[MystGirl]

I found Keepsake to be an absolutely charming, and graphically stunning game. The story did have a bit of a "corn" factor, but I found the characters to be sweet, the puzzles challenging enough, and the backgrounds quite lovely to look at.

Keepsake starts with our main character Lydia, arriving at Dragonvale Academy, to start school there and reunite with her best friend from childhood, Celeste. But when she arrives, she finds the academy is completely deserted, and along with Celeste, the other teachers or students, are nowhere to be found. She eventually comes across a talking wolf named Zak, who claims he's actually a dragon and a teacher's familiar.

Lydia suspects Zak's story from the very beginning, but he seems harmful enough and offers to help her find out what's happened to everyone at the academy. Lydia also gets help from a local peddler named Mustavio. He visits the school every day to sell his wares to students and teachers. He gives you items you might need, or hints on things that need to be done in the game. His character is a bit silly, with an "over the top" almost cartoonish Italian "accent", but he made me giggle like a 6-year-old, whenever Lydia had to talk to him about something. Fortunately, I'm not the type who always needs "sophisticated" humor in a video game.

As the story continues, Zak follows along, and Lydia is struck with "visions" that give a little insight into Celeste's strained relationship with her father Nathaniel, who is actually the head of Dragonvale Academy. He is also missing, and we find out why, much later.

As you wonder around the two giant castles in the games, there are puzzles to play and figure out. I found the puzzles to be interesting, and frustrating enough for an adventure game newbie like me. There are various tasks that must be completed, before the game can move forward. The other nice feature about the game, is it gives you "hints" on what to do next, if you get stuck. It also gives you three "hints" and even a final solution for every puzzle game. Not all the hints for the puzzle games are helpful though, so you might want to have a walkthrough handy if you get especially frustrated with one.

I have to say, besides the characters, the two giant castles that you explore in this game were the most beautiful castles I've ever seen in a game, so far. The detail on them was amazing. They are huge, but you can only reach new parts of the castles, if you accomplish more parts of the game. Each castle has a great amount of color as well, even down the the beautiful artistic tiles on the floors. I want to live, in one of these castles. Like most adventure games, this one has it's share of "hidden" areas as well. This game also has a photo-realistic feel to it in some screen shots. For example, some of the close-ups on the statues in the first castle, look incredibly real. However, they are well incorporated into the background of the game.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this game, and wanted to add a positive review. I enjoyed it quite a bit. With the exception of the characters saying the word "damn" a couple of times out of frustration in the game, this game is very suitable for younger players as well.

I personally, enjoy games, where the main character also has a "sidekick". It makes a game feel less "lonely" if you have some company in your search to discover the secrets behind a mystery. I enjoyed Zak's company as Lydia wondered around this game.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[Tuesdays Gone]

Thanks for your review MystGirl. Keepsake has been near the top of my wish list but I've held off on giving it a try because of the mixed reviews. After reading your review though I've decided to take the plunge and give it a try.

Thanks,

Tony.

[ShadeJackrabbit]

Yeah, it's a great game. I was playing it but had to stop as I was getting ahead of my brother... (which is a strange thing to happen in a relatively non-linear game.)

Anyways, I recommend it as well.

[MystGirl]

Originally Posted by Tuesdays Gone

Thanks for your review MystGirl. Keepsake has been near the top of my wish list but I've held off on giving it a try because of the mixed reviews. After reading your review though I've decided to take the plunge and give it a try.

Thanks,

Tony.

I read some of the mixed reviews as well, but overall, I found it an enjoyable game, and the hints, were very helpful at moving the game along. (seriously, the castles are huge and take time to explore)

I think one of the complaints I read, was the voice-over acting for the characters. But I found the voices to be acceptable.

I suppose there could have been a more in-depth story (the story is a bit simple), but I didn't mind it, and the mystery was interesting enough to keep me playing for hours.

You'll have to let us know how you like it, if you play it.

[Lucien21]

I thought the game was OK as far as I played it.

Unfortunatly the game keep crashing at a specific puzzle and I never got any further.

I'm sure that there is probably a patch fix by now but I never got the urge to start it again.

[ShadeJackrabbit]

Yeah, getting the patches is important, as one of them fixes some voice-over files. (Note, I don't know if there are more than one patch or not)

[Terramax]

Sorry, which version of the game have you reviewed? I understand the US version has different voices to the UK version?

I too have it as my wishlist but I'm not paying £15 for it, grr.

[Jehane]

Keepsake definitely is worth its money. I absolutely loved that game. Lydia was charming and sweet from the very beginning, the story was interesting enough to glue me to my computer for days and, as MystGirl has pointed out, the graphics are absolutely stunning. You do run around a lot but there's always plenty to see and to look at so it doesn't get boring. The Dragonvale Academy is among the most beautiful locations I've ever encountered in an adventure game. The puzzles were pretty hard, though; especially during the second half of the game I had to use the hint system more and more often. I'd highly recommend this game to anyone who likes fantasy stories; just make sure you install the latest patches - one of them also provides you with a map of the Dragonvale Academy so it's a little easier to find your way around.

