This product is like new. At NexWave Games, like new means:
Additionally, all discs at NexWave Games are carefully inspected and assessed for quality. When discs arrive, we do not accept any that are so badly damaged that they are unlikely to work. We only accept discs with light scratches at most. Discs with scratches are then treated in our professional disc repair machine. By warming the disc and polishing it with soft brushes, these machines can remove a very thin layer from the disc. This removes the layer containing surface scratches and improves the disc’s readability. This ensures the disc works properly, even on consoles with ageing lasers that have difficulty reading games! Great news for the player.
Shadowgate for Nintendo NES
Shadowgate for Nintendo NES is a graphic puzzle adventure set in a castle filled with secret passages, strange objects and deadly traps. As the last descendant of a line of kings, you must stop the Warlock Lord from summoning the monster Behemoth. You view each room through your character's eyes. Text describes what you see and what happens when you try something. An inconspicuous detail may provide the clue that opens the next door.
You move a pointer around the screen with the directional pad. First you choose a command, such as look, take, open or use, then point at the object. Collected items appear in your inventory. Some are used on your surroundings, others on yourself. There are no commands to type and no mouse to control: one standard NES controller is enough. Careful reading and making connections take you further than pressing buttons quickly.
You play alone, but the cartridge provides three separate save files. The Save command records your adventure using battery-backed storage, allowing you to continue later without copying down a password. Start and Select can display hints when available. Wrong actions can be fatal; the game then allows you to resume your journey. Save regularly before investigating an unfamiliar object or a suspicious passage.
Region and language
Our Nintendo NES games are PAL editions, unless stated otherwise. This product contains a loose cartridge for the European market. A box is only included if explicitly stated in the product details. We note any different region in the product details. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
With Shadowgate for Nintendo NES, you receive a loose cartridge. A box and manual are not included unless we explicitly state otherwise in the product details. This is the standard way we supply this copy.
The history of Shadowgate
Shadowgate began in 1987 as a Macintosh adventure by ICOM Simulations. Dave Marsh and Karl Roelofs created its fantasy world within the MacVenture series, which also includes Déjà Vu and Uninvited. Roelofs worked mainly on design and Marsh on the pixel artwork. Their interest in Dungeons & Dragons helped establish the direction: a dangerous castle where you solve problems using found items and clues, rather than a hero constantly fighting with a sword.
Kemco brought the adventure to the NES in 1989. Marsh later explained that the original team initially doubted whether the limited console could reproduce the game properly. Kemco handled programming; the original creators reviewed, tested and helped with the text. The result replaced the computer mouse with a pointer moved using the controller. Windows showing the surroundings, commands and inventory brought investigating and combining items together on a single screen.
The NES edition gained colour graphics, while the Macintosh original was black and white. The adventure later returned in other forms, including an extensive 2014 reworking by Zojoi, the original creators' company. That version introduced new illustrations and revised controls. This Nintendo NES cartridge contains the older console adaptation with text windows and the original command selection; it is neither that later reworking nor the separate Shadowgate 64.
Similar games for Nintendo NES
Uninvited for Nintendo NES uses a pointer, text windows and commands to examine objects, just like Shadowgate. You search for your missing sister after a car accident, with a haunted mansion at the centre of the adventure. Shadowgate chooses a medieval castle and a threatening wizard. Both can make a wrong action fatal and keep progress in separate files. The main difference lies in the clues: household objects and supernatural events versus weapons, spells and castle secrets.
Déjà Vu on Nintendo NES shares Shadowgate's window layout, inventory and command selection. However, you investigate a crime while suffering from memory loss. Letters, personal belongings and conversations help reconstruct your identity and the events. Shadowgate has you unravel a fantasy castle using items and magic. Both involve plenty of reading and combining, but Déjà Vu calls for detective work among human suspects where Shadowgate presents monsters and magical obstacles.
Maniac Mansion for Nintendo NES also lets you combine commands and items to explore a dangerous building. There you assemble a group of three teenagers and switch between their different talents. Your chosen characters affect the solutions available. In Shadowgate you remain one adventurer and view rooms through that character's eyes. Maniac Mansion shows its characters from the side and uses their cooperation, while Shadowgate mainly has you find the right connection between an item and your surroundings.
Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom on Nintendo NES also revolves around reading text, collecting items and selecting actions from a menu. Sir Cucumber searches for Princess Tomato in a world of talking vegetables. Conversations and repeated examination reveal new information. Shadowgate uses a more threatening castle setting with traps and monsters. Both reward careful reading, but Princess Tomato builds its adventure around encounters with distinctive characters, while Shadowgate more often turns a dangerous room itself into a puzzle.
Solstice for Nintendo NES shares Shadowgate's fantasy castle, hidden routes and need to use tools in the right place. There you directly control the wizard Shadax in rooms shown at an angle. Moving blocks and performing jumps are part of solving a problem. Shadowgate instead lets you interact with a fixed room view through commands. Both require an understanding of the surroundings, but Solstice also tests your positioning and timing during every difficult crossing.
