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intro
Starshine Legacy is a series of four games
which were released as part of monthly book club packages in nine countries around 2005.
The games were produced by Hidden Entertainment AB and Pixel Tales.
The four games follow a group of teenage girls and their horses.
Each of them has to unravel the mysteries of the soul riders and their magical powers to stop
Mr. Sands from reviving the monster that lurks the waters around their beloved island,
Jorvik.
Each part of the series is a single player, 3rd person game, with a colorful, cartoony art style. The story itself
is rather dark and the atmosphere is quite eerie on some levels. The gameplay is linear, with each level focusing on mostly one location. Saving is only possible after completing a level.
The game includes collecting items, solving puzzles, and competing in horse riding competitions. Some of the tasks are also timed, while with others you can take your time.
It is only in the last game that the player has to get involved in direct combat,
which isn't that hard to win. The four games together add up to approximately 4-5 hours of gameplay.
the characters
Lisa is the main character of the first game,
called the Mystery of the Soul Riders, who just moved from the big city to the quiet town of
Jorvik with his father. Ever since she lost her mother,
she’s been struggling to find her place in the world. She has short, red hair and green eyes
and has a star shaped birthmark. On her first day of school she meets the other girls
and weird things start to happen around her. When she steps into the Jorvik stables
and meets Starshine, she realizes she can hear his thoughts and forms a special bond with him.
She later discovers her power of healing.
In the second game, the Secret of Pine Hill Mansion, you play as Linda.
Linda has brown hair and wears glasses. Besides being the best in her class, is preparing for the local show jumping
competition with her horse, Meteor. Linda’s time is entirely taken up by studying,
so she often feels lonely. Linda is the first friendly person Lisa meets on her
first day and they quickly become friends.
Anne, the main character of the third game, called
The Legend of Pandoria, lived in Jorvik ever since she was born. She's blonde with blue eyes and she’s the spoiled and
bratty daughter of a wealthy family. Her horse, Concorde shares a similar personality,
being proud and stubborn. Even though Anne is prone to act like a princess, she has a good heart.
When Lisa arrives, she finds herself in a series of mysterious events and she has to accept the
fact that what she does next is closely tied to the fate of the other girls and the whole of Jorvik.
In the final game, The Riddle of Dark Core, you play as Alex.
Alex's style is tomboyish and always wears a beanie. She is the toughest girl in the school, who’s always ready to protect his little brother,
James, from bullies. Even though she's trying her best, she has troubles with studying.
She’s good with fixing things and spends most of her time in the stables with her favourite
horse, Tin-Can. They are the
only pair who doesn't compete in a race in their game.
how can you play the games?
You can either buy them used or play it on the official website of
Star Stable Online.
The team refreshed the graphics a bit and made it compatible with modern browsers, so you can play them without the need to install them.
However, there is no option to save your progress, but can freely choose to start on any of the levels of any of the games.
comic books
Around the same time the games were released, the story was adapted into comic
books, starting with the first game following Lisa’s and Starshine’s journey
showcasing some extra interactions between the girls and some new characters. They
only got to two books, then the story never continued. There is one future
page on the internet, which teases where the story would’ve progressed, also
introducing a new antagonist, called Gareth, who doesn't appear in any of the original games.
If you would like to read the comics, click on their cover image and you will be redirected to a blog where each of them were shared by Centeris2.
cover art
The first picture is the more common version of the cover art, which was used in most of the countries. The french version had the same visuals, but with a white background. The second one is from Poland.
Even though all four games were planned to release in Poland, they only got to release the first two games.
I wanted to include this fact because I find these covers really interesting. I do admit they are pretty uncanny, but they capture the darker tone of the story quite well, especially the first one.
I really wonder what the covers of the last two games would have looked like.
star academy
Lisa also appears as one of the playable characters in a different series from the developers, called Star Academy.
It is also a four game series, which centers around singing, performing and music. It also takes place in Jorvik,
so some of the locations might be familiar, but the story is not related to horses or horse riding.
The four main characters, Kyomi, Brittany, Lisa and Kevin are part of the band called The Flaming Quartet, and their goal is to get enrolled in the title-giving, acclaimed music school. The gameplay includes practicing singing and dancing, making an album and competing in the sing-off at the Jorvik Academy. Similar to Starshine Legacy, the games got a two-part comic book adaptation.
The four main characters, Kyomi, Brittany, Lisa and Kevin are part of the band called The Flaming Quartet, and their goal is to get enrolled in the title-giving, acclaimed music school. The gameplay includes practicing singing and dancing, making an album and competing in the sing-off at the Jorvik Academy. Similar to Starshine Legacy, the games got a two-part comic book adaptation.
season riders
The four Season Riders game were released through the club, the same way as Starshine Legacy was.
The games also take place in Jorvik, with a bigger map and more freedom to explore it. The world was
stripped from the magic and the focus shifted towards taking care of horses, training and winning championships.
You could create your own custom character and buy horses with different stats. In each game, a different
part of the map was added and each of them took place in a different season. Characters from the
original games and the Star Academy series made several apparences in these games.
The three four-piece series served as the basis for the currently running MMO game, Star Stable Online.
However the events of the games are not considered canon anymore.
fun facts
- ☆ Through all four games you can collect golden stars, but they only serve a purpose in the fourth game, giving you more time to finish the last level.
- ☆ The fourth game also has a secret level, where you can roam freely on a new area with any of the girls and any of the horses.
- ☆ The second game is the only game where you are not being chased by the bad guys at any point.
- ☆ The third game is the only one where Starshine doesn't appear, but is mentioned by Anne.
- ☆ The chasing scene music from Starshine Legacy has been recycled into race/championship music in the Season Riders series.
- ☆ All girls appear in the Season Riders series as riding instructors, but not with their original horses.
personal note
This series means a lot to me, as I have lots of fond memories attached to it.
Getting it through the book club really made the experience ten times better, as me and my sister
waited in anticipation to see what came next in each package and had to beg our parents
to pay for the ones that included videogames. During the time it was also possible to opt out from the package,
only receveing the monthly magazine. Though, we only owed the last two at the time and had to borrow the first two from friends.
I can't count how many times we played the games, taking turns in front of the computer.
I also adore the art style, it resembles the early 2000s cartoon aesthetic.
The mystery and magic involved in the games made it a rather serious experience for us, kids. And I find it hard to
find games similar to it, that also includes horses.
Thank you for reading!
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