History VideoGame / Swordquest

* FictionalMysteryRealPrize: Five prizes worth $150,000, one for each game plus a fifth prize in a bonus round.

In 1982, {{Atari}}, at the height of its power during TheGoldenAgeOfVideoGames, decided to do a sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Adventure}}''. The ideas they came up with were ''very'' ambitious: A four-part RolePlayingGame series, built around a series of contests for big-buck real world prizes. They came up with a story about two brave young adventurers, Torr and Tarra, and their quest for the Sword of Ultimate Sorcery. They threw in every ancient and mystic [[FauxSymbolism symbol]] they could think of: The [[ElementalPowers Four Elements]], the WesternZodiac, the {{Kabbalah}} Tree of Life, the Chakra points, and the I Ching. They commissioned the Franklin Mint to make five prizes, worth a total of $150,000, and hired DCComics to make a comic book for each game that would set the story, and hold clues for the contests.

The first release, in late '82, was ''Swordquest: Earthworld''. You play a FeaturelessProtagonist, who doesn't look anything like Torr or Tarra, just a guy in a blue shirt. He wanders around 12 rooms, one for each of the signs of the Zodiac. You've got some StandardRPGItems; a Dagger, a Grappling Hook, Rope, a Short Sword, Leather Armor, a Lamp, Shoes of Stealth, a Cloak of Invisibility, an Amulet, a Ring, a Necklace, a Talisman, Food and Drink, a Pitcher of Water, and a Key. And you've got some {{Mini Game}}s, mostly based on ''{{Frogger}}''. But the items [[PlotCoupon don't do anything]] except allow you to skip some of the minigames. There are no enemies, no chasms to cross, nothing to feed, and nothing to sneak past. The only thing you actually do is carry the objects from room to room. With trial and error, you eventually find the combinations of objects in rooms that reveal clues. If you get all 10 clues, then you get to [[AWinnerIsYou see the title screen again]], and you're given the completely useless Warrior's Sword. A clue hidden in the manual tells you how to assemble the clues into the correct sentence.

So it works as a contest tool, but not as a game in itself.

The pack-in comics for ''Earthworld, Fireworld,'' and ''Waterworld'' can be [[http://www.atariage.com/comics/index.html read here.]] As for the contests, due to the TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, competitions for ''Earthworld'' and ''Fireworld'' were held, and the Talisman and Chalice were awarded. The Crown, Stone, and Sword were believed to be in the possession of Jack Tramiel, who bought Atari in 1984.

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!!The ''Swordquest'' comic books provide examples of:

