@Nero ...And today, there are companies that spend more money than most people will ever make in their entire lives to create games that are only marginally more interesting/entertaining than having an ingrown toenail removed.
Something that might have been mentioned about the torches: Torches do not burn out based on time, but actions. Most actions, even just looking at things, will decrease a torch charge. Torches start out at 60 charges. The flame shrinks when it has 15 charges left, and the warning music plays when it has 7 charges left. If you die, you will be reset to 1 torch with 16 charges left. This is why he needed to use so many torches in the video, because he died so many times!
That's what makes the mechanic so brilliant. When your torch runs low, your first instinct is to panic and get to another one as quickly as possible, but every action you take just makes the fuse burn that much quicker.
i was wondering about that. interesting stuff. i never played the game and the torches in the video seemed to burn out way too fast and it sorta anxietized me imaging to play it. haha
I honestly think it has one of the best atmospheres of ANY game. It prooves that technical prowess has nothing to do with it at all. Look at Darkest Dungeon, it rivals most tripple A games in my opinion.
This was one of my favorite games back in the day (still is). I made a "talk-through" on audio cassette as a kid; several of my friends borrowed it help them. I was doing "Let's Play"'s before they were really a thing! I was beyond happy when Dave Marsh and Karl Roelofs formed Zojoi and picked up Shadowgate again. If you've not played the modern remake, do so, it's amazingly good. I spent a good couple hundred hours helping beta test it! If they're still true to their plans, we may see "Beyond Shadowgate" remade in a couple years!
@@zojoi OH SNAP! AWW HELL! Hey Dave and Karl! I'm excited. I don't own the proper equipment for the Shadowgate VR game, but it did actually make me consider it briefly (should I ever get access to any, I'll play it for sure). Ahem, should you end up doing any beta tests again, hit me up on Steam or here, I'm always happy to help out again! Now @UCBV just needs to do Uninvited. (I still want you guys to remake Uninvited as well). (Edited because somehow I forgot UCBV did Deja Vu--and I watched it--yet somehow suffered Ace Harding-style memory loss).
That's awesome! Damn, I could have used a friend like you back then, lol. When Silent Hill 3 came out, I beat it several times in a short period of time and realized I was finding some really efficient ways of getting through it quickly. Got the idea in my head to record a play-through on VHS, so I guess you could say similar to you, I was recording a speed-run before that was a thing. I might even still have that VHS somewhere.
When I was a kid, I was splaying this game with my brothers. I figured out that “epor” was rooemspelled backwards and I was SO proud of myself that I figured something my brothers didn’t get. I was like six. Ever since then I always read every gibberish word forwards and backwards out of habit, Just to check.
Yesssss!!! I was SO hoping you'd be different from ALL the other video walk-throughs and NOT skip dying--or put another way, you'd show us ALL the deaths lmao.... THE BEST....I love the green slime one hahaha
Yet another game I spent so long on and still never finished. And you basically did a 100% speedrun on it. So crazy. Nice job man. It never gets old watching these. Cant wait to see what's next.
It took me years to beat it, but I managed to. It's one of those games that takes ages to learn, but once you've beat it, you can go back and beat it again in like 15-30 minutes. Such a great game.
Don't feel bad. When I was a kid, I couldn't beat it either. Then my cousin came by picked up from where I was in it and beat it in 30 min while practically yawning. I was so pissed lol.
@@smackthenun7556 it’s easy ONCE you know how. Problem is back then we didn’t have internet so info was word of mouth or if you were lucky in Nintendo Power. Ahhhh, good times.
As a huge fan of this game who can beat it with their eyes closed, I never once knew about the Mac version allowing you to survive with a light source in the room you are in if your torch runs out. That little bit of trivia is exactly why this channel is so great for people who even are considered experts at a game, you always throw in some nice trivia or facts about games that even hardcore enthusiasts might not know. Thank you for covering this and I hope more people become familiar with this game as a result of the video! Looking forward to the Uninvited video since you covered the previous two Kemco adventure games and it's my personal favorite of the trilogy!
i havnt watched the whole review yet but did you know theres a secret room thats only accessible on mac version? th-cam.com/video/tE1IU1Mt2cw/w-d-xo.html
Wow, back when I was a kid my only access to most Nintendo games was renting them, so I never had a chance to complete Shadowgate. Brought back a lot of good memories! Additionally I wanted to say, you're production of these videos is impressive! The way you synchronized both version of this game and the exhaustive information provided shows you do your homework and put time and effort into your product. Incredibly done, thank you!
I didn't play this until adulthood but I can see this scaring me as a kid, much like in the original nes dragon warrior when you save your game and it gets to that scary black screen
I was kidnapped and chained in my abusers basement... He tormented me daily and I never knew If I'd ever survive that hell... He played this game every day and would leave the music playing while he was hurting me.
One of my favorites as a kid. I spent months on this game finally figuring it out and beating it. One of the most satisfying game finishes of my young life.
OMG Hell YES!! This is one of my favorite NES Games. This was one of the first games that I actually got a Notepad and pen to try to remember everything so I could eventually beat it.
