If you’ve been waiting for more information on whatever is expected to become EverQuest Mobile, you’ve already missed the BOOOOAAAT!
(That’s an EverQuest boat reference….ya know, when you had to SHOUT through the zone to let others running to the docks know the boat was almost to the docks, lest they miss it and have to wait another 30 minutes for the next boat to arrive.)
Believe it or not, EverQuest in some form has been brought to mobile no less than SEVEN TIMES. Sorta…
But yes, it happened.
Let’s go WAY back to 2003. When phones looked like this :
Three of these will be very important as it related to this article. The BREW mobile platform, Pocket PC and “Smart-phones.”
EverQuest : Hero’s Call 1 and 2
2003 was a big year for EverQuest and its publisher Sony Online Entertainment.
EverQuest launched Legacy of Ykesha (February) and Lost Dungeons of Norrath (September). Not to mention hype was building for the development of EverQuest II, launching the next year.
Also that year, the launch of EverQuest Online Adventures for the PlayStation 2, as well as the expansion Frontiers later that year. And before all was said and done in 2003, Lords of EverQuest (a real-time strategy game, we covered here) was released.
But amidst all that, a little known EverQuest game was released. It was called Hero’s Call.
Hero’s Call…..as in, to make a phone call. Because it was released for the BREW mobile platform for cell phones.
From Sony’s official Press Release:
EverQuest: Hero’s Call will offer potential heroes the ability to use their mobile phones to embark on a dangerous journey through 32 dungeons, with access to more than 120 spells and a countless array of weaponry that will be familiar to players of the original EverQuest.
In full disclosure, I’ve never played the game, and finding info on it is quite difficult.
It was a single player RPG style with a zelda-like overview. It could not connect to any type of multi-player version.
But there are game reviews online that you can still find :
Not too long after a sequel was even released for the same platform, blandly named EverQuest : Hero’s Call 2.
EverQuest for Pocket PC – Chapters 1, 2 & 3
As cell phones evolved, and the “blackberry” users became a sought after segment of the personal device genre, Pocket PC became a new standard for “PDA’s.”
With Pocket PC being a lightweight version of Windows, new game development surged again for popular titles, like Age of Empires, SimCity and Tomb Raider.
Within this new Pocket PC environment, a trilogy of games was released.
EverQuest for Pocket PC was released with 3 staggered installments.
Chapter 1 was simply titled EverQuest typically denoted with (Pocket PC) in parentheses to differentiated from the PC version. That’s not confusing at all is it?
Chapters 2 and 3 were released very soon after, with more specific titles
- Chapter 1 : EverQuest (Pocket PC)
- Chapter 2 : Attack on Qeynos
- Chapter 3 : War on Faydwer
The game also only supports single player mode, but is a significantly more advanced game than Hero’s Call.
If you want to get a look at this EverQuest game, played on a PDA, game streamer Yahweasel has a FULL SERIES streaming the entire game through 10+ different YouTube videos. More than enough to get a feel for the game.
His commentary can be amusing as well.
You can see his full playthrough here:
- EverQuest Pocket PC – Video 1
- Video 2
- Video 3
- Video 4
- Video 5
- Video 6
- Video 7
- Video 8
- Video 9
- Video 10
This trio of releases for Pocket PC was consistently listed among the top games for Pocket PC.
EverQuest II “Mobile”
In 2011, EverQuest II decided to create a way for characters in-game to be able to access certain features outside of the game, more specifically on their phones.
It was released on Android, iPhone and Blackberry. Yes, Blackberry.
The following features were touted for the app:
- In-Game Chat and Mail
- Character Profile Access
- Guild Tools
- In-Game Mail Access
- Norrath Map
It’s actually not a terrible idea, and I’d often wanted to chat in game while away from the PC through my phone.
However, due to poor support for the app, it was discontinued some time shortly after release.
EverQuest Worlds
Fast-forward to the arrival of EverQuest Next. It was a glorious time.
The optimism for a new game. The new era for EQ. And we couldn’t get enough of the wonderful released info for this next chapter in EverQuest’s history.
To accompany that excitement over EverQuest Next, and to tie the multiple games (EQ1, EQ2 and EQN) together, a mobile app was released for Android and iPhones.
The app was actually quite fun!
As you completed more mini-games and trivia within the app, it unlocked content teasers for EverQuest Next : theme music, video gameplay, screenshots or lore.
Some of the rewards from the app could be used in EQ and EQ2, such as experience potions.
The minigames were damn good, and as a simple app/game I actually quite enjoyed a few of them to pass the time.
But alas, EverQuest Next would never come to be. In March of 2016, the bottom fell out. EverQuest Next was canceled.
Several days later, Daybreak announced EverQuest Worlds would be discontinued at the end of March 2016. The game can no longer be found in app stores.
Yes, Seven Times
So there you have it. EverQuest has *already* come to “mobile” at least 7 times in the past
- EverQuest : Hero’s Call (BREW mobile phones)
- EverQuest : Hero’s Call 2 (BREW mobile phones)
- EverQuest (Pocket PC)
- EverQuest : Attack on Qeynos
- EverQuest : War on Faydwer
- EverQuest II Mobile
- EverQuest Worlds
So now we wait. We wait to see what the next incarnation of EQ Mobile will be. Rumors of the development continue (See Episode 4).
But there’s no telling what direction development will go, or if we’ll ever have all of EQ in the palm of our hand again.
Here’s more on an excerpt from the release of EverQuest for Pocket PC. Simpler times, eh?
One of the largest fantasy adventure games ever makes its debut on one of the smallest PC platforms ever in EverQuest for the Pocket PC! Become a hero in the exciting world of Norrath, adventuring through consecutive chapters of unfolding story. Begin in Chapter 1 and transfer your character to to the second chapter, EverQuest: Attack on Qeynos continue your adventure. Or play with different characters: Both chapters are standalone products!
In Chapter 1, enter an intense and story-driven saga in which the port city of Freeport is imperiled. It is up to you to defend it against the rising forces of evil at its gates. Can the city survive?
Your epic journey doesn’t stop there: Continue in the follow-up adventure, EverQuest: Attack on Qeynos. Journey to the legendary city of Qeynos and uncover the plot to hand over the city to the despicable gnolls. Who’s behind the treachery?
Then, prepare for Chapter 3: Something is amiss on the continent of Faydwer. Whispers of war have spread like wildfire among the Dwarves, Elves and Gnomes. What could be driving these peaceful races to the brink of destruction? Will hundreds of years of harmony and peace be crushed forever? In the third chapter of EverQuest for the Pocket PC, War on FaydwerTM, you must answer these questions and more. Visit Kaladim, the mine city of Dwarves; Kelethin, the city in the trees; Ak’Anon, the city of Gnomes; and Felwithe, the city of High Elves. Battle monsters in Butcherblok Mountains, Steamfont Mountains, the Faydark Forests and Dagnor’s Cauldron. The fate of Faydwer rests in your hands. Are you up to the challenge?
No matter where you are, traveling your subway commute, enjoying an afternoon on the beach, or on your lunch break, EverQuest for the Pocket PC is your transportation to high adventure!
The EverQuest Show 