Uchidachi
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
20 years
Reviews
Myst (1993)
Oft Slandered Masterpeice
I started playing Myst at the end of 1993 and finished it at the beginning of 1995. Part of the reason for this was the fact that I started a bit too young to really understand it (and got frustrated and gave up), but it is mostly because of the fact that it was the most complex and difficult game I had ever seen. It is still the best game I've ever played.
I think many criticisms of Myst come from people who played Riven/Exile before it, or didn't play it when it first came out. (Also, I've heard from friends that the original PC version was not as user-friendly as the Mac version) Myst was the most advanced game for it's time, and it was unlike anything else there was. The graphics are stunning, the music and sounds are gorgeous, and the animations were entrancing.
The storyline is great because the player must think about what they see. There few times when you are actually told about the past (from Atrus, Sirrus, and Achenar) And there are a few written notes. You learn the most about the past and characters from looking at the rooms in each age. I think the continuous references to the absent Catherine were also intriguing, as was the fact that you were completely alone in these worlds (besides that butterfly)
The sounds are amazing. On the disc I own, there is a 'making of' spot that shows how some of the sounds were made. The one I remember most vividly is that the chimes were made by hitting suspended wrenches of different sizes. I remember jumping a foot out of my chair every time the sound came on for traveling to a different age.
Looking back on Myst, I do think there were many ways that It could have been improved. Some of the puzzles were practically impossible, and others were just boring. This got worse in Riven, which combined impossible and boredom with a new dimension of tedious travel and switching discs. I think that Exile is the best of the series, and is a good evolution of Myst.
Some unspoilery hints
1- Click on everything, it all has a purpose
2- write down everything, and copy every diagram to the best of your ability
3- Don't use the envelope that comes with the game (or used to?) saying that it contains last ditch solutions. It will ruin your game.
-HINTS/SPOILERS-
1. Read the (intact) books in the library! - This is probably the most important thing. Many people criticise the plot because they couldn't be bothered to read the accounts of the ages and the history of D'ni.
2. Some puzzles are very hard to get except by random clicking or cheating. The only ones I would reccomend using a hint book for are these: The organ puzzle on the ship (especially if you are a bit tone-deaf) The "time" puzzle in the Selentic Age The Maze in the Selentic Age (If you couldn't tell, I found the Selentic Age to be the hardest to solve and understand. That's where all my complaints on the game come from)
3. I'd reccomend visiting the ages in this order: Stoneship, Channelwood, Mechanical, Selentic
They seem to go from easy(ish) to hard in this order.
Spoilerish note: two jumpworthy things I remember: there's a nice toy in one of the boys' rooms in the mechanical age, and the first time you try to solve the final puzzle in the stoneship age, you'll get a loud surprise...
I think many criticisms of Myst come from people who played Riven/Exile before it, or didn't play it when it first came out. (Also, I've heard from friends that the original PC version was not as user-friendly as the Mac version) Myst was the most advanced game for it's time, and it was unlike anything else there was. The graphics are stunning, the music and sounds are gorgeous, and the animations were entrancing.
The storyline is great because the player must think about what they see. There few times when you are actually told about the past (from Atrus, Sirrus, and Achenar) And there are a few written notes. You learn the most about the past and characters from looking at the rooms in each age. I think the continuous references to the absent Catherine were also intriguing, as was the fact that you were completely alone in these worlds (besides that butterfly)
The sounds are amazing. On the disc I own, there is a 'making of' spot that shows how some of the sounds were made. The one I remember most vividly is that the chimes were made by hitting suspended wrenches of different sizes. I remember jumping a foot out of my chair every time the sound came on for traveling to a different age.
Looking back on Myst, I do think there were many ways that It could have been improved. Some of the puzzles were practically impossible, and others were just boring. This got worse in Riven, which combined impossible and boredom with a new dimension of tedious travel and switching discs. I think that Exile is the best of the series, and is a good evolution of Myst.
Some unspoilery hints
1- Click on everything, it all has a purpose
2- write down everything, and copy every diagram to the best of your ability
3- Don't use the envelope that comes with the game (or used to?) saying that it contains last ditch solutions. It will ruin your game.
-HINTS/SPOILERS-
1. Read the (intact) books in the library! - This is probably the most important thing. Many people criticise the plot because they couldn't be bothered to read the accounts of the ages and the history of D'ni.
2. Some puzzles are very hard to get except by random clicking or cheating. The only ones I would reccomend using a hint book for are these: The organ puzzle on the ship (especially if you are a bit tone-deaf) The "time" puzzle in the Selentic Age The Maze in the Selentic Age (If you couldn't tell, I found the Selentic Age to be the hardest to solve and understand. That's where all my complaints on the game come from)
3. I'd reccomend visiting the ages in this order: Stoneship, Channelwood, Mechanical, Selentic
They seem to go from easy(ish) to hard in this order.
Spoilerish note: two jumpworthy things I remember: there's a nice toy in one of the boys' rooms in the mechanical age, and the first time you try to solve the final puzzle in the stoneship age, you'll get a loud surprise...