| The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Developer(s) | Coktel Vision |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra Entertainment |
| Designer(s) | Muriel Tramis |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release date(s) | 1994 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game (Comedy/Fantasy) |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (6+) |
| Media | CD (1) |
| System requirements | Windows 3.1, CD-ROM, 486 or better, 4 MB RAM,
5 MB HD Space, 640x480x256 colors, sound card |
| Input methods | Mouse |
The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble (overseas title Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth) is a French adventure game released in 1994. It was designed by Coktel Vision and artist Pierre Gilhodes, both of whom created the popular Gobliiins series, to which Woodruff is very similar, both in its unique visual look and offbeat humor. Woodruff isn’t considered an official part of the Gobliiins series, however, due to its title and plot. It was distributed in America by Sierra Entertainment in 1995.
Tagline: Hey, it’s a CARTOON. It can happen.
Contents |
Our story begins with the near-annihilation of the planet in a nuclear holocaust. Driven out by the radiation, the surviving human population retreat to the center of the Earth, where the last traces of life-sustaining warmth remain. Millennia pass by before the humans finally decide to venture outside their subsurface hideouts and into the world above, discovering that, in their absence, their planet had sprouted a lush, overgrown jungle.
The planet had also managed to sprout various mutant races, including a race of peaceful mutants known as the Boozooks, who, were it not for their tails, pointed ears, and extraordinarily long noses would be virtually indistinguishable from man. The humans, however, having failed to learn their lesson from last time, wage war on the tranquil Boozook society in what was known as 'The Great Battle'.
After destroying their civilization and a large part of their population, the surviving Boozooks were enslaved by the humans and forced to build a new society, the great vertical city of Vlurxtrznbnaxl. The citizens, human and Boozook alike, lived in different parts of their city depending on their socio-economic status: the poor folk lived in poverty on the lower levels, while the rich and powerful lived in excess on the higher levels. The remaining Boozooks were instantly exploited and oppressed; their once great society in shambles, they're left to work menial jobs and manual labor.
The game begins about a century or so later, when the relations between humans and Boozooks are at their most tense. The lower-class parts of the city are stricken by poverty and crime while high society revels in corruption and greed. On top of all of this are The President and his maniacal advisor, BigWig, who keep the city under a constant shroud of fear with brutal laws, pointless taxes (including a tax on breathing and walking), bureaucratic paperwork and totalitarian propaganda, including the rumor of a ferocious nocturnal beast that likes to snack on citizens who oppose their government's laws and regulations.
Professor Azimuth, an eminent political and scientific human personality known for his work on the aging process of cells, is troubled by the plight of the Boozook race and determines to end their oppression. His goal is to find a way to unleash the Schnibble, a mystical entity that is believed to have the ability to cause peace and prosperity to flourish. Word gets out about his work, and Azimuth is hailed as a hero amongst the Boozook community. Unfortunately, word of the movement also reaches the ears of the BigWig. To head off any hope of a revolution, the BigWig and his thugs invade the home of Professor Azimuth and his young adopted son Woodruff, kidnapping the professor and spitefully gunning down Woodruff's beloved teddy bear in the process.
Professor Azimuth barely has time to hide his son from the BigWig, but not before fitting him with a Viblefrotzer, an invention of his that can speed up the aging process (and looks eerily similar to a Sony Walkman). Within seconds, Woodruff ages about fifteen years, ready to take on a new quest: rescue his adopted father, avenge the death of his teddy bear by extracting revenge on the evil BigWig and restore peace to the city.
Woodruff‘s relatively simple point-and-click interface is nearly identical to the same one featured in Sierra’s King’s Quest VII: by moving your cursor over certain objects, they’ll become highlighted, indicating that it’s an item or person Woodruff can interact with. Woodruff’s inventory is accessed by clicking the right mouse button; clicking and dragging an inventory item onto a highlighted object will combine the two. However, if the items do not connect, Woodruff will openly mock you, a feature which some reviewers described as ‘annoying’.
Despite a less-than-heralded release in America, Woodruff was released to primarily positive reviews, with most praise being given to its visual style and sense of humor. Strategy Plus (now Computer Games Magazine) gave it its most notable review, claiming it was "so addictive, you may lose your job", which ended up being printed on the box's front cover and used in most of its advertisements. The review further elaborated with "…features splendid high-resolution graphics that provide further evidence that Sierra is on a roll". PC Gamer also praised the game for its "exceptional graphics and sound", comparing it to other offbeat adventure games such as Day of the Tentacle and Sam & Max Hit the Road[1]. French magazine Joystick called it "truly wonderful" and "a real cartoon". MobyGames currently gives it a ranking of 85 out of 100.
Of the negative aspects of the game, Gamer’s Zone, although having given it a positive review, complained about the often ludicrously hard puzzles, the lack of original music, and the repetitive background sound effects [2], complaints that were often echoed in other reviews.
Despite critical acclaim, however, Woodruff failed to find a mass audience and turned out to be a financial disappointment for Sierra, eventually slipping into obscurity behind most of the company's better-known titles. Although Woodruff has been more or less largely forgotten within the adventure game genre (so little information is there that the game's English voice actors have never been identified; the French version, however, features the voices of Edgar Givry as Woodruff and Claude Piéplu as the narrator), there still remains a small, yet devoted cult fanbase.
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The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the
Schnibble |
Table of Contents |
Walkthrough
| The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Coktel Vision |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| System(s) | MS-DOS |
| Players | 1 |
| The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble | |
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Coktel Vision |
| Publisher(s) | Sierra Entertainment |
| Release date | 1994 (NA) |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Age rating(s) | N/A |
| Platform(s) | PC |
| Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough | |
The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble is an adventure game designed by Coktel Vision and published by Sierra. In the game, you play as Woodruff, the adopted son of Professor Azimuth.
An atomic war had nearly decimated the human race. The survivors were forced to hide from the radiation underground. After many years, the humans returned to the surface to find a peaceful race of creatures called the Boozooks had evolved in their absence. Naturally, the humans started a war against this new race. The humans won the war and made the Boozook their slaves.
Professor Azimuth was said to have been working on an invention that would liberate the Boozook and unite all of the world. This invention was called the Schnibble. This generated quite a controversy among the human upper class. Azimuth was ordered to be captured by the order of the Bigwig, the political leader of the humans.
Azimuth, knowing he was to be captured, quickly hid his adopted child, Woodruff. He put a strange headphone device on Woodruff's head, called the Viblefrotzer. This caused Woodruff to instantly grow from a toddler into a young man. Woodruff sets out to find his father, Professor Azimuth.
   | Something Very Strange Is Going On Here - The Bizarre Adventures Of Woodruff and the Schnibble |
| | Walkthrough by Luca Smeriglio - Woodruff& the Schnibble of Azimuth walkthrough - solution |
| | The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble - The Bizarre Adventures of Woodruff and the Schnibble for Windows 3.x - MobyGames |
| | The trailer for the game - YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. |
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