The Lost Vikings

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The Lost Vikings
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Interplay (US), Ballistic (US; Rerelease), Virgin Interactive Entertainment (Europe)
Developer: Silicon & Synapse
Supporting companies: Krisalis Software (audio)
Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT), Datart International (CZ), SF Interactive Media (SE rental)
Sound driver: Krisalis sound driver
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control Pad; Team Player
Genre: Puzzle
Number of players: 1-3
Official in-game languages: English Français Deutsch
Release Date RRP Code US 1994-01 $59.9559.95 T-125016 US (Rerelease) 199x T-119216 EU 1994 T-70226-50 EU ▼ (Sega Channel) 199x SUBsub PT 1993 MDJ70226 UK 1994-05-19 £39.9939.99 T-70226-50 SE (Rental) 199x CZ 199x AU 199x
Non-Sega versions Amiga Amiga CD32 Game Boy Advance IBM PC Super NES

The Lost Vikings is a platform-puzzle game developed by Silicon & Synapse (now Blizzard Entertainment) and published by Interplay for a variety of platforms including the Sega Mega Drive.

Story

The game follows three Vikings, Erik the Swift, Olaf the Stout, and Baleog the Fierce, who have been plucked out of their own timezone by the evil Tomator, who is collecting lifeforms from all over the universe. It is up to the player to guide all three Vikings through various periods in time to get back to their village.

Gameplay

The main objective of the game is to get all three Vikings past various obstacles to the exit of each level safely. Each Viking has their own set of skills which are needed to progress through the stage. The player can only control one Viking at once, but can switch between them at any point by pressing  START + and  START + ( and ) and share items. All three Vikings must survive in order to complete a level - if a Viking dies, the player must retry the level by either getting the remaining Vikings to the exit (if possible), or by pressing  START + ( START ) to give up at any time. Levels can be restarted as many times as the player needs, though the Vikings will complain if the player restarts several times.

As the Sega Mega Drive version came later than the others (1994 as opposed to 1992), it contains five stages not present in any other version (these being stages 11, 18, 19, 25 and 37). The music is also slightly different. The game is compatible with the Six Button Control Pad and the Team Player, allowing for up to three players to play simultaneously. In a multiplayer game, multiple Vikings can move simultaneously, but the camera will only track one Viking at a time. The player in control of the camera can press ++ to pass the camera to the next player in port order.

Characters

	Erik the Swift
	As the self-proclaimed leader of the group, Erik can move faster than the other two Vikings and is the only one who can jump. However, he has no defensive capabilities which makes him vulnerable when scouting by himself, and his speed can be difficult to control. Primary ability: Press to make Erik jump. The faster he is moving, the higher he can jump. Secondary ability: Press while running to make Erik perform a headbutt, inflicting damage to enemies and breaking down certain walls. The recoil will leave him unable to move for a few seconds, making him vulnerable to danger.
	Baleog the Fierce
	Armed with a broadsword, a bow and a large ego, Baleog is the group's offensive specialist and the best solution for taking out enemies. He has no defensive capabilities, so he will need to rely on Olaf for cover. Primary ability: Press to make Baleog swing his sword. It is a short-ranged attack for defeating enemies up-close. Secondary ability: Hold to hock an arrow, and release to fire the arrow in Baleog's direction. Arrows can hit enemies and switches from afar, however some enemies can't be hurt by arrows.
	Olaf the Stout
	The comic relief of the group, Olaf carries a large shield around with him which can be used to block enemy attacks and projectiles in front or above, as well as allowing him to glide over hazards and avoid damage from long falls. However, he cannot fight back and so must depend on his allies, and his shield cannot protect him from enemies that can jump over him. Primary ability: Press or to raise or lower Olaf's shield. Raising it up can also give Erik a leg up. Falling from ledges and/or high places with the shield raised will make Olaf glide. Secondary ability: Same as his primary ability above.

