Abracadabra (video game)

Lore & Background

Abracadabra is a text adventure game that depicts its world and events through textual descriptions. The player enters commands in natural language, and the game's parser evaluates them, remodeling the game world and reporting outcomes, similar to a tabletop role-playing game. The game also displays hand-drawn pictures of the current location, which occupy about two-thirds of the screen, with the lower third reserved for text input and output.

The plot is set in the year 1209. A knight named Clus d'Eledorf is bewitched by the jealous Queen Saligia, who is enamored with him, to become a ghost haunting Castle Burgenfels until he confesses his love to her. The game is divided into two parts: in part one, Clus must find a way to rid himself of the witch, break the curse, and escape his prison; in part two, he must seek out and rescue his beloved Princess Violeta from the Greenwald forest.

The game was well received by the Spanish video game press. MicroHobby called it an 'excellent game with a high level of graphic quality and more importantly a stunning setting and realization' and a 'fantasy adventure game that provides all the elements necessary to satisfy even the most demanding fans of this genre.' Micromania gave it a score of 8/10, and CAAD opined that 'among the adventures existing on the Spanish market, this one is definitely the best.'

Reader's Guide

Abracadabra holds significance as a standout title in the Spanish adventure game market of the late 1980s. Its combination of text-based gameplay with hand-drawn graphics was praised by contemporary critics, with MicroHobby highlighting its graphic quality and setting, and CAAD declaring it the best adventure on the Spanish market. The game's parser-driven interaction, reminiscent of tabletop role-playing, and its two-part fantasy plot involving a cursed knight and a rescue mission, contributed to its positive reception. While it was only released in Spanish and on three platforms (Amstrad CPC, MSX, and ZX Spectrum), its acclaim from multiple Spanish gaming publications suggests it was a notable achievement for developer Odisea Software and publisher Proein Soft Line. The game's legacy is preserved through external links to databases such as MobyGames, World of Spectrum, CPC Power, and the Interactive Fiction Database, indicating continued interest among retro gaming and interactive fiction enthusiasts.

Did You Know?

• The game was only released in Spanish.
• The game's hand-drawn location pictures take up about two-thirds of the screen.
• The plot is set in the year 1209 and involves a knight named Clus d'Eledorf.