Review | Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore - Time Heals All Wounds
The story of Arzette starts 31 years ago, a wonderfully experimental time for video games before the widespread adoption of 3D graphics. One of the most exciting advancements was the mass adoption of CD-ROMs, a newly affordable format with powerful video and audio capabilities that made games feel more cinematic.
CDs introduced players to voice acting and cutscenes in video games, and they would be instrumental to the success of 3D gaming just a few years later. Of course, this is a monumental achievement for the medium, but it wasn’t without its growing pains. A ton of industry-leading names rushed to capitalize on the exciting technology and failed in a similarly spectacular way to Meta in the modern age.
This was a particularly strange time for Nintendo. The company was keenly aware of PlayStation’s release the following year after business dealings with Sony surrounding a Super Nintendo CD add-on had fallen through. And, embarrassingly, the impressive technology caused the company to shift their R&D budget from a virtual reality headset to a 64-bit console.
To make matters worse, before cancelling the CD add-on altogether, Nintendo signed an outlandish contract with Philips after Nintendo’s Play-Station™ had been publicly revealed. When the Nintendo add-on never materialised Philips released its own short-sighted CD console in 1993, and as part of the cancellation deal with Nintendo, Philips gained access to one of Nintendo’s biggest IP for a handful of games that were shopped out to developer Animation Magic. These titles were made with a strict budget and deadline resulting in their poor quality.
So where does Arzette play into all of this… Well, surprisingly, Arzette is, for all intents and purposes, a sequel to the Legend of Zelda games released on Philips’ CD-i console. Arzette is made by a team consisting of original Animation Magic staff, all helmed by Digital Foundry’s Audi Sorlie, who specializes in retro software analysis. And each time the game is booted up, players are introduced to a modified recap of the original titles.
It's obvious from the outset that Arzette is made with an unnerving amount of love for the CD-i flops. Arzette echoes its dated counterparts by prioritizing ‘state of the art’ audio and graphics and it shows, the sprite art is luxuriously over-animated with a joyous lack of consideration for perspective and logical all while bursting with character. Painterly backgrounds border on beautiful despite the forced limitations of the source material and the soundtrack is even sublime by modern standards. Arzette manages to pull all of these technical feats off keeping the charmingly scrappy presentation of the original titles intact.
Most studios would simply overlay these carefully crafted elements in a satisfyingly competent package, but Seedy Eye (get it?) chose to make things slightly off-kilter, this is especially noticeable in the disposition between the back and foreground elements as they don't share the same art style. This decision could be jarring for players unfamiliar with original games as platforms are sometimes hard to discern. This paired with the uncanny antics of cell-animated characters could be off-putting to some, but these deliberate flaws are designed to delight a niche audience that want to relive a forgotten gaming oddity.
Speaking of which, the iconic rotoscoped animatics of Link and Zelda’s CD-i outings are also present in Arzette. Every NPC has multiple animated sequences that present quests through silly dialogue exchanges that are expressive to a fault. The artistic liberty given to perspectives and outlines are fascinatingly flawed in a charmingly energetic manner reminiscent of Animation Magic’s signature which feels notably endearing in 2024.
Like every other detail thus far, these scenes have been crafted with an impressive amount of sincerity and technical prowess. These uniquely detailed scenes include voice acting talent from a cast of seasoned veterans and content creators that bring the wonderfully bizarre inhabitants of Faramore to life. Lines often made me laugh out loud as satirical jabs at famous franchises and stereotypical stand-ins are scripted with silly sentence structures that stand out in a strangely endearing manner.
At this point, it naturally makes sense that Arzette emulates the awkward platforming of its predecessors, but you might be surprised to hear that Seedy Eye overhauled almost every playable component to achieve this feat. In comparison to the original titles, movement feels far more fluid, enemies are placed in fair positions with tight hitboxes and a modern control scheme is used to alleviate unneeded frustration.
Returning players will be happy to know that most of the series’ iconic staples have been left in-tact, NPCs and rupbees use interactive stab technology, keys are located in strangely barren areas, and of course, limited bombs and lamp oil are once again necessary to complete levels. One thing I was initially caught off by was the old-school Metroidvania format taken from the earlier titles as it required me to replay stages in a convoluted order. Luckily this initial hiccup was resolved once I found my first key item as quest markers appeared over relevant stages.
It's hard to know where to fault such an impressively accurate emulation. I could point out some personal gripes pertaining to painfully easy boss fights and an overabundance of items, but these two features feel deliberate. I can't think of an idea that hasn't been used to either preserve the original play experience or modernize outdated mechanics. By and large, these quality-of-life improvements make CD-i gaming palatable to a modern audience, giving players the chance to experience an interesting era of gaming without any of the frustration.
It's easy to forget that almost every game is made by a talented team trying their hardest to overcome obstacles in the pursuit of art. Critical and commercial flops are often seen as failures by publishers who would rather shun or even delist creative endeavours to save face, making it exceedingly hard for “bad” games to get the recognition they deserve as someone’s hard work and passion brought to life. Luckily, the cultural impact of the CD-i adventures has thrived thanks to a community of curious fans that continues to share the strange charm of these Nintendo offshoots.
The legacy of these unique titles lives on with Arzette, a project that highlights the importance of preserving flawed media by translating the ambitious ideas of Animation Magic into a phenomenally funny, heart-filled adventure that will undoubtedly connect with a new audience.
