Tanglewood (2018 video game)


Tanglewood is a puzzle platformer developed and published by Big Evil Corporation for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. It was crowdfunded through Kickstarter and released on 14 August 2018, with emulated versions available for Windows, Mac, and Linux on Steam and a dual-game cartridge for the Evercade along with Xeno Crisis.[1][2][3]

This article is about the 2018 Genesis/MD game. For the 1987 computer game, see Tanglewood (1987 video game).
Tanglewood
The box art used for physical copies of Tanglewood
Developer(s)Big Evil Corporation
Publisher(s)Big Evil Corporation
Designer(s)Matt Phillips
Programmer(s)Matt Phillips
Artist(s)Armen Mardirossian,
Matthew Weekes,
Simon Butler,
Drew Lake,
Krzysztof Matys,
Javier Degirolmo (font design)
Composer(s)Nathan 'freezedream' Stanley
Platform(s)Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Windows, macOS, Linux, Dreamcast, Evercade, Nintendo Switch
Release
Genre(s)Platformer, Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

There is a Sega Dreamcast port planned that is currently on hiatus.[4] There is also a planned updated version of the game called "Tanglewood: Definitive Edition" which will be a Director's Cut of the original Genesis release.[5][6][7] It is on track for a Q2 2022 release on the Nintendo Switch and will be free DLC for anyone who bought the game on Steam.[8]

The game was released on physical carts that can be played on Mega Drive systems.[9]

Gameplay
Gameplay screenshot; Nymn is running across a bridge powered by a contraption

Tanglewood puts the player in control of a fox-like creature called Nymn, and later in the game a different fox-like creature called Echo, in a world where an ancient, advanced and extinct species used to live. Nymn has been separated from his pack and is unable to get back to his family's underground home for safety, so he has to complete puzzles and avoid enemies to survive the night. Using the default control scheme, Nymn is able to run, jump with C, push things with A and B to use a temporary power granted by Fuzzls.[10] The controls can be changed in the settings menu. Unlike all currently released versions of Tanglewood, which have a 4:3 aspect ratio, Tanglewood: Definitive Edition will have a 16:9 aspect ratio.[8]

Chapters

Each Chapter, except Chapter 8, has a number of acts. Chapter 1 has 4 acts, Chapters 2-6 have 3 acts each, and Chapter 7 has 2 acts. Chapter 8 is the final boss. Tanglewood: Definitive Edition will include scrapped levels and the ability to backtrack to previous levels.[8]

Interactive Objects[10]

As part of most puzzles, there are creatures called Fuzzls. They are mysterious fuzzy balls whose origins are unknown. If Nymn pushes them back to their nest, they will grant you temporary use of their power by pressing/holding B. Yellow fuzzls grant Nymn the power to glide in the air, green ones let him slow time, and blue ones let him tame Djakks. If Nymn's power runs out, he can go back to the Fuzzl's location to get the power back. Later in the game, there are red fuzzls that are used to charge machines, and near the end of the game there is bigger white fuzzl that lets Nymn kill or damage any enemy on the screen, which is only used for the final boss. After using the white fuzzl he'll have to wait a few seconds before using it again.

Other things Nymn can push to get through levels are boulders, crates and logs. Boulders and crates can only be pushed but logs can be rolled on.

There are objects that launch Nymn into the air, flues and mushrooms. Flues are holes that will launch him into the air if jumped into. Mushrooms will give him a boost up into the air, and launch him higher up if he jumps on top of them.

Contraptions from long ago, built by a now extinct species, used to trap Djakks and keep them as hunting pets. Some of these contraptions still exist and can be used to Nymn's advantage. Most of the contraptions are connected to buttons that must be held down for Nymn to advance. Nymn can either push an object on top of the button or slow down time with green Fuzzl abilities. These contraptions are powered by red Fuzzls.

Checkpoint Totems will glow Nymn's color when Nymn passes them. Nymn will respawn at the last checkpoint he activated if he dies.[10]

Secrets and Collectibles

In each act, except in Chapter 8, there are 8 fireflies scattered around. Some are easy to find in the main path but others are well hidden and require exploration to find. If Nymn collects all of the fireflies in each act up until Chapter 8, an alternate ending will be unlocked. There are a total of 168 fireflies in the game. In the pause menu, there are two counters for the number of fireflies Nymn has collected in the current act and the whole game.[10] Tanglewood: Definitive Edition will include more secrets and collectibles, including unlockable artwork.[8]

Enemies and Bosses

There are several enemies in Tanglewood. As the day progresses, it becomes more dangerous, especially at night-time.

