Ned the Knight
I discovered Jeremy LaMar's work first on Megazeux, with the wonderful Talon's Tale. And I waited and waited and was eventually very satisfied when Bernard the Bard finally came out as well. A couple years passed and I discovered that Jeremy LaMar had done a couple of ZZT games as well. Ned the Knight is the prequel to Bernard the Bard and it's amazing what Jeremy was able to do with Megazuex, he did also with ZZT. Everything looks beatiful and the plot did not seem skimped due to ZZT's limitations. The .5 point loss is for one of the final battles, which always bugs up on me when I play it, stopping me from finishing the game.
This game is great, ignore Mr. "I couldn't ever make a good game" King Graham.
Ned the Knight is probably one of the best ZZT games of all time. It's silly, varied, well-designed, and surprisingly cohesive.
Pros: Clever boss battles, (the crocodile sequence in particular) amusing, cornball writing, and general addictiveness
Cons: A few lapses of design, and a bit of strained dialogue.
It is tempting, when writing this review, to rate it on David's looks alone. His hair is soft and fragrant, like mice dipped in Chanel no. 5. His skin is the most delightful chamois one could hope to touch. Looking into his eyes is like looking into deep, unfathomable pools of ocular jelly, and his teeth are whiter than his audience.
But no! To talk any longer on the dreaminess of David is folly. For here on this CD is a collection of music so divine that it brings tears to my eyes and a lump to my trousers. David's singing skills are so expansive and so experimental that he eschews mere "notes" and "keys" and instead rockets into whole new realms of sound. One minute he sings with the manly grumble of an ox crushed by a pneumatic piston - the next he has the graceful strength of someone sledgehammering blowfish. Soaring vocals go higher than any mountain climber could, even if he had wings and was in a space shuttle. Then just as quickly they swoop down like a suicidal Japanese businessman, hitting the sidewalk with a biological thump. Beats swirl around like kittens in a washing machine as a series of dancing mosquitos tinkle like triangles stapled to a dormouse. Crumbling walls become dirt-trodden werewolves and the flitting, spritely air of a gibbon can be heard in the distance. And then track 2 begins!
Just look at his experimental titles too - "Du" (you), "Je T'Aime Means I Love You" (I love you means I love you), "Wir Zwei Allein" (I am two Alans) and "Danice Dance d'Amour" (Dennis and his Dancing Armour). David is a multicultural icon, and one to be cherished.
"Hot Shot City" (¡Policía! ¡Él ha robado mi pierna!) is particularly good.