There’s a game inspired by an infamous set of CD-i adventure games that Zelda fans are all too familiar with in the year 2023? Yes, and we got to play the demo while at PAX West earlier this month.
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is a new, interactive animated adventure game developed by Seedy Eye Software and published and funded by Limited Run Games. You’ll play as Princess Arzette, who’s on a quest to defeat the evil villain, Daimur, and save the Kingdom of Faramore.
Fans will recognize the familiar style of the fully voiced and animated cutscenes. Accompanying them are detailed, hand-painted backgrounds, including work from returning artist, Rob Dunlavey. Other returning talent includes voice actors, Jeffrey Rath and Bonniejean Wilbur, and Zelda Universe fans may recognize the voice of Brandon Acosta who has been in some of our dub projects on the ZU YouTube channel!
While playing the demo we found ourselves enjoying the combat and exploring to see what secrets there were (we found a few!), but what stood out the most was the writing and dialogue. The dialogue during cutscenes had both of us laughing out loud, and even Princess Arzette couldn’t take her foe seriously at one point. Is it a tad cheesy? Yes, but it’s delivered in a way that makes you want to laugh along, not roll your eyes.
We see a lot of games that pay homage to retro titles – especially from the SNES and Game Boy eras – but nothing quite so unique as the CD-i. Once our time with the demo wrapped up we asked the creator, Seth Fulkerson, how he decided on this direction for Arzette. “I’ve always had a soft spot for sort of like, ‘bad’ games, and games that were received kind of poorly, so I really wanted to latch on to that game and explore the good qualities of it.”
Being the unironic appreciators we are of the original CD-i games and what they were trying to accomplish with the technology of the early 90s, we think Seth did just that. He’s taken inspiration from games that had potential in some areas, and approached those qualities with a modern lens, and thankfully a modern controller. If you’ve ever played with a CD-i controller, you know what I mean.
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore was a pleasant surprise when it was announced, and something a little out of the ordinary for Zelda fans to look forward to. At the moment, the team is aiming for a 2023 release according to the Arzette website, but a date has not been set yet. Physical copies are also expected to be released, most likely through the publisher Limited Run’s site. We’ll make sure to share updates as more information is released.