The big difference with the PC version is how easy it is to create an unwinnable state as you point out with only being able to use scrolls once. Unlike the NES version you can ditch or destroy essential items without being warned you've doomed your playthrough. A few interesting differences in the PC version is that you can attack the wraith and get cursed to pass through its room. You can cure yourself by drinking the bottle in the globe. I remember the time limit for the curse being pretty generous so you might even be able to finish the game while cursed. The Warlock Lord shows up periodically in the PC version to taunt you and acts as a sort of time limit like Uninvited did (and a lesser extent Deja Vu) but I only found a game over from opening the final door and leaving. There's also a large number of extra deaths in the PC version, such as the bottles in the laboratory being fatal or removing the cloak in the fire room. Trying to use the consume command on monsters in the PC version has a number of humorous death messages. The NES does have a small glitched death where if you use your burning torch on the dead werewolf it'll pounce on you and kill you. Thanks for the blast from the past and good luck with other retro games!
I really enjoyed playing this game on the NES as a kid. I never made it very far but had fun exploring and trying to solve the various puzzles. The game always felt a bit scary and was more mature than the typical nes game. It was definitely unique for its time. I’m going to get out my old cart and give it a try again.
I spent a lot of my dad’s money on the Nintendo Hotline, but I was stuck at the final wizard for days. (The NES stays on for some games but thankfully this one had save slots lol)
OMG YES YES YES!!! SHADOWGATE!! This game gave me so many issues as a young lad. *sigh* I've said it these video's before, and I'll say it again. Thank you for going back and doing these games thru like this. It helps give me a form of closure from reason and truely puts me at ease. Especialy when it comes to games like this. Keep it up man, thank you for putting the time and effort you do into this mate. EDIT: Typos suck. -.-
Just to quickly add onto the above, I'm shocked. I actualyl do recognise and remember playing the Mac Black and White version! I'm legit suprised. I always thought just had a dream where I'd seen the game again, but the dream had no colour. God, waht a kids mind can do to cope with things. lol
why is it that on every video of a game like shadowgate, there is a comment like this ? shadowgate creeped me out. the butcher from diablo 1 gave me nightmares the music in uninvited scared med !!! i must have have been a special child since none of those things affected me XD
I said this in the ad for this video, but man, LOVED this game, loved the music, but the ending.... we tried and tried and tried but HAD to call the NES HelpLine to get the end "puzzle'...which we felt ok doing cuz I can't imagine people KNEW EXACTLY what to do on their own, maybe ever lol...
I distinctly remember playing this as a kid. I received it as a gift from the friend of my dad who just couldn't get into it so he just gave it to me, complete with hint book and all! I still have it to this day along with all the other NES Macventure games CIB. I remember getting hung up early on the part where you have to go behind the waterfall to find the gems.
43:49 Not sure if you mentioned this at any point, but the sound of the Flute is an homage to the music from Deja Vu. Except that Deja Vu came out on the NES after Shadowgate? So it's less of a throwback, and more of a throwforward.
I like the wizard deciding to just ignore you as you belatedly assemble your staff after stumbling upon him awakening the behemoth. Also, I like the fact they send a total novice to an extremely lethal castle on a quest to literally save the world from total destruction, completely empty-handed. Not even so much as a torch or a dagger.
An absolute childhood favorite of mine. When I was younger and bored at work, the music would be playing in my head and I'd imagine I'd be venturing around some Shadowgate world, mumbling "Epor!" to myself, haha. Love your presentation on videos and the little added details on the side. Thank you for doing this. Haven't watched the whole video, but if you were considering doing Deja Vu(nvm, you did that), Uninvited or if there were any other games like this, that'd be awesome
Ok first off this video is so cool and super informative. I was looking for a shadowgate retrospective and this was one of the videos suggested. I've been watch your content for quite some time, but I've never watched this videos. I gotta say that you are in my opinion one of the BEST video game content creators. You did a really good job on this one especially with the OG screen in the upper left, so cool. Well hey, thank you for taking the time to make these videos and I hope you and your family/friends and dogs lol have a great week.
So the room with the Sphinx. You can get him to warp you to other places besides the bridge. When you try to pass and are presented with a riddle, if you try to pass again he will send you to the room where the answer can be found.
A lot of the solutions in this game (Déjà Vu and Uninvited as well) were SO friggin obscure. I was like 8 or 9 at the time so I had difficulty figuring things out. I got in HUGE trouble for running up the phone bill from calling the Nintendo Power hotline. Those were the days.....
My goodness. I remember joined this channel when it had just about 20k subscribers. Great job on getting to almost 80k! Keep up the great work on supplying us with game facts and a way for us and especially myself to finally beat these games that had haunted me as a child cause I could never finish them.
Thank you so much for showing us both versions of the game. This was a lovely trip back to my childhood. I was always so afraid, that the torches would go out. ^^ Thanks for your work and effort.
Funny tidbit. In the Mac version if you punch the Skull that holds the first key it breaks and can't be opened, instantly softlocking your game without notice.
