Part 1: Introduction

Chapter 0: Introduction

Before we watch the introduction cutscene, let's take a minute to appreciate the title screen.



In particular, let's appreciate the music. Straight away you can tell the tone in this game is rather different from the relatively generic high fantasy we're used to from the previous games.

Other than that, the menu is the same as every other Kyrandia game, so let's get started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3hUfpsQg0Y



Ah, there she is: Kyrandia. She looks a little different this time around. More... soft around the edges. More... raytraced.



Oh, hello. You look familiar, too...



Augh, why

Brandywine: Whoops! Sorry. I didn't recognize you.

Gee, thanks. That's Brandywine, Darm the wizard's assistant/pet from the first game. Other than roasting the player in the introduction cutscene, her role in this game is relatively minor.





That's the name of the game, all right! All right, let's see what kind of new problem lurks in the new Kyrandia, then, shall we.



Narrator: Malcolm was a normal baby...

... or we could have a flashback to Malcolm as a toddler!



Narrator: He faced the same temptations as every child.

Levitating buttons are a common temptation faced by your average kid today.



Narrator: ... and like any other child, his conscience served to guide his actions.



Stewart: Don't pull that kitty's tail! You'll get punished!



Gunther: Pull it! It'll be fun!

These two impish figures are Stewart and Gunther, Malcolm's good and bad conscience, respectively.



Narrator: But resisting temptation was never easy for Malcolm.





Ah, the old lure-squirrels-with-a-nut-on-a-string. Classic.

Narrator: The moral balance was tested frequently during Malcolm's youth.



Stewart: Gunther! What did that squirrel ever do to you?



Gunther: Hey! Take a hike, Stewart! We're having fun here!

Narrator: A complete deterioration was inevitable.





At some point in Malcolm's adolescence, it seems Stewart and Gunther had a fight that resulted in Stewart getting crushed under a rock. Thus, Malcolm spent a significant portion of his life with only half a moral compass, with Gunther running rampant.



Narrator: As young Malcolm grew into manhood...



Narrator: ... he became famous and successful...

Can't see anything wrong with appointing a morally stunted arsonist to a position of trust near the royal couple. Nope. Nothing at all.



Narrator: ... in his own way.



Narrator: But Malcolm's path was never easy, and many setbacks disturbed his plans.



These last few papers depict the events of the first game. Prince Brandon, having finally tracked down Malcolm, defeats him by reflecting Malcolm's own petrification spell back at him, turning Malcolm to stone.



Yeah, that looks like something Brandon would find stylish.



Narrator: Finally, in the depths of his greatest humiliation...



Narrator: ... he is imprisoned in his own, stony form.

I guess the royal trash heap is a good as place as any to store the petrified homicidal maniac that killed your parents. I mean where else are you going to put him? The magically fortified dungeon we traversed in the first game?

Narrator: As the ignorant residents of Kyrandia sleep, their worst nightmare begins...





Narrator: ... and Malcolm prepares to greet the world again! Now, with your help, we can finally hear Malcolm's side of the story!

Surprise! If you hadn't figured yet, this game has you playing as Malcolm the jester, the deposed villain from the first game. The game takes place an unspecified amount of time after the first game - presumably several years, given the general state of things, as we are soon to discover - after a freak lightning strike dispels the petrification curse, and Malcolm is free to roam Kyrandia once more.