A Scirus is a squirrel-like creature that will run away from Nymn but will threaten him if he corners them to a wall. If Nymn gets too close to one, it will attack him. Hoggs will give chase to Nymn and attempt to impale him with its horn. If Nymn tricks a Hogg into running into a wall, its horn will get stuck to it temporarily. Fish-like creatures will swim towards Nymn if he is within their horizontal axis. They cannot swim vertically. The most common enemies in the game are Djakks. Djakks are giant beasts that were used as hunting pets thousands of years ago. Their masters are gone now so they hunt for themselves. Djakks chase Nymn in an attempt to eat him. They are unable to jump. Nymn can kill Djakks by pushing a boulder onto their head or making them run into spikes. Djakks will try to bite Nymn if they get close enough to him but Nymn can outrun the bite if he's running at full speed. He can tame Djakks and ride them temporarily when using the powers granted by the blue fuzzls. After taming a Djakk, Nymn can long jump across large gaps that he can't get through with his normal jump. There are also Elders, which are nearly 1000 year old Djakks. When their masters passed away, they were left in their cages to rot. They are desperate for food and run faster than normal Djakks. Elders only appear in Chapter 3.[10]

There is a midpoint boss in Chapter 4 where Nymn has to fight against Borgus. They are the last of its species, the Djermisch.[11] To defeat Borgus, Nymn must push a boulder onto a contraption, move it up to the platforms above, push it off to make it fall on Borgus, and repeat the process. The main villain in the game is sort of a demon that doesn't have a name. The developer himself, Matt Phillips, never named it and just likes to call it demon. The final boss takes place during Chapter 8. After getting the power of a white fuzzl, Echo goes to fight the demon. To beat the demon, Echo must use the white fuzzl's power to damage the demon once it appears then avoid the demon after it turns into an orb then repeat the process.

Tanglewood: Definitive Edition will include more bosses than the two already in the game.[6]

Password System

This game uses a password system to save games. The player's password shows up when the game is paused. On the Genesis/MD version, The player has to manually put in the password and Nymn spawns at the beginning of the act he was on. On the Steam version, the game automatically saves the password and spawns Nymn at the last checkpoint he activated.

Level Select

After the credits roll, the player will be sent back to the title screen and a level select option will be unlocked. This allows them to start at whatever chapter they want. There is also a way to access this level select without beating the game. When the game is boots up, on the screen with the Djakk and the Fuzzl on the screen, hold Start. Holding Start allows the player to control the Fuzzl and roll it. Rolling the Fuzzl towards the Djakk will cause it to be eaten. This activates cheat mode, which is indicated by the select cursor being a red Fuzzl instead of a green, blue, or yellow one. Go to the Sound Test and select the following sound effects in order: 19, 65, 9, 17. Then go back to the title screen and the level select should be unlocked.[12]

Plot
Screenshot of the first cutscene. It shows the demon smiling at Nymn while he's sleeping.

Tanglewood opens with a cutscene showing Nymn sleeping in a nest in a forest tree. A mysterious orb floats into the scene, changes into a demon, smiles evilly at Nymn, then changes back to an orb and floats away. Nymn wakes up but sees nothing untoward, so goes back to sleep.

For the first few levels, Nymn makes his way through the forest, surviving its many hazards.

At the end of Chapter 3, Nymn finds another fox-like creature named Echo, hiding from a Djakk. After killing the Djakk, Nymn approaches Echo, who jumps toward Nymn and howls with relief. Echo begins following Nymn.

At the end of Chapter 5, the orb returns. It floats in front of Nymn and Echo. Echo is scared and curls up into a ball. The orb transforms into the demon and kills Nymn. The player now controls Echo, who must continue alone.

The ending depends on whether the player collects every firefly in the game. If they don't, then the game ends with Echo defeating the demon and arriving at the nest Nymn was sleeping in at the start of the game. Echo goes to sleep alone.[13] If the player does collect every firefly, then Nymn returns to save Echo from certain death, halfway through the fight with the demon. Once the demon is defeated, both Echo and Nymn return to Nymn's nest and go to sleep.[14]

Tanglewood: Definitive Edition will include additional lore to the game's plot.[8]

Development

Matt Phillips programmed the entire game in 68000 assembly language using original Sega development tools and processes from the 1990s using his own engine.[15][16][17][18][19] The game was initially given the code name "Project Watershed" according to 7 development video logs of the project posted on YouTube between December 2014 to January 2015 but show signs of being created or recorded before then.[20] Video Log 3 shows a ledge grabbing mechanic that Matt was planning to use for climbing but none of that is present in Tanglewood today. It took 5-6 years to finish the game.[9]

Music

Tanglewood's music was composed by Nathan Stanley, who goes by the name "freezedream" online. He also made most of the sound effects. freezedream has made Genesis/MD music before and even released an album on cartridge called Today back in 2010. The first track in the album, Winter in July, sounds similar compared to the song "Deadwood" used in Tanglewood at the beginning of Chapter 6.[21] A short version of the song "Rain" from the freezedream album Sonic Traces was used at the end of Chapter 1.[22]

There is a Tanglewood OST cartridge that includes every track in the game and a new track called TANGLEWOOD (Reprise). It also plays the full version of Rain instead of the short version used in the game.[23]

