Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe
Developer(s)	Adventure Soft
Publisher(s)	Adventure Soft
Series	Simon the Sorcerer series
Platform(s)	Amiga, Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, MS-DOS
Release date(s)	1995
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen) USK: free for all
Media	CD-ROM, 3.5" Floppy disk (PC)
Input methods	Keyboard, Mouse

Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe (more commonly just Simon the Sorcerer II) is an adventure game created by Adventure Soft released in 1995. It is the second in the Simon the Sorcerer series of games.

The PC sequel was released in a large black box and, like the original, the copy-protected floppy disk version required the manual to be able to play the game. Unlike the disk version, the CD-ROM was not copy-protected, its colour manual fit in the front of the jewel case and also included the full "talkie" soundtrack. For this second installment in the series, Brian Bowles became the voice of Simon, making him sound much older, presumably in his late-teens.

The Amiga version was originally scheduled for release alongside the PC version in 1995, but was cancelled, possibly because of the decline of the Amiga market. The rights for the Amiga release were eventually secured by Epic Interactive Entertainment (now RuneSoft) in 1999, who released it on CD in July 2000 in a DVD-style case^{citation needed}.

Summary

The Evil wizard Sordid is brought back to life when a magic-book of his is set ablaze and thrown into the middle of a chalkboard pentagram by the father of Runt, a young boy wanting to become a mighty sorcerer. Sordid promises him that he can become his apprentice if he helps him exact his vengeance on Simon.

Several months later, Sordid's Fortress of Doom is reconstructed and Sordid has a new robotic body. He sends a magical wardrobe to fetch Simon but it accidentally ends up on the doorstep of Calypso, the wizard Simon had to save in the last game. Simon then starts to look for a fuel called mucusade which he needs to power the wardrobe in order to get home.

Cultural references

Simon the Sorcerer includes various references to popular literature, pop-culture, fantasy and other adventure-games:

• The game's title "The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe" is a reference to The Chronicles of Narnia. The lion in this game, named Masala (which resembles Aslan) features only very briefly. The Wardrobe is a key plot-point and the Wizard is, of course, Simon himself.
• In the opening credit-sequence Simon brings a broom to life to do his bidding, but when the broom rebels he chops it to pieces with an axe. The pieces however grow into several brooms. The setup of this gag is taken from the Wizard's Apprentice part of the Disney Musical Fantasia, which itself is based on Goethe's ballad The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
• The Swamplings fast-food chain, MucSwaplings is a take on McDonalds.
• Simon carries a left-handed crowbar, a typical adventure-game item. He refers to the magic-potion, later in the game as "The Ultimate Adventure Game cliché".
• At one point the player must retrieve a Magic Lamp with a genie in it, similarly to the story of Aladdin.
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears appear in the game. Simon steps on, and breaks, a Sega Mega Drive game system in the Three Bears' home.
• Long John Silver, a character from Treasure Island also appears in the game.
• The other prisoner of the pirates looks and acts very similarly to Mr. T.
• The Valley of Doom and its Goblin Army are very reminiscent of Mordor from The Lord of the Rings.
• The Role-Playing geeks are playing an RPG similar to Dungeons & Dragons, but which is set in the real-world (as the geeks live in a fantasy world).
• Mucusade is a reference to the Lucozade energy drink.
• Simon needs the Mucusade because it takes 1.21 gigawatts of power to make the wardrobe work. This is a reference to the movie Back to the Future.
• A probable nod to LucasArts' Monkey Island series, looking at the cart outside the big tent causes Simon to say: "Looks like a Red Herring to me." Also when Simon takes green dye from the shelf it says "Grass green. I hate this color!" almost identical to the same quote from LucasArts' "Loom".
• In talking with the man outside the tent, Simon has the option to make reference to the The Prisoner, ("I am not a number), and Born on the Fourth of July.

External links

• Simon the Sorcerer II at RuneSoft
• Simon the Sorcerer II PC CD-ROM "Full Talkie" demo hosted at bgbennyboy's site, Quick and Easy Software
• Simon the Sorcerer series at MobyGames