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I just started my playthrough of EcoQuest 2 Lost Secret of the Rainforest. I'm not sure why they dropped "EcoQuest" from the title completely. I understand that sometimes a franchise doesn't want to remind people how many sequels exist so it doesn't scare of potentially new people (Star Trek, Assassin's Creed, etc.), but it's only the second. And calling is EcoQuest: Lost Secret of the Rainforest without a number would work just fine and would let people who enjoyed the first one that this is, in fact, a sequel.

I'm making decent progress. Still pretty easy like the first one.

One thing I noticed was that they used the term "sustainable". I didn't think that term was in use in the '90s.

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 11:40 pm I just started my playthrough of EcoQuest 2 Lost Secret of the Rainforest. I'm not sure why they dropped "EcoQuest" from the title completely. I understand that sometimes a franchise doesn't want to remind people how many sequels exist so it doesn't scare of potentially new people (Star Trek, Assassin's Creed, etc.), but it's only the second. And calling is EcoQuest: Lost Secret of the Rainforest without a number would work just fine and would let people who enjoyed the first one that this is, in fact, a sequel.

I'm making decent progress. Still pretty easy like the first one.

One thing I noticed was that they used the term "sustainable". I didn't think that term was in use in the '90s.

It was. It just wasn't very sustainable in every day conversation.............................................

I'm actually a little bit stuck which is kind of a welcome change from the first game. No hints just yet. I am in the village and I think I need to catch a blue butterfly but I'm not sure how I am supposed to do it. I think I helped all of the other villagers and there are only 4 screens to look for things. Anyway, still working on it.

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 11:45 pm I'm actually a little bit stuck which is kind of a welcome change from the first game. No hints just yet. I am in the village and I think I need to catch a blue butterfly but I'm not sure how I am supposed to do it. I think I helped all of the other villagers and there are only 4 screens to look for things. Anyway, still working on it.

It's been WAY TOO LONG since I played, so I am not sure I could even OFFER a clue from memory. lol

I think I played both EcoQuest games when they came out... and maybe once or twice after. Eons - and I mean EONS ago.

I was probably still living in TN for those 2 years of hell, so well over 20 years.

Figured it out. One of those things where you think you know what you have to do, but aren't sure how. I had to make an ointment to treat a bee sting.

Moving forward.

A few other observations:

There's a rain storm at one point, but the sound effect sounds more like people clapping than rain falling.

When the village gets burned down, it seems like more could be done to show what was happening. All we see is one image and a bunch of text boxes. It lacks the impact it should have. I know there are limitations of what can be done with the technology at the time, but then I think about how well done the climax to Gabriel Knight was done.

The villain's electronic notebook has phone numbers for every evil world leader when the game came out (Hussein, Qadaffi, etc.) and the birthdays for every historical evil world leader. I'm actually fine that the cartoonish evil villain is that cartoonishly evil. Might as well go all in.

Hmm, I haven't played either of the EcoQuest games. What do you mean by "cartoonishly evil", NBS? Do you mean, he does things like twirl his moustache and mwa-ha-ha a lot?

I'm also surprised the villain's notebook would have phone numbers for evil world leaders. I assume it doesn't have the phone numbers for the ones who are dead (e.g. Hitler, Stalin etc.) -- does it? That would be seriously weird.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 9:03 pm Hmm, I haven't played either of the EcoQuest games. What do you mean by "cartoonishly evil", NBS? Do you mean, he does things like twirl his moustache and mwa-ha-ha a lot?

I'm also surprised the villain's notebook would have phone numbers for evil world leaders. I assume it doesn't have the phone numbers for the ones who are dead (e.g. Hitler, Stalin etc.) -- does it? That would be seriously weird.

I'm not done with the game yet, but so far the villain, who has the not-at-all villainous name of "Slaughter", is pretty much a one-note character. No mustache twirling but he's only interested in money, cares nothing for the environment, has animal trophies is his room including a jaguar rug and gorilla hand ash tray (which people buy so maybe not so cartoonish).

With the exception of Genghis Khan, all of the people in his address book were alive at the time of the game's release. He does, however, have the birthday's for Stalin and Hitler.

Mr. Slaughter? *raises eyebrow* Are you sure this villain isn't named Mr. S. Laughter? That would put an entirely new spin on it. Then he could be a clown who doesn't care about the environment, kills animals, is only interested in money ...