[Tuesdays Gone]

Okay, I finally found Keepsake local for $10 and am installing it now. I've really been looking forward to playing this one and will let you know what I think of it.

Thanks,

Tony.

[MystGirl]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

I thought the game was OK as far as I played it.

Unfortunatly the game keep crashing at a specific puzzle and I never got any further.

I'm sure that there is probably a patch fix by now but I never got the urge to start it again.

Try this trick the next time, if you decide to play it again. If you freeze at a certain puzzle, go ahead and pick the final solution for that puzzle, instead of trying to play it, and it will skip ahead and finish the puzzle for you. (you have to pick all of the three hints first too) I do that sometimes if a puzzle "freezes" and I'm too lazy to look for a patch for it. However, if you want to play the puzzle all the way through, then you'll have to find the patches for it.

Originally Posted by ShadeJackrabbit

Yeah, getting the patches is important, as one of them fixes some voice-over files. (Note, I don't know if there are more than one patch or not)

Yeah, some of the voice over files are missing in a few parts of the game. You see the "text" of what they are saying, but don't hear their voices. I'm not sure how many patches Keepsake has, but personally, I never needed them. I just used the hint system to get me though parts of the game that might get stuck.

Originally Posted by Terramax

Sorry, which version of the game have you reviewed? I understand the US version has different voices to the UK version?

I too have it as my wishlist but I'm not paying £15 for it, grr.

I have the US version. I found it new pretty cheap over here at Best Buy for $10 US dollars.

You know, I'm looking to trade Keepsake with others since I'm done with my copy now. It's only been used once, and is in perfect condition. No scratches. Let me know if you have any games you're looking to trade, and I could mail it to you. (it would be mailed media mail though, to keep shipping cheap. That's the slowest version of mailing from the US) It's the US version that will play on Windows ME/2000/XP.

[Sar]

For those of you who have not played the game Keepsake is one of five games offered in the Adventure Company's new release. The Adventure Collection Volume 1 five games for $19.95. They are Keepsake, Dead Reefs, Return to Mysterious Island, Nibiru and Secret Files of Tunguska. Interact, a US retailer, ( link at Just Adventure and at Gameboomers) Will ship overseas inexpensively, 10 dollars per order I think. Great opportunity to pick up some fairly recent games on the cheap.

[Tuesdays Gone]

I finished Keepsake and really enjoyed it. I was very impressed with the graphics and I found the puzzles to be really enjoyable as most of them were of the mechanical variety and for some reason I'm pretty good at those types. Also, enjoyed having Zak as a sidekick....seemed to add that little extra something to the game.

All in all, a fun game and one that I'm glad I took the time to play. Now, just need to decide what to buy/play next.

Thanks,

Tony.

[MystGirl]

Originally Posted by Tuesdays Gone

I finished Keepsake and really enjoyed it. I was very impressed with the graphics and I found the puzzles to be really enjoyable as most of them were of the mechanical variety and for some reason I'm pretty good at those types. Also, enjoyed having Zak as a sidekick....seemed to add that little extra something to the game.

All in all, a fun game and one that I'm glad I took the time to play. Now, just need to decide what to buy/play next.

Thanks,

Tony.

Cool! Glad you liked it! I had a feeling you would. (I have a game trading thread in the Chit-Chat forum if you're looking for other stuff to play. I'm hoping the thread will grow with other member's game trading lists since the thread is for everyone, not just my games to trade.)

[Tuesdays Gone]

Originally Posted by MystGirl

Cool! Glad you liked it! I had a feeling you would. (I have a game trading thread in the Chit-Chat forum if you're looking for other stuff to play. I'm hoping the thread will grow with other member's game trading lists since the thread is for everyone, not just my games to trade.)

I think my favorite part of Keepsake was I didn't have to rely on a walkthrough or the in game hints for that matter which is an exception for me and made the game that much more enjoyable figuring things out on my own. Unfortunately, for most of my AG experience I tend to get impatient and turn to a walkthrough at the first sign of trouble. Impatient and AG's....hmmm...is that really a good combination?

[MystGirl]

Originally Posted by Tuesdays Gone

I think my favorite part of Keepsake was I didn't have to rely on a walkthrough or the in game hints for that matter which is an exception for me and made the game that much more enjoyable figuring things out on my own. Unfortunately, for most of my AG experience I tend to get impatient and turn to a walkthrough at the first sign of trouble. Impatient and AG's....hmmm...is that really a good combination?

I'm the same way. I try really hard to figure out stuff myself first, but I always end up needing a walkthrough. This game was nice with the cheat system because it really did give you a chance to try and figure out the puzzles first, before completely giving up and then using the final solution or walkthrough. I wish more games would do this.