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    Prophecy 1: The Viking Child

    Game » consists of 1 releases. Released 1990

    An action-platformer game with RPG elements that is based around Viking mythology. After a mysterious tornado carries off Brian's entire village, he is encouraged by Odin to chase after it and defeat the source of the problem: Loki.

    ST-urday #005: Prophecy 1: The Viking Child

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    Mento

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    Edited By Mento  Moderator

    We're just a day away from the advent of SGDQ this year, not to mention the new season of the deliciously weird Rick and Morty, so I'm getting excited about having stuff to watch again. That isn't to say the site hasn't been killing it lately between robo-UPFs and throwing people the horns and asking them what it would mean to them, but more distractions are always welcome.

    Talking of distractions - I realize that I'm procrastinating on MGS4 despite edging ever closer to the juicy parts - we have this week's ST-urday. Rather than burn out on CRPGs, I'm going with a UK-developed action game this time around about which my impressions have shifted considerably in the twenty-odd years since I last played it due to the benefit of acquired knowledge and years of additional video gaming.

    (I didn't realize while playing it, but just like Federation Quest 1 last week this game is also the first part of a planned series that would never see a sequel, but was still so cocky as to include a "1" somewhere in its official title. Weird.)

    Prophecy 1: The Viking Child

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    Prophecy 1: The Viking Child's about as mainstream as I'm willing to go for the rest of this series. While the game was built for the Atari ST and saw the requisite Amiga and PC DOS ports, it was also released on the Game Boy, Atari Lynx and Game Gear. There are a number of games I want to cover further along that also saw console ports, usually the SNES and Genesis, but I did find it a little odd that this game came out for every prominent portable system released at the time but nothing for the home consoles. We're talking a 1990 release, so it's perhaps before the purview of the Super Nintendo (which was launched in the US in 1991 and Europe/Australia in 1992), but I might've assumed a Genesis release?

    Well, actually, there might be an issue with that. You see, Viking Child is a flagrant clone of Wonder Boy in Monster Land: the first in Westone's Wonder Boy series to start adopting light RPG mechanics like purchasing weapon upgrades and finding secret routes through stages. Sega kept a stranglehold on the console rights for Westone's Arcade series, denying Hudson the use of the name and forcing them to find creative ways to get around it for their NES/TurboGrafx-16 ports of the same series: The NES's Adventure Island, the TurboGrafx-CD's Dynastic Hero and the TurboGrafx-16's Dragon's Curse are just a handful of these workarounds. While Sega evidently weren't watching the Game Gear too closely - like Sony and the PSVita, they'd all but written it off after it was clear Nintendo were whupping their asses in that market - maybe a Wonder Boy clone wouldn't have been quite so welcome on their flagship system. Of course, that's all conjecture. It would be equally fair to surmise that most big console developers simply didn't consider games coming out of Europe at the time unless they were getting rave reviews. Viking Child's were acceptable, but not glowing.

    Nailing down who actually created this 1990 game is trickier than I thought it'd be. DMA Systems (apparently unaffiliated with DMA Design: the developers behind Lemmings that would later become Rockstar North) is credited as the developers in affiliation with UK developers Imagitec Design Ltd. It's possible the former is a subsidiary of the latter, or maybe just a guy who joined Imagitec's team to develop this one game. It was published by Wired for the Atari ST; another company I'm unable to track down because, understandably enough, Google points to a hundred different articles from Wired Magazine with every variant of "Wired game publishers". The inclusion of Imagitec meant the musical influence of the talented composer Barry Leitch, whose in-game music tracks are definitely a highlight. Here's a sampling: Intro, Title Screen, Level One: Village.

