Line #8 YMMV/ReturnToZork


1	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The game boasts a surprisingly outstanding orchestrated soundtrack, with many pieces that wouldn't feel out of place in a major movie. Of special note is the opening theme though, which is equal parts grand in scale as it is foreboding to help you feel as if you've arrived into a wondrous new place that you don't belong in.
2	* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: As far as adventure games go, the game is frequently derided for its extremely convoluted and cruel puzzles that border on ViolationOfCommonSense in many places or are GuideDangIt moments at best. Comparatively, the story is considered the main highlight of the game, with a great mixture of light hearted comedy and intense NightmareFuel moments, plus a lot of very quote worthy moments.
3	* FridgeBrilliance: Why would the Orc that defends the entrance to Morpheus' chamber be intimidated by an unseen barking of a dog? The codex in the mayor's office reveals the existence of vicious Hellhounds who could go invisible, said to be inhabiting the Road to the South. The Orc wasn't willing to take a chance.
4	** The bra-box in front of a house with nothing to indicate it belongs to the man in the house? Taking it results in the guardian of zork destroying your inventory. This is despite the fact that when the player talks to the man, he made it clear that it doesn't actually belong to him and that they are free to take it. It's likely that the guardian is in league with Morpheus, looking for any reason to put an end to the player's journey. As for raiding Rebecca's home, she was already inside, armed and dangerous, so he likely expected a disastrous outcome. Too bad Rebecca actually gave the player a chance to clear it up. Further more, since Morpheus can corrupt Canuk, it's possible he was able to do the same to the guardian.
5	** How is the Hunter in the forest, who went blind by the curse, not fallen victim to Grues? The fairy was present and even arguing with him. As tiny as she is, another living soul to bear witness means no meal for Grues today.
6	* FridgeHorror: [[spoiler:Morphius's lair has six statues in it: Rooper, Trembyle, Canuk, Rebecca, The Holy Woman, and Witch Itah. One would assume they're all petrified... except until you go into the final part of Morphius's lair, you can backtrack and talk to any of these characters (the exceptions being Trembyle and Rooper.) Now, Canuk we know has been under Morpheus's thumb the whole time, but he still has a statue there anyway... so either Morpheus's vultures work wicked fast and can round up three people in the time it takes for the player to cross the bridge, or Morphius has had them under his control the whole time.]]
7	* HoYay: Moodock and Canuk have this. Moodock speaks ''very'' favorably of Canuk and when Molly [Moodock's wife] says, "I don't mean to be malicious but that guy really gave me the creeps. I didn't even know who I was a'talking to when he was around. He was a real nutcase," instead of taking his wife's concerns seriously, Moodock tells you to just ignore her. Somewhat bad advice, considering that [[spoiler:Canuk is being controlled by the BigBad and will try to [[ForcedTransformation turn you into a duck]], costing your game]].
8	* ItsHardSoItSucks: The most common complaint leveled against the game is easily how unfair and cruel many of its puzzles can be; even the ''very first one'' in the game is a borderline GuideDangIt moment (where you have to somehow know to [[spoiler:dig up a plant with a knife rather than just pulling it out of the ground]]). May be a major reason it didn't retain the same staying power that the later and more successful ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' did.
9	* MemeticMutation: Want some rye? Course ya do! [[labelnote:Explanation]]Boos Myller says this every time you walk through his mill, which is guaranteed to be several times on your first playthrough. He's also part of a multi-step puzzle where he says this no fewer than ''four times'' during the duration of you solving it, and the way he says it is just so memorable and hilarious that it sticks with you forever after playing.[[/labelnote]]
10	* {{Narm}}: The voice acting and digitized actors are, lack of a better term... dated. In a sometimes hilarious way. Even funnier if you kill some of them.
11	* NightmareFuel
12	** The Road to the South. [[NothingIsScarier You never learn a single thing about it]], other than that it's impassible ("absolutely impossible to pass. Impassable."), and that going that way will kill you instantly. Even the [[HaveANiceDeath death screen]] doesn't tell you much about it... you get the generic gravestone and no further information. [[WildMassGuessing Maybe there's a lot of vultures that way?]]