OMG THANK YOU! I have been trying to find this game for years!!! I used to play it when I was young. But I could not remember the name to play again. You made my day for sure!!!
If you enjoyed "Choose Your Own Adventure" books from back when, these games were effectively those with more interactivity. Being able to look around, examine each item and certain key spots of the room you were in, figuring out the uses of things (if any), all contribute to a fun interactive storytelling experience. And just like those books when you reached an "if you want to [action], got to [page number]," you had to be careful, because you might just turn to that page and see an illustration of your death, spelled out in gruesome detail on the adjacent page and have to start again from the top (or just turn back to the other page and make the other choice if you were a cheater like me, lol). That kind of play instantly drew me to both Shadowgate and Uninvited.
This is an excellent guide for this game. Every possible action was shown and explained. It was also nice to see the original version shown on the left half of the screen. Very well done indeed.
I'm glad to see another installment in the MacVenture Trilogy! I'm looking forward to seeing your coverage of Uninvited - it was always my favorite entry from that series.
@U Can Beat Video Games, OMG Thank you for this upload I played this game as a kid and was so frustrating to play as I had to keep trying silly things to move through each puzzle!! 🤣🤣
Thank you for covering one of my all-time favorites! I grew up on the mac versions of these games, seeing the side-by-side was great. I appreciate the time this must have taken to edit.
I played this back in the day,but I never got anywhere near completing it. I was ( and still am) more into action and RPG titles than puzzle games. Having said that this game's evocative visuals and haunting music stand out in my memory as among the best the NES had to offer.
All I am going to say is this. This is going to be awesome video even before I start watching it. I love this game and to get more out of it than I ever did with me finishing it deserves praise and recognition to Mr. You can beat video games. Thank you for all your hard work and effort that you put into every game you release for us viewing it!
It is a true credit to icom simulations and Kemco that we are still discussing these amazing games nearly 40 years later. The music be listened to for eternity as far as I’m concerned it’s so good.
As always greatness! Your video game dives are the best on the internet. Your content is comprehensive, silky, and made with quality and good nature. Moreover, love the comedy!
Hey, a few fun facts. In the NES version of the game you get exactly 60 actions out of every torch in the game. However, the final action you use must be to light a new torch otherwise you will die next turn. Also, you actually can beat the game without lighting or even collecting a single torch (other than the one needed for the Wraith). Every time you die, the first torch is always reset to the point right before it begins to get smaller, which is 15 actions before it will go out. If you use the fact that the game sort of invisibly quick saves your progress every time you switch rooms, you can manipulate the game into saving right before you would normally run out of your torch, continue the game, and essentially get 15 more free moves. While it is annoying due to how much you will die doing this, it is doable and I've done it myself.
When you use the Sling on the Cyclops the dialogue reads "Death to the Philistine" which is a reference to Goliath, who David slayed using first a sling in the Bible.
One of my favorite games of all time. The music is legendary! Whoever did the music for Shadowgate and Uninvited belongs in the video game hall of fame!
I think the reason why you would die if you let the torch go out, is because there are creatures that probably only exist in pure darkness in the castle, and they easily take you out in the confusion. I've never played this game before in my life, but damn, that music for the torch going out can make you get pretty tense.
Okay seriously HOW DID I NOT Find this channel sooner? This is hands down the most complete and helpful Retro gaming Channel on youtube, Instantly subscribed!
One of my favorite NES games. I played this game and share my progress with a friend of mine in school. We gave each other hints and tips. Eventually he beat the game before I could. I beat it after he gave some clues as to how to defeat the behemoth.
I had so many good memories playing this game. In the beginning I absolutely hated the hard time limit due to having a limited number of torches to find in the castle. The first two rooms really made you learn to think outside the box.
I've posted a lot of comments here, but I forgot one thing. You can beat the game using 0 torches. It involves letting your torch fizzle out and restarting in the previous room. You can do this through the whole game and not use a single torch.
Dave said once that they had the game design for Shadowgate 2 already done at that time. As I remember the plot of the game took place in the caves below the Shadowgate Castle I would love to see (and play) this game built with the same graphics and interface as the Nes version. It would be like a dream coming true .
Shadowgate was one of my favorite games when I was a kid. I played it on the GBC, then the NES version using an emulator, and I still know how to solve it from memory, but I have to admit that there were a lot of fun things that I never tried before, and that's why I watched this video in full and enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks!
I do not plan on conquering or even attempting any of these video games. I subscribed to your channel simply because I enjoy watching you play them. And I am in awe at the vast amount of knowledge that you have with each game. It's both interesting and entertaining.
This game was super creepy to me when I was a kid. I remember playing it alone at night and the music would get stuck in my head long after I went to bed. I feel like it was kind if short but I liked all the problem solving. It was crazy how simple each rooms design and layout were and how easy it was to still miss things. The big problem with this game was replay value once you finished it. After you run through it once and know where everything is and how it work there isnt much, if any, satisfaction gained from doing it again.
The music NEVER gets old! I'm here because the new 2024 sequel Beyond Shadowgate just came out, and I was thinking of doing a playthrough of the first one again.
