Abyss Watchers

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Lore & Background

The game is set within the citadel first featured in Shadow Tower, and sees the return of a number of familiar non-player characters. The protagonist, an explorer, is in search of an arcane spear thought to have given great powers to the long-dead ruler of the kingdom, and ushered in an age of unrivalled prosperity. What remains of the kingdom today is largely covered over by the forest, save for the tower itself. Once inside the citadel, the protagonist encounters a mysterious Old Man, who traps him within and forces him to climb to the very top of the structure to escape.

In Their Own Story

The player navigates through a series of catacombs, caverns and open-air walkways in an effort to ascend the tower. There are numerous regions within the citadel, including subterranean forests, hellish caverns, waterfalls and temple-like chambers. While exploring, the player encounters a variety of friendly and aggressive characters, and collects keys, armour and up to 500 different weapons. The game world is populated with a total of 68 monsters and non-player characters, who 'seem to have regular schedules and activities--that take place independent of [one's] actions--such as burning a bonfire and talking amongst themselves'. The majority are aggressive and attack the protagonist on sight, while others provide information and serve to further the plot.

Reader's Guide

Shadow Tower Abyss is played entirely from the first-person perspective. Unlike Shadow Tower, the sequel does not feature a multiplayer mode. During battle, players can sever segments of a creature's body with knives and decapitate them with carefully placed shots from their firearm. The wings of aerial combatants can be targeted with a sniper rifle, causing them to plummet to earth when struck. The game's Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) results in opponents often fleeing from the player when injured. The protagonist does not gain experience points, but 'grows' by destroying the numerous denizens of the tower and harvesting their souls. Hit points and magic points are determined by additional mental and physical attributes. Vitality directly affects the number of hit points, while Strength influences the maximum weight that can be carried. Break, Pierce and Slash each determine the damage done by the relevant melee weapon. A Soul Pod grants the player an extra twenty points for any attribute, while the Symbol of Elements increases the magical Elements statistic by fifty percent for a brief period. Ammunition is scarce, and melee weapons have limited durability. 'Cunes' are the game's unit of currency. Save points are represented by a cyan crystal. Shops are represented by glowing crystalline structures: Merchants (green), Blacksmiths (purple) and Healers (red).

Did You Know?

• Shadow Tower Abyss was announced on 22 August 2001 and released in Japan on 23 October 2003.
• An English version was being developed by Agetec, but the project was cancelled by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) prior to completion.
• A fan translation was released in 2011.
• The game features up to 500 different weapons and 68 monsters and non-player characters.
• Only 12,908 units were sold in Japan in the period from 20 to 26 October 2003.