Are Phantasmagoria 1+2 worth going back to?

[Leeroy ST]

Phantasmagoria is a series that has a polarizing reception. But the first was Sierras most successful game, the first to reach over a million sold. While the sequel seems to also have been successful.

 

But are they among those important PC games you have to play? Are they quality software, or are they just poorly aged shovelware at this point?

[CapitanClassic]

Phantasmagoria was a big departure in UI from the original KQ series. It wasnt until KQ7, the Princeless Bride that Sierra adopted the highlight only the things you could interact with. This took away from some of the surprising humorous responses that were in the originals. I pretty much stopped playing P&C Adventure games when that happened. All the other studios seemed to copy the same interface.

 

Phantasmagoria 1 felt to me like Myst. A lot of boring walking around a house with an occasional puzzle thrown in. I dont remember there being memorable death sequences,  and the only notable things of memory were the 7 CDs, the cost of production, and the rape scene (not notable for graphic violence, since movies include that, but OMG it's in a video game, quick call on Joe Lieberman/Hillary Clinton who will mischaracterize the gameplay and say the object of the game is to rape the character).

[Tempest]

Funny you should mention Phantasmagoria, the Digital Antiquarian has just posted a nice write up about the first one that's worth reading.

 

https://www.filfre.net/2021/08/making-sierra-pay/

 

I never cared for either as the subject matter isn't something I'm interested in and FMV adventure games have and always will suck (sorry 7th Guest!).  I hear the second one is better than the first, but that may simply be because it focuses on 'deviant' behavior (for the time anyway) which was somewhat of a novelty.  It's still not a good game though.

[ChildOfCv]

Never knew there was a sequel.

 

I played the first.  Due to the motion video format that didn't accept MPEG due to its lack of quality, the video was quite choppy until I upgraded my CD-ROM.  This was also apparently the reason it took 7 CDs when it probably could have fit on one or 2.  Either way, I guess these days that isn't a problem anymore.

 

As for the game itself, I played it through and then never looked at it again.  It was basically an interactive slasher flick.  The plot is your basic "main character goes crazy after moving into a house" thing that's been done better (The Shining, ie).  There are no choices other than the correct one, so there is only one grim ending.

 

"Important"?  A game is important if you find it entertaining.  Period.

[Leeroy ST]

8 hours ago, CapitanClassic said:

Phantasmagoria 1 felt to me like Myst. A lot of boring walking around a house with an occasional puzzle thrown in. I dont remember there being memorable death sequences,  and the only notable things of memory were the 7 CDs, the cost of production, and the rape scene (not notable for graphic violence, since movies include that, but OMG it's in a video game, quick call on Joe Lieberman/Hillary Clinton who will mischaracterize the gameplay and say the object of the game is to rape the character).

Phantasmagoria is mixed on the house being nearly all the game through nonsensical elements, outside the one town they attempt to make seem big by dividing it.

 

But Phantasmagoria 2 despite having more "locations" and people to interact with, it's actually a smaller more restrictive game.

 

It's also strangely paced due to them doing the scenes out of order and deciding to abruptly switch the theme to "aliens," by the end of the game but having the creature themselves not actually be "aliens" with a plot twist so baffling and ridiculous, if you were giving the game some credit before, you'd throw that credit right out a window.

 

Also that last 30 minutes have the worst puzzles I've seen in Adventure games in terms of irritation and breaking the pace. In "alternate dimension world" there are two fail states you won't see coming until you lose, 1 death state you won't expect because you use a mechanic the game had you use almost through it's entirety, 2 new mechanics the game never tells you unless you are lucky or have a guide, and a final puzzle that forces you to forget and have the opposite mindset you've been using the entire game to solve it.

 

As much as Phantasmagoria 1 gets criticised, it's a much, much better game than 2 in nearly every way except acting and soundtrack. And the acting in 2 is baaadd.

 

8 hours ago, Tempest said:

I never cared for either as the subject matter isn't something I'm interested in and FMV adventure games have and always will suck (sorry 7th Guest!).  

Now a lot of people who dislike these games, and even adventure games in general, seem to like Under a Killing Moon. Many consider it one of the best, or the best Adventure game of all time, or game in general.

 

Now I personally wouldn't go that far, and think the game is good, but only for a single playthrough, but maybe that's a game you could try since it seems to get praise by people who aren't fans of other such games. The FMV Tex Murphy games have a very strong base. The series was even revived with a new sequel in 2014 if not mistaken. But Under a Killing Moon is the one placed on a pedestal by fans. Also in aggregate one of the top highest rated P&C games on PC by critics.

 

With that said I have no idea why Myst and 7th Guest were so popular for as long as they were. Still selling when even significantly better options were available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Razzie.P]

Yeah, I think they’re worth a play through.  They won’t blow you away by any means, but if you can get them on the really, really cheap (or free), I’d say they’re interesting enough to experience at least once.  Especially since, with the internet, you can blow past any puzzles that you’re not loving.

 

I played them in real time, bought both at launch, loved the first and thought the second was ok.

 

I worked as a security guard for a mining company when I played the first, and played it in a guard shack, miles away from anything at an old abandoned strip mining site, so playing that at night/in the wee hours of the morning really added to the atmosphere.   Not a particularly scary game, but when you walk past a room that you KNOW is empty, and hear a baby crying, while playing in that setting… I closed the laptop.  ?
 

[Razzie.P]

On 8/17/2021 at 10:33 AM, Tempest said:

I never cared for either as the subject matter isn't something I'm interested in and FMV adventure games have and always will suck (sorry 7th Guest!).  I hear the second one is better than the first, but that may simply be because it focuses on 'deviant' behavior (for the time anyway) which was somewhat of a novelty.  It's still not a good game though.

I didn't care for 7th Guest either.  11th Hour, though, I thought was fantastic!

 

3 games that really hold a special place for me regarding FMV was the second Gabriel Knight game (Beast Within),  Spycraft: The Great Game, and Dracula Unleashed on Sega CD

[3DFXgamer]

I remember when phantasamagoria came out. I was blown away by the graphics and was really excited to try it out, but my mom's old Tandy 1000 just didn't have the capabilities to run it. I eventually did get the chance to play it, but that was 2 years ago after buying the game at a salvation Army thrift store. I find the game to be enjoyable to play. It's pretty corny and the acting is terrible which makes it funny. As far as FMVs go, I think this is one of the better ones especially compared to those that were made for the Sega CD like sewer shark or corpse killer. Would I play this game through for a second time? Probably not. It's a fun game to play and poke fun of, but it just doesn't compare to more modern games. Half life 2, now that's a game I keep going back to.

[MarkoCG77]

Both are definitely worth a play through, the second game Puzzle of the flesh has better puzzles, but I liked the storyline of the first.  The first did not age well, but for it’s time it was ambitious, decent storyline and acting it was nice to see Sierra/Roberta Williams take a chance.  I also liked Gabriel Knight Series, with the first and 2nd as my favorite when it comes to more mature Adventure games for the time period.

[Zap!]

FMV gets a bad wrap, but it brings much more personality and likability to a character than CGI can ever dream of. This is not to say that there was never FMV garbage, because of course there was. However, Phantasmagoria was amazing. While I did think that Chapter 7 (and more specifically, the ending) was rather weak and lackluster, the final chapter/season never really lives up to the rest in any media. Just look at Game Of Thrones (and Dexter, so I'm told). ?