    Welcome to Prophecy 1: The Viking Child! Someone probably spent a really long time on this logo. It's certainly... pointy. (I suspect everyone was trying their hand at a Roger Dean logo after Shadow of the Beast.)
    Welcome to Prophecy 1: The Viking Child! Someone probably spent a really long time on this logo. It's certainly... pointy. (I suspect everyone was trying their hand at a Roger Dean logo after Shadow of the Beast.)
    I won't cover the whole story here - there's ten more pages - but I'll show off some highlights. Our coiffed protagonist is Brian, one of the least exciting heroes I've yet to encounter. Grey and brown, huh?
    I won't cover the whole story here - there's ten more pages - but I'll show off some highlights. Our coiffed protagonist is Brian, one of the least exciting heroes I've yet to encounter. Grey and brown, huh?
    Odin the White Wizard gives us a pep talk after our village gets wiped out by a freak hurricane and we start bawling our eyes out. A rainbow for a steed? Turns out the Norse God of Mischief sent the twister to kidnap everyone. That's not very low-key of him.
    Odin the White Wizard gives us a pep talk after our village gets wiped out by a freak hurricane and we start bawling our eyes out. A rainbow for a steed? Turns out the Norse God of Mischief sent the twister to kidnap everyone. That's not very low-key of him.
    The whole story's available on the game's wiki page. It's essentially
    The whole story's available on the game's wiki page. It's essentially "Kid is sad because tragedy, gets told he's the God's chosen warrior of prophecy, decides to take on the world with a tiny dagger and his shorts". You'd think Odin could spare a broadsword or something.
    More pointy logos. I really like this title screen though. Odin's quietly contemplating how
    More pointy logos. I really like this title screen though. Odin's quietly contemplating how "wise" it was of him to send yet another pre-teen out to his probable death.
    Oh hey, the map screen from Dragon's Breath is back. I guess this feature's going to keep feeding back into itself as we keep going, huh?
    Oh hey, the map screen from Dragon's Breath is back. I guess this feature's going to keep feeding back into itself as we keep going, huh?
    This is Viking Child. A lot of ST games would minimize computing power by filling the screen with distracting HUD nonsense, but it's not quite so bad here. I dunno if we need the little satyr sword things, but they look neat at least. (They also blink, so try not to get weirded out.) Talking of blinking... really, Brian? Right when I was taking the shot?
    This is Viking Child. A lot of ST games would minimize computing power by filling the screen with distracting HUD nonsense, but it's not quite so bad here. I dunno if we need the little satyr sword things, but they look neat at least. (They also blink, so try not to get weirded out.) Talking of blinking... really, Brian? Right when I was taking the shot?
    The dagger doesn't have much of a range to it, but it can be upgraded. Most of the time Brian is dependent on the power-ups you can see across the bottom of the screen. We'll cover those when we can access them.
    The dagger doesn't have much of a range to it, but it can be upgraded. Most of the time Brian is dependent on the power-ups you can see across the bottom of the screen. We'll cover those when we can access them.
    Brian doesn't take fall damage, but he will be stunned briefly. Time is a major factor in this game, as it was in Wonder Boy in Monster Land, and you can see the hourglass on the right. Once it empties, which is about thirty seconds, Brian loses one of his ten hearts. That's more damage than most enemies can do, so time's of the essence. Then again, so is exploration and earning money. Hard to praise Viking Child for a risk/reward balancing mechanic that it purloined from elsewhere, but it's effective motivation to maximize the efficiency of one's route.
    Brian doesn't take fall damage, but he will be stunned briefly. Time is a major factor in this game, as it was in Wonder Boy in Monster Land, and you can see the hourglass on the right. Once it empties, which is about thirty seconds, Brian loses one of his ten hearts. That's more damage than most enemies can do, so time's of the essence. Then again, so is exploration and earning money. Hard to praise Viking Child for a risk/reward balancing mechanic that it purloined from elsewhere, but it's effective motivation to maximize the efficiency of one's route.
    Another similarity with Monster Land are the frequency of shops, found as doors spread across the landscape. These things are essential points in the game due to how necessary it is to... did he blink again? Unbelievable.
    Another similarity with Monster Land are the frequency of shops, found as doors spread across the landscape. These things are essential points in the game due to how necessary it is to... did he blink again? Unbelievable.
    Stores are the only place to get consumable power-ups, hearts and, eventually, weapon upgrades. The upgrades tend to be better hidden though. I've yet to find any money so I'm going to leave Merlin and his little goblin assistant be.
    Stores are the only place to get consumable power-ups, hearts and, eventually, weapon upgrades. The upgrades tend to be better hidden though. I've yet to find any money so I'm going to leave Merlin and his little goblin assistant be.
