“Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore” is the Spiritual Successor to the CD-i Zelda Titles We Didn’t Know We Wanted
Posted on July 14 2023 by Nick Miller
At their LRG 2023 digital showcase, Limited Run Games announced a new game called Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore, a spiritual successor to The Legend of Zelda’s infamous Phillips CD-i titles, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and Link: The Faces of Evil. Indie developer Seedy Eye Software, also known as Dopply, previously made fan remakes of both titles and is now putting that experience to work in a brand new game.
The aforementioned Zelda games originally released in October 1993 for the Phillips CD-i, a failed disc-based console that was the product of a short-lived partnership between Nintendo and Phillips Interactive Media. A third Zelda title, Zelda’s Adventure, released for the console later in June 1994, though that game was different stylistically and doesn’t seem to be a point of reference for Arzette.
Dopply has done such a good job emulating the style of The Wand of Gamelon and The Faces of Evil. A quick glance may confuse Arzette with the CD-i games — hand-drawn backgrounds, side-scrolling action platforming, cutscenes that look like they were drawn in Microsoft Paint, it’s all here! A keen eye may even notice a callback to Hotel Mario, another CD-i game, at the trailer’s 42 second mark.
More than just a fan tribute, Arzette will feature the voice talents of Jeffrey Rath and Bonniejean Wilbur, the original voices of the CD-i’s Link and Zelda, respectively. Returning as well is Rob Dunlavey, who drew the detailed overworld maps for the Zelda CD-i games. Dunlavey will be providing his artistic talent, bringing The Kingdom of Faramore to life in a style similar to his previous Zelda work.
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is set for release on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox , and Steam in 2023.
So, are you pumped for this game? How do you think it’ll turn out? Do you think Zelda’s CD-i style is worth a revisit or should it be left in the ash heap of history? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Limited Run Games
Nick is a writer for Zelda Dungeon and a longtime fan of the Zelda franchise. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, archery, skateboarding, and some good ol’ fashioned family time. He’s an advocate for physical media and an avid video game collector. His favorite Zelda game is Ocarina of Time, though Breath of the Wild and the Link’s Awakening remake are close contenders.