58:10 How many other people had to dial back ten seconds when they were like "markings?? I thought those were bricks..." like I did...? Fantastic work as always! Made my Saturday morning perfect!
I love these style games. Shadowgate is one of my favorite games of all time. Oh yeah, and it's my birthday this weekend. I know what I'm doing this weekend :D
i remember getting this game as a Christmas present when it came out. i was stuck literally for years until the internet started to take off and Game FAQS became a thing and i learned about the secret compartment in the kennel. almost 7 years to beat this game.
Loved playing this game when it came out on the nes. Just noticed that the flute sounds like part of the music from deja vu! Thanks for your work as always.
This game was scary for me as a kid--especially the constant looming threat of running out of torches, which meant multiple restarts as I slowly ran out of them while trying to figure out the puzzles. It was so stressful when the music changed. When the GBC remake came out years later, I bought it again and played through it so many times that I all but memorized it. I wound up absolutely loving this game.
I don't know exactly why, but the music track in the garden seems oddly appropriate to being in the vicinity of something poisonous. LOL. It kind of reminds me of the music track in those secret rooms in StarTropics where you can often find hearts or medicines, especially in the first chapter where there's the secret passage that just leads to the water trap.
Thanks for this excellent guide! I have always been captivated by Shadowgate ever since I saw it featured in the first issue of Nintendo Power I ever bought. I never got a chance to play it back in the day, but have since satisfied my curiosity with more modern methods. The picture-in-picture with the Mac version in the corner is an amazing touch! I loved seeing a real-time comparison between the two. All credit due to the fantastic pixel artists who were able to convert the much higher resolution Mac graphics into something understandable on an NES screen. Thanks for the great video!
A friend and I used to speed run this game against each other when it first came out. Its pretty hazy in my mind but we both could finish it in about 15 min. Wow this vid brings back memories.
as a child i was absolutely certain the pedestal in the pedestal room was a food dehydrator. thanks for this walkthrough, i love that you included the macventure frames.
The Kemco NES music guy truly crafted some of the creepiest music of that era for all three of those games.
I know, right? Not freaking bad for the NES sound chip.
Just thinking of the “torch low” music gives me crippling anxiety to this day.
Absolutely!
@Nero
A-freakin'-greed. The main theme for Deja Vu still gets stuck in my head occasionally.
@Nero
...And today, there are companies that spend more money than most people will ever make in their entire lives to create games that are only marginally more interesting/entertaining than having an ingrown toenail removed.
Something that might have been mentioned about the torches:
Torches do not burn out based on time, but actions. Most actions, even just looking at things, will decrease a torch charge.
Torches start out at 60 charges. The flame shrinks when it has 15 charges left, and the warning music plays when it has 7 charges left.
If you die, you will be reset to 1 torch with 16 charges left. This is why he needed to use so many torches in the video, because he died so many times!
That's what makes the mechanic so brilliant. When your torch runs low, your first instinct is to panic and get to another one as quickly as possible, but every action you take just makes the fuse burn that much quicker.
Today I learned! Awesome!
That makes sense. This game is "turn-based" rather than "time-based." The dragon room hinted at this.
i was wondering about that. interesting stuff. i never played the game and the torches in the video seemed to burn out way too fast and it sorta anxietized me imaging to play it. haha
I had no idea the torches worked like this. Very cool.
Shadowgate really has some of the best atmosphere of any game of its type.
I honestly think it has one of the best atmospheres of ANY game. It prooves that technical prowess has nothing to do with it at all. Look at Darkest Dungeon, it rivals most tripple A games in my opinion.
I think the original Shadowgate has way more atmosphere then the remake despite the shinier graphics on that one.
This was one of my favorite games back in the day (still is). I made a "talk-through" on audio cassette as a kid; several of my friends borrowed it help them. I was doing "Let's Play"'s before they were really a thing! I was beyond happy when Dave Marsh and Karl Roelofs formed Zojoi and picked up Shadowgate again. If you've not played the modern remake, do so, it's amazingly good. I spent a good couple hundred hours helping beta test it! If they're still true to their plans, we may see "Beyond Shadowgate" remade in a couple years!
Hmmm. Beyond Shadowgate you say… :)
@@zojoi OH SNAP! AWW HELL! Hey Dave and Karl! I'm excited. I don't own the proper equipment for the Shadowgate VR game, but it did actually make me consider it briefly (should I ever get access to any, I'll play it for sure). Ahem, should you end up doing any beta tests again, hit me up on Steam or here, I'm always happy to help out again! Now @UCBV just needs to do Uninvited. (I still want you guys to remake Uninvited as well). (Edited because somehow I forgot UCBV did Deja Vu--and I watched it--yet somehow suffered Ace Harding-style memory loss).
That's awesome! Damn, I could have used a friend like you back then, lol. When Silent Hill 3 came out, I beat it several times in a short period of time and realized I was finding some really efficient ways of getting through it quickly. Got the idea in my head to record a play-through on VHS, so I guess you could say similar to you, I was recording a speed-run before that was a thing. I might even still have that VHS somewhere.