    Money randomly drops from enemies in two forms: the coins on their side like the above are worth twenty, while the other kind is worth fifteen. You can also find diamonds and jewels, which simply boost your score and are therefore useless. These drops can also be found in the environment in secret places by jumping around a lot, though it's hardly a good use of your time to leap around hoping for riches to fall from nowhere.
    Money randomly drops from enemies in two forms: the coins on their side like the above are worth twenty, while the other kind is worth fifteen. You can also find diamonds and jewels, which simply boost your score and are therefore useless. These drops can also be found in the environment in secret places by jumping around a lot, though it's hardly a good use of your time to leap around hoping for riches to fall from nowhere.
    While stunned, you can't be hurt by enemies, but you will be hurt the moment you stand back up. Best bet is to simply stick to one side and hope they leave you alone until you can recover. I think I've eluded this moody Goomba thing.
    While stunned, you can't be hurt by enemies, but you will be hurt the moment you stand back up. Best bet is to simply stick to one side and hope they leave you alone until you can recover. I think I've eluded this moody Goomba thing.
    It's paramount to restock your health whenever possible. Hearts only cost ten each, so even if you're a little short, it's worth sticking around and grinding for the rest. Wouldn't hurt to fill up on these consumable items either: Bombs are thrown straight up which makes them useless for everything except annoying flying enemies, but this is balanced by them being the cheapest to stock up on; Bolas fly horizontally in the direction you're looking, like Castlevania daggers; Fire Sprites can home in on enemies, making them great against everything. Items need to be selected with the space bar (like many action games for the ST the player only has one
    It's paramount to restock your health whenever possible. Hearts only cost ten each, so even if you're a little short, it's worth sticking around and grinding for the rest. Wouldn't hurt to fill up on these consumable items either: Bombs are thrown straight up which makes them useless for everything except annoying flying enemies, but this is balanced by them being the cheapest to stock up on; Bolas fly horizontally in the direction you're looking, like Castlevania daggers; Fire Sprites can home in on enemies, making them great against everything. Items need to be selected with the space bar (like many action games for the ST the player only has one "fire" button, but they will make liberal use of the keyboard) and used by pressing down.
    There's some neat touches to the game. For instance, this flytrap enemy spits grey blobs from you at a fair distance, making them tough to pass. However, the first one we met didn't expectorate a thing. The game eased us in gently.
    There's some neat touches to the game. For instance, this flytrap enemy spits grey blobs from you at a fair distance, making them tough to pass. However, the first one we met didn't expectorate a thing. The game eased us in gently.
    These mushrooms are my favorite. All they do is hop and give us the shifty eyes. What do they know that we don't?
    These mushrooms are my favorite. All they do is hop and give us the shifty eyes. What do they know that we don't?
    It'd be easy to walk right past the well, but it actually leads to a part of the level that is unfortunately necessary. Still, the game has imparted the importance of jumping regularly to find secret stuff. Wouldn't take much to accidentally fall in even if you didn't plan on going down there.
    It'd be easy to walk right past the well, but it actually leads to a part of the level that is unfortunately necessary. Still, the game has imparted the importance of jumping regularly to find secret stuff. Wouldn't take much to accidentally fall in even if you didn't plan on going down there.
    I remember there being a long well in Fantasy World Dizzy too. Maybe everyone just has a phobia about falling down wells. I blame Timmy.
    I remember there being a long well in Fantasy World Dizzy too. Maybe everyone just has a phobia about falling down wells. I blame Timmy.
    This Puyo Puyo has finally snapped. The village well and sewage system has more elaborate architecture than the village itself. Someone was serious about pooping.
    This Puyo Puyo has finally snapped. The village well and sewage system has more elaborate architecture than the village itself. Someone was serious about pooping.
    It's been a while since I found a shop. You might notice that I no longer have the little version of Brian in the item bar: this is actually a voodoo doll that dies instead of you when you run out of health. It's an exceptionally valuable (and rare) item that the game is kind enough to give you from the offset.
    It's been a while since I found a shop. You might notice that I no longer have the little version of Brian in the item bar: this is actually a voodoo doll that dies instead of you when you run out of health. It's an exceptionally valuable (and rare) item that the game is kind enough to give you from the offset.
    That wasn't a shop. More Monster Land similarities: bosses are found behind the same innocuous doors that shopkeepers are hiding behind. I don't know if this is a baby dragon or a mutated rat or what, but its reach is a lot further than it seems. Fortunately, all it does is jump around a bit. Easy enough to avoid, and it helps to have some ranged power-ups so you aren't getting clobbered by being too close when it leaps.
