Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze

Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze, or Dream Chronicles 2 in almost cases, is a casual adventure, hidden object and puzzle computer game developed by KatGames and published the first time by PlayFirst. It's the first sequel of the award-winning 2007 video game Dream Chronicles, also the second game of the Dream Chronicles series, plus the second game of the first trilogy called Faye's Journey. Follow the events of the first one, the game tells a story of a mortal woman names Faye, having awoken from a Fairy Queen of Dreams' dream spell and continues the quest to save her husband as well as her daughter who is in danger. As the story continues, Faye embarks on a new adventure through the Dream Realm full of puzzles. Upon solving them, the answers provide clues that help Faye restore her family and eventually unravel the mystery of this strange realm.

First released as a download in February 2008, like the original game, Dream Chronicles 2 instantly become a casual game hit, reached the top of 7 major casual game charts and peaked inside top ten on many other charts. The game received mostly positive receptions from game critics, calling it "an endearing, intriguing and original quest, a fairy-tale that both enchants and entertains from beginning to end." It also won 2 awards, "Top Adventure Game of 2008" and "Best World Design", in RealGames Great Games Awards held in mid-2009. Dream Chronicles 2 was preceded by the original Dream Chronicles game and followed by The Chosen Child.

Story
The story continues from the events of the first game, Dream Chronicles. Lilith, having abducted Fidget again, sends Faye to a forgotten fairy prison where no mortal has ever escaped from. Waking up from Lilith's dream spell the second time, Faye's confusing about what she needs to do next but Aeval - the Fairy Queen of Flora, Faye's mother-in-law - manages to send a diary and helps Faye find way out. Escaping from the prison rooms, Faye explores the Ancients' Place, the fairy's birthplace, where they used to live for a long time ago. She also has to start facing many obstacles arranged by Lilith as she wants to prevent Faye directly from ruining her almost perfect plans. Looking at the nearest crystal ball, Aeval informs Faye that her daughter Lyra is no longer sleeping in her bed, and it is assumed that Lilith has taken her hostage. Aeval also tells Faye to hurry, as Fidget's hope of being rescued is fading, and he may succumb to marrying Lilith. After going though the Mortals' Maze, Faye needs to meet an old Aeval's fairy friend names Merrow, an inventor who lives in the Mortal Realm, and asks for his help rescuing Fidget and Lyra. Arriving at Merrow's cottage and actually finding himself at his secret lab, Faye surprises with his appearance: a human-talking plant, which is a result of his another crazy experiment. Merrow agrees to take Faye to the Tower of Dreams where, according to him, Fidget and Lyra are being kept hostage by Lilith. Beside the Tower has a strange tree but Merrow declares that "it's not important", Faye skips it and enters the enormous 6-floor building, thing that no mortal have done before. She enters without Merrow's help as he can't enter. The Tower of Dreams is also where Dream Librarian, who was one of the closest Fairy Lord's advisers, lives and studies. That explains why each floor is locked with a special lock: melodies, books, instruments, chess pieces and statues. Reaching the sixth and top floor, she founds a bed there, which reminds Faye much of her bedroom in the Wish town. Bearing enough nightmares since husband was abducted, Faye just wants to have a short nap. But as soon as she touches the bed, Aeval tells Faye that Merrow is a traitor and that she must escape from the tower. Faye jumps out of the tower window and is caught by Aeval's vines. Aeval then leads Faye to the Eternal Tree, that tree besides the Tower she skipped before, where Fidget and Lyra are thought to be being held. Faye enters the tree and finds a sleeping Fidget and Lyra's favorite teddy bear. Aeval tells Faye to get an obtain a root potion from the Eternal Maze that will awaken Fidget. After Faye emerges from the Eternal Maze with the potion, the teddy bear vanishes. Faye gives the potion to Fidget, and the couple are finally reunited, but they must now find their missing daughter.

The story will continues in The Chosen Child. In the extra cut-scene, after putting the book named Dream Chronicles: The Eternal Maze back to bookshelf, Faye declares that finding Lyra is all to her. Unless she finds Lyra, there will be "the end" to her and Fidget.

Characters
First 3 people listed below are main characters, other threes play the minor parts.


