Game 106: Gobliiins (1992) - Introduction

By Ilmari

Best thing about democracies is that you won't have to worry too long about raving rulers

You probably expected another Rome-post from Reiko, but unfortunately she has had to take a break from playing the game. Rome is now on hiatus, and we'll return to it later, when we've found a new reviewer for it. In the meantime, let's check on Gobliiins!
This is already the third Coktel Vision game from 1992 we are encountering! Since I seem to have become the resident expert on their games, it is just reasonable that I should tackle the beginning of probably their best remembered game series. Just like with all Coktel Vision games we've encountered, Muriel Tramis, whom we interviewed a while ago, played a role in creating Gobliiins. Yet, as she herself admitted in the interview, the driving force behind the Goblins -series was not her, but Pierre Gilhodes.

You have to respect a person with such a nice hat

Gilhodes is not a new name in gaming industry, as he has been responsible for graphical design of several of Coktel Vision games, for instance, Geisha, a weird erotic mishmash. In addition to graphical talents, Gilhodes is also a person with a..., let's say quirky sense of humour, as you can see, if you check some pictures he has drawn on his Facebook-page. From what I've heard, Gobliiins should be full of similarly quirky humour.

In addition to weird jokes, rumors say that I should expect puzzles in the style of Lemmings, to which Gobliiins -series has often been likened. This makes me slightly wary, since my track record with Lemmings is not that good, and I've never managed to get past the few starting levels of the game. I hope I'll fair better with this game.

Checking the manual, I noticed it included lot of what I presume will be major plot elements of the game. For now, I'll just go through with stuff that seems to cover the intro of the game.

Looking at my screenshots, I just noticed that the pig isn't dead and wonders off after a while

Voodoo dolls are not a good sign...

...especially if you are on the wrong side of the needle

So, someone is harassing the Goblin King, and it is up to me and my team of goblins to save him. Manual tells me that I should first find Niak, a wizard of incredible skills. Well, what are we waiting for, let's get the show running!

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: There's a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no CAPs will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. As this is an introduction post, it's an opportunity for readers to bet 10 CAPs (only if they already have them) that I won't be able to solve a puzzle without putting in an official Request for Assistance: remember to use ROT13 for betting. If you get it right, you will be rewarded with 50 CAPs in return. It's also your chance to predict what the final rating will be for the game. Voters can predict whatever score they want, regardless of whether someone else has already chosen it. All correct (or nearest) votes will go into a draw.