Halfway through the ‘90s the gaming industry shifted from 2D to 3D. The Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 were leading that change. With games like Super Mario 64 and Tomb Raider becoming critical and financial successes, many studios believed their franchises also needed to move into 3D. As you might guess, it didn’t always turn out as planned.
Simon the Sorcerer was one of those series that stumbled. Simon the Sorcerer 3D is widely known as an example of a poor transition into 3D. Critics panned it and even the original creator even admitted the series should never have gone down that path.
I remember wanting this game when I was younger. Every day after school I went to my local game shop hoping to find a copy. It never happened. The game has always been on my mind since then, but I never got to play it until now. Is it really as bad as people said? In some ways, yes. But not everything is a disaster. Let me explain.
Story and Setup
Simon 3D picks up right after the events of the second game. Spoiler alert: at the end of Simon the Sorcerer II Simon’s soul was switched with Sordid’s. In this installment, Sordid abandons Simon’s body and creates a new one for himself. Calypso and the other sorcerers recover Simon’s body and attempt a summoning ritual to reunite his soul with it. Meanwhile, Sordid once again plots to control the universe. Naturally, only our foul-mouthed hero can stop him.
Controls and gameplay
For this installment the classic mouse-driven interface was replaced by keyboard controls. Simon is moved with the arrow keys and his head points at hotspots that can be interacted with. The game includes several mini-games that shift the controls to fit the situation. These changes are explained by a fairy godmother who guides Simon through the adventure.
Most of the time the controls feel decent. Problems arise when the game switches to fixed camera angles. In those moments movement becomes clunky. Still, it was something I could live with.
Graphics and Presentation
The graphics are another matter. Simon the Sorcerer 3D was released in 2002 after nearly six years of troubled development. The project switched from 2D to 3D, the publisher Hasbro dropped it, and a two-year gap followed before release. It’s no wonder the visuals were criticized.
Keeping all this in mind, I don’t think the graphics are entirely unforgivable, but they’re still full of misfires. The open-world structure feels empty, with large fields containing almost no scenery. Textures flicker in the distance and show inconsistent detail. Character models suffer the same problem: some look sharp, others appear washed out. These issues are common throughout the game and made me wish the series had stayed with the 2D style it was meant to have.
Puzzles and Design
Graphics weren’t the only weak spot. The puzzles are clever and fun overall, but some are unclear about what needs to be done. One example: putting a cat in a billiards table to release some balls. That’s not something most players would ever think of. Hotspots can also be hard to see, making them easy to miss.
At those moments I had to rely on a walkthrough to get back on track. The mini-games are mixed. Most are fine, but a couple suffer from frustrating controls.
Voices and Characters
The voice acting, however, is excellent. Simon is once again voiced by Brian Bowles, who delivers a strong performance. The supporting cast also does well, giving each character a distinct personality. Many familiar faces from the first two games return and are a pleasure to see again. The new characters are also fun: from Prince Charming and a grumpy princess to a Conan-like barbarian. They all fit perfectly into Simon’s magical world.
The humor holds up too. The puns and jokes land often enough, and I found myself laughing more than once.
To sum it all up, Simon the Sorcerer 3D is not a terrible game at heart, and I don’t think it deserves all the hate it gets. The graphics are bad and the controls can be clunky, but the story, characters, and humor keep it from being a complete failure.
Simon the Sorcerer 3D is not a bad game at heart, and I don’t think it deserves all the hate it gets. The graphics are rough and the controls clunky at times, but the story and puzzles make up for it. It’s worth trying, just don’t expect to be playing a true classic.
Pros
- story
- voice acting
cons
- Graphics
- controls are clunky
- puzzles are frustrating at times