    That wasn't a shop. More Monster Land similarities: bosses are found behind the same innocuous doors that shopkeepers are hiding behind. I don't know if this is a baby dragon or a mutated rat or what, but its reach is a lot further than it seems. Fortunately, all it does is jump around a bit. Easy enough to avoid, and it helps to have some ranged power-ups so you aren't getting clobbered by being too close when it leaps.
    Bosses drop all sorts of useful items, but will also drop a key that allows you to leave the level. Once you get the key, you're automatically moved on, so it's actually best to avoid it until you've grabbed everything else.
    Bosses drop all sorts of useful items, but will also drop a key that allows you to leave the level. Once you get the key, you're automatically moved on, so it's actually best to avoid it until you've grabbed everything else.
    I can't believe it's taken this long to mention it, but the game plays pretty well. A lot of Atari ST
    I can't believe it's taken this long to mention it, but the game plays pretty well. A lot of Atari ST "action" games feel kind of stiff due to the Atari 2600 joystick, but the game has a decent sense of what is and isn't a platform and the game has plenty of air control. It's not Mario, but it's smooth enough.
    The last two power-ups is a stun that damages the whole screen, and a potion that does the same thing but all but kills everything. However, they cost more and give you less items per purchase, so I find the fire sprites give the best balance between damage and cost. Of course... there's something to be said for putting some money aside for an extra Brian doll or possible sword upgrade should be lucky to find one.
    The last two power-ups is a stun that damages the whole screen, and a potion that does the same thing but all but kills everything. However, they cost more and give you less items per purchase, so I find the fire sprites give the best balance between damage and cost. Of course... there's something to be said for putting some money aside for an extra Brian doll or possible sword upgrade should be lucky to find one.
    The door at the end of the village moves onto the next stage. Little reason to stick around, as your health is constantly trickling away, so off we go to the castle. I notice Loki left this one standing.
    The door at the end of the village moves onto the next stage. Little reason to stick around, as your health is constantly trickling away, so off we go to the castle. I notice Loki left this one standing.
    Our first human opponent. Maybe Loki owns the whole castle then. Enemies in this game, despite a range of appearances, tend to fall into the same movement patterns. Often that pattern is simply walking left to right, but some also jump around a bit to confuse you.
    Our first human opponent. Maybe Loki owns the whole castle then. Enemies in this game, despite a range of appearances, tend to fall into the same movement patterns. Often that pattern is simply walking left to right, but some also jump around a bit to confuse you.
    This guy just looks incredibly pissed off. Hey, buddy, today hasn't been great for me either.
    This guy just looks incredibly pissed off. Hey, buddy, today hasn't been great for me either.
    Here we are. The Brian dolls are outrageously expensive, but you really can't afford to be without one for long. Ideally, you want to be restocking your health before it drops to zero and necessitates the use of the doll, but that's not always easy to do especially with bosses around.
    Here we are. The Brian dolls are outrageously expensive, but you really can't afford to be without one for long. Ideally, you want to be restocking your health before it drops to zero and necessitates the use of the doll, but that's not always easy to do especially with bosses around.
    The castle stage has a lot of these hidden floors. It's actually quite linear for as circuitous a route as you end up taking, but there's a few secrets I'm sure I've missed by falling into these invisible pitfalls.
    The castle stage has a lot of these hidden floors. It's actually quite linear for as circuitous a route as you end up taking, but there's a few secrets I'm sure I've missed by falling into these invisible pitfalls.
    This stage is absolutely lousy with shops too. It makes it far easier to pass through than the village, even. You can't go fifty paces without another shop with which to refill your hearts.
    This stage is absolutely lousy with shops too. It makes it far easier to pass through than the village, even. You can't go fifty paces without another shop with which to refill your hearts.
    The heart stack is an interesting item. It completely fills your health gauge, but unless you have less than five hearts left it's actually a rip-off compared to buying the hearts individually. Occasionally, shops will only stock heart stacks instead of singles.
    The heart stack is an interesting item. It completely fills your health gauge, but unless you have less than five hearts left it's actually a rip-off compared to buying the hearts individually. Occasionally, shops will only stock heart stacks instead of singles.
