Ransom of the Seven Ships is the twentieth game in the Nancy Drew adventure series. It is based on Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #70: The Broken Anchor. It was promoted with a microsite. In this game, Nancy, Bess, and George go to the Bahamas on a trip where Bess is kidnapped and held for ransom.
This game is notable for being the first physical appearance of Bess and George (the latter of whom is a playable character). However, it has also recieved sharply divided reviews, with criticism going towards the plot and gameplay. The game was discontinued in July 2020.[1]
Synopsis[]
Dive into danger to rescue Bess from kidnappers!
One of Nancy's best friends, Bess Marvin, has just won a trip to the Bahamas for three and naturally invites her cousin, George and you, as Nancy Drew, to go with her. Before you arrive at the resort though, Bess is kidnapped, and the only way to save her is to solve a 300 year old Bahamian mystery! Also, the island is deserted since the resort's owners have gone fishing and your mobile phone is broken. Dangerous waters keep treasure hunters from exploring the reefs around Dread Isle, but this remote island might be hiding the riches of El Toro's lost fleet. Can you track down the treasure before time runs out?
- Immerse yourself in the Bahamas; diving and sailing
- Interact with island wildlife
- Play mini-games with the monkeys at the research center to win prizes
Characters[]
Johnny Rolle[]
Johnny is a Jamaican man going from island to island to fish and be alone. At the moment, he is stuck on Dread Isle because monkeys tore up his motorboat.
Bess Marvin[]
Bess Marvin is Nancy's best friend who won the trip that brought them to the Bahamas. However, she has been kidnapped and held for ransom, forcing Nancy to find El Toro's treasure.
George Fayne[]
George is one of Nancy's best friends, as well as Bess' cousin. Nancy can talk to George through the walkie-talkie to play as her, and George can then talk to Nancy through it to play as her again.
Phone Friends[]
Nancy finds walkie-talkies in a cabinet at a certain point in the game and gives one to George, which they can then access through an icon at the bottom of the screen. She can get advice from the resort's parrot, Coucou, if she's a Junior Detective.
No other people can be contacted due to the isle's complete lack of phone signal.
Microsite[]
The Ransom of the Seven Ships microsite was designed to be an advertisement for Dread Isle.
The site had testimonials from people who visited Dread Isle, most of which are from other Nancy Drew games.
- Tex Britten, Arizona- “The resort should get some horses. I felt kinda dumb driving around in that dinky little golf cart. But the grub was good.”
- Gilbert Buford, Louisiana- “It was so sunny all the time I found myself wishing it would rain. Just a little shower, not like it rains back home.”
- Sonny Joon, Ganymede- “I really liked hanging with the monkeys. They’re so smart, I’m thinking maybe they’re aliens, and that whole Primate Research thing was really them studying us. I’m hoping next time I come they’ll beam me up to the mother ship and give me a tour.”
- Minette, Paris, France- "Just the vacation I needed. The azure sea juxtaposed with that pink sand beach gave me a perfectly rude idea for my next collection!”
- Red Knott, Pennsylvania- “The bird-watching was darn good. I spotted a Yellow-rumped Warbler and almost dropped my bait bucket.”
- Guadalupe Comillo, Washington, D.C.- “How wonderful to see land and sea creatures running and swmming free in all their wild and often dangerous glory! I have come to love sharks almost as much as I love wolves.” (the official site misspelled 'swimming')
- Dewey Finklestine, Ohio- “This place ROCKS!! I saw an octopus, three sharks, two barracudas, and a jellyfish! The jellyfish even stung my sister and made her arm swell up so bad it looked like an Italian sausage! It was AWESOME!!”
On the site, people could play a minigame with a monkey and win a wallpaper. There were also two other wallpapers available for download and two postcards.
Trivia[]
Easter Eggs[]
- Take a side trip into the sand/bushes on the south side of the island on your golf cart to get a