I loved these games so much, I wrote the engine that lets you play the original mac/iigs games on modern OSes.
I didn't expect to come to this video and leave with some official Beyond Shadowgate hype.
When I was a kid, I was splaying this game with my brothers. I figured out that “epor” was rooemspelled backwards and I was SO proud of myself that I figured something my brothers didn’t get. I was like six.
Ever since then I always read every gibberish word forwards and backwards out of habit,
Just to check.
Dude, I love how you showed the mac version as well. Such a cool and terrifying game.
Yesssss!!! I was SO hoping you'd be different from ALL the other video walk-throughs and NOT skip dying--or put another way, you'd show us ALL the deaths lmao....
THE BEST....I love the green slime one hahaha
Yet another game I spent so long on and still never finished. And you basically did a 100% speedrun on it. So crazy. Nice job man. It never gets old watching these. Cant wait to see what's next.
It took me years to beat it, but I managed to. It's one of those games that takes ages to learn, but once you've beat it, you can go back and beat it again in like 15-30 minutes. Such a great game.
Me neither. This channels videos I always look forward to.
Don't feel bad. When I was a kid, I couldn't beat it either. Then my cousin came by picked up from where I was in it and beat it in 30 min while practically yawning. I was so pissed lol.
@@smackthenun7556 it’s easy ONCE you know how. Problem is back then we didn’t have internet so info was word of mouth or if you were lucky in Nintendo Power. Ahhhh, good times.
Not a speedrun. I believe "walkthrough" is the proper term here. He knows what to do but the pace is quite slow and methodic.
As a huge fan of this game who can beat it with their eyes closed, I never once knew about the Mac version allowing you to survive with a light source in the room you are in if your torch runs out. That little bit of trivia is exactly why this channel is so great for people who even are considered experts at a game, you always throw in some nice trivia or facts about games that even hardcore enthusiasts might not know. Thank you for covering this and I hope more people become familiar with this game as a result of the video! Looking forward to the Uninvited video since you covered the previous two Kemco adventure games and it's my personal favorite of the trilogy!
i havnt watched the whole review yet but did you know theres a secret room thats only accessible on mac version? th-cam.com/video/tE1IU1Mt2cw/w-d-xo.html
Wow, back when I was a kid my only access to most Nintendo games was renting them, so I never had a chance to complete Shadowgate. Brought back a lot of good memories! Additionally I wanted to say, you're production of these videos is impressive! The way you synchronized both version of this game and the exhaustive information provided shows you do your homework and put time and effort into your product. Incredibly done, thank you!
This game scared the bejesus out of me as a kid! Awesome addition to the channel, thank you for all your hard work!
I didn't play this until adulthood but I can see this scaring me as a kid, much like in the original nes dragon warrior when you save your game and it gets to that scary black screen
I would have loved to play this as a kid. I was 28 when it released. Still enjoyed it.
I'm the same way. First scary game I ever rented for the NES, didnt get very far (Sinistar holds that title for first scary arcade game.)
I was kidnapped and chained in my abusers basement... He tormented me daily and I never knew If I'd ever survive that hell... He played this game every day and would leave the music playing while he was hurting me.
@@lindzeesouperocd7558 what are you talking about?
"The Grim Reaper quickly embraces you!" Awww... What a nice guy :) :)
One of my favorites as a kid. I spent months on this game finally figuring it out and beating it. One of the most satisfying game finishes of my young life.
Same...and back then we actually had to sit there and figure it all out..on our own..bc...no internet
OMG Hell YES!! This is one of my favorite NES Games. This was one of the first games that I actually got a Notepad and pen to try to remember everything so I could eventually beat it.
That "moonlit coutyard" bgm is one of my ears' favorite things. Clean, ringing, piercing melody over a fat bassline. I love it so much.
This and Deja Vu I absolutely loved. The music was absolutely phenomenal. Sometimes I'd just get to a point and let the music play for hours.
The big difference with the PC version is how easy it is to create an unwinnable state as you point out with only being able to use scrolls once. Unlike the NES version you can ditch or destroy essential items without being warned you've doomed your playthrough.
A few interesting differences in the PC version is that you can attack the wraith and get cursed to pass through its room. You can cure yourself by drinking the bottle in the globe. I remember the time limit for the curse being pretty generous so you might even be able to finish the game while cursed. The Warlock Lord shows up periodically in the PC version to taunt you and acts as a sort of time limit like Uninvited did (and a lesser extent Deja Vu) but I only found a game over from opening the final door and leaving.
There's also a large number of extra deaths in the PC version, such as the bottles in the laboratory being fatal or removing the cloak in the fire room. Trying to use the consume command on monsters in the PC version has a number of humorous death messages. The NES does have a small glitched death where if you use your burning torch on the dead werewolf it'll pounce on you and kill you.
Thanks for the blast from the past and good luck with other retro games!
Grim Reaper to his buddy: Oh that's the guy that keeps drinking all the weird potions and tried to pet the hellhound, I keep raising him. As a joke.