* AnimeHair: Konjuro's hair curves above his head in two points, not unlike ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: The beings of ''Earthworld'' are these for the WesternZodiac.
-->'''Tarus:''' "I am a living incarnation of zodiacal mysticism!"
* TheArtfulDodger: Torr and Tarra, who have grown up as parkour thieves on the streets.
* CrystalBall: Konjuro watches the twins on their quest with a giant crystal ball.
* CutShort: The ''Swordquest'' series as a whole. Only the first three issues were completed and released; according to artist George Pérez, artwork for ''Airworld'' was never started, and while a synopsis might have been written by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, it never received final approval, much less a script.
* DecoyGetaway[=/=]FakingTheDead: Tyrannus believes the twins are dead after Lady Wyla jumps into the ocean with two jars wrapped in swaddling cloths.
* DyeOrDie: Torr and Tarra's bright blonde hair is dyed a medium-brown to prevent Tyrannus from suspecting them while they were growing up.
* TheEvilPrince: Tyrannus, who was the son of the former King Reullo.
* TheFaceless: Mentorr and Mentarra wear large robes that leave their faces completely in shadow.
* FascistsBedTime: To further prevent threats to his rule, Tyrannus imposes a nightly curfew in his realm, enforced with flying four-armed demons with flaming swords.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold[=/=]HalfIdenticalTwins: Torr and Tarra.
-->"A son and a daughter, as alike as two flowers from the same cutting!"
* HellishHorse: Tarra rides a horse of flame in Fireworld.
* HornedHumanoid: Seen on several of the ''Earthworld'' denizens, such as Tarus, Capricorn, and Aries.
* {{Incubus}}: In ''Fireworld,'' Tarra is drawn to an incredibly handsome man who is revealed to be a tentacled monster.
* LethalLavaLand: Fireworld.
* MacGuffin: The Sword of Ultimate Sorcery and the Talisman of the Penultimate Truth, which the twins must retrieve to defeat Tyrannus.
* MacGuffinTitle: The story is about a ''Quest'' for a ''Sword''.
* MeaningfulName: The BigBad King Tyrannus is aided by his sorcerer advisor Konjuro, while the twins get cryptic directions from Mentorr and Mentarra.
* MuggleFosterParents: Lady Wyla leaves the infants Torr and Tarra to be raised by her husband's faithful scout.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Torr and Tarra become inspired to rebel against Tyrannus only after one of his captains killed their foster parents in a moment of pettiness.
* PapaWolf: Lord Tarr, who immediately attacks King Tyrannus' guards when Tyrannus calls for the death of the infants Torr and Tarra.
* ParentalAbandonment: Torr and Tarra's parents are long dead when the story begins.
* PlotCoupon:
** ''Earthworld'' has The Warrior's Sword, which opens up a fissure when Torr and Tarra get it, and is abandoned soon afterward,
** In ''Fireworld,'' the Chalice of Light provides water for relief and opens up a portal to Waterworld.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Gemini from ''Earthworld,'' who is composed of an evil white shade and a helpful black shadow.
* PortalPool: In ''Fireworld,'' the Chalice of Light grows to enormous size, and the water within it becomes a gate to Waterworld.
* PrecrimeArrest: Tyrannus orders Torr and Tarra to be killed simply because Konjuro prophesied his death at the hands of blonde-haired twins.
* ReluctantMonster: Cancer of ''Earthworld'' is a gigantic green crab who cheerfully helps rescue explorers who've fallen into its tidepool.
* TheRival: Herminus, a thief who's also after the Sword of Ultimate Sorcery.
* SheatheYourSword: In ''Earthworld,'' Torr and Tarra learn that battles aren't always won by violence.
* SpiritAdvisor: Mentorr and Mentarra, two hooded figures who give clues to the protagonists.
* SwordOverHead: In ''Fireworld,'' Torr spares a pair of fire demons who have been bothering him after he has them backed into a corner and cowering for mercy.
* WesternZodiac: The theme of the ''Earthworld'' realm.
* WreathedInFlames: Just about every creature in ''Fireworld'' is subject to this trope.

* SordOverHead: In ''Fireworld,'' Torr spares a pair of fire demons who have been bothering him after he has them backed into a corner and cowering for mercy.

* TheFaceless: The figures who give clues to Torr and Tarra wear large robes that leave their faces completely in shadow.
* HalfIdenticalTwins: Torr and Tarra.

* MeaningfulName: The BigBad King Tyrannus is aided by his sorcerer advisor Konjuro.

!!''Swordquest'' provides examples of:

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fb1a786fdab540a924497d0a57f55733.jpg]]

As for the contests, due to the TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, competitions for ''Earthworld'' and ''Fireworld'' were held, and the Talisman and Chalice were awarded. The Crown, Stone, and Sword were believed to be in the possession of Jack Tramiel, who bought Atari in 1984.

The games themselves would hold clues to the contest. You would find clues in the game in the form of a two number code, referring to a page and panel of the comic. In that panel, you would find a word hidden in the artwork. After you found all the words, you would try to figure out what the sentence was. Then you would send what you thought was the right sentence to Atari, and if you got it right, you would be entered into one of the contests. In each contest, you would play a special version of the game, and the one who found the most clues in a limited time would receive one of the prizes: A $25,000 Talisman of Penultimate Truth, a $25,000 Chalice of Light, a $25,000 Crown of Life, and a $25,000 Philosopher's Stone. The winners of these contests would then compete with each other for the grand prize, the $50,000 Sword of Ultimate Sorcery. Unfortunately, due to the TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, only the chalice and talisman were given away. The crown, Philosopher's Stone, and sword were never given out due to the contest's end, and it is unknown where they are to this day.

The second game, ''Swordquest: Fireworld'', is an ObviousBeta. Some of the minigames are virtually {{Unwinnable}}. If you hit a wall just right, you warp through it or get stuck. And the clues aren't even there, just numbers from 00 to 09, placeholders for clues that were never coded.

''Swordquest: Waterworld'' is considered the best of the three. It doesn't have ''Fireworld'''s bugs, and it gives you clues to the item/room combinations. But gameplay is still just a matter of hauling stuff from room to room. TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 had hit by this time, so ''Waterworld'' saw only a limited release.

''Swordquest: Airworld'' never got past the design stage, due to the Crash.