13	*** The Town Hall you go to later has a codex that explains that the Road to the South is full of vicious Hellhounds that may or may not be able to turn invisible.
14	** The scene with Canuk; the music clearly indicates that there's something wrong with him... but it's not until his voice starts to change that you realize that he's actually possessed by the villain. And you have to keep dealing with him if you want to get the final piece of the game's MacGuffin - and that means entering the DeathTrap he offers.
15	** Morphius' laugh during the death sequences.
16	** Most of the death sequences. As Morphius laughs, you see a stained glass window with a metaphorical representation of how you got yourself killed.
17	** The fact that you '''''[[DisproportionateRetribution die]]''''' for failing Ms. Peepers' test.
18	** Every time you enter a dark place you are told that this is "just the way the grues like it." Though you never ''see'' the grues, it is possible to be eaten by them. In fact, you have until the text vanishes (about ten seconds) to light the darkness or get the hell out before you're lunch. For good measure, this can happen ''anywhere'', including your hotel room - [[ParanoiaFuel the one place you'd think you would be safe from nightmarish carnivores.]]
19	*** This isn't helped along by the death screen for a grue encounter: a stained-glass window covered mostly in darkness, with a pair of large, uncannily real eyes staring toward the screen.
20	** Morphius's vultures deserve some mention. You only encounter them two or three times in the game (more often if you have both the magnet and the whistle, but they're not so bad after that point), but if you manage to tick them off (by getting too close), they [[JumpScare fly at your face with]] [[NightmareFace decidedly un-natural features coming into full view]]. By the way, one of them is on [[PressStartToGameOver the first screen in the game]].
21	** The Lighthouse Keeper remarks "You must be another one of Rooper's sweepstakes winners." ''Another one.'' What the hell happened to all of them?
22	** Morphius himself. On his own, he's pretty unnerving, but it's his modus operandi that makes him really creepy: he's constantly trawling through the minds of the Valley's inhabitants while they dream, looking for character traits that interest him. If anyone demonstrates something he finds to be "of value," he has his vultures capture them and bring them to his citadel: there, he turns them to stone and goes about assimilating them. And guess what? ''' ''You'' '' now have his undivided attention.
23	** All of Morphius' lines during the showdown are creepy as hell. After all, he has the petrified bodies of quite a few of your allies from across Zork on display (Including [[spoiler:Rooper, Wizard Trembyle, Rebecca Snoot, the Priestess of the Bel Nair Temple, and Witch Itah]]). But that voice, and that music just make it all the more disturbing.
24	--> Welcome... to my gallery. Perhaps you know some of my collection? This is my research laboratory, and these are my subjects. I have studied them all, and have taken the best from each. From ''you''... I will take strategy.
25	--> (If you lose) You'll be ''quite'' a study! (EvilLaughter)
26	* OnceOriginalNowcommon: At the time, it was SceneryPorn, and the digitized actors were considered revolutionary. Now, the graphics would be considered extremely primitive 3D models, the fact that the puzzles are so [[SolveTheSoupCans obtuse]] would be seen as frustrating, and the acting is pure {{Narm}} with how bad the performances are.
27	* ThatOneLevel: The Creeping Bogs' maze. You have to use the walking stick on ''every screen'' to see if it's safe. [[TheLostWoods The Whispering Woods]] you can at least get by with a guide. But this maze is randomized on every playthrough, so you will just be ''annoyed'' at having to do this each time, showing that old-school difficulty is [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools not always a good thing.]] [[note]]You can [[DungeonBypass avoid wandering around in the bogs entirely]] if you passed through the Whispering Woods first, met Canuk, and got ahold of a magnet and a whistle. Then you can go anywhere in the map via convenient vulture-powered transport. That said, a player trying not to use a guide or hints is ''extremely'' unlikely to accomplish this on a first play through, since doing so requires you to traverse all the way through the Whispering Woods without the bats guiding you.[[/note]]

Context YMMV / ReturnToZork