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Great Game yet underated and not well known: SUMMONER

Nightmare Omni

Well-known Member
After posting on the Remastered Thread this has been on my mind.... A LOT.

Summoner
A Game Developed by Volition Studios for the PC and PS2.
Published by THQ and now owned by Nordic Games.
Currently available on GOG and Steam.


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summoner_(video_game)


http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/Summoner_(video_game)


The Game Summoner is one of the best Games out there for Lore and Depth.

Sure the Graphics have not aged well and in all honesty were a bit dated even upon release but the Gameplay and Story.... Fantastic!

The Game is set Primarily in a Country called Medeva and follows a Central Character called Joseph, a humble Farmer/Cottar with dark past and a destiny he is trying to avoid.

His peaceful life in the Village of Massad is torn asunder when the Armies of the Empire of Orenia invade and put the Village to the Sword and Torch.

It seems however that this is no simple conquest and that the Soldiers from another Continent are looking for him specifically while under the Command of Four Demonic Horsemen.

They seek one born witb the Mark of the "Sahugani" also known as the Summoner.

Medeva's Capitol City Lenele is HUGE even for a modern Game.

Very ambitious for the time but it worked and even better was that Buildings were to scale and felt real unlike how some rpg's depict buildings.

The Mythology was a strange but awesome mix of Olympic/Greek Pantheon influences, Amerindian stuff and Medieval Catholicism.

References to the Reconquista were there too.

I would love to see more love for this game as it is a Classic I would highly reccomend.

The Soundtrack is great and the Composer recently released a remastered version of the OST.

The sad thing is the Official Website is only available via the Wayback Machine.

Fansites are really hard to find through Google trawling although strangely despite English Fansites being as Rare as Hens Teeth there are quite a few non English Fansites.

The worst thing is Summoner does not even have it's own Wikia dedicated to it's Characters, Locations, Items and Lore/History/Mythology.

I would make one myself but I wouldn't know where to start.

Tragically although some Minor Mods eg Bug Fixes and Tweaks exist there are no Big Mods out there like Texture Packs to improve Graphics/Visuals, New Quests or Spinoffs or Continuations, AU's etc.

I would love to see Mods arise via both the original Engine or a Remaster on a new Engine in the Vein of Mods like Renegade X or Legacy of Kain: Blood Omnicide.

There is literally Zero Summoner Fanfiction as well which was very surprising to me.
Not even on the Pit!

I would even buy a Remastered or Rebooted version off of Nordic Games if they did one.

If they did there is a whole new Generation of Gamers/Market who I'm sure would love the Game's Rich Story and Epic Quests if it had Modernised and improved Graphics/Visuals etc.

There was a Sequel Called Summoner 2 on PS2 & Gamecube which while a lot better visually with some interesting ideas, really was not as good.

It was much shorter in Playing Time/Length.
Had much smaller locations so felt less realised as a World/Too Small.
Mashed in Sci Fi elements which did not blend in or work, although if they had been more minor could have.
It disrespected the first Games established Lore and made all the effort in the first feel pointless/irrelevant which was depressing.
Shame really as the different cultural perspectives were a really interesting idea til they clubbed us like a baby Seal and said this game/perspective is the right one/Canon.
If they had shown the Medevan Culture/Urath Religion vs the Hallassar Culture/Laharrah Religion Perspectives/Biases/Dogmas but left us to determine what is and is not that would have been better.

Although I loved Ideas and Elements of Summoner 2 I far Prefer Summoner the Original game.

A lot of Fans/Consumers were upset at there being no PC release for the Sequel either which lost THQ Sales also.

There are many now who would Buy Summoner 2 if on PC or as a Collection Bundle with Summoner 1.

I would love a 3rd Summoner Game but I think a Remaster of the first or Reboot may be necessary.

Summoner 2 while not an awful game I do still find jarring and hard to reconcile so to me a Partial Retcon may be needed.

Eithwr that or a Company Statement on Canon that Each Game has Narrative Bias that Favour each Protagonist and their Native Culture so neither Game is Canon in a manner that supercedes the other.

Summoner 1 did have Two endings which I will not spoil here but I will say that a Game focused on Summoner 1's Alternate ending might be a good way to continue the series without needing a Retcon due to AU Status/Paralell Universes etc.

I would love to hear the thoughts & comments of Summoner Veterans and Virgins both.

Does this pique your interest?

