Dark Parables

Dark Parables
Genre(s)	Adventure, puzzle, hidden object
Developer(s)	Blue Tea Games Eipix Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Big Fish Games
Platform(s)	Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android (operating system)
First release	Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose March 11, 2010
Latest release	Dark Parables: The Thief and the Tinderbox September 22, 2016

Dark Parables is a casual game series originally developed by Blue Tea Games, and by Eipix Entertainment from the eighth installment onwards. The games are distributed by Big Fish Games. They are available for PC, Mac OS, iOS and Android devices. The series features ‘Hidden Object’ scenes where, in order to progress through a game, the player must find all the pieces that make up a certain item to be used as a 'cause and effect' in another area of the game. Every game in the series is based around a different fairy tale, with some overlap between games, there is also some divergence from the series' continuity in storylines (especially after Eipix Entertainment took up the franchise).

There have been twelve games in the Dark Parables series to date. In each installment the player plays as "The Fairytale Detective", a detective who is dispatched to exotic locations to investigate reports of disturbances of suspected/confirmed fairytale nature. Although in the games the player is simply addressed as "Detective", the appellation "The Fairytale Detective" is used for the first time in the third installment, and again in the sixth and tenth installment.

History

Dark Parables was inspired by the amazing comic book series, Fables. Also at that time, the epitome of adventure hidden object game experience was Return to Ravenhearst. I wanted to merge the strong stories similar to Fables with the gameplay experience of RTR, while adding innovative features that makes our brand stand out. This is what became of Dark Parables.

the owner of Blue Tea Games, Steven Zhao

Owner and creative director of Blue Tea Games, Steven Zhao, stated in an interview that inspirations for Dark Parables were the comic book series Fables and casual game Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst.

Installments

Part 1 - Curse of Briar Rose

Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose is the first installment in the Dark Parables franchise and was released on March 11, 2010. Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, the player takes on the role of The Detective to investigate and discover the true tale of the real Sleeping Beauty, and save her from the disembodied spirit of the evil sorceress who originally cursed her, and who now needs a new body and has her sights set on Briar Rose's. After Briar Rose is reawakened, she tells you of the "fabled Frog Prince, who still walks amongst us to this day", setting up events for the following game, The Exiled Prince.

The bonus gameplay in this game is titled "The Spinning Room" and serves as a further teaser for the following game, The Exiled Prince, by introducing the fact that Princess Briar Rose had a sister named Princess Ivy, (who, in The Exiled Prince, is James the Frog Prince's first and one true love).

Part 2 - The Exiled Prince

Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince is the second installment in the Dark Parables franchise and was released on February 25, 2011. Set in Black Forest, Germany, the player as The Detective is sent to investigate the tale of The Frog Prince after the disappearance of the chancellor's daughter. It is revealed the fabled prince is still alive, cursed with Immortality, and now roams the deserted path in the forest, capturing unsuspecting visitors trying to find a solution to his curse.

The bonus gameplay in this game is titled "The Frozen Lair" and was a teaser for the following game, Rise of the Snow Queen.

Part 3 - Rise of the Snow Queen

Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen,the third installment in the series, was released on December 2, 2011. Set in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, the player journies into the mythical Snowfall Kingdom and investigate the disappearance of several children. The legendary Snow Queen has risen and has been terrorizing nearby villages with her supernatural powers in her search for the "Golden Child". The player must rescue the missing children and put a stop to the fabled queen's plan.

The bonus gameplay in this game is based on the tale "Hansel and Gretel", revealing the origin of "the Golden Child" seen in Rise of the Snow Queen. The player is Hansel as he rescues his sister from a witch and releases a goddess from captivity.

Part 4 - The Red Riding Hood Sisters

Dark Parables: The Red Riding Hood Sisters is the fourth installment in the Dark Parables franchise and was released on September 21, 2012. Set in the forests of the Vosges Mountains, Eastern France, the player as the detective returns to defeat the fabled Wolf Queen.

The bonus gameplay in this game is based on the fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", telling the backstory of how the Mist Kingdom became over run by the Mist Wolves. The player is 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf', as he seeks to save his father from the Greedy King of the Mist Kingdom and rescue a mermaid from captivity.

Part 5 - The Final Cinderella

Dark Parables: The Final Cinderella is the fifth installment in the Dark Parables franchise, and was released on May 23, 2013. Set in the Matese mountains of southern Italy. For decades, a mysterious witch, known as "Godmother", has been hunting maidens, in search of the legendary "Cinderella"; a pure-hearted maiden. Play as the fabled detective, venture into the mirror world to rescue this Final Cinderella alongside Pinocchio, from the evil Godmother's clutches, and stop her evil plans to steal the girl's pure soul!

