| “ |
The sun and the moon - the bear and the stag. These are marks of the two kingdoms by the lake. |
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| —Fairytale Detective, Goldilocks and the Fallen Star | ||
Goldilocks and the Fallen Star is the tenth installment in the Dark Parables franchise. The game takes place near the fictional Lake Symhir. As the Fairytale Detective, we must investigate reports of mechanical beasts attacking villagers of two warring kingdoms, and a mysterious artifact found by a young boy.
This game is based (rather loosely) on the British story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the mythological figure of King Midas.
To read reviews or play the game yourself, click here: Standard ~ Collector's Edition ~ Steam ~ Android (free) ~ Android (full)
Briefing[]
Detective, I'm afraid you won't have much time to enjoy the beauty of Lake Symhir as we've got an urgent case for you. A few days ago, a young boy claimed he was attacked by savage, mechanical beasts. We thought it was a case of the boy who cried wolf, but then we discovered a strange magical artifact. The boy thinks the artifact had something to do with the attack. The goal of your mission is to find out more about it. Head to the city and begin your investigation. Good luck, Detective.
Plot[]
WARNING: This section contains massive spoilers! (Read at your own risk)
The game opens on the peaceful Kingdom of Barsia. A boy happily plays with a hoop and stick, until his hoop rolls over and unearths a strange Artifact. The boy brushes the snow off and picks it up, only to see a strange woman step through a magical barrier. She orders her Silver Stag companion to get rid of the boy and walks away. The boy is saved by a mysterious woman, who turns the Stag to gold and urges him to run.
We're dispatched to the location as the Fairytale Detective and given our briefing (see above). No sooner does it conclude then we run into the same woman seen in the intro video. She sics her Silver Stag on us, upending our cart and sending us over a cliff. Thankfully, we're able to grab a branch to stop our fall and climb a rope up to safety.
Our investigation begins, but we don't get far before a Golden Bear leaps out of the trees. It's stopped from attacking us by a Sentry who steps out alongside it. We show him the Artifact, and he agrees to help us bring it to the Queen, but not before we help him find his Hunting Horn.
While looking for the horn, we run into the woman with the Golden Touch from the intro video. She introduces herself as Princess Leda of Barsia. She urges us to leave, then walks off, blocking the path behind her by turning it to solid gold.
We return the Sentry's horn, and he tells us the way to the castle keep. We set off through the Barsian docks, following the Sentry's directions. A Silver Stag tries to stop our progress by jumping off a cliff onto us, but we adeptly dodge being crushed by it, because we're the Fairytale Detective and that's how we roll. Unfortunately, the cliff-diver took out the bridge to the castle, so we have to make a rope swing to get across.
Once we reach the castle gates, we find a man being attacked by a Golden Bear. Hey! It's our old friend, Jack! We fix his broken ax and throw it to him, just in time for him to disable the Golden Bear and escape. He tells us this case is much more complicated than it appears and tells us not to plan on getting the Fallen Star, as he intends to make a wish on it, himself. Kinda rude, Jack. Not cool.
Jack races off and we head into the castle keep. Leda and the Sentry are waiting for us just inside the gates. Leda tells us about the Fallen Star, of which one half is said to be in the Artifact we're holding. Neat.
It seems all of Barsia is gathered inside the gates, waiting for the Queen to address her people, which she won't do until her Golden Bear is repaired. The Sentry hands us a repair manual and tells us to fix it. We should probably add "Fairytale Mechanic" to our business cards.
We fix the bear and go to see Queen Valla's big speech. It's a big, grandiose display, inspiring her people with love for their kingdom and their Queen. It takes a sour turn, however, when Valla orders Leda to turn the people of Barsia into a golden army. Leda unleashes her Golden Touch, the spell coursing through the people of Barsia and turning the castle keep into a field of golden statues.
Jack tackles us, throwing us out of the castle gates and saving us (and himself) from being turned to gold. He says we should be more careful next time, and that he's now even with us for when we saved him from the bear earlier. He tells us to find Leda inside the castle, then takes off again. Just what is he up to?
