Dream Chronicles

Not too long ago, I saw a Japanese animation that had the human dream world as the main theme. Well, I won't start to tell you what that was all about, nor give details that are not important. The question is: What's that got to do with a game? Well, it's simple: dreams and slumber are the themes of this week's game: "Dream Chronicles". It all started with Lilith, which in this game is the Fairy Queen of Dreams. It doesn't matter that this is all wrong and that Lilith is completely somebody else... You just have to go with the flow.

So, like I said, Lilith cast a sleeping spell over a kingdom (even if we don't know which one). And for the same strange reason, somebody could wake up to wake somebody else up... that somebody being you.

In this game, you are the wife (it doesn't matter if you're a guy) of a so-called "dude" Fidget, and your name is Faye. Yeah, I know, sounds like a Hobbit name, but we don't care. So, you little Hobbit wife, wake up to see the whole kingdom sleep!

But wait... What's this? A diary? Your "sleeping-beauty-hubby" had the time to write a journal about this event. Now, armed with this journal, you must find your beloved Fidget and your missing daughter Lyra and also annul the enchantment cast by Lilith.

Didn't you realize it? It's all about the family, baby! Still, there are some questions like: why did Lilith cast this spell? What happened to Fidget? What happened in the past years? And you must also find the answer to all these questions. The journal will help you, so keep it close.

Just as the last week's game, this one has that "find the object" thingy. In this game, you have 32 locations to explore. You start with your own room, where in order to open a door you have to light the fire in the fireplace. You'll think this is pretty easy, but you'll have to stay a bit longer in every room. After you find different objects, you have to realize what to do with them.

For example, a found key is not necessary placed in the door lock. You'll realize that some locks are either too small or too large for a certain door key and then you'll have to search the room to open chests and discover other objects that might lead you in your quest.

Then, there's something else: the objects you search for are not so easy to find. Some of them are really well hid in the scenery. You'll have to go through doors, search through drawers, find buttons, switches, hangings on the wall, toys, books, keys, crystals and other items.

Also, during your quest, you'll stumble upon some gems. These are called "Dream Pieces" and they are a total of 115. Pick them up. Besides gaining "extra points", you'll complete the jewels ("Dream Jewels") that you have in your inventory. Those jewels will help you defeat Lilith.

The interaction with the items you find is simple: you click on them, they will appear in your inventory located at the bottom of your screen, and from there you just drag them where they belong.

The perfect example is the second room you go in, where you must find some animals: a frog, a fish, a lizard, a cat, a butterfly and a bird. Some of these animals will be easy to find, but some won't, especially those who blend so well with the environment. You'll have the lizard stretched on the stairs bars and the fish as a painting on the wall.

The objects you find are all solutions to the puzzle and will be used on the scene. You will not be able to go into another room until you finish the puzzle. The puzzles you'll have to solve are very different: some of them require you to arrange objects in a specific order or follow a particular sequence, while others will make you combine items in a specific order to achieve a goal by using one object "on" another to perform a change of some kind.

For example, in one room, you must play each song on a piano, this meaning note-for-note in the correct order, this ultimately solving the puzzle. I won't go on... You must discover the puzzle on your own...

These being said, I can declare Dream Chronicles an intriguing game that will definitely keep you busy. It has the looks, the "moves" and the "groove". But of course there is a problem too, which comes with a warning: search well for dream stones, because once you step into another room, you can't go back... Which means incomplete jewels and a spoiled game.

Enjoy!