I really enjoyed playing this game on the NES as a kid. I never made it very far but had fun exploring and trying to solve the various puzzles. The game always felt a bit scary and was more mature than the typical nes game. It was definitely unique for its time. I’m going to get out my old cart and give it a try again.
I spent a lot of my dad’s money on the Nintendo Hotline, but I was stuck at the final wizard for days. (The NES stays on for some games but thankfully this one had save slots lol)
OMG YES YES YES!!! SHADOWGATE!! This game gave me so many issues as a young lad. *sigh* I've said it these video's before, and I'll say it again. Thank you for going back and doing these games thru like this. It helps give me a form of closure from reason and truely puts me at ease. Especialy when it comes to games like this. Keep it up man, thank you for putting the time and effort you do into this mate.
EDIT: Typos suck. -.-
Just to quickly add onto the above, I'm shocked. I actualyl do recognise and remember playing the Mac Black and White version! I'm legit suprised. I always thought just had a dream where I'd seen the game again, but the dream had no colour. God, waht a kids mind can do to cope with things. lol
Your videos always go above and beyond the minimum. The play along with the original verion is brilliant. Great job.
I remember playing this as a kid at night with the lights out and being freaked out with the instant deaths and other surprises. Great game.
why is it that on every video of a game like shadowgate, there is a comment like this ?
shadowgate creeped me out. the butcher from diablo 1 gave me nightmares
the music in uninvited scared med !!!
i must have have been a special child since none of those things affected me XD
I said this in the ad for this video, but man, LOVED this game, loved the music, but the ending.... we tried and tried and tried but HAD to call the NES HelpLine to get the end "puzzle'...which we felt ok doing cuz I can't imagine people KNEW EXACTLY what to do on their own, maybe ever lol...
My God, this music..... Just so hypnotic. I absolutely love it 😇
I distinctly remember playing this as a kid. I received it as a gift from the friend of my dad who just couldn't get into it so he just gave it to me, complete with hint book and all! I still have it to this day along with all the other NES Macventure games CIB. I remember getting hung up early on the part where you have to go behind the waterfall to find the gems.
43:49 Not sure if you mentioned this at any point, but the sound of the Flute is an homage to the music from Deja Vu. Except that Deja Vu came out on the NES after Shadowgate? So it's less of a throwback, and more of a throwforward.
I like the wizard deciding to just ignore you as you belatedly assemble your staff after stumbling upon him awakening the behemoth.
Also, I like the fact they send a total novice to an extremely lethal castle on a quest to literally save the world from total destruction, completely empty-handed. Not even so much as a torch or a dagger.
You do start with only one torch
Hey, raising a Behemoth out of Hell takes incredible focus.
@@nickvanderpool4822 Fair enough.
@@fernandorivera9384 That's still pretty underequipped for a mission to save the world.
An absolute childhood favorite of mine. When I was younger and bored at work, the music would be playing in my head and I'd imagine I'd be venturing around some Shadowgate world, mumbling "Epor!" to myself, haha.
Love your presentation on videos and the little added details on the side. Thank you for doing this. Haven't watched the whole video, but if you were considering doing Deja Vu(nvm, you did that), Uninvited or if there were any other games like this, that'd be awesome
I like how the dragon’s fire constantly ingulfs you almost killing you, but doesn’t manage to light a torch.
Ok first off this video is so cool and super informative. I was looking for a shadowgate retrospective and this was one of the videos suggested. I've been watch your content for quite some time, but I've never watched this videos. I gotta say that you are in my opinion one of the BEST video game content creators. You did a really good job on this one especially with the OG screen in the upper left, so cool. Well hey, thank you for taking the time to make these videos and I hope you and your family/friends and dogs lol have a great week.
I introduced my brother to this channel and for my bday he got me a UCBVG shirt. It's now my Saturday morning shirt! Love your content!
Holy hell yes! This game scared the crap out of me when I was a little kid. It also was a huge inspiration to help me learn how to read. Ahhh memories
So the room with the Sphinx. You can get him to warp you to other places besides the bridge. When you try to pass and are presented with a riddle, if you try to pass again he will send you to the room where the answer can be found.
The amount of effort you put into making this series is impressive, well done :)
It's great to see a thorough video on this, as there's NO WAY I'd have the patience to figure out all of these puzzles. Great video, as always!
My favorite channel on YT your golden lab has helped me get much further in NES games, he is a good boy
As well as a beautiful creature
A lot of the solutions in this game (Déjà Vu and Uninvited as well) were SO friggin obscure. I was like 8 or 9 at the time so I had difficulty figuring things out. I got in HUGE trouble for running up the phone bill from calling the Nintendo Power hotline. Those were the days.....
My goodness. I remember joined this channel when it had just about 20k subscribers. Great job on getting to almost 80k! Keep up the great work on supplying us with game facts and a way for us and especially myself to finally beat these games that had haunted me as a child cause I could never finish them.
Thank you so much for showing us both versions of the game.
This was a lovely trip back to my childhood. I was always so afraid, that the torches would go out. ^^
Thanks for your work and effort.
