Where to get it

1999 · Cryo Interactive · Adventure · Point-and-click adventure

Atlantis II

The appearance of the Super Nova of the Crab in the skies has awakened the light half of the force. Ten, descendant of the original Hero of Atlantis, holds within him the key to the mystery. He is bound on an adventure to Tibet, where he will gradually discover his destiny from a wizened old shaman. From quest to celestial journey, his path will be strewn with traps and enigmas that he must solve to re-establish the order and balance of the Universe set-up hundreds of years ago.

Released: 1999
Platforms: Windows iOS macOS
Genres: Adventure Point-and-click adventure Puzzle
Developers: Cryo Interactive
Publishers: Cryo Interactive
Series: Atlantis
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: First person
Themes: Fantasy
Country: France
Age ratings: USK 12 ESRB E
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish (Spain)
Entry: #2 in Atlantis
Time to beat: 7hmain story12hcompletionist
Composers: Pierre Estève

About

Atlantis II, known as Beyond Atlantis in North America, is a 1999 graphic adventure game developed and published by Cryo Interactive. The sequel to Atlantis: The Lost Tales, it follows the story of Ten, a mystical being that travels across time to defeat the Bearer of Dark. Players assume the role of Ten and solve puzzles in locations such as Ireland, the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico and China.

Atlantis II was a commercial success, with sales of 180,000 units after fewer than two months of release. It ultimately sold 160,000 units in France alone, and became one of distributor Dreamcatcher Interactive's most popular titles in North America. The game was followed by Atlantis III: The New World, Atlantis Evolution and The Secrets of Atlantis: The Sacred Legacy.

›Story

In this adventure game, take Ten, the Bearer of Light, through his journey to Shambhala to confront the Bearer of Dark so that balance can be returned to the Universe. To find Shambhala, he must gather the pieces that make up the "road to Shambhala" from different locations and time periods – China, Ireland and the Yucatán.

You begin aboard a ship in the mountains of Tibet, which acts as a home base. As the pieces are found and put in place, Ten is mystically transported to exotic locations and will become different characters. Each "chapter" can be played in any order since each is self-contained with its own puzzles, objects and people. Although each chapter is autonomous the final reward of each one is another piece of "the road to Shamballa".

Yucatán The character in the Yucatán chapter is Tepec, a loyal follower of a local city's king. Tepec's kingdom is in trouble because its protector-god, Quetzalcoatl (the Feathered Serpent), has fallen asleep and as a result great misfortunes happen to the kingdom; the corn crop is dying and a rival king makes a campaign to conquer Tepec's kingdom. So Tepec is assigned with the mission to go to the land of the dead, Xibalba, and awaken Quetzalcoatl to receive chulel, the divine blood which has life giving powers.

Ireland Ten is transformed into Felim, a monk living in an Irish monastery in the early centuries of Christianity. He discovers a living remain of an ancient Irish king and then begins interacting with a set of characters from an old myth which is written in a book in the monastery library. His final goal is to help the characters get to the end of the story.

China In this chapter Ten is in the body of a travelling Chinese civil servant who is stuck in a monastery because a ghost-shadow is blocking the entrance. As water supplies are running short, he decides to use the help of the Master of Directions to travel to a Chinese version of the land of the dead to consult an immortal excorcism master.

Shamballa Shamballa is a fantasy place, which acts as a final screen of protection between the home base and the Dark's prison. Queen Rhea, a character from the prequel of the series is waiting there to link the story between the two games and guide Ten to the final level of the game, which is no other than the sunk Atlantis.

Players say

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The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game features a "point and click" interface, full 3D panning, puzzles of varied difficulty, conversations with other characters and a fully orchestrated musical score.

Story

A young man named Ten journeys through the mountains of Tibet. Upon finding a ship, he meets a levitating mystery man, who explains that Ten is the Bearer of Light and has to restore balance to the universe by confronting the Bearer of Dark, who resides in Shambhala. To find Shambhala, Ten must gather the pieces that make up the "road to Shambhala" from different time periods and locations: Ireland, the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico and China. When Ten ventures into one of the places, he transforms into a different person on a unique quest.

In Ireland, Ten is a monk named Felim helping the locals fulfill an old myth. In Yucatán, Ten is the young huntsman Tepec, a cousin of the king, who has to awaken sleeping god Quetzalcōātl to save his city from famine. In China, Ten is civil servant Wei Yulan, who helps defeat a shadow who has taken up residence before the gate of a Daoist monastery, saving the monks from drought. Finally in Shambhala, Ten meets Rhea, the last queen of Atlantis.

Reception

According to the French newspaper Les Échos, Atlantis II was a commercial hit, with sales of 180,000 units by late December 1999. This number rose to 200,000 units by April 2000. The game went on to become a best-seller in the United States. Atlantis II made up 15% of DreamCatcher Interactive's North American sales in 2000; Cryo Interactive reported more than 100,000 units sold in the region from June through the end of the year.

Market research firm PC Data tallied 64,625 sales of the game in North America for 2000, of which 23,327 derived from December. This performance made Atlantis II one of DreamCatcher's top sellers that year—alongside Traitors Gate and The Crystal Key—and resulted in growth at Cryo.