Overview
The Crimson Crown is the sequel to Transylvania, a graphical text adventure for various home computers. This sequel uses the same text parser, but is unique among graphical text adventures of the era, in that companions interact with, and accompany the player.
Gameplay
As in Transylvania, the player interacts with the world through a text interface, using verb-object commands (e.g. "open door") and directional commands (e.g. "North" or simply "N"). Unlike the previous game, The Crimson Crown was written using Polarware's new 'Comprehend' parsing engine --- a new Infocom-style full sentence parser. This allows more complex phrasing, and a more immersive experience.
Unlike the more common text adventures of the era, the current area is rendered, giving the player a sense of presence.
The Crimson Crown begins shortly after the events in Transylvania. After rescuing princess Sabrina, the King is found dead, his crown stolen by the Vampire Drakul (a nod to 'Dracula'). The player embarks with Princess Sabrina and Crown Prince Erik to retake the crown, and destroy Drakul. The player must overcome puzzles, a witch, and trolls, and seek help from a Gryphon along the way. Certain locations from the first game are re-used.
Legacy
Although less popular than Transylvania, the series would go on to a third and final chapter five years later.
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