Come to know fear as I have! Let's Play Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Hello children.



Let's play Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (hereafter referred to by the first two words) is a GCN game developed by Silicon Knights and released in 2002. It carries the distinction of being the first game released directly by Nintendo to carry a Mature rating, for reasons like blood and violence and madness and what have you. It plays fairly similarly to Resident Evil, but rather than heavy weapons, viruses, and zombies, you have magick, cults, and zombies. Enough rambling, though. Let's get started and let the game speak for itself.

Oh, and props to my friend (with the Internets Code Name of "Sequoia") for letting me borrow this game for this.



Cutscene: Introduction

The game opens with Dr. Edward Roivas, a man with a faint Irish accent, talking about a bunch of stuff we're not entirely filled in on yet. The basic gist of it is that the book which is being prominently displayed throughout this cutscene started a chain of events that echo throughout humanity and that dark forces are stirring. It'll make more sense later.



The more pressing issue is his granddaughter Alex, who is, unlike Edward, still very alive.



Also unlike Edward, she is besieged in her home by about six zombies. She's got a shotgun to fight them off with, but no matter how many shots she loads into them, they just get back up.



Cutscene: A Death in the Family

Eventually, Alex does the smart thing and tries to make a run for it, but to no avail, as the door is locked. As she approaches it, a man with a more distinctive Irish accent yells "MAY THE RATS EAT YOUR EYES!" (That's not in the cutscene for some reason.)



Alex turns to face the zombies again, but is instead greeted with an ethereal vision of Edward Roivas. He asks Alex if she remembers him...



And it turns out that it's all a dream. The phone is ringing at a ridiculously late time for Alex, who wakes with a start and picks it up.



It turns out to be a member of the Rhode Island police force. He tells Alex that something has gone amiss with her grandfather. With the nightmare fresh in her mind, Alex wastes no time in asking for details and gets on a flight to Rhode Island as soon as she is able.



Inspector Legrasse greets her inside the mansion and tries to make with small talk. Alex is in no mood for chit-chat and asks him to get to the point.



Legrasse complies and leads Alex to a section of Edward's library, warning her that it's not a pretty sight. Alex heads on to see what has happened...



...and nearly vomits at the sight of Edward's body, with the area around him coated in blood.



Legrasse gives Alex about four seconds to take this in, then asks her to identify the body. Alex recognizes his family ring and confirms that the bloody corpse before them is, indeed, Edward Roivas. Outraged, she demands to know why they had to bring her here to show her such a sight, wondering why they didn't just check the dental records or something a bit less traumatizing.



Legrasse's voice promptly changes to a more irritated tone, explaining that he has a job to do, and since she's the only living relative of Edward Roivas, she had to come identify the body. Dental records weren't an available option...

He continues to wonder about how the murder was carried out, since no one forced entry into the house, and the murder was ridiculously brutal. Aside from that information, they don't have any leads at all.



Alex makes it plain that the police force had better damn well do all they can to find out any clues they can within the mansion about Edward's death. However, it turns out that the rest of the police force, aside from Legrasse, consisted of a Dalmatian and a male stripper who had mixed up what profession was usually associated with Dalmatians, and as such, their efforts prove fruitless.



Anyway, now that the introduction is over, we can get to the game itself. We play as Alex Roivas, numerologist extraordinaire. Right now, our goal is to explore the mansion to find a clue as to the murderer's identity and motive for killing her grandfather. Presumably, Alex entered the mansion well-equipped to handle such a task.



Well, she's got a key. That's a start.

We can Use, Equip, or Check items in our inventory. Checking lets you view the item from all angles and gives a description (which I'll only write here if the description is relevant or detailed), Using is pretty self-explanatory, and Equipping lets you wield an item, like weapons. Alex plans to make use of her key by opening up the Second Floor.



We also have a map, which I will refer to for possibly two areas in the game...



A list of all the cutscenes we have encountered thus far...



And the usual saving/options screen. I'll save my game now, even if it's not terribly vital in Alex's level.



Meanwhile, Alex has failed to unlock the Second Floor, on account of her key breaking apart in her hands. Well, until we find a locksmith or an axe to break down the door or something, the Second Floor is off limits. Alex pockets the key fragments for now. She explores the main foyer a bit more.