Always loved this one! Completing this game on the first day is one of my greatest achievements.
Your weekly videos have become one of the highlights of my Saturday mornings. Thank you so much!
Funny tidbit. In the Mac version if you punch the Skull that holds the first key it breaks and can't be opened, instantly softlocking your game without notice.
Showing each version is such a great level of commitment to present an authoritative guide. Man, I'm hoping to see more like this and Deja Vu.
OMG THANK YOU! I have been trying to find this game for years!!! I used to play it when I was young. But I could not remember the name to play again. You made my day for sure!!!
hitting my favs the last few weeks. Shadow gate was one i use to play with my father. Brought back many memories.
One of the best NES games period.
Thank you so much for reviewing this game my cousin that passed away loved watching him play when I was younger great memories
If you enjoyed "Choose Your Own Adventure" books from back when, these games were effectively those with more interactivity. Being able to look around, examine each item and certain key spots of the room you were in, figuring out the uses of things (if any), all contribute to a fun interactive storytelling experience. And just like those books when you reached an "if you want to [action], got to [page number]," you had to be careful, because you might just turn to that page and see an illustration of your death, spelled out in gruesome detail on the adjacent page and have to start again from the top (or just turn back to the other page and make the other choice if you were a cheater like me, lol). That kind of play instantly drew me to both Shadowgate and Uninvited.
This is an excellent guide for this game. Every possible action was shown and explained. It was also nice to see the original version shown on the left half of the screen. Very well done indeed.
I'm glad to see another installment in the MacVenture Trilogy! I'm looking forward to seeing your coverage of Uninvited - it was always my favorite entry from that series.
@U Can Beat Video Games, OMG Thank you for this upload I played this game as a kid and was so frustrating to play as I had to keep trying silly things to move through each puzzle!! 🤣🤣
Southern Belle death is horrifying
Yes, please do Uninvited soon!
Thank you for covering one of my all-time favorites! I grew up on the mac versions of these games, seeing the side-by-side was great. I appreciate the time this must have taken to edit.
The music in this game was top notch.
You're an absolute legend for running the Mac version Side by side. Quality material here boys 👍
Okay, nearly 35 years after seeing Shadowgate in Nintendo Power for the first time I’m finally playing it. Your guide is a big help!
I played this back in the day,but I never got anywhere near completing it. I was ( and still am) more into action and RPG titles than puzzle games. Having said that this game's evocative visuals and haunting music stand out in my memory as among the best the NES had to offer.
All I am going to say is this. This is going to be awesome video even before I start watching it. I love this game and to get more out of it than I ever did with me finishing it deserves praise and recognition to Mr. You can beat video games. Thank you for all your hard work and effort that you put into every game you release for us viewing it!
It is a true credit to icom simulations and Kemco that we are still discussing these amazing games nearly 40 years later. The music be listened to for eternity as far as I’m concerned it’s so good.
I just realized the flute song in Shadowgate is the main tune of Deja Vu 43:48
I just watched the Deja Vu video before this. You are right.
This is awesome specially that you compare both games side by side, hell of a work and superb content, loved this episode.
As always greatness! Your video game dives are the best on the internet. Your content is comprehensive, silky, and made with quality and good nature. Moreover, love the comedy!
Hey, a few fun facts. In the NES version of the game you get exactly 60 actions out of every torch in the game. However, the final action you use must be to light a new torch otherwise you will die next turn. Also, you actually can beat the game without lighting or even collecting a single torch (other than the one needed for the Wraith). Every time you die, the first torch is always reset to the point right before it begins to get smaller, which is 15 actions before it will go out. If you use the fact that the game sort of invisibly quick saves your progress every time you switch rooms, you can manipulate the game into saving right before you would normally run out of your torch, continue the game, and essentially get 15 more free moves. While it is annoying due to how much you will die doing this, it is doable and I've done it myself.
1:07:07 They misspelled "shudder" here as "shutter". I never noticed that as a kid
When you use the Sling on the Cyclops the dialogue reads "Death to the Philistine" which is a reference to Goliath, who David slayed using first a sling in the Bible.
One of my favorite games of all time. The music is legendary! Whoever did the music for Shadowgate and Uninvited belongs in the video game hall of fame!
I used to have this whole game rote on the NES as a kid. I loved seeing this again in a passive sense. I remember the music is absolute 8 bit 🔥.
I think the reason why you would die if you let the torch go out, is because there are creatures that probably only exist in pure darkness in the castle, and they easily take you out in the confusion. I've never played this game before in my life, but damn, that music for the torch going out can make you get pretty tense.
I believe the text says you stumble and fall in the darkness and crack your head open or something along those lines.
@@beavinator Something like that.
I love how you made an hour long video of a game that you can beat in 20 minutes. Great job 👍
Okay seriously HOW DID I NOT Find this channel sooner? This is hands down the most complete and helpful Retro gaming Channel on youtube, Instantly subscribed!
One of my favorite NES games. I played this game and share my progress with a friend of mine in school. We gave each other hints and tips. Eventually he beat the game before I could. I beat it after he gave some clues as to how to defeat the behemoth.
