Shard of Spring is a computer role-playing game by Strategic Simulations, Inc.

Strategic Simulations, Inc.

Strategic Simulations, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit since its founding in 1979. It was especially noted for its numerous wargames, its official computer game adaptations of Dungeons & Dragons, and for the groundbreaking Panzer General...

, released in 1986

1986 in video gaming

-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....

. It was followed by the sequel

Sequel

A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

 titled Demon's Winter

Demon's Winter

Demon's Winter is a computer role-playing game by Strategic Simulations, Inc., released in 1988. It is a sequel to SSI's 1987 Shard of Spring, set two hundred years after the events of the original, and featuring a game world 32 times the size of the previous one.-Story:After death of the dragon...

in 1988.

Story

The game tells a story of a party of up to five valiant adventurers hired to rid of the kingdom of Ymros of the evil sorceress Siriadne and retrieve the titular magical item that she stole. For two centuries the small island of Ymros enjoyed eternal springtime thanks to the enchanted Shard of Spring, a piece of the long-lost legendary Life Stone. The peace of this land was shattered three years ago, when the greedy Siriadne laid waste to the crystral shrine and captured the Shard. With the threat of the Shard's destruction, Siriadne now extorts ruinous tribute from the people of Ymros to her at the Tower of Ralith. Each year her demands grow greater and anyone who can end her tyranny will be a hero for all time to come; human

Human

Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

, dwarf, elf

Elf

An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...

, troll

Troll

A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...

 and gnome

Gnome

A gnome is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature...

 adventurers (each of whom can be either a warrior

Warrior

A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...

 or a wizard

Magician (fantasy)

A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...

) are up to the challenge. During the course of the game it is eventually revealed that the true form of Siriadne is really an ancient dragon.

Reception

Computer Gaming World

Computer Gaming World

Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...

gave the game a positive review, noting it as a good hack and slash

Hack and slash

Hack and slash or hack and slay, abbreviated H&S or HnS, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games , carrying over from there to MUDs, MMORPGs, and video games in general...

 type. The graphics were considered well-done, even in monochrome

Monochrome

Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design, or photographs in one color or shades of one color. A monochromatic object or image has colors in shades of limited colors or hues. Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale or black-and-white...

, but the review felt leveling in the later part of the game went far too slowly. On the other hand, the review in Zzap!64

Zzap!64

Zzap!64 was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 . It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact....

one year later critiziced the game's "lacklustre" presentation (55%) and "dull" graphics 65%, gave the game overall rating of 88%, "just short of brilliant", for its "absorbing, tantalising, and satysfying" playability. The review in Commodore User

Commodore User

Commodore User, known to the readers as the abbreviated CU, was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. A publishing history spanning over 15 years, mixing content with technical and games features...

also in 1987 gave Shard of Spring a similar rating of 6/10. Reviewers often compared this game to Ultima III: Exodus.