    The game toys with you with these horizontal floating platforms. Half of them allow you to be carried across without needing to touch the joystick, while the other half require that you walk along with them as they're moving. It's a little odd that they didn't standardize that, but then there is a line in the manual about how the platforms are meant to trick you occasionally.
    The game toys with you with these horizontal floating platforms. Half of them allow you to be carried across without needing to touch the joystick, while the other half require that you walk along with them as they're moving. It's a little odd that they didn't standardize that, but then there is a line in the manual about how the platforms are meant to trick you occasionally.
    So many damn shops in this castle. Did the Vikings have malls back then?
    So many damn shops in this castle. Did the Vikings have malls back then?
    We finally have access to stun powder, but I'm not inclined to buy too much of it. You only get two charges per purchase.
    We finally have access to stun powder, but I'm not inclined to buy too much of it. You only get two charges per purchase.
    There's the other three powers above, which I've yet to mention. These give you a temporary burst of one of three beneficial states: the ability to glide over wide gaps, the ability to cloak (actually makes you invincible rather than invisible) and the ability to run really fast which can come in useful if you want to get to the next boss quickly. Unfortunately, they become active as soon as you leave the shop rather than being player-activated.
    There's the other three powers above, which I've yet to mention. These give you a temporary burst of one of three beneficial states: the ability to glide over wide gaps, the ability to cloak (actually makes you invincible rather than invisible) and the ability to run really fast which can come in useful if you want to get to the next boss quickly. Unfortunately, they become active as soon as you leave the shop rather than being player-activated.
    The potion is the most expensive and the most powerful power-up in the game. It kills any enemy on the screen in one shot. It'll even do a considerable amount of damage to bosses. Trouble is, it costs 60 gold for just a single use. Maybe if I was swimming in dough...
    The potion is the most expensive and the most powerful power-up in the game. It kills any enemy on the screen in one shot. It'll even do a considerable amount of damage to bosses. Trouble is, it costs 60 gold for just a single use. Maybe if I was swimming in dough...
    That... wasn't a shop door either. In my defense, it looked like every other door this time, not quite as ornate as the last boss door was. There's little strategy to this guy, but he's also incredibly tough to avoid since he runs the entire width of the screen. He does jump occasionally, but you really need to be quick to get underneath him.
    That... wasn't a shop door either. In my defense, it looked like every other door this time, not quite as ornate as the last boss door was. There's little strategy to this guy, but he's also incredibly tough to avoid since he runs the entire width of the screen. He does jump occasionally, but you really need to be quick to get underneath him.
    Fortunately, I had a whole bunch of items, so I was able to just barely survive by spamming them all. I doubt I'll have that doll for much longer.
    Fortunately, I had a whole bunch of items, so I was able to just barely survive by spamming them all. I doubt I'll have that doll for much longer.
    I think we'd better call it here. The game continues on in this manner for a while yet, including a stage where a viking passes through a pyramid. No thematic consistency, I tells ya.
    I think we'd better call it here. The game continues on in this manner for a while yet, including a stage where a viking passes through a pyramid. No thematic consistency, I tells ya.
    I'll leave you all with this metal as hell high score name-input screen. I'm sure the Saga of Butt will live on in Nordic lore forever.
    I'll leave you all with this metal as hell high score name-input screen. I'm sure the Saga of Butt will live on in Nordic lore forever.

    I actually still like this game, for as much as I realize how transparent a clone it is in retrospect. Keep in mind that I didn't have internet back in those days and thus very little knowledge of the Wonder Boy franchise, so I really appreciated how "uniquely" it managed to combine aspects of my beloved (if not necessarily great on average) ST action games and the complex RPGs that belonged to my parents that I could only follow half the time. Music's a bit more bloopy-bleepy than I recall but still has a lot of craft behind it, and it certainly doesn't look bad for a game made in 1990. I say that a lot, but then I've considered a side-by-side comparison with the games that were released on NES and Genesis around the same time frame. I bet the ST would acquit itself nicely.

    I guess the most exciting thing to take from this, at least personally, is that there might've been a whole bunch of games I thought were novel but were actually based on Japanese games that the developers hoped were too obscure for the general gaming population to know about. The classic example would be Super Mario Bros. and The Great Giana Sisters, and the various Capcom ports of variable quality we'd receive on the Atari ST, but I'm hoping to dig up more elusive cases like "Wonder Brian the Viking Boy" here in the weeks to come.

    (Back to the ST-urday ST-orehouse.)

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