As for the contests, ''Earthworld'' and ''Fireworld'' were held, and the Talisman and Chalice were awarded. ''Waterworld'' was cancelled at the last minute. The Crown, Stone, and Sword were believed to be in the possession of Jack Tramiel, who bought Atari in 1984.

WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd did a [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal rather respectful review]] (contrary to [[CausticCritic his]] [[ClusterFBomb usual]] [[AccentuateTheNegative style]]) of the series, [[http://www.gametrailers.com/player/61988.html which can be seen here]].

''Swordquest: Waterworld'' is considered the best of the three. It doesn't have ''Fireworld'''s bugs, and it gives you clues to the item/room combinations. But gameplay is still just a matter of hauling stuff from room to room. [[TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 crash]] had hit by this time, so ''Waterworld'' saw only a limited release.

The games themselves would hold clues to the contest. You would find clues in the game in the form of a two number code, referring to a page and panel of the comic. In that panel, you would find a word hidden in the artwork. After you found all the words, you would try to figure out what the sentence was. Then you would send what you thought was the right sentence to Atari, and if you got it right, you would be entered into one of the contests. In each contest, you would play a special version of the game, and the one who found the most clues in a limited time would receive one of the prizes: A $25,000 Talisman of Penultimate Truth, a $25,000 Chalice of Light, a $25,000 Crown of Life, and a $25,000 Philosopher's Stone. The winners of these contests would then compete with each other for the grand prize, the $50,000 Sword of Ultimate Sorcery.
Unfortunately, due to the TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983, only the chalice and talisman were given away. The crown, Philosopher's Stone, and sword were never given out due to the contest's end, and it is unknown where they are to this day.

''Swordquest: Waterworld'' is considered the best of the three. It doesn't have ''Fireworld'''s bugs, and it gives you clues to the item/room combinations. But gameplay is still just a matter of hauling stuff from room to room. TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 had hit by this time, so ''Waterworld'' saw only a limited release.

As for the contests, ''Earthworld'' and ''Fireworld'' were held, and the Talisman and Chalice were awarded. ''Waterworld'' was cancelled at the last minute. The Crown, Stone, and Sword are believed to be in the possession of Jack Tramiel, who bought Atari in 1984.

* FauxSymbolism: ''Earthworld''[='=]s rooms are based on the WesternZodiac; ''Fireworld''[='=]s on the {{Kabbalah}} Tree of Life; ''Waterworld''[='=]s on the Chakra points; and ''Airworld'' would have been based on the I Ching. And then there are the four elements, with each game set in a 'world' of one of the elements. But it doesn't mean anything.

WebOriginal/TheAngryVideoGameNerd did a [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal rather respectful review]] (contrary to [[CausticCritic his]] [[ClusterFBomb usual]] [[AccentuateTheNegative style]]) of the series, [[http://www.gametrailers.com/player/61988.html which can be seen here]].

* TheGreatVideoGameCrashof1983: The contest never finished because of it.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: One of the few snarks the AVGN did was that ''Earthworld'' had a loud, ambitious noise ''just for opening a door''.

The first release, in late '82, was ''Swordquest: Earthworld''. You play an {{AFGNCAAP}}, who doesn't look anything like Torr or Tarra, just a guy in a blue shirt. He wanders around 12 rooms, one for each of the signs of the Zodiac. You've got some StandardRPGItems; a Dagger, a Grappling Hook, Rope, a Short Sword, Leather Armor, a Lamp, Shoes of Stealth, a Cloak of Invisibility, an Amulet, a Ring, a Necklace, a Talisman, Food and Drink, a Pitcher of Water, and a Key. And you've got some {{Mini Game}}s, mostly based on ''{{Frogger}}''. But the items [[PlotCoupon don't do anything]] except allow you to skip some of the minigames. There are no enemies, no chasms to cross, nothing to feed, and nothing to sneak past. The only thing you actually do is carry the objects from room to room. With trial and error, you eventually find the combinations of objects in rooms that reveal clues. If you get all 10 clues, then you get to [[AWinnerIsYou see the title screen again]], and you're given the completely useless Warrior's Sword. A clue hidden in the manual tells you how to assemble the clues into the correct sentence.

* {{AFGNCAAP}}

TheAngryVideoGameNerd did a [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal rather respectful review]] (contrary to [[CausticCritic his]] [[ClusterFBomb usual]] [[AccentuateTheNegative style]]) of the series, [[http://www.gametrailers.com/player/61988.html which can be seen here]].

* {{Defictionalization}}: Sort of.

* {{Vaporware}}: ''[[IncrediblyLamePun Air]]world''.