 * Dream Chronicles 2 Cutscene.jpgFaye is a mortal woman who main protagonist of Dream Chronicles 2. She has woken up in a stone chamber after the long journey in search of her husband, Fidget only to realize that Lilith, the Fairy Queen of Dreams, has locked her in a fairy prison within the Ancients’ Place and taken her Fidget away once again. She soon discovers that Lyra, her daughter has been taken as well. Faye continues embarking on a dangerously lonely quest to rescue her husband Fidget and can finally save him. In this time, Faye explores many secrets about her in-law family's birthplace: fairy origin, fairy legends and the Dream Realm's mysteries. Faye is a strong and persistent woman, who never gives up hopes and always tries hard to get her family back to their old peaceful days. Though being the main character but Faye doesn't appear in person as you play as her point of view.


 * Lilith, Fairy Queen of Dreams, is the main antagonist. She abducts Fidget and puts many obstacles to preventing Faye from reaching her. Like the first Dream Chronicles, she only appears at the beginning and the end of game.


 * Aeval, Fairy Queen of Flora, is Fidget's mother and Faye's mother-in-law. Aeval and her plants tries to help Faye find Fidget. She's only mentioned much in this game and hasn't appeared yet.


 * Merrow is an inventor who lives in the Mortal Realm. He's also Tangle's mentor. His love of science angered Lilith's mother, Fairy Queen of Darkness, who stripped him of all his powers. Merrow helped Aeval and Tangle escape to the Mortal Realm, and for this Aeval gave him the power to communicate with plants. In Dream Chronicles 2, he - as a human-talking plant - helps Faye reach the Tower of Dreams and then disappears strangely.


 * Dream Librarian is the keeper of all knowledge in the Fairy Realm. She's the closet person to Fairy Lord and is his loyal adviser too. This character hasn't appeared yet, she's only mentioned through Dream Jewels' secrets in this game.


 * Fidget s a fairy raised in the mortal world by his fairy parents Aeval and Tangle. Being bought to Dream Realm by Lilith, Fidget is finally released at the end of game under the enchanted tree besides the Tower of Dreams. He only appears at the beginning and the end of the game.


 * Lyra is the daughter of Faye and Fidget. She was kidnapped right before Lilith releases her father Fidget. This character's fate is revealed in Dream Jewels' secrets, emphasizing that she will be an important character in the future. She only appears at the end of game.

Gameplay
Awem Studio described the game: "The Dream Chronicles world of mystery and riddles is back after the first Dream Chronicles amazed lovers and admirers of enigmatic stories and worthy puzzles. The sequel Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze follows in its forerunner’s path and delights its players with gorgeous graphics and enchanting music." The game has 25 scenes in total, opening the deeper and darker parts of Dream Realm for gamers to explore more about its history, legends and secrets.

The gameplay in Dream Chronicles 2 is more involved than that in the original game. Whereas in the first Dream Chronicles, players as Faye would solve one scene and then move on to the next level, in Dream Chronicles 2 they may need to move between relative scenes in a separate area in order to progress. The objects that players find may be used in a scene other than the one they found it in. Objects will stay in inventory until players need to use them. All objects that players are able to pick up will serve a purpose, whether they are used in that scene or not. A lot of times in this game the pieces players pick up may only be used as they get to the next scene. Some items may not become visible in a scene right away, players must perform other tasks first before they become visible.

Each level becomes more complex as players advance through the game, and how players solve the puzzles will vary greatly. There are many puzzle types in game: logic puzzles, Simon-style memory games, jigsaw games, scramble words, maze puzzles... If players are having difficulty with a level they can go back and reset the level. It will bring players back to the beginning of the closet area. This feature only appeared in Dream Chronicles 2.

Dream Jewels, previously a mere bonus for high scores, now have a function, as collecting these transparent gems and solving their puzzles answered and explained many dark secrets about Lilith, Lyra and the Dream Realm featured in the series. Players don't have to answer the Dream Jewel puzzles as they come along, players can always click on the book and answer them at a later time. There are 138 Dream Pieces molding 8 Dream Jewels to complete each time playing and 15 ones in total. Players need to replay several times before they can receive all 15 Dream Jewels in Dream Chronicles 2. In order to activate the Dream Jewels players must find the Dream Pieces first.

For the first time in the series, players can enjoy the experiences of solving maze puzzles. Dream Chronicles 2 contains two underground labyrinths, one in the ninth scene and the other in the last scene. However, they're sometimes being criticized for their highly difficult level, which sometimes prevents some players from completing the game. As a result, Dream Chronicles 2 has been considered as the most difficult Dream Chronicles game so far.

At the end, players earn a score, based on how quick they solve the puzzles and complete the game. Not only finding and completing players' Dream Jewels collection but also they have to reveal Jewels' mysteries in order to earn a higher score. When players play again under the same name they will have new Dream puzzles to solve and some of the items will be in different locations.

