Neopets Edna’s Shadow is a Neopian twist on the classic item gathering-enemy avoiding game genre. With an experiment gone bad, Edna was separated from her shadow, but together, the two of them must collect ingredients to make a potion to unite the two once again. However, can both Edna and her shadow avoiding the petpets that skitter and scamper throughout the Haunted Woods, or will it drive you batty trying to accomplish this feat? We do not apologize for that pun, and if anything, we apologize for not having more funs throughout this site. Without further ado, let’s dive into Edna’s Shadow!

Basics

The usual control mechanics are applied in this setting as well. The up arrow key and the down arrow key move both Edna and her shadow in the respective directions of up and down. However, with the left arrow key and the right arrow key, this is where things get a bit more complicated. For Edna, the for mentioned arrow keys will move her left and right, respectively. However, for her shadow, the left arrow key will move her in the right direction, while the right arrow key will move her in the left direction. It’s a bit odd at first, but after a few levels of gameplay, it’s become second nature to controlling both of the characters.

The goal of the game is to gather each item within the game, while avoiding enemies that move around. There are no items that will harm either of your characters, so don’t be afraid to touch random objects in the game. A good rule of thumb is that anything that is stationary, and doesn’t move ever, you need to get to complete the level. While some enemies might stop moving, if it ever scampered, skittered, or slithered during game play, it’s best to avoid it. However, spikes, bones, and frozen spiders are all fair game! Once the shadow and Edna collect the items they need, it’s time to meet at the red cauldron! Both Edna and her shadow must meet at the red cauldron to proceed to the next level. If unsure about having collected all the items needed to proceed to the next level, look at the red cauldron. If the red cauldron is green, bubbling, and glowing, you’re all good to go and proceed back to the cauldron.

Enemies

So, you’re starting to get the hang of this whole shadow and Edna thing. The controls aren’t that scary anymore, and gathering those ingredients is a piece of Glaring Cheesecake. All of a sudden, a spooky little petpet starts to charge up to you. What the heck do you do now? You need not worry, dear player. Notice the space bar on your keyboard? If you press it, a zap will be casted! Both Edna and her shadow still have her magical witch abilities, and if an enemy is hit, not only do they get disintegrated, 10 points is awarded to your score! However, you cannot walk and zap at the same time. Be careful not to walk straight into an enemy! However, what happens if you do walk into an enemy? You’ll be quite happy to know that the concept of “lives” and “lives lost,” is not existent in this game! If Edna or her shadow is hit by an enemy, they will become frozen. Simply take the non-frozen character, walk over to them, and unfreeze them! You’re unable to collect items or proceed to the next level if one character is frozen. However, do take caution. If both Edna and her shadow are frozen, the game will end. This is the only way to lose the game.

Scoring

While there is no avatar to be earned from this game, a shiny new trophy for your user lookup is always fine and dandy! Each item gathered is worth 5 points. As mentioned above, each enemy zapped is worth 10 points. However, this game is timed in the sense of bonus points! Any remaining seconds on the timer will be translated into points, with a one second per one-point ratio. Speaking of points, the Neopoint payout is about .91 of a point per 1 Neopoint, with a score of about 910 points giving a payout of 1000 NP. This is a pretty decent deal, especially if gained to the maximum amount of times your score is submitted.

Misc. Items

To be clear, there are no items that will have an intentional negative effect on your gameplay with Edna and her shadow. However, it’s good to keep in mind what each item does, and for what period of time!

• Glowing Green Orb: This item freezes all critters for about 4 seconds. You’ll start seeing this item at level 3 and forward.

• Potion: This item switches the controls for Edna and her shadow. As described above, the left arrow key and right arrow keys control the left and right directions for Edna, but the same keys control the right and left directions for her shadow. With this potion, for the rest of the level, the statement above is switched. The left arrow key and right arrow key control the right and left directions for Edna, respectively, and the left and right directions for her shadow.

• Pocket Watch: This item is ESPECIALLY useful, because it can give you potential additional points! This item adds an extra ten seconds to your timer, and if you finish the game quickly, can result in those extra bonus points!

Cheats

Lucky for you, dear player! We have a code for you. If you type, “edmoretime,” at some point during the game, you will receive an extra 25 seconds to your timer! Bonus points for everyone to enjoy! As a parting tip, we suggest you look out for the blocks that look a bit different than the rest! If you zap them, you might find an apple core or two, worth 5 points each, to help beef up your score. There’s 14 levels to Edna’s Shadow, and with each playthrough, the game mechanics will become more fluid with each go about.

As per usual, good luck, dear player!