games and beloved cult classics in its library during the 90s. Some games that started on the Playstation One would continue as series for future gaming generations and some would become remade in the future for later generation consoles. During the era of the Playstation 4, gamers were able to relive the nostalgia through remakes of original Playstation games such as “Spyro the Dragon” via the “Spyro Reignited Trilogy” and “Crash Bandicoot” via the “Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy.” However, this year was the year modern-day gamers were introduced to yet another remake of a Playstation classic. “Medievil” first released for the Playstation One on Oct. 21, 1998, is a hack and slash, action-adventure game known for its challenging gameplay, art style, gothic architecture, story, and “humerus” jokes. On Oct. 25, 2019, “Medievil” was resurrected for the Playstation 4 after being announced last year and was brought back with improvised graphics and controls fitting for the modern-day console.
The story of the remake follows the same as the original Playstation game. In “Medievil,” the story takes place in the fictional land of Gallowmere. Zarok, an evil sorcerer, intends to take over Gallowmere with his army of undead minions. During a battle between Zarok and the King of Gallowmere’s army, the King’s Champion Sir Danielle Fortesque led the battle against Zarok only to be the first to fall in battle. 100 years after the battle, Zarok returned to the land of Gallowmere with intentions to continue his plans to rule the land. During the process of resurrecting his army of the undead, Zarok accidentally reawakens the deceased Sir Daniel from his tomb. With fate giving him a second chance at redeeming his honor, Sir Daniel ventures out to fight against Zarok’s army and free Gallowmere from Zarok’s evil once and for all.
Watch the “Medievil” launch trailer below.
“Medievil” gameplay involves that of the classic hack and slash genre. Players will start off with Sir Daniel’s greatsword and will obtain more weapons as the game progresses. Each level in the game will have different objectives to complete in order to progress, with most levels having different enemies to fight and challenges to complete objectives. Each level will also have a “soul chalice” where every time Sir Daniel defeats an enemy, their soul will be added to the chalice. Defeating all or enough enemies in the level will fill the chalice to 100% and can be collected. Once a chalice is collected, the player will be able to enter the “Hall of Heroes” where Sir Daniel can interact with the monuments of the heroes in the hall and will be able to acquire new weapons and other bonuses with each chalice collected. Just like with the original game, collecting all of the chalices will unlock the true ending.
In addition to having the same gameplay as the original game, the remake introduces new assets in addition to improving the issues the original had. For example in the original game, the player can obtain ranged weapons such as throwing daggers or a crossbow. These weapons come in handy when facing against multiple enemies and wanting to keep distance from them. However, one of the problems of this was that there was no aiming mechanic, so the player would have to have Sir Daniel face directly at the enemies by moving him in a specific direction with the controller in order to hit them. This was fixed however, because in the remake an aim mechanic was added. This puts the camera in a third-person perspective of Sir Daniel, which makes aiming with ranged weapons and seeing enemies ahead of the player easier. In addition, the in-game camera, which was one of the downsides of the original for being awkward and finicky, was improved in the remake and works much smoother now. “Medievil” is a cult classic that many gamers remember during the 90s and an example of an obscure title. The remake has made graphical enhancements and improvements while still honoring the charm and uniqueness that the game originally delivered. All of the enemies, bosses, levels and story are still there but was given an absolute makeover that fans of nostalgia will most certainly enjoy. Needless to say, this game was a skele-“TON” of fun.
