Searching for: Worst witch RPG adventure

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worstwitch

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#1 worstwitch
Member since 2017 • 2 Posts

I'm searching for a game I played as a young kid, though I can find absolutely no evidence of it online. My sister can also remember playing it, and my dad has vague memories too, but none of us remember specifics as it was a long time ago. I was wondering if anyone else remembers playing it or can offer any more information!

Here is what I know:

The game was based on the story of the 1974 novel 'The Worst Witch' by Jill Murphy. If you're not familiar with it this was the first in a book series that was popular in the UK and has remained a part of childrens' popular culture ever since (there has also been a recent TV adaptation, a less recent TV adaptation, and a film). I probably read the novel myself in the early 90s.

The game is first-person perspective. 'You' are Mildred Hubble, the story's protagonist.

It was a game for either the Acorn Archimedes or the Sinclair QL. Can't remember which but it was one of these since these are the machines we had. This dates the game anywhere from 1984 - early 90s. I played the game myself after I had read the novel, which would put the time I played it as early-to-mid 90s.

It was a mainly text-based RPG where commands were typed onto a black strip that took up the bottom of the screen, such as 'go west', 'pick up wormswort' etc. A pixel-art-ish static image (typical of the graphics at the time) took up the top part of the screen, which would show you where you currently were and provide visual cues as to what you could interact with via text commands.

The main thing I can remember from playing the game was trying to find potion ingredients to turn Ethel (Mildred's school bully) into a human again after she had been turned into a pig. I remember this part mostly because I didn't want to turn Ethel back into a human, but alas it seems it was necessary for story progression. I was going from room to room trying to find other things to interact with, and would keep stumbling across the same hallway area where Ethel as a pig was standing, while I was trying to find nightshade and wormswort etc. I must have eventually turned her back human, because I remember the hallway-with-Ethel-as-a-pig-standing-there image being replaced with a hallway-with-Ethel-as-a-human-standing-there image.

Can anyone else offer any info on this game?

Thanks :)

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Sallybaba

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#2 Sallybaba
Member since 2004 • 26 Posts

This may be of no use to you now but I came across a version of this offered for free on the bbc micro archive on the BBC website. Don’t know if it was made by the same developer / publisher but I like you had played it as a child and wondered if it was something I could get hold of. It looks like the bbc have set up their archive that you can actually play it though an in browser emulator or download it if you have the means to get it to a bbc micro.