Among the various pictures and few tables, she finds an old clock.

Alex is afflicted with a crippling hereditary disease that makes her say Yes to any prompt coming from an inanimate object. As such, she examines the key, and in doing so, learns that it is actually a Dresser Key. I have no idea how you can tell that at a glance. I didn't even know that people bothered to lock dressers in the first place. Eh.



Alex moves on to the library, now that she's had fun examining a clock and breaking a key.



The library is the scene of the crime, but the police have long since packed up their investigations and sent Edward's body off to the morgue. Alex decides to scour the scene for information.



Alex tries not to dwell too long on why there is a person hanging from the family tree and moves on to the books.

Fascinating stuff (and proving my guess about Irish accents fairly incorrect) but ultimately irrelevant to Alex's search.



All thoughts of murder and history disappear from Alex's mind once she sees another clock to play with.



Further emboldened by another prompt complete with instructions, Alex twists the hands so the clock face looks like a guy with a mustache chewing on a sandwich.



By sheer coincidence, she sets the time to 3:33, which causes something in the clock to click loudly.



A panel in the back wall slides open. Alex is excited at the prospect of having found a lead where the police of Rhode Island failed, and immediately enters.

Inside, Alex finds a cramped and cluttered study, littered with all kinds of eclectic tools. The dominating centerpiece of the room, however, is a desk with a book that seems to be made of leather.



Next Time: A fascinating story of Centurions vs. Zombies! Color-coded trinkets, too.

I never did finish this game. I loved the setting and the sanity effects, but I couldn't stand the combat and mostly just cheesed the magic and got bored/frustrated and moved on to other things. I would love to see a sequel so I could try it without wanting to pull my hair out.

PARGON PARGON PARGON

Those screenshots are still looking pretty good, honestly.

One of the best Gamecube games? I think so. Looking forward to reading this.

This is such a creepy game. But it's so good!

This is making me want to go pop in Eternal Darkness right now. Instead, I will just read about it and admonish you to PICK THE GREEN ARTIFACT. I think. It's been a long time since I've played.

RED ARTIFACT!

Eternal Darkness is still kind of rad after all these years, and I hope to see this LP go places.

Sanity is such a fickle thing. I say cast it aside and go on your merry way.

This game is so great. It's one I've considered LPing myself from time to time.

And oh yeah: Xel'lotath all the way.

Green is the craziest color, isn't it? I say to go for green.

I advise green, the color of the Felt.

greeeen

I can't believe I sold this game. I did complete it three times in a row to get the final ending and I felt like I could no longer possibly want to play it again, but turns out I was wrong! Definitely one of the best 'cube games.

Fantastic game, and the green artifact is indeed the correct one to choose.

Well, I was going to put the color of the artifact to a vote, but it is just a landslide of ridiculous proportions!

Also, you're all lunatics. Blue will forever be the best choice.

Whatever doesn't allow you to cast the replenish sanity spell easily. Is that green?

Actually, that would be blue.

Fortunately, I've got myself a play restriction regarding sanity. I'm not going to go into too much detail, but to make things clear: under any alignment, expect to see a fair amount of sanity effects, although not enough to turn it into Interface Screw Theatre.

I vote Blue for several spoilery reasons...

While Xel'lotath has the best Guardian, Ulyaoth has the best Greater Guardian (aka Black Guardian). Also, "The Grip of Insanity" is a better final battle scene than "Chattur'gha's Maw".

I've only ever played all the way through with Ulyaoth, so seeing either of the more difficult choices would be interesting.

I also remember the first time I played this game, I had trouble figuring out the clock, and I think it's the second time you fiddle with the hands, this creepy voice says "three thirty-three" and it startled the crap out of me. Good times.

Alex, ever the avid LeVar Burton fan, decides to crack open this book and give it a once-over. She's been looking for a good psychological thriller lately.






As soon as she starts reading, she suddenly receives a flurry of confusing, strange, and frightening visions. Giant monstrosities, darkened hallways, and strange towers in the desert. Fortunately, the visions end as soon as they began, and she gets to reading the book properly. Ignore the window, I'm still new to this whole screenshot business. Won't happen again.