Or do you have fond memories of this Game if you have played it before?

Would anyone be interested in....

A Summoner Wikia?
Summoner Fanfiction?
Summoner Quest on BROB or RP?
Summoner Mods?
A Remaster?
A Reboot?
A PC Collection of Both Games?
A Sequel or Spinoff?
A series of Comics or Webcomic?
Books?
A Cartoon/Anime?
 

Nightmare Omni

Well-known Member
Found this Fantastic Map on a Russian Summoner Fansite!!

00_world_map.jpg


Here is a Link to the Site itself as it is by far the BEST Summoner Fansite I have seen.

http://mm6rus.narod.ru/s_index.htm


Here is a Link preprepared with Google Translate:

http://translate.googleusercontent....ex.htm&usg=ALkJrhiDst6M0nQaoWUKwWU6X9RN-t0exg


Check it out! :)
 

Nightmare Omni

Well-known Member
I've been doing some digging around aka research. :)

There are a lot of rumours that float around re Cut Content from Summoner due to it's tight release deadline.

It turns out some of them are True.

There was supposed to be an additional Fortified Medevan City called "Aengus".

This never made it into the game sadly but.... Parts of it were merged into Canon Lenele.

Eg: The Docks, Outer Market, Bridge etc.
See here.....
aengus1.jpg




Here are some Volition Lore Extracts for Aengus before Canon Changes were made.

Check the Bolded Parts specifically. ;)

Aengus
A major shipping and mercantile center, Aengus was the capital of the ancient Aengu Empire, defeated during the Medevan Conquest three hundred years ago. The portal to the Kingdom
of the Dead lies beneath the city.

Laharrah was known to be the Ruler of the Kingdom of the Dead too....

*A Summoner's Inheritance*

A Summoner's inheritance is a power greater than magic. With rings of channeling, Summoners call forth demons and golems, supernatural servants and elemental creatures. Summoners have toppled empires and challenged gods.

They are venerated as saviors and feared as destroyers. The Mark of the Summoner is passeddown from generation to generation, branding the chosen ones with an arcane symbol.

Joseph fears his power more than death itself. As a child, Joseph tried to save his village from an invading army, but the demon he summoned slaughtered the villagers while Joseph could only watch in horror, his misguided again.

Over the years, the enigmatic Yago counsels and guides the youth, preparing Joseph to fulfil his prophecy. As the invading armies of Orenia march across the Medevan plain, Yago urges Joseph to quest for the ancient rings. Reluctantly, Joseph agrees.

On his journey, Joseph meets three young adventurers who become his companions-Flece, Jekhar, and Rosalind. Flece is a cunning thief and cynical rogue who grew up on the streets of Lenele. Jekhar's family perished when Joseph summoned a demon long ago, and now the warrior seeks revenge. Begrudgingly, he helps Joseph on his quest. Rosalind is novice of the Order of Iona and yearns to become a mage-priest and guardian of Iona's divine scrolls. The daughter of a Summoner but born without the mark, Rosalind is jealous of Joseph's power.

Their quest takes them across the world-to The blood-worshiping Aengu and the sunken empire of Phaestos, to the rugged wilds of Rondiac and the mountain palace of Heijiang, to The threshold of Death's dominion and the Jade River that flows from Heaven. In the ruins of lost civilizations and the temples of Orenia, they recover the Summoners' rings.

Threshold of Death's Dominion seems to be the same as Kingdom of the Dead.

Phaestos sounds like an alternate name for Ikaemos perhaps?

No Clue re the Rugged Wilds of Rondiac.

Mountain Palace of Heijiang could be a Sanavaah Khosani Alt Name or an Orenian Alt Name or New City.

Check out these too!

Aengus Fortress
aengus04.jpg


The Sea here is called "Red Bay" also note the section marked Blood Portal. The Gate to the Land of the Dead maybe?

Aengus Palace
aengus02.jpg


Aengus City
aengus03.jpg


Check out the Giant Statue on Aengus Temple and tell me you don't see a similarity between her Body Type/Shape and that of Maia from Summoner 2! ;)

Also look to the Left of the Temple and Statue and you will see an "Orenian Quarter".

Volition originally planned for Prince Sornahan to have Aengus as a Home City.

Sornehan in Canon's events seem to bear a relation to this hmmmm? :D



Hope you guys find this interesting? :)

I sure do!

Also good fodder for Mod ideas!
 
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