The Intrepid Cobbler

From Plastic Tub

Computer and Arcade Games

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Originally conceived of in an Absinthe bar in Barcelona during the heady days of the so-called "chocolate revolution," the game was submitted to dozens of companies, all of which are kicking themselves today, before finally being accepted by the Tokyo-based firm of Banana Slut, you?.

Released to initial lukewarm reviews in 2002, the game has since developed a cult following among cerebral gamers everywhere. Alternately isometric and first-person, the game follows the adventures of a young apprentice cobbler (Yohan Lightfoot) who lands a big break when a local noble stops by to have his curled slipper reformed while on the way to an important diplomatic meeting. The player, who must do the job in short order, is invited to accompany the noble to this meeting in order to take care of any unforeseen slipper emergencies. Adventure ensues and the cobbler is called upon to repair everything from wooden shoes to armored boots.

As the game progresses the cobbler goes from apprentice to craftsman to master, inadvertantly mirroring Masonic initiation and thus landing in hot water with fundamentalists who have labelled the hero "Satan's Shoe-maker." Controversy aside, his adventures become more and more outlandish, culminating in such escapades as escaping over a waterfall in the espadrille of a giant and having to construct a pair of loafers entirely out of loose bits of straw.