We scale the castle wall and find a way inside. It isn't long before we find Leda. She defends her actions, convinced by Queen Valla's story of good intentions. We're not so sure about the Queen's intentions. We look for more evidence and find a way to communicate with the Sun Goddess, herself. She tells us of the real Valla's death and that she was the one who gave Leda her power of the Golden Touch. With the Sun Goddess' help, we access the royal treasury and find Valla's diary detailing how she faked the stag attacks to convince everyone of a war that never existed.
Leda finds us in the treasury and we show her the diary. Now convinced of her sister's treachery, Leda wants to help us track her down. But our conversation is cut short when an Automaton comes to life in the Treasury and attacks us!
We make short work of the Automaton (hey, we're the Fairytale Detective - no robot's going to get the better of us!) and head off to hunt down Valla. We follow Leda to the staircase that leads down to the village below. Here, where we made our rope swing earlier, is a secret door in the mountainside. We unlock it and Leda leads the way into an Ancient Dungeon.
When faced with another Automaton, this one bearing a note that it was a failed attempt at recreating Valla, Leda admits to us what we've already figured out: that her sister is merely an Automaton and not human at all. She tells us that the key to defeating Valla may lie in finding the Craftsman who made her.
We set out to find the Automaton's head in order to talk to it, in the hopes it might know where its creator is. Along the way, we find Ewan the Craftsman's diary, detailing the making of the Automatons and the Queen. Once we replace the robot's head, it doesn't have much to say but does tell us that its creator is nearby. We hunt for him and find him, releasing him from a magical cage.
Ewan tells us that the Queen plans on marching her Automaton Army through the barrier into Olesia to get the other half of the Fallen Star. Using the full star as her core energy, the Automaton Queen will be capable of unthinkable things. We must reach the other half of the star before she does!
Leda takes the Craftsman to safety, while we continue hunting through the caves for Valla. We find her in the Foundry's Control Room, where she is melting down the citizens of Barsia in order to form her army of Automatons. She's cast-off part of her human skin, and tells us her plan is to turn all of mankind into an obedient golden army - including us! Really! How rude.
She opens a portal and we follow her through it but lose her somewhere. We find ourselves back at the entrance to the Kingdom, where Princess Leda finds us. She's found a ship, but we'll have to find the magical dagger of Bulvar the Merchant in order to cross the barrier into Olesia to get the star. No biggie for us, though. It's been buried with wise King Boris of Barsia, of course, but we're not above a little grave robbing.
As soon as we grab the dagger and empower it, bright flashes of light fill the room, and the Sun Goddess and Moon Goddess both appear before us. They urge us to put a stop to Valla, and say that they have sent omens to the people of Olesia to evacuate. They disappear as quickly as they came, in bright flashes of sunlight and moonlight.
We head back to the ship Leda found, dagger in hand. Jack's waiting for us there, and he demands the dagger. Before he can even finish threatening us, Leda's turned him to gold. No big loss there. He's kinda being a jerk.
We set sail for Olesia, and Leda does the honors of cutting through the barrier. Once on the other side, Ewan observes that Valla's energy core doesn't have the power to control her Automaton Army. Good. That means she'll be more or less on her own. Now to get to the star before she does.
Ewan gives us a trinket to disable his creations with which is incredibly useful, given our task. It isn't long before we have to use it on a random Automaton that attacks us. Thanks, Ewan!
We search Olesia and finally find the chamber where the other half of the Fallen Star is waiting - and Valla, as well. We didn't beat her there, but she can't access the star without the very Artifact we're carrying. Valla the Automaton Queen has now cast off all vestiges of humanity, looking like the robotic monster she truly is. She tries to get Leda to bring her the Artifact, but Leda tries to turn her to gold instead. The transformation only goes halfway, however, before Valla strikes back, knocking Leda across the room.
It's entirely up to us now, as usual. We use the Craftsman's Trinket to attack Valla's Golden Bear guardians, then the Queen herself. Once the robots are all dismantled, Leda steps forward to claim the half of the Fallen Star that Valla had inside of her. We use the Artifact to reveal the other half of the Fallen Star and give it to Leda to complete.
