Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars brought to Java and Symbian the classic adventure game from Revolution Software, about American tourist George Stobbart, who is accidentally drawn into a conspiracy in Paris reaching all the way back to the Knights Templar. The mobile version preserves the basic principle of a point-and-click adventure - examining scenes, collecting items, combining them, and solving puzzles - adapted to control via a directional pad and a few buttons instead of a mouse. The player travels gradually from Paris to other European cities, uncovering a conspiracy that reaches deep into history, while the key characters and plot remain faithful to the 1996 original.

Given the limitations of the display and memory, scenes were simplified and interactive points highlighted so they could be worked with comfortably even without a mouse cursor; dialogue was shortened, but the key witty lines and character personalities were preserved. The atmosphere of the Parisian streets and ancient mysteries was, even on mobile, underscored by simple yet inventive music reminiscent of the original computer version, which helped evoke the feeling of a detective adventure even on a small display. Puzzles were slightly simplified compared to the PC version to match the more limited inventory and slower keyboard-based phone controls.

The mobile port of Broken Sword showed that the graphic adventure genre, which relies on atmosphere and storytelling rather than action, can be carried over even to a button phone if developers carefully simplify the controls without losing the essence of the game. For fans of the original game, it was a pleasant opportunity to replay a favorite story away from their home computer, while for new players it was an unconventional introduction to a classic adventure series. Even given the era's limitations, it remains clear why Broken Sword ranks among the most acclaimed European adventure games of the nineties, and why it found its way onto platforms it was never originally designed for.

Why play it: For fans of classic adventure games who will appreciate how carefully simplified controls preserved the atmosphere and storytelling of Broken Sword even on a button phone.