Well, if that's not an intro to a psychological thriller, I don't know what is. Alex continues reading...



Cutscene: The Chosen One

Reading the book farther reveals an interesting scene, with a group of Roman centurions discussing the end of the battle they just participated in. Their discussion begins in Latin, but changes to English partway through. I think they should've stuck with Latin here and added English subtitles throughout, but that's just me.



The fellow with the red clothing and ornate armor is Pious Augustus. He's the leader of this army, and it shows here.



One of the soldiers asks Pious if he thinks the artifact the emperor is looking for can really be found in this desert.



Pious is nothing if not patriotic, and tells the soldier in question that the artifact will be found, provided that he and his troops are diligent and strong enough.



As the other soldiers turn to carry out their duties, mysterious voices begin to call out to Pious. Could this be a sign leading him to the artifact the emperor desires?



Pious heads towards the voices, drawing his sword in case it's a trap.



Eventually, Pious finds a Stonehenge-like setup of stones, marked by curious runes. This is likely a good sign as to the artifact's whereabouts.



Or it could be a magickal trap. Pious is struck with energy and vanishes.




He is transported to a strange place which looks like a ruined city of ancient times.

And now we control Pious. This is one of the game's big features: rather than spending the whole game as Alex, we'll play as several different characters across different time periods, each with their own traits, goals, and tribulations. Pious here is a stout and sturdy centurion, able to fell any foe and survive any hazard. In other words, he's almost impossible to get killed. You practically have to actively try in this level.

Pious wastes no time dallying and decides to move bravely forward.

Yes. Yes, he should.



Pious finds himself at one end of a long corridor. A dessicated corpse about a yard away adds a delightful flavor to the scene.



Further down the hallway, Pious spies a curious stone block, near another such corpse. His warrior's sense kicks in and warns him of impending peril...



Which comes in the form of the corpse rising up and turning to face him.



Pious charges boldly towards the creature, unwilling to let something as meager as a walking corpse jar him.



Even when two other zombies, hidden behind torches, lurch out of hiding to ambush him, he doesn't bat an eye as he dispatches and dismembers each one.



He even decides to take the time to administer a finishing blow to one of them, although it seems fairly pointless, as the zombies drop like flies against his gladius.



Eventually, Pious gets his prize, a strange Granite Block.

He also takes the time to check his gladius for damage.

Eternal Darkness goes to a lot of trouble to ensure that all their weaponry is historically accurate and such, but I don't really know that much about ancient weaponry, nor do I care. Suffice it to say that the Gladius is a highly serviceable weapon for Pious, and he starts with it equipped and has no reason to unequip it.



Pious moves on to the next room, where two more zombies are found and quickly dispatched, and another granite block sits on a low pedestal.

Pious doesn't think for a moment that either block is the artifact the emperor desired, but hangs on to them anyway, assuming they might have some ritual significance that would allow him to eventually reach the artifact.



The next room has even more zombies in it. Guess what happens.



Severed heads for everyone! Except for Pious, who finds a third block.

Pious has no clue why these blocks are all color-coded, nor why he felt they all deserved ominous adjectives to describe their colors.



More hallways with zombies that get their heads severed. This one has a forking branch, but the left fork is locked off, leaving Pious to take the right branch.



The narrow hallway opens into a wide room that looks somewhat like an arena. Four colored symbols on the walls behind Pious bear symbols akin to those he has on his blocks, as well as a square slot under each one.



Zombies too, but Pious gets to work in decapitating each and every one of them.

If you're wondering why I don't bother to kill them completely, it's because there's really no benefit right now. If Pious severs their head, the zombies only stand around and occasionally take a swing at the space in front of them. Even normally, the zombies move slowly and have even more of a tell to their attacks than Glass Joe. Besides, headless zombies are funny.

Anyway, Pious picks up the fourth block in the middle of this room to match the last slot.

Pious may have decided against going into the senate like many of his brothers-at-arms, but he's no fool, and can match colors and fit pegs into holes with the best.