With the completed Fallen Star in hand, Leda makes a wish to lose her Golden Touch and to undo the damage she's done to the people of Barsia with it. The next time we see her is accepting the small boy from the beginning of the game into her royal throne room and giving him a hug. There's a brief epilogue (see below) and the credits roll.
Epilogue[]
The golden automatons became but a bedtime story for unruly children.
The evil machinations of Queen Valla were stopped, and her sister Leda was crowned the new Queen. It was time for prosperity and peace to rule Barsia and Olesia once again.
And all of that thanks to you, the famed Fairytale Detective.
But one message, received during the feast, could change everything... and a single feather accompanying it might be a sign of a new adventure ahead.
Parables[]
The Fallen Star
Once upon a time, near Lake Symhir, in the moment when the night ends and the day begins, a star fell. Not just any star, but a magic star that would grant a single wish to its owner. As it was neither night nor day, both the Sun Goddess and Moon Goddess saw it fall. "It's mine!" - said the Sun Goddess - "It fell with the first signs of daylight, and it's my domain!" "No!" - replied her sister "The darkness still hasn't faded! The night is mine and so is the star!" They agreed that it was only fair that neither have the star. So they shattered it into pieces and scattered them on both sides of the lake. One half was hidden in Barsia, and the second in Olesia. To ensure that no one would reassemble the star, they created a magic barrier across the lake that no living creature could pass through. That is how it remained until today.
Magic Ribbons
Once upon a time, there was a Princess named Leda, who was blessed by the Sun Goddess with the gift of golden touch. But what was granted as a gift became a curse to the young Princess, as she couldn't touch a thing without turning it to solid gold. She cried a sea of tears, praying to her Goddess once more to help her get rid of the gift. "What is granted cannot be taken back that easily," the Sun Goddess said. "But, fret not, because for I hear your plea." Then the Goddess took two hairs from her golden braid and said, "Take this, my child, and look for a master craftsman who can use them as a weft to craft two magic ribbons to help contain your power." The young Princess traveled the world, searching for such a master weaver. One day, in a faraway land, she found a craftsman able to weave the ribbons. Her wandering had cost her the crown, but granted her the opportunity to hug her loved ones once again without a fear of turning them to gold.
Ewan the Crafty
Once, in a city far away, lived Ewan, a craftsman and inventor of exceptional skill. He made self-propelling toys, talking puppets and many more wondrous things. One day, the city's Duke ordered him to craft a mechanical horse for a parade. He was overjoyed, because the Duke was a just and well-loved man whom Ewan wanted to please and impress. Young Ewan did his best, and the shiny, new metal horse was ready for the Duke on the day of the parade. What Ewan didn't know was that the Duke's rivals sabotaged his invention, damaging the horse's metal supports. As soon as the parade started and the Duke straddled the horse, the mechanical animal collapsed, jerking and kicking, costing the Duke his life. It was too much for the young inventor. Everyone believed that Ewan's invention was to blame. So, fearing for his life, he fled the city, never to return.
Bulvar and Rumpelstiltskin
In the land of Barsia, there was a young man named Bulvar. He was a merchant's apprentice, working all day long to support his old parents. One night, when he was returning from a late errand for his master, he passed through a thick and dark forest. There, he met an evil imp named Rumpelstiltskin. "Off my path, you human mutt. In my forest, you shan't strut! If you want to live and pass, we shall play a game of chance. What flows like a river, yet has no banks? What can go forward, yet never back? If you guess wrong, it will be your doom, but if you're right, there's a gift for you!" Bulvar was a bright lad, but it took him some time to think of an answer. The imp smiled confidently. "No mortal has ever beaten me in the game of guessing, and it seems you aren't any smarter than those I've already encountered on this road. Well? Your time is almost up!" What the imp had just said gave Bulvar an idea. "The answer to your riddle is Time," he said, and that was, of course, the right answer. Rumpelstiltskin was furious, but he held his promise. As a reward for beating him in the game, Rumpelstiltskin gave Bulvar a magic dagger that lead him to become the biggest merchant that ever was.
