Zeddas: Servant of Sheol

Zeddas: Servant of Sheol, also known as Horror Tour, is a horror adventure video game developed by Japanese studio Caravan Interactive, and published by Synergy Interactive in 1996 for Macintosh, SEGA Saturn, and Windows 3.[1]

Zeddas: Servant of Sheol
Promotional cover art
Developer(s)Caravan Interactive
Publisher(s)Synergy Interactive
Director(s)Yayoi Yamada
Yoshio Kawasaki
Producer(s)Shigeru Kawamata
Taketoshi Kashiwabara
Designer(s)Hirokazu Sato
Programmer(s)Katsumi Ishida
Composer(s)Keiichi Sugiyama
SeriesZeddas/Horror Tour
EngineMacromedia Director
Platform(s)Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, Sega Saturn
ReleaseMac OS/Windows
  • JP: 1994
  • NA: February 1996
Saturn
  • JP: March 29, 1996
Genre(s)Graphic adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot

In Zeddas: Servant of Sheol, the player plays as themselves within the second person perspective as a servant to a castle. The player moves around the castle utilizing a set of arrows that allow for movement. The player explores the castle for keys to open locked doors, in attempt to escape.

Development and release

The game was developed using Macromedia Director.[2]

Reception and legacy

Zeddas: Servant of Sheol was met with mixed critical reception from reviewers.[6] PC Joker 'Markus Ziegler deemed it "shitty".[8] Swedish magazine High Score gave it a positive outlook but recommended users writing their own notes when playing, as the game takes time to complete.[7] PC Gamer's T. Liam McDonald noted the game's weird visual elements.[5] PC Game Center, 'Al Giovetti commended on the graphics, campy and unusual character designs, voice acting, film.[1] Hardcore Gaming 101's Tom Davey felt the game put its visual and technological gimmicks over any semblance of gameplay.[2] Inside Mac Games rated the game 3.5 out of 5, calling it " a lavishly animated and rendered fantasy arena with some occasional gauntlets you have to overcome in order to allow you access to marvel at the next incredible scene". The review criticized puzzles that were rarely challenging and sometimes difficult to manipulate, concluding that the game was "at its core [...] a startlingly bland storyline" with mostly mediocre gameplay but beautiful animation and art.[10]

The Japanese Sega Saturn conversion titled Horror Tour was also met with mixed reception from critics.[3][4][9] Fan reception was mixed as well; readers of the Japanese Sega Saturn Magazine voted to give the Saturn version a 4.7368 out of 10 score, ranking at the number 870 spot, indicating a middling following.[11]

A sequel was released entitled Horror Tour 2, which was followed by Labyrinthe (1998).[12] The third game in the series was rediscovered in 2018 in a file from a private collector on a forum.[13][14]

References
  1. Giovetti, Al (September 1996). "Software Reviews: Afterlife - Zeddas Servants of Sheol". PC Game Center. Vol. 7, no. 9. Joppa Computer Products. Archived from the original on 1998-12-03. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  2. Davey, Tom (May 18, 2014). "Zeddas: Servant of Sheol". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  3. "NEW GAMES CROSS REVIEW: ホラーツアー (セガサターン)". Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 318. ASCII Corporation. April 5, 1996.
  4. Bannert, Robert (June 1996). "Overseas: Planet Saturn - Horror Tour". MAN!AC (in German). No. 32. Cybermedia. p. 45.
  5. McDonald, T. Liam (July 1996). "Reviews: Zeddas: Servants of Sheol". PC Gamer. No. 26. Future US. p. 86. (Transcription by PC Gameworld. Archived 2001-06-08 at the Wayback Machine).
  6. McCann, Kevin J. (September 1996). "Zeddas: Servants of Sheol". Computer Player. Vol. 3, no. 4. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 96.
  7. "Zeddas: Servant of Sheol". High Score (in Swedish). No. 43. Bröderna Lindströms Förlags AB. July 1996.
  8. Ziegler, Markus (May–June 1996). "Explorer — Games Für Abenteurer: Zeddas - Servant of Sheol". PC Joker (in German). No. 42. Joker-Verlag. p. 42. (Transcription by Adventure Archiv. Archived 2016-09-10 at the Wayback Machine).
  9. "Sega Saturn Soft Review - ホラーツアー". Sega Saturn Magazine (in Japanese). No. 20. SoftBank Creative. April 12, 1996. p. 229.
  10. Jahnel, Bill (May–June 1996). "Review: Zeddas: Servant of Sheol". Inside Mac Games. Vol. 4, no. 5–6.
  11. Dreamcast Magazine [in Japanese] (March 2000). セガサターン (Sega Saturn Magazine): 読者レース Final (PDF). pp. 8–15. ISBN 978-4-79731173-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2021-03-13. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  12. "Collection Of Rare Japanese Games Leaks Online Without Owner's Permission". Kotaku Australia. 2018-06-09. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  13. Koebler, Jason; Olsen, Deidre (2018-06-05). "70 Long-Lost Japanese Video Games Have Been Discovered in a 67GB Folder of ROMs on a Private Forum". Motherboard. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  14. Kerr, Chris (2018-06-06). "70 Rare Japanese games rediscovered after 67GB folder leaks online". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
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