Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde is a Text Adventure for the ZX Spectrum that was released in 1988. It was faithful to the novel for the most part, though it went for a focus on Jekyll, as with most adaptations. The player assumed control of Dr. Jekyll as he made a potion to transform into the devious Mr. Hyde, and from there the player could choose whether to free Jekyll from his alter-ego for good or leave him to be condemned in Hyde's place. The best ending is acquired by saving Jekyll.
Tropes
- Bastard Bastard: The game references Utterson's initial belief in the novel that Hyde is Jekyll's evil son by having you tell him he is to avoid suspicion.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Telling Hyde to do something out-of-character in the ZX Spectrum game results in "Hyde ignores you," while most other non-actions have "Hyde is puzzled" as a response.
- Brits Love Tea: One of the first actions in the ZX Spectrum game is to prepare and drink tea before Jekyll falls asleep.
- Card Games: One section of the ZX Spectrum game requires you to play pontoon/blackjack and win at least 50 shillings.
- Developer's Foresight:
- Botching the interrogation with Inspector Newcomen can result in him asking why Utterson would lie to the police. You can tell him he's in league with Hyde, causing the inspector to admonish Jekyll for lying.
- In the same game, the player can have Jekyll go to Gaunt Street and Soho via cab early on, but Utterson isn't at home and Soho is so unappealing Jekyll doesn't bother stepping out. Neither location is required until later, and Hyde goes to Soho automatically.
- Face Framed in Shadow: The ZX Spectrum game requires Hyde to wear a hat to shadow his face; failing to do so has him scare everyone at the pontoon table and get kicked out.
- Golden Ending: The ZX Spectrum game's best ending is achieved by redeeming Jekyll and ridding the world of Hyde's evil.
- Nightmare Sequence: The ZX Spectrum game has Jekyll plagued by nightmares whenever he sleeps, even before he turns into Hyde.
- No MacGuffin, No Winner: In the ZX Spectrum game, if you don't stop the maid from taking Jekyll's alcohol or Lanyon from using the salt as table salt, you can't make the potion to turn into Hyde and the game ends.
- Police Are Useless: Averted, as the police will easily catch Hyde if you're not fast enough and don't know what to do exactly. Inspector Newcomen is also dismissive if you attempt to lie to him and claim Utterson's in league with Hyde.
- Railroading: The game has a mild form of this, as while it's possible to lose or mess up Hyde's sequences, he'll refuse to go to certain areas or respond to certain commands at times.Game: Hyde doesn't want to go back that way.
- Ramp Jump: The ZX Spectrum game has Jekyll in a train during a nightmare, but the rail is out. If the train is going fast enough, he'll make the jump to the other side. If it's not, he dies.
- Timed Mission: Several segments of the game are timed, whether by turn count or by seconds.
- Trial-and-Error Gameplay: The ZX Spectrum game, like most text adventure games, is built on trial and error; failing to do things at certain points can render the game unwinnable.
