Hugo De Zoektocht naar de Zonnestenen - PlayStation 1 - PS1

Hugo De Zoektocht naar de Zonnestenen for PlayStation 1

Hugo De Zoektocht naar de Zonnestenen for PlayStation 1 is a three-dimensional platform adventure in which you try to save a Kikurian village. Scylla has made Don Croco place an enormous rock in the opening of a volcano. You can prevent the threatened eruption with three magical sunstones. Hugo searches for them in an old pyramid, a snowy mountain cave and a pirate grotto. You jump over gaps, avoid obstacles and follow paths leading further towards the stones.

Hugo uses his whip to fend off enemies while you collect gems along the way. The levels change viewpoint: sometimes you walk into the screen, sometimes you follow the action from the side, and at other times you run towards the camera. You therefore need to keep judging where a jump will land and which dangers are approaching from behind. Moving obstacles and enemies make the route harder, especially when you also try to collect items along the sides.

This is a single-player adventure played with a standard PlayStation controller. You can move with the directional buttons or the left analogue stick; jumping and the whip have separate buttons. To resume, you use level codes received after completing a level. Write them down before continuing and enter them later through Enter Level Code on the main menu. This system is different from a temporary checkpoint within a level. The game is the separate quest for the sunstones, not the earlier Hugo collection of television games.

Region and language

Our PlayStation 1 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.

Manual

Hugo De Zoektocht naar de Zonnestenen for PlayStation 1 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.

The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.

The history of Hugo De Zoektocht naar de Zonnestenen

Hugo began as a character for interactive television in Denmark. The first television programme featuring the troll appeared in 1990. The company behind it, Interactive Television Entertainment, founded ITE Media in 1998 to make games with its familiar television characters. Hugo therefore continued to grow beyond the broadcasts on computers and consoles. De Zoektocht naar de Zonnestenen was released for PlayStation in 2000 and gave him a longer platform adventure with its own beginning, journey objective and sequence of areas.

The move to three-dimensional environments changed how you controlled the troll. The route is not simply a separate television game: you follow Hugo through levels that bring together jumping, obstacles and using his whip. Alternating between moving forwards, side views and fleeing towards the camera makes the different sections visually recognisable. The story surrounding Scylla, Don Croco and the Kikurians gives the journey a shared objective, with the three sunstones connecting the separate areas.

A company announcement from June 2001 described how Hugo games were by then being sold on different platforms and were present in more than thirty markets. This shows how the television character became an international game series during this period. The sunstone quest is part of that development and was titled The Quest for the Sunstones in other countries. ITE continued making new Hugo games afterwards, including Black Diamond Fever. When looking up old releases, the subtitle therefore matters: several PlayStation games feature the same troll but do not offer the same adventure.

Similar games for PlayStation 1

Crash Bandicoot shares Hugo's three-dimensional paths, collectibles and alternation between depth and side views. Both have you learn a route through obstacles and require well-timed jumps. Crash uses a spin attack and breakable crates, whereas Hugo fights with a whip and searches for sunstones to save a village. The first Crash adventure revolves around travelling across islands towards Cortex, giving it a different story and arrangement of areas.

Like Hugo, Spyro the Dragon lets you travel through colourful three-dimensional worlds and collect gems. Spyro can glide, breathe fire and explore larger areas in different directions, however. Hugo more often follows a clear path with successive jumps and hazards, with the camera sometimes changing direction. Both connect their areas to a rescue mission, but Spyro's freed dragons and portals give collecting a different structure from the search for three sunstones.

Like Hugo, Rayman 2 for PlayStation 1 combines three-dimensional platform routes with enemies and collectibles. Rayman uses his fists at a distance and can use his helicopter hair to extend jumps. Hugo has a whip and needs to judge his jumps differently. In Rayman 2, you try to free prisoners from robot pirates. Hugo's journey focuses on the threatened volcanic eruption, with the pyramid and caves hiding the solution.

Croc 2 also lets you guide a friendly animal-like character through three-dimensional areas, jumping and attacking nearby enemies. Croc uses his tail and visits Gobbo villages, where you receive different tasks. Hugo works towards the three sunstones and more often switches between different camera viewpoints along his routes. Both use collectibles to entice you down side paths, but the villages, quests and items you can buy give Croc 2 a different journey structure.

Disney's Tarzan for PlayStation 1 shares Hugo's jungle setting, collecting routes and alternation between platform action and chases. Tarzan follows the animated film's story and lets you throw fruit at enemies, move along vines and travel through trees. Hugo uses his whip and also visits snowy caves and pyramid routes. In both games, you need to watch collectibles and dangerous gaps carefully as you advance, but their movements and objectives require different timing.