View source for Transylvania (video game)


{{Infobox video game
|designer = Antonio Antiochia
|image = File:Transylvania_Commodore_64_Cover_Art.jpg
|caption = Commodore 64 cover art
|publisher = [[Penguin Software]]
|platforms = [[Apple II]], [[Atari 8-bit]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Mac (computer)|Mac]], [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], [[MS-DOS]], [[iOS]]
|released = '''Apple II, Atari 8-bit, C64'''<br>{{vgrelease|WW|1982}}
'''Mac'''<br>{{vgrelease|WW|1984}}
'''Amiga, ST, MS-DOS'''<br>{{vgrelease|WW|1985}}
|genre = [[Adventure game|Adventure]]
|modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]], [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]]
}}

'''''Transylvania''''' is an adventure video game published by [[Penguin Software]]. It was released for the [[Apple II]] in 1982 followed by ports to the [[Atari 8-bit computers]] and [[Commodore 64]]. A [[Mac (computer)|Mac]] conversion was published in 1984, then versions for the [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], and [[MS-DOS]] in 1985.

==Plot==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2020}}

''Transylvania'' is a game on which the player takes on a quest involving rescuing Princess Sabrina and must travel the countryside where a [[werewolf]], a [[vampire]], a prankster [[goblin]], a [[witch]], and an [[Extraterrestrials in fiction|alien]] [[starship|spaceship]] roam. The game gives the player a time limit (the player receives a note early in the game which reads, "Sabrina dies at dawn"), and the Princess is held in a [[coffin]] located in the castle tower.

==Reception==
Gregg Williams reviewed the game for ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'', and stated that "I refer to the Atari 520 ST version of Polarware's Transylvania. The story line is fine, but the game makes almost no use of the ST's extra colors, resolution, or speed."<ref name="CGW28">{{cite magazine |last=Williams |first=Gregg |title=Atari Playfield |magazine=Computer Gaming World |date=May 1986 |volume=1 |issue=28 |pages=28}}</ref>

The first game in the ''[[Transylvania (series)|Transylvania]]'' series was well received, appearing in the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''<ref>Billboard magazine, Oct. 13, 1984, p.27</ref> and ''[[Softalk]]'' best-sellers charts and in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''<ref>Wall Street Journal, July 18, 1984, p.23</ref> in a list of best-selling software. The Mac version sold over 15,000 copies within two months of release in 1984, accounting for over a fifth of all Mac owners at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Popular Computing |magazine=[[Popular Computing]] |date=1984 |volume=4 |issue=1–4 |page=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8QMpAQAAMAAJ |publisher=McGraw-Hill |quote=I spoke to an exultant Mark Pelzarski, president of Penguin. "Transylvania on the Mac is now half our sales!" he said, citing over 15,000 copies sold in less than two months. Using Apple's then-current estimate of 70,000 Macs sold, that meant that over a fifth of all Macintosh owners had purchased the program.}}</ref>

It received a Certificate of Merit in the category of "1984 Best Computer Game Audio-Visual Effects" at the 5th annual [[Arkie Awards]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Kunkel |first1= Bill |author-link1= Bill Kunkel (gaming)|last2= Katz |first2= Arnie |author-link2= Arnie Katz|date= February 1984 |title= Arcade Alley: The 1984 Arcade Awards, Part II |journal= [[Video (magazine)|Video]]|publisher= Reese Communications|volume= 7|issue= 11|pages= 28–29|issn= 0147-8907}}</ref> It is considered one of the best entries in the adventure game genre.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.filfre.net/hall-of-fame/
 |title=Hall of Fame
 |last=Maher
 |first=Jimmy
 |publisher=The Digital Antiquarian
 |access-date=July 25, 2017
}}</ref> ''[[ANALOG Computing]]'' disliked the Atari ST versions of the first and second games, stating that "There just wasn't much of a story line" and that the ideal player age was a young teenager, not an adult. Despite this, however, because of their low price and "excellent" production values, graphics, and parser, the magazine recommended the games for those seeking graphic adventures for the ST.<ref name="panak198612">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/analog-computing-magazine-49/Analog_Computing_49_1986-12_8_Bit_Gift_Guide#page/n113/mode/2up | title=Panak Strikes | work=ANALOG Computing | date=December 1986 | accessdate=7 July 2014 | author=Panak, Steve | pages=97}}</ref>

==Legacy==
An [[iPhone]] version of ''Transylvania'' was released on October 30, 2009 under the name ''Transylvania Adventure'' with retro-styled graphics.<ref>https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=337021492&mt=8</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{moby game|id=/91}}

{{Penguin Software}}

[[Category:1980s horror video games]]
[[Category:1982 video games]]
[[Category:Adventure games]]
[[Category:Amiga games]]
[[Category:Apple II games]]
[[Category:Atari 8-bit computer games]]
[[Category:Atari ST games]]
[[Category:Classic Mac OS games]]
[[Category:Commodore 64 games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:IOS games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]
[[Category:Penguin Software games]]
[[Category:ScummVM-supported games]]
[[Category:Transylvania in fiction]]
[[Category:Video games about extraterrestrial life]]
[[Category:Video games about goblins]]
[[Category:Video games about vampires]]
[[Category:Video games about witchcraft]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games set in castles]]
[[Category:Video games set in Romania]]
[[Category:Werewolf video games]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Transylvania (video game)|access_date=2026-03-07}}