Items

Each Viking can hold a maximum of four items, and can manage items by pressing  START  ( MODE ). To share items with another Viking, a Viking must be standing next to him. Excess food and bombs can be disposed of by moving it to the trash can icon on the HUD. Pressing  START + () will use the currently highlighted item.

Some of the items listed here are not collectibles, but are objects that can be interacted with using .

	Food
	Restores one health point.
	Steak
	Restores two health points.
	Shield
	Gives a Viking a fourth health point, represented by a blue dot.
	Bomb
	Can be placed on the ground to defeat enemies or destroy certain walls and objects. The blast can instantly kill any Viking that stands too close, so they must be handled with care.
	Smart Bomb
	Instantly destroys all enemies on the screen.
	Flaming Arrow
	Upgrades Baleog's arrows, allowing them to instantly kill any enemy and ignoring their resistance to arrows. Lasts for the duration of a single level.
	Keys
	Used in keyholes of the same colour to unlock doors and activate objects.
	Gravity Boots
	Lets a Viking walk through a gravitational field unaffected.
	Button
	Activates things when pressed with or shot at with Baleog's arrows.
	Switch
	Activates things when flipped with .
	Target
	Acts as a switch that can only be shot at with Baleog's arrows.
	Hint Button
	Displays a hint when pressing in front of one.

Time periods

	Starship (first visit)
	The Vikings' long journey home begins on Tomator's Starship. It is here that the Vikings learn from Aftiek, a friendly alien, of Tomator's intentions with the Vikings, and the trio must co-operate to escape the ship, making it past security drones and through gravitational fields. The levels here are relatively simple, and are filled with hint buttons that explain the controls and each of the Vikings' unique abilities.
	Prehistoria
	A prehistoric land roaming with hungry dinosaurs, projectile-spitting snails and rolling cavemen, Prehistoria sees the Vikings traversing through forests, swamps and volcanic caverns. Some swamps and lava pits will emit bubbles, which the Vikings can ride in for a lift, though they'll pop after reaching a certain height.
	Egypt
	This time period sees the Vikings trek across the ancient Egyptian desert and into a giant pyramid filled with traps. In outdoor levels the Vikings can climb the palm trees for items, and Baleog can shoot down coconuts to help him cross quicksand pits. Spearmen will jump over Olaf to attack him from behind, and the mummies within the pyramid will instantly mummify the Vikings if given the chance.
	Factory
	This vast industrial complex is filled with many contraptions that the Vikings can interact with, such as seesaws to catapult Vikings into the air, springs for an extra boost, and cranes they can operate to solve puzzles. Some of the machines are hazardous, such as the pounders - Olaf can block the smaller pounders to help Erik and Baleog get past them, but can't do anything about the larger pounders.
	Wacky
	A truly bizarre landscape consisting of checkered-walled funhouses and mountains made of candy, the Vikings will be dealing with levels less forgiving than other time periods and butt heads with strange enemies. Some puzzles require the Vikings to use air pumps to inflate themselves like balloons, and deflating whenever they need to by pressing , though keep in mind that the Vikings are vulnerable while inflated.
	Starship (second visit)
	The Vikings' long journey home eventually leads them back on board Tomator's Starship, now with a clear goal in mind: to track down and defeat Tomator. The second visit to the Starship presents the Vikings with the most difficult levels in the game, with many gravitational fields and lethal electrical hazards. The final level pits the Vikings up against Tomator himself, and must defeat him using puzzle-based strategies such as bombing the floor beneath him or pushing him back using Erik's headbutt.

Passwords

Main article: The Lost Vikings/Passwords.

History

Development

The Mega Drive Lost Vikings was converted from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, being Silicon & Synapse's first Sega project.

A Sega Mega-CD version with more levels and "special stuff" was planned, but failed to materialise.

Legacy

The game was followed by The Lost Vikings 2: Norse by Norsewest which hit the Sega Saturn in 1997.

The English IBM PC version has been released by Blizzard as freeware.

