The Lost Prince

Table of Contents

The Lost Prince is a computer game designed for the Amiga and developed and published by Edmund W. Clay in 1994 and written in AMOS. It is a point-and-click adventure game. It features a nice variety of interactions through its interface as well as a nice plot and interesting puzzles. Graphics and music and sounds are okay but what the game lacks in exterior appeal, it makes up with its plot and game engine!
 

 

Story

The story tells the tale of a lazy prince, Prince Rindlepoke, who is unexpectedly abducted by enemies of his kingdom. During the travel to the enemy's land, the ship wrecks and the hero is washed away on a beach of Remoteland. From there on, he must solve various mysteries and complete different “missions” to get back to his homeland of Obscuria.

Mysteries and missions include delivering a not-so-hapless princess twice (!), once from the Black Night and a dragon and a second time from the Witch of the East. Others include charming a dragon with a harp, winning an archery competition with a broken arrow, solving a crossword puzzle, capturing a rat in a bowl, cooking a magical powder, and poisoning two evil people.

Prince Rindlepoke definitely has a good sense of humour, somewhat akin to Diermot’s and Joey’s. The princess is not without stings either!
 

Realisation

Graphic Design

The Lost Prince is a third-person perspective adventure game with an advanced point-and-click interface. The action takes place in various scenes, including but not limited to a beach, a bookstore, a bar, a castle, a forest, a cell, a tunnel... Change of scenes happen when Prince Rindlepoke exits the current scene at various exit points usually, but not always!, clearly visible on the scenes. Below are some screenshots, highlighting some typical interactions with the game. They also show the quality of the graphics, which is admittedly okay but not great.

 

Music and Sounds

Music and sounds are rather absent in The Lost Prince, except in a few scenes where some medieval-sounding music can be heard (like in the library in the castle) and in a few other scenes where some sounds support the actions (like in the blacksmith workshop).
 

Animations

Animations are okay in The Lost Prince but not comparable to the ones in Lure of the Temptress (1992) or Beneath a Steel Sky (1994). Actually, Prince Rindlepoke often seems to walk haughtily... But one should remember that The Lost Prince is essentially a one-person endeavour!
 

Gameplay

Point-and-Click, Interactions

The user interface of The Lost Prince is very nice and easy to use. It allows interactions with characters and objects in the scene but also allows interactions between objects, in particular tying a rope to an axehead or to a bucket. It also allows talking with the characters present in the different scenes. As far as I can tell, besides being witty, dialogs can be pursued without any risks of losing.

The user interface and game engine will actually become the Graphic Adventure Creator.
 

Quality

The story is quite interesting and challenging (for those who like heroic-fantasy of course...) and the game creates a nice atmosphere of middle ages and medieval stories. The game is actually quite long and you can pause it at any moment without losing the thread of the story. Without the solution, I finished the game in a couple of weeks, playing about 1 hour per day.
 

Misc

If you want to save your games, using AmigaForever, better save an image of your session in WinUAE, because saving/loading is quite slow.

There is no need of a map because the overview below allows going from places to places easily and Prince Rindlepoke cannot exit certain places (like the castle) until he has solved all mysteries there.
 

 

Solution

The solution below comes from the game author's Web site. Next is my own solution in pictures

 

In Text

Part 1: The Village

  • At the alehouse, gamble until you have won 2 coins. Also talk to the barkeeper, asking about the name of the country.
  • At the blacksmith's, ask about the knight and take all of the reject weapons.
  • Visit the cave.
  • Go to the bookshop, buy a bible, ask what the man is reading and buy the handbook. Examine the handbook.
  • Talk to the thief, asking about the sword, then Chapter 7.
  • Go to the beach and take the rope. Use the axehead on the rope.
  • Go to the castle and use the axehead/rope on the moat.
  • Give the sword to the blacksmith. He will now let you take the cutters.
  • Go to the wood and use the dagger on the tree. Blow the horn. In the outlaws camp, choose the archery test and use your own arrow. Return to the camp and exit at the other side. Talk to the bard, offer the bible in exchange for the harp.
  • At the cave, play the harp then use the cutters on the princess.
  • Return to the camp and blow the horn.

 

Part 2: The Castle

  • Use the axehead/rope to get the key from the dragon.
  • Go to the kitchen and take everything possible.
  • In the Black Knight's bedroom, use the chest and take the club.
  • Use the stool on the ivy outside, then examine the book. Note the three dates.
  • Go to the treasury and use the large box. The three dates are the combination. Before the guard arrives, use the smaller box twice.
  • Use the bricks to escape. In the passage, use the club on the bricks.
  • Use the cheese on the hole, then use the dagger on the bow. Use the string on the rat and the string/rat on the bowl. Use the stick to get the keys and use them on the gate.
  • You can now enter the study. Take the magic book and all of the bottles.
  • Go to the Black Knight's room and use the book on the mirror.
  • Use the axehead/rope on the bucket. Use the bucket on the well. Use the well handle twice.
  • Use the wood on the fire. Use the pot on the wood. Use the pepper on the dragon. Use the bucket on the pot. Prepare the recipe in the magic book.
  • Take the pot.
  • Go to the study and use the powder on the carpet.

 

Part 3: The Forest

  • Take the key and the lantern. Use the key on the lantern to find the route to take. Repeat this until you come to a building.
  • Use the red bottle on the plant.

 

Part 4: Underground

  • Explore the maze until you find a hammer (take it), two signposts (use the hammer on the nails), and a lift (Use the nails on the floor).
  • Use the rope.

 

Part 5: The Witch of the East

  • Use the cabinet, take the wine bottle, use the wine bottle on the cauldron, use the wine bottle on the cabinet, then use the cupboard twice.

 

In Pictures

 

Conclusion

The Lost Prince is a great adventure game with an interesting story and great mysteries and puzzles to solve. It is too bad that the graphics, musics, and sounds are not just a bit better and it would have been equal or even better than Lure of the Temptress. All-in-all, a great game that will keep you awake for some times!

 

Marks

  • Musics: neutral;
  • Sounds: neutral;
  • Graphics: neutral;
  • Playability: excellent;
  • Lastability: some weeks.

 

Summary

  • Name: The Lost Prince;
  • Publisher: Edmund W. Clay;
  • Type: point-and-click medieval adventure;
  • Date: 1994;
  • Hardware: Amiga OCS/ECS, 1Mb;
  • License: free, including sources;
  • Final mark: 7/10.

 

Further Reading

 

The last three changes:

Tygre - 2021-05-08 05:51:48 pm  |  Tygre - 2018-10-27 05:39:52 pm  |  Tygre - 2016-07-12 04:36:57 am