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«Romantic Blue» is one of the rarest games in my collection. It was created by William R. Fisher III and released in 1994 by CrystalVision Brand Software. Well, what should I say? I love this game. Like some other classic games, it can be frustrating sometimes (especially in the labyrinth), but it was a love at first sight for me. «Romantic Blue» is an absolutely unique game with deep and interesting plot (you need to have documentation to understand it completely though), incredible visual style and many different genres combined in single gameplay (it's like point-and-click adventure with RPG elements; it's not actually THAT innovative, there were other games like this back then, but still it's pretty interesting). The problem is -- since this game isn't well known (actually, there's only a few people who know about it), it wasn't fully explored. There's no complete walkthrough in public, no proper info, nothing. So, I'll show you the way I've discovered it. There's also a good ending that I've discovered later thanks to Bill Fisher (creator of this game). You can check my longplay with the good ending here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAF5C20EFE4D94DB5

The plot: For proper story and character bios, check the original documentation. PM me if you have a copy of the game without it and I can share the scans with you (also, note that one of the puzzles in the game assumes that you have the documentation, you cant't solve the puzzle without it). Here's the quick look through the most important things, so you'll be able to understand the game (taken from the game's box) while watching my videos.

Mysteriously summoned to the year 1817, you find yourself in a small isolated village known as ShadowCrest, where the gypsies dance under the romantic blue moon and the Servants hide in the shadows of the night. Foreboding with magic, ShadowCrest sits deserted where the graveyards grow larger each night, nearly surrounding the village itself.

The only sanctuary is the church garden where the young girl, Miranda sits each night. Under the blue light of the full moon she listens to the haunting melody of a piano, played in the distance by her only true love, Jack, who remains enslaved in an unconscious spell cast by the Evil Sisterhood. The sound of music in the night sky fills her with romantic longing and her heart grows sad. She knows she can never be with Jack. Love, like marriage, is forbidden in ShadowCrest, governed by the Servants to the High Priestess Morella.

Taken at birth, as all children are in this town, Miranda was raised by the Sisters at the local convent. Upon her eighteenth birthday she knows that she too must become a Sister to the High Priestess and be forced to follow in the footsteps of the Evil Sisterhood.

Unwilling to enter the religion faithfully, Miranda has resorted to the Dark Arts to summon a stranger to help her. Beware - for you are not the first! Taught by the gypsies, she has managed to use the Dark Arts to summon many to ShadowCrest to rescue her and Jack. All have failed and are now wandering dead-like in the dark passages of the crypts waiting for the others, like yourself, soon to come!

Can you solve this romantic thriller or will the fate of ShadowCrest remain for all eternity under the evil spirit of Morella?

Technical note: I've played this game through the DOSBox (Thanks to reg2s who fixed the original game files so now the game is playable through the DOSBox, you did a great job, man! I've had this game for a long time now and it didn't work for me even under Win 98!), but I don't know the way to record it with the DOSBox's built-in video recording solution properly, so, I've recorded it with another software. Quality of video and sound is even better, so, it's not a problem. The problem is -- the game works in different resolutions. Most of the time it's 640x480, but during cut-scenes and in the labyrinth the game switches to the lower one. So, there'll be the black borders in the lower part of the screen. Sorry about that, it's not my fault, that's just how this game works. Also, note that copy protection was removed from this version, so, there'll be no control questions in this video (this game uses so-called «manual lookup protection»). Personally, I think that it's better this way.

That's all, enjoy the videos!

Thanks go to: Takai-han who always helped me with my infinite stupidity, reg2s for fixed version of the game, Juliette for many useful info.