J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Volume 1

"This game isn't a-maze-ing"

I remember reading a review for this game years ago when it first came out on the Super Nintendo and it did not go down to well with the reviewer. Well I have finally played it and I enjoyed it but I am not going to be very favourably about it either.

I went into the game not expecting much though I was pleasantly surprised, mainly because the game is playable. It follows the story line from the book, which I have read, so there were no surprises in the storyline. However the game doesn’t stick too rigidly to the story and sends you off on strange little quests, e.g. finding the gaffers glasses, finding Legolas’ bow (which he has lost!) and other items. I also found it strange that Boromir only makes a very brief appearance in the game despite having an important role in the books.
The world map is actually very small with the largest areas are caves for you to explore. If you play this game expecting a fully blown RPG you will be sorely disappointed, it’s actually really just a maze game with the occasional moment of text to carry on the story.
Most of the time you wander around with Frodo and his companions trying to find items in large caves while fighting bats, wolves, snakes and orcs. It gets frustrating because the game’s only challenge is in successfully navigating a maze and finding key items inside. The fighting is tedious though very easy. One or two hits on any enemy will destroy them and once you get used to the poor collision detection any enemy who meet can be killed off in seconds.
Your companions in the game are all rather useless and seem to just wander around the screen with no real interest in where you are and what you are doing. They are also useless in a fight, particularly Legolas whose skills with a bow are almost zero (which would explain how lost it!). It is also annoying trying to attempt to level up your other companions as way the game lets you control them is poorly executed.
Graphically this game is very average even for its time. The backgrounds are bland and the characters look poor. Middle Earth looks very plain and even with the Snes’ limited graphical capabilities you would expect a bit more imagination on the developers part. As for the music it’s actually quiet satisfying and I think it has the right feel to it though many games have produced have better sound from the console. The sound effects are nothing more than functional.

I don’t think I would ever play this game again though I did get some enjoyment from it. If this game weren’t Lord of the Rings I certainly wouldn’t have bothered to play very far into it. So like me if you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings you will find some enjoyment but it certainly not a game you would keep going back to.
As this game is subtitled as Volume One, I assume that the developers intended to create a trilogy, but I would imagine that poor sales meant that no sequels were produced. Maybe if this game were released on the Gameboy Advance it would sell by the sack load for its name only. I certainly wouldn’t recommend any of my mates this game despite them owning Snes’ and being fans of the Lord of the Rings books and films.
If you enjoy wandering around mazes then this game is for you but if want an involving RPG I suggest you look elsewhere.

Game play- 4
Graphics- 4
Sound- 7
Replay value- 3

Overall rating 5/10 A Very, very average game.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/08/04