Crowning of Queen Valla
Craftsman Ewan was hired to make an automaton in the image of King Waclaw's late daughter. He made it so like Princess Valla that no one could see the difference, not even her father and sister, who soon learned to love new Valla. King Waclaw decided to hide Princess Valla's death, pretending her accident had no lasting harm. No one knew the truth about Princess Valla except him, Ewan and Princess Leda. Still, as the King knew the truth, he wanted his younger daughter, Leda, to succeed him. She grew to be a strong and wise leader. But, as the time passed, Leda became obsessed with finding a cure for her golden touch, so she traveled the world searching for one, rarely coming home to Barsia. That's how it happened that when Waclaw died, only Valla was in Barsia, while Leda was missing, her whereabouts unknown. Barsia needed a Queen, and the late King's advisors, not knowing Valla's true nature, did what they thought was the best and proclaimed her the Queen.
Connections[]
- Goldilocks and the Golden Bears were first hinted at in Queen of Sands.
- The Moon Goddess plays a major role in this game. We also meet her sister, the Sun Goddess.
- Jack plays a minor role in this game, and a larger role in the bonus game, The Golden Slumber.
- We find the handle and later the blade of Jack's Golden Axe.
- We find three books in Barsia that help us unlock the Queen's Treasury. The books are titled: The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide, Rise of the Snow Queen and The Final Cinderella. Each book also features an image of the main character of that game on its cover.
- One of the Parables features Rumpelstiltskin, who was last seen in Jack and the Sky Kingdom and its bonus game, Rumpelstiltskin and the Queen.
- There are teasers in a lock found near the end of the game, the video after the final ending, and a wallpaper included with the game. These teasers all allude to the next game being about the Swan Princess, a character not seen since The Exiled Prince.
Personnel[]
Eipix Entertainment lists their entire staff in the credits of their games, so the list is not replicated here. This is only the people listed as being part of the "Goldilocks and the Fallen Star Team".
Alan Seles, Danilo Gnip, Dragana Ristic, Marko Kovacki, Mirjana Marcetic
Voice Acting
Queen Valla: Tara Sands
Leda: Lauren Synger
Tape Recorder: Lauren Synger
Jack: Jonathan Cooke
Sentry: Erik Braa
Sun Goddess: Erin Lehn
Moon Goddess: Jodi Lorimer
Craftsman: Tim Simmons
Moon Priest: Peter Leake
Special Thanks[]
The team wishes to thank all of the diligent Dark Parables fans who are an endless source of support and inspiration, especially the members of the mystical fairy tale society known as "Pond Friends". Through all our adventures we've hardly encountered a group of folks as passionate, polite and committed as them lot. May fortune serve us through many a parable to come!
Trivia[]
- This is the first Dark Parables game to not show the player the name of the Bonus Game until after the main game is completed.
- This is the first Dark Parables main game to not state a real world area it takes place in - it is likely intended to take place in Russia, given the shape of the domes and spires on the Barsia palace and the presence of a balalaika in the bonus game.
- The intro of the game has many similarities to that of the Red Riding Hood Sisters'. A child is in danger and gets cornered until Leda arrives and kills the Silver Stag and tells the boy to run, just like how Teresa saved the girl from two Mist Wolves and told her to run. Even Leda's poses are similar to Teresa's. When the Detective arrives and right after the briefing, another Silver Stag attacks her and knocks her off the cliff, just like how a Mist Wolf attacked her carriage and knocked her off the cliff.
- Even the game's main menu is similar. Leda is standing on a cliff looking at the Lake Symhir and the Kingdom of Barsia. In the Red Riding Hood Sisters, Ruth does the same pose and looks at the Mist Lake and the Mist Kingdom.
- The Golden Slumber is the first bonus game NOT to be based on a specific fairy tale or legend since The Exiled Prince's The Frozen Lair.
- The Golden Slumber is also the first bonus game so far, since The Frozen Lair where you play as the Fairytale Detective.
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