In February 2021, The Lost Vikings was re-released as part of Blizzard Arcade Collection for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC alongside several versions of Rock n' Roll Racing and Blackthorne. The compilation includes the Mega Drive version, the Super NES version, and a "Definitive Edition" based on the SNES release that adds all the additional content from the Mega Drive version as well as multi-language support.

Production credits

• Game Design: Silicon & Synapse
• Producers: Ayman Adham, Alan Pavlish
• Executive Producer: Brian Fargo
• Level Design: Ronald Millar Sr.
• Genesis Programming: Patrick Wyatt, James Edward Anhalt III
• Original Programming: Michael Morhaime, Frank Pearce Jr., Ayman Adham
• Artwork: Joeyray Hall, Ronald Millar Sr., Sam Didier, Jason Magness, Stuart Rose
• Additional Artwork: Clyde Matsumoto, Todd J. Camasta, Cheryl Austin, Spencer Kipe
• Original Music for the Super Nintendo: Charles Deenen
• Audio: Krisalis Software Ltd.
• Music: Matt Furniss
• Music Driver: Shaun Hollingworth
• Q.A. Director: Kerry Garrison
• Assistant Q.A. Director: Rodney N. Relosa
• Quality Assurance: Floyd Grubb, Dean Schulte, Richard Simpson
• Manual Design: Bruce Warner
• Manual Editor: Feargus Urquhart
• Thanks to: Scott Bennie, Scott Mills
• Additional grunts, groans and other sounds provided by: M.C. Olaf and the 2 Short Crew

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: The Lost Vikings/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #52: "November 1993" (1993-xx-xx)

Print advert in Game Players (US) #0612: "Vol. 6 No. 12 December 1993" (1993-1x-xx)
also published in:

• Sega Visions (US) #16: "December/January 1993/1994" (1993-xx-xx)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #54: "January 1994" (199x-xx-xx)
• GamePro (US) #54: "January 1994" (199x-xx-xx)
• VideoGames (US) #61: "February 1994" (1994-0x-xx)
• Mega Play (US) #0501: "February 1994" (199x-xx-xx)
• Sega Visions (US) #17: "February/March 1994" (199x-xx-xx)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #59: "June 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Mega (UK) #20: "May 1994" (1994-04-21)

Print advert in Hacker (HR) #6: "05/1995" (1995-xx-xx)

Print advert in Velikiy Drakon (RU) #60: "xxxx xxxx" (2002-09-05)
also published in:

• Velikiy Drakon (RU) #61: "xxxx xxxx" (2003-02-07)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 70 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 92 Console Mania (IT) 92 Cool Gamer (RU) 70 Computer & Video Games (UK) 88 Digitiser (UK) PAL 80 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 68 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 70 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 4 (RU) 80 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 84 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 85 Gamers (DE) 80 GamesMaster (UK) 89 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 85 Joypad (FR) PAL 91 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 79 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 88 Mega (UK) PAL 91 Mega Action (UK) PAL 89 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 83 Mega Machines (UK) PAL 89 MegaTech (UK) PAL 83 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 84 Player One (FR) 92 Play Time (DE) PAL 84 Power Up! (UK) 88 Sega Magazin (DE) PAL 88 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 88 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 87 Sega Power (UK) PAL 87 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 87 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 89 Sega Force (SE) 88 Sonic Mag: B.D. & Jeux-Video! (FR) 85 Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL 86 Todo Sega (ES) 86 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 83 Video Games (DE) PAL 80 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 70

	84
Based on 39 reviews

The Lost Vikings

Mega Drive, US (Interplay)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US (Ballistic)
Cover
Cart PCB

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, PT
Cover
Cart Manual EU Manual

Mega Drive, SE (rental; SF)
Cover

Mega Drive, CZ (Datart)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU

Mega Drive, AU (Silver)
Cover
Cart

Technical information

Main article: The Lost Vikings/Technical information.