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Curse of Blackmoor Manor is the eleventh game in the Nancy Drew adventure series. It is based on Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #77: The Bluebeard Room. It was released October 5, 2004. The game follows Nancy as she goes to England, to figure out the meaning behind an old neighbor' odd behavior.

The game has become one of the most popular games in the series. It was included in Her Interactive's "Fan Favorites" collection in 2010, and has been named by the company and fans as one of its scariest and best titles. This is notably the first game to be set outside of the United States, as well as the first game to have the absence of Bess Marvin and George Fayne, as well as Frank and Joe Hardy's first absence since their introduction in Secret of the Scarlet Hand. This is also the first appearance of Ned since The Final Scene was released three years earlier.

Synopsis[]

Delve into dark legends lurking in the shadow of an old English mansion!

All is not well in Blackmoor Manor, a fourteenth-century English mansion haunted by a tragic past. You, as Nancy Drew, embark on your first international adventure to England to visit Linda Penvellyn, your neighbor's daughter and newlywed wife of a British diplomat. A mysterious malady keeps Linda hidden behind thick bed curtains and Linda refuses to let anyone see her. Is she hiding from something or someone, or is a more menacing threat stalking her? Face your fears to find out the truth!

  • Solve puzzles based on heraldry, astronomy, and alchemy
  • Explore an enormous English mansion with hidden passages and mazes
  • Play fun mini-games such as Bul, Skull and Bones and jigsaw puzzles

Characters[]

Linda Penvellyn[]

Linda is a mysterious figure, hiding behind her canopy bed's curtains in her bedroom. She's moody and often unfriendly toward Nancy, telling her firmly that she should leave the manor. She frequently refuses to speak to Nancy any further if the detective presses too hard.

Mrs. Leticia Drake[]

Mrs. Drake is Hugh's aunt, a brusque and efficient woman. She acts as the head housekeeper of Blackmoor Manor and is devoted to keeping it in good order. She adores plants and is reliably found in the Manor's conservatory.

Jane Penvellyn[]

Jane is Hugh's twelve-year-old daughter from a former marriage. She feels a little frightened by Blackmoor Manor, and also claims to have seen mysterious things.

Nigel Mookerjee[]

Nigel is a historian and author, visiting the manor in order to research the Penvellyns for his newest book. He sets up shop in the Manor library to help his research.

Ethel Bossiny[]

Ethel is Jane's tutor, teaching her subjects such as mathematics, Latin, and history. The Bossiny family has acted as the Penvellyns' tutors for generations and she is no different. She was hired by Mrs. Drake. Nancy occasionally bumps into her.

Loulou[]

Loulou is the Penvellyn family parrot who can speak and will give Nancy clues depending on whether or not the player is in Junior or Senior Detective mode.

Phone Friends[]

Nancy uses a cell phone which can be accessed by an icon at the bottom of the screen.

Ned Nickerson[]

Ned is Nancy's boyfriend. He can be called for hints.

Hugh Penvellyn[]

Hugh is Linda's husband and Mrs. Drake's nephew, who is away on diplomatic business. Nancy can speak to him about Linda to find out more regarding the situation.

Mrs. Petrov[]

Mrs. Petrov is Nancy's neighbor, who wants her to find out why her daughter Linda is acting strangely.

Paliki Vadas[]

Paliki is a lycanthropy expert, whom Nancy gets in contact with when she is investigating Linda's strange behavior.

Production[]

With the exception of Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, the previous games had been developed from books with little differences (besides cutting more mature content featured in games based on the Files series). However, development on Curse of Blackmoor Manor was different due to two factors. The first was that Her Interactive underwent a creative management shake-up in early development of the game. President Megan Gaiser and designer Robert Riedl redeveloped the company's creative structure to have employees focus more on specific areas, and less of the mass-collaboration in previous production cycles.[1] Shortly after the game's production, creative director Max Holechek left Her Interactive.[2]

The second issue were mature themes and series continuity changes that were featured in The Bluebeard Room: Nancy pursuing romantic interests aside from Ned, including a rock star; references to drugs, with drugs being planted in Nancy's purse at one point; and a drug-smuggling ring taking advantage of a graphic legend surrounding the Penvellyn family to cover their activities. Lead designer Robert Riedl said it was "a weird book" and recalled there was much debate over how to handle the topics found in the book.[1]

DVD version[]

CURDVD

In 2007 a version of this game that could be played on your TV screen with a DVD player was released. It came with a PC version of The Haunted Carousel. It is stylized similarly to the original interface of the games. There is the small blue border around the game window like in the PC version of this game, but there is a text box below it, and to the right, where the inventory would be in the old interface, is the inventory icon with the hammer and wrench surrounded by four directional arrows. The cursor (which is moved with the directional keys on the remote or keyboard) starts out in the game window if there is something to interact with (a white hand, a detailed yellow magnifying glass or a red speech bubble with a question mark). Otherwise, it is on the inventory icon, which is where it goes if it is moved below the game window in a scene where interaction is possible. From there, the directional keys can be pressed to move to another scene. Using the inventory button will open up the inventory like in the PC version, but on the tabs where there would be all, viewable, or portable items, Nancy can access the inventory, her journal, her task list, her cell phone and the menu. Like the Message in a Haunted Mansion Gameboy Advance game, this game is in chapters (10) and gives a password at the end of each chapter. It cannot be saved in the middle of one.

Trivia[]

Main article: The Penvellyn Family
  • This is the first game to be set outside of the United States.

Continuity[]

Foreshadowing[]

  • Jane mentions one of the relatives was a member of the French resistance (Danger by Design).

Main/recurring character revelations[]

Allusions[]

  • Many aspects of the game were inspired by the 1965 film Die, Monster, Die!.[3]
  • Jane mentions a relative named Marianne "got shipwrecked on a deserted island with a whole bunch of yahoos." This is a reference to the television series Gilligan's Island.

Goofs[]

  • Jane says that Nicholina (1448-1501) died as a baby. However, according to the chart, she would have been 53 years old.
  • As only heretics were burned at the stake, Elinor should have been hanged.

References and Notes[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 StoryRetold. Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor w/ Robert Riedl and Calina Herman [Behind the Scenes Part 1] - YouTube. October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  2. Her Interactive. Unlocked! The Official Nancy Drew, Podcast (Episode 018: Max Holechek) - YouTube. July 21, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  3. Nancy Drew Walkthroughs. Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor w/ Robert Riedl and Calina Herman [Behind the Scenes Part 2 - YouTube. October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.]


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