The bonus gameplay is called "The Oriental Cinderella". It tells the story of a Chinese Princess, Shan Mao, a "Cinderella", who was turned into a nine-tailed fox by the Spider Witch, who is in fact her evil stepsister, Princess Chi. You, the player, play as the Prince, (whose marriage proposal Princess Shan Mao has accepted), as he goes on a quest to save Shan, with the help of Godmother (before she turned evil, showing how she met Geppetto), from Princess Chi.

After the end credits, it reveals that the next installment will center around "Jack and the Beanstalk".

Part 6 - Jack and the Sky Kingdom

Dark Parables: Jack and the Sky Kingdom is the sixth installment in the Dark Parables series released on February 6, 2014. Accompanied by a legendary and infamous Robin Hood-esq fortune hunter called Jack, the Fairytale Detective ventures up to the Sky Kingdom, (a mythical floating kingdom), after chunks of it have rained down upon a town in Alblasserwaard, South Holland, and discover the history behind the chaos and stop the Sky Kingdom King and Princes' wreaking havoc and destruction. The bonus gameplay is called "Rumpelstiltskin and the Queen". It tells the story of how the young Queen of the Sky Kingdom, (the miller's daughter from "Rumpelstiltskin") rescues her infant daughter from Rumpelstiltskin.

Part 7 - Ballad of Rapunzel

Dark Parables: Ballad of Rapunzel is the seventh installment in the Dark Parables series, released on June 26, 2014. As revealed on the game's beta demo, the events of the seventh installment are set at "the ruins of the ancient Floralia kingdom, (named for the kingdom's patron, the Roman goddess, Flora) on this mountain," Mount Sněžka, Czech Republic, in Central Europe, and the game is set 10-years after the events of 'Rise of the Snow Queen'. Along with Gerda and Prince Ross Red (Snow White's estranged fraternal twin brother), the player explores the cause of the waves of deadly pollen that is building to spread across the land.

The Bonus Chapter gameplay is called "The Thumbelina Curse". Following the events of The Ballad of Rapunzel, the player play as Gerda, the Golden Child (descendant of Hansel, the first Golden Child), as she seeks to locate Kai, who disappeared at the beginning of the Main game.

Part 8 - The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide

Dark Parables: The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide is the eighth installment in the Dark Parables series. It is the first sequel developed by Eipix Entertainment. The Collector’s Edition was released on November 13, 2014 for PC and Mac, with an iOS version released afterwards. The events of the eighth installment are set the Island of Crete, off of the coast of Greece, in the Mediterranean Sea. As the Detective, the player must investigate the "Legendary Sunken Kingdom of Prasino" (under the patronage of the ancient Greek Goddess, Thalassa), after reports of a Purple Tide approaching the coastline, killing all marine life in its path and flooding a coastal village.

The Bonus Chapter gameplay in this game is called "Trusty John and King Bluebeard".

Part 9 - The Queen of Sands

Dark Parables: The Queen of Sands is the ninth installment of the Dark Parables series, once again developed by Eipix Entertainment. The Collector’s Edition was released on May 21, 2015 for PC and Mac, with iOS and Android versions to be released at a later date.

In the (fictional) town of Montafleur, provincial France, the streets are overrun by a purple mist created by the "Queen of Sands", transforming all of the townsfolk exposed into nightmarish creatures.

The Bonus chapter is centred around the Parable of The Seven Ravens.

Part 10 - Goldilocks and the Fallen Star

Dark Parables: Goldilocks and the Fallen Star is the tenth game of Dark Parables franchise. The CE was released on November 19, 2015. The Kingdom of Barsia has been invaded by mechanical beasts that are attacking its citizens.

Part 11 - The Swan Princess and the Dire Tree

Dark Parables: The Swan Princess and The Dire Tree is the eleventh installment of the Dark Parables series. It was released on July 7, 2016 as Collector's Edition version.

Part 12 - The Thief and the Tinderbox

The 12th game of this series was released on September 22, 2016 as a Collector's Edition version. The player investigates a rogue arsonist who is setting the Mountain Kingdom's forests on fire.

Part 13 - Requiem for the Forgotten Shadow

The 13th game of this series.The BETA edition was released on November 17,2016...