Zeliard

Genre:

RPG

Year:

1990

Developer:

Game Arts

Publisher:

Sierra On-Line

Perspective:

1st-person, Platform, Side-view

Theme:

Fantasy

Releases:

DOS (1990)

Also known as:

ゼリアード

An ancient demon, called Jashiin (and self-dubbed as the Emperor of Chaos), emerges from a two-thousand-year-old sleep to unleash his wrath upon the Kingdom of Zeliard. Justifying his actions as a revenge upon the ancient kings of Zeliard, Jashiin does so by causing a sand rain to continue for 115 days, turning the kingdom into desert; as well, he turns King Felishika's only daughter, the beautiful princess Felicia, into stone. The protagonist and player-controlled character, Duke Garland, is sent by the spirits to aid Zeliard and save Felicia. Duke Garland must recover the Nine Tears of Esmesanti, stolen by Jashiin from Felicia upon turning her to stone, for only these can reverse the stone curse. Subsequently, Duke Garland must also slay Jashiin. Finally, Garland may find safe haven in various cities and outposts not yet conquered by Jashiin, in order to rest and purchase weaponry and equipment. Zeliard is a fast-paced platform game. The gameplay can be divided into sections—in-town, and in-labyrinth. To complete the game, the player must pass through eight increasingly complex labyrinths, swarming with Jashiin's underlings. At the end of each Labyrinth, a boss dwells, holding one of the nine Tears; the final Tear is held by Jashiin himself.