I had so many good memories playing this game. In the beginning I absolutely hated the hard time limit due to having a limited number of torches to find in the castle. The first two rooms really made you learn to think outside the box.
My grandfather had this game when I was little. Him, my brother and I beat this together. Such a good memory.
1:25 - Love the attention to detail with the Deja Vu and Uninvited cartridges in the background. :D
I've posted a lot of comments here, but I forgot one thing. You can beat the game using 0 torches. It involves letting your torch fizzle out and restarting in the previous room. You can do this through the whole game and not use a single torch.
I had wished for and mentioned this one to be completed soon and here it is! Thank you so much for bringing one my favorites to your channel!
Dave said once that they had the game design for Shadowgate 2 already done at that time. As I remember the plot of the game took place in the caves below the Shadowgate Castle
I would love to see (and play) this game built with the same graphics and interface as the Nes version. It would be like a dream coming true
.
Shadowgate was one of my favorite games when I was a kid. I played it on the GBC, then the NES version using an emulator, and I still know how to solve it from memory, but I have to admit that there were a lot of fun things that I never tried before, and that's why I watched this video in full and enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks!
I just noticed the Tombs & Treasures cart in the opening! Another of my favorites there.
I do not plan on conquering or even attempting any of these video games. I subscribed to your channel simply because I enjoy watching you play them. And I am in awe at the vast amount of knowledge that you have with each game. It's both interesting and entertaining.
This game was super creepy to me when I was a kid. I remember playing it alone at night and the music would get stuck in my head long after I went to bed. I feel like it was kind if short but I liked all the problem solving. It was crazy how simple each rooms design and layout were and how easy it was to still miss things. The big problem with this game was replay value once you finished it. After you run through it once and know where everything is and how it work there isnt much, if any, satisfaction gained from doing it again.
I adore the MacVenture games. They're some of the most unique experiences available on the NES.
The music NEVER gets old! I'm here because the new 2024 sequel Beyond Shadowgate just came out, and I was thinking of doing a playthrough of the first one again.
I will never forget that eerie music. Im so glad you did one of my favorite Nes games
58:10 How many other people had to dial back ten seconds when they were like "markings?? I thought those were bricks..." like I did...?
Fantastic work as always! Made my Saturday morning perfect!
I love these style games. Shadowgate is one of my favorite games of all time. Oh yeah, and it's my birthday this weekend.
I know what I'm doing this weekend :D
I really enjoyed this playthrough. I never got to play this one when I was a kid, though I certainly remember the box art gargoyle!
i remember getting this game as a Christmas present when it came out. i was stuck literally for years until the internet started to take off and Game FAQS became a thing and i learned about the secret compartment in the kennel. almost 7 years to beat this game.
Loved playing this game when it came out on the nes. Just noticed that the flute sounds like part of the music from deja vu! Thanks for your work as always.
I've been on the toilet watching this from beginning to end. Thanks man
Always was a huge fan of point and click adventure games. They did a good job porting this one to NES. Really good atmosphere indeed.
Shadowgate 2, also named Beyond Shadowgate, goes live on kickstarter in 18-2-23. Watch the trailer from Zojoi on youtube.
Another game I forgot I played as a kid, the music and this video once again bring it all back. I don't recall if I ever finished it.
You are truly doing gods work. What your doing for everyone will never be forgotten
This game was scary for me as a kid--especially the constant looming threat of running out of torches, which meant multiple restarts as I slowly ran out of them while trying to figure out the puzzles. It was so stressful when the music changed.
When the GBC remake came out years later, I bought it again and played through it so many times that I all but memorized it. I wound up absolutely loving this game.
I remember playing this on NES as a 9-year-old, I thought it was extremely scary :D
I don't know exactly why, but the music track in the garden seems oddly appropriate to being in the vicinity of something poisonous. LOL. It kind of reminds me of the music track in those secret rooms in StarTropics where you can often find hearts or medicines, especially in the first chapter where there's the secret passage that just leads to the water trap.
I know exactly which song from StarTropics you mean - totally agree
@@UCanBeatVideoGames both games definitely had among the best soundtracks on the system.
Thanks for this excellent guide! I have always been captivated by Shadowgate ever since I saw it featured in the first issue of Nintendo Power I ever bought. I never got a chance to play it back in the day, but have since satisfied my curiosity with more modern methods. The picture-in-picture with the Mac version in the corner is an amazing touch! I loved seeing a real-time comparison between the two. All credit due to the fantastic pixel artists who were able to convert the much higher resolution Mac graphics into something understandable on an NES screen. Thanks for the great video!
You are the hardest working man in TH-cam.
This game was amazing for its time. So exciting to see what's in the next room.
A friend and I used to speed run this game against each other when it first came out. Its pretty hazy in my mind but we both could finish it in about 15 min. Wow this vid brings back memories.
as a child i was absolutely certain the pedestal in the pedestal room was a food dehydrator. thanks for this walkthrough, i love that you included the macventure frames.