Wait a minute. Creepy killer clown. Where have I seen that before ...

And just finished. Final score was 916 out of 1000. Overall, I think it was pretty good. Nothing spectacular but a perfectly fine adventure game. It was a little more challenging than the first one, so I think I enjoyed this one a little more. Again, it's intended for kids with talking animals and and evil villain who is very one-dimensional.

One thing that was kind of refreshing with both games is that there is no way (that I could find) to die. More often than not, death in adventure games are not needed or put there so you can see a humorous end to Our Hero. If it's not needed why put it there? You are warned against doing things that are stupid. At one point in the game you have to escape the villains. If you are caught, they just tie you up again and you can try again. Perfectly fine for the games intended audience.

One puzzle I thought was a little bit odd was one involving the villains electronic notebook. You have to find a password to open a file. The file contains the combination to a safe. To me this seems a little redundant. Find a password to find a combination to open a safe. One of those steps could be eliminated. The notebook has no other purpose. But I guess this is a minor quibble.

I had not heard of morpho butterflies before. They are pretty cool. See! Educational! Actually, the game has a mini computer that you can use to scan things (plants, animals, environmental threats) which is kind of nice. It may be due to size limitations of the game, but it would have been nice to get more than a one sentence blurb about things.

Anyway, I'll give it another playthrough to get all of the the points.

Finished again with 1000/1000 points. Not too much to add. One thing that I did find kind of amusing was that at one point, the game tells you that you lost some inventory items. "Several things fall out of Adam's pocket and sink rapidly." Basically, the game is getting rid of items you don't need anymore. I found this funny given the game's environmental message. I mean both games have a recycling icon that you can use to pick up trash, and yet you end up littering here by (unintentionally) dropping stuff in a river. And those items include the aforementioned electronic notebook and a mini vacuum cleaner. So not exactly biodegradable. And there's no reason these inventory items couldn't just vanish. It happens with other items at other points in the game.

Another minor thing: when you get the 1000 points, the text on the text bar on top of the screens gets too long. The last "0" is cut off a little and shows up on the left.

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 3:37 pm Finished again with 1000/1000 points. Not too much to add. One thing that I did find kind of amusing was that at one point, the game tells you that you lost some inventory items. "Several things fall out of Adam's pocket and sink rapidly." Basically, the game is getting rid of items you don't need anymore. I found this funny given the game's environmental message. I mean both games have a recycling icon that you can use to pick up trash, and yet you end up littering here by (unintentionally) dropping stuff in a river. And those items include the aforementioned electronic notebook and a mini vacuum cleaner. So not exactly biodegradable. And there's no reason these inventory items couldn't just vanish. It happens with other items at other points in the game.
Another minor thing: when you get the 1000 points, the text on the text bar on top of the screens gets too long. The last "0" is cut off a little and shows up on the left.

Yeah - I wonder (because I can't remember the game if I ever beat it!) - if there was nowhere for the character to have "logically" discarded the items that aren't needed somewhere?

As for the 1000 point thing - someone in QA messed up.

Tawmis wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2023 12:58 am

notbobsmith wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 3:37 pm Finished again with 1000/1000 points. Not too much to add. One thing that I did find kind of amusing was that at one point, the game tells you that you lost some inventory items. "Several things fall out of Adam's pocket and sink rapidly." Basically, the game is getting rid of items you don't need anymore. I found this funny given the game's environmental message. I mean both games have a recycling icon that you can use to pick up trash, and yet you end up littering here by (unintentionally) dropping stuff in a river. And those items include the aforementioned electronic notebook and a mini vacuum cleaner. So not exactly biodegradable. And there's no reason these inventory items couldn't just vanish. It happens with other items at other points in the game.
Another minor thing: when you get the 1000 points, the text on the text bar on top of the screens gets too long. The last "0" is cut off a little and shows up on the left.

Yeah - I wonder (because I can't remember the game if I ever beat it!) - if there was nowhere for the character to have "logically" discarded the items that aren't needed somewhere?

As for the 1000 point thing - someone in QA messed up.

I'm not sure there's a good way to remove an item "logically". In EcoQuest 1, there's a few times where if you use something in a container (a bottle or jar) it mentions that the container was placed in the recycling bag. That's kind of a nice touch. I guess it could say that the electronics were put in the recycling bag so they could be reused/repurposed later.