Inserting the four blocks into their appropriate spots causes the symbol above to glow with energy.

On a completely unrelated note, the gate guarding the left branch at that earlier fork is lowered. Pious hears the rusty grinding and moves to investigate.



The passage leads into a small room featuring a statue.

This is one of the main elements of combat in Eternal Darkness, and the tutorial for it if you hadn't learned it by carving up zombies earlier. Generally, if you're using a melee weapon like a sword, go for the head. If you're using a firearm, aim for the body. There's exceptions, but only a handful. Pious doesn't bother dwelling on how the voices know his name, or why the statue bears a likeness to him, and gets to work on the statue, starting with the head.



Each part Pious breaks off of the statue causes the door behind him to open slightly. Pious strikes down the statue's torso, and in doing so, causes the door to open completely.



This opens up a room with a massive glowing button and a few other zombies. Pious gets careless here, and manages to get hit by one of the zombies before disabling it.



The game takes this opportunity to bring up our health meter for the first time in-game. You all know how these work, so I'm only going to state that different characters will have different health meters. Pious, as mentioned earlier, is tough as nails, so he has a large life bar. Healing, however, is fairly limited early on, so it's better to avoid hits than to be able to take a lot.



Pious moves to examine the massive irradiated button.

Even if Pious didn't have exactly the same illness as Alex, he doesn't see any other way to progress, and so pushes the button.



This creates a teleporter not unlike the one that brought Pious into this strange labyrinth.



Pious enters it to find himself in a misty hall, leading to an area with three artifacts. These must surely be what the emperor was looking for! However, he doesn't exactly recall the emperor describing the artifact in any detail, so he has to make a decision as to which one to claim. He examines each one in turn.

Pious briefly wonders why there isn't a purple artifact, given the great attention to the quadripartite coloring scheme earlier, but dismisses it, as the more important issue is which artifact should he claim?

For those of you unfamiliar with the game, the choice Pious makes here is somewhat like the starter Pokémon you'd choose. It defines your early strategy, possibly your later strategy, and defines what your rival will choose. I'll summarize the points of each artifact as I view it here so you can chip in with your choice. Not that you haven't already done that but hey.

Red Artifact: This will make for the toughest encounters in the game, and also means that on average, each enemy will deal more damage than usual. It also means I get to use my favorite brand of magick, but it has the most lackluster enemy design.
Blue Artifact: This will showcase my favorite enemy design, as well as my favorite antagonist, and it'll also allow for the brand of magick that most Talking Time people here seem to prefer. Enemies will damage both my health and magick if they hit me.
Green Artifact: This will showcase some of the weirder enemies, and the fan favorite of the antagonists. Since enemies will damage both health and sanity with each hit, we'll get to see more sanity effects, but the enemies will also be a lot easier.

Next Time: Helpless Indiana Jones damsel + helpless horror survival damsel = aaaaaaaaaaaaa

I'm going Blue because Red is boring, and Green has the weakest version of my favorite cutscene.

I thought the end of Paul's chapter was better paced in Blue and Red.

I thought that going insane was half the fun. In that case, going Green is totally the way to go.

Green is my favorite color and my favorite artifact.

Blue, because Ulyaoth is such a haughty, magnificent bastard.

Blue seems like a good choice to me.

I don't remember very well: do the color traits (blue guys depleting your magic for example) affect all enemies of that color or just the ones with special attacks?

I've probably played through this game five or six times but it's not so clear to me how each color effects the game on a practical level. Usually it doesn't matter since you are unlikely to make a mistake or sustain significant damage anyway. And when it does matter it's not necessarily a monster that is aligned the to color of Pious, so the effect of color cycling is more subtle. Most notably I remember the early part of Roberto's chapter being easier if the big group of zombies you fight is green aligned, making them vulnerable to one hit death by the torch.

I think it affects what kinds of enemies you find where, and possibly the meters of your characters. Regardless of the artifact you pick, blue enemies damage both health and magick on a hit, but picking the blue artifact ensures that you see more blue enemies, and that the stronger variants only show up in blue flavor. Red and green enemies would still turn up, but with less frequency.