There are a total of 26 tracks from the official soundtrack. Some of the tracks are actually just jingles.[23]

The game uses the Echo Sound Driver, which is a Genesis/MD sound engine. The soundtrack was most likely created in the DefleMask chiptune tracker because freezedream uploaded a preview video of the Tanglewood (Reprise) track playing on the DefleMask tracker and Matt Phillips created a conversion tool to convert DefleMask DMF files to be usable with the Echo Sound Driver.[24][25]

List of tracks from the official soundtrack[23]
  1. Tanglewood (Title Screen)
  2. Demon
  3. Wake Up (Jingle)
  4. Dawn (Jingle)
  5. Harlequin Forest (Chapter 1)
  6. Dusk (Jingle)
  7. Calm
  8. Night (Jingle)
  9. Djakk
  10. Lost
  11. Sleep (Jingle)
  12. Storm Warning (Chapter 2)
  13. Rain
  14. Heritage (Chapter 3)
  15. Union
  16. Tethered (Chapter 4)
  17. The Last Djermisch
  18. Bygone (Chapter 5)
  19. Scrap!
  20. So Long
  21. Deadwood (Chapter 6)
  22. Paramonia?
  23. Oasis (Chapter 7)
  24. Turntail (Chapter 8)
  25. Credits
  26. Tanglewood Reprise (Not in game)

Reception

Tanglewood received generally positive reviews.

People liked the level design, puzzles and most of the animation but some people panned the lack of background music.

Awards

Tanglewood won the Development World Championship Fan Favorite Award 2018, the Revival Retro Best Indie Game of Show Award 2018, the Revival Retro Best Indie Game of Show Award 2018, and the Retrotalents 2018 at Euskal Encounter award. Tanglewood was also a finalist for the Develop Conference Indie Showcase 2018 award.

References
  1. "TANGLEWOOD: An original game for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive". Kickstarter. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  2. "TANGLEWOOD® on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  3. "Amazon.com: Blaze Evercade Evercade Xeno Crisis/Tanglewood Dual Game Cartridge - Electronic Games: Video Games". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  4. Graham (29 May 2019). "Tanglewood's Dreamcast port on "hiatus"". Mega Visions - SEGA, Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, Retro news, reviews, features, podcasts. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  5. "TANGLEWOOD: Definitive Edition is coming soon to Nintendo Switch". TANGLEWOOD® - a new game for SEGA Mega Drive. Retrieved 29 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Tanglewood: Definitive Edition Tweet". www.facebook.com. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. DF Developers: Brand New Mega Drive/Genesis Games With Bitmap Bureau and Big Evil Corp [Sponsored], retrieved 1 June 2021
  8. "Discord - A New Way to Chat with Friends & Communities". Discord. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  9. "A new Sega Mega Drive game is coming out this month". Eurogamer.net. 4 August 2018.
  10. "Tanglewood Manual" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. "https://twitter.com/tanglewoodgame/status/914233556192382976". Twitter. Retrieved 23 February 2022. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  12. Phillips, Matt (16 May 2021), BigEvilCorporation/TANGLEWOOD, retrieved 2 June 2021
  13. Tanglewood. SEGA Genesis. Walkthrough, retrieved 3 June 2021
  14. Retro Megabit: Tanglewood Longplay Chapters 1-8 All Fireflies, retrieved 3 June 2021
  15. "An Interview with Matt Phillips: Creator of Tanglewood, A Brand New Sega Genesis Physical Release – GamingRebellion". www.gamingrebellion.com.
  16. "Sega-16 – Interview: Matt Phillips (Tanglewood Game Developer)". www.sega-16.com.
  17. "Interview: Matt Phillips, Tanglewood Developer | Retro Gamer".
  18. Gach, Ethan. "Making A New Game For The Original Sega Genesis Isn't Easy". Kotaku.
  19. "This Guy Is Making an All-New Sega Genesis Game the 90s Way". Motherboard. 14 November 2016.
  20. WATERSHED Development Video Log: 1 - Basic Character Movement, retrieved 21 January 2022
  21. "Today, by freezedream". freezedream. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  22. "Sonic Traces, by freezedream". freezedream. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  23. "Tanglewood OST, by freezedream". freezedream. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  24. Tanglewood Reprise Preview, retrieved 3 June 2021
  25. Phillips, Matt (16 December 2018), DefleMask Format To Echo Sound Format, retrieved 3 June 2021
  26. "Tanglewood for PC Reviews". Metacritic.
  27. Thorpe, Nick (September 2018). "Retrorated: Tanglewood". Retro Gamer (186): 98–99. ISSN 1742-3155.
  28. Bishop, Sam (19 August 2018). "It's a Mega Drive in 2018, and that pretty much means what you think it does".
  29. Aki-at (6 September 2018). "Tanglewood Review – A Retro Revival".
  30. "Tanglewood on Steam".
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