Reception
Dream Chronicles 2 was first released as a beta version in December 2007 for limited beta players. A game preview and the teaser trailer appeared first time on Gamezebo in January 2008. Because Dream Chronicles 2 followed the first game only after 8 months, there wasn't much information about development to be released. It was officially released on February 14, 2008 by PlayFirst and promoted: "With its attention to detail in storyline and gameplay, KatGames has built upon its initial work to deliver an expanded sequel - with longer gameplay, more puzzles and more depth - that will keep players even more firmly immersed than the spellbinding original."

Following the successful footstep of the previous game, Dream Chronicles 2 instantly peaked at number one on PlayFirst, Pogo.com, Shockwave, Reflexive Arcade, GameHouse, RealArcade, Zylom; number two on Big Fish Games, SpinTop Games, Logler Global; number three on iWin.com, Amazon.com, Mac Game Store; peaked inside top ten on Yahoo! Games, MSN Games, Alawar Games and other major casual game charts. And much like the original Dream Chronicles, Dream Chronicles 2 earned mostly positive responses from game critics and casual gamers.

On the second time with the series, Gamezebo's Chuck Miller stated: "Dream Chronicles was one of 2007's best casual titles, a Myst-style adventure featuring stunning Art Nouveau-inspired graphics, gripping music and an absorbing storyline. It offered an exceptional, albeit short, excursion into a fantasy world par excellence. Now, the sequel, Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze, has arrived, and it's destined to bestow another solid dose of what made the original so enthralling." He praised: "Like its predecessor, it's an amazing piece of craftsmanship. Visuals are beautifully rendered. Each scene features gorgeous imagery, with many including animated objects like falling leaves, rippling pools and tumbling waterfalls. Atmospheric audio accentuates play. Exceptional music and sound effects bring the game's fantastical world to life. Plus, an unexpected plot twist adds to the mystery, while a built-in leaderboard allows you to compare your questing skills with those of other players." Miller also noticed its somewhat short length but he still rated it 4.5/5.0 stars eventually.

Jay Is Games' Ms. 45 noted: "The artwork is impeccable — beautiful, immersive, and extremely good at hiding that last item you desperately need to get to the next level. [...] The overall layout is essentially the same, but the addition of more complex puzzles and useful Dream Jewels scattered around the levels adds a new layer to the experience. However, whereas the first game featured strong and witty dialogue, Dream Chronicles 2 is not only flatter, it's grammatically sloppy — ok in a quick 'n' silly Newgrounds shooter, but really inadequate in a game where care in writing was a strength".

Awem Studio, once again, praised the second installment of the Dream Chronicles series: "The artwork is gorgeously dreamy and it adds some special coloring to the entire atmosphere of mystery and enigma and is a true feature of Dream Chronicles games. The backdrops are fragrant with eye-soothing nature and landscapes while the sounds of the game are incredibly enchanting and fascinating. The visual and sound aspects are greatly satisfying and create a real Dream World. Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze is one of those games that will be engraved in your memory and win over your heart. Don’t hesitate even for a moment and give it a try and you will see how much you’ll feel delighted and how deeply motivated you’ll be to complete Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze."

In July 2009, RealArcade announced that Dream Chronicles 2 won 2 awards, "Top Adventure Game of 2008" and "Best World Design", in their very first Great Games Awards.

General tips

 * If you're stuck in the game and don't know what to do the game will eventually throw a hint your way by way of a tiny twinkling light. Those lights will either symbolize an object that needs to be picked up or an area that you need to be in.


 * Each Dream Jewel that you find will also come with a puzzle in which you must reconstruct a sentence. When you answer correctly you will be given some hints that can help you in certain levels of the game. When you are reconstructing a sentence look for the word(s) that begin with capital letters, they will always go at the beginning of a sentence, unless it's a proper name then it can go either way.


 * You do not have to pick up Dream Pieces in order to complete the game. However, when you don't it affects your score. You cannot go back and pick up Dream Pieces that you missed once you've completed a level. You will have to replay the game in order to do so. If you do want to get all the Dream Pieces, you'd pick them up before you start solving the puzzles.


 * In the puzzles where you have to click on tiles to place them in their correct order, look at the color of the tiles. If the tiles are red when you place them it means that they are in the wrong place. If the tiles remain creme then they are correct.


 * You'll be awarded an extra cut-scene at the end if you've unlocked all of 8 Dream Jewels' secrets. The original Dream Chronicles game name is revealed also, The Endless Slumber.

Release history and charts
Any digital download of Dream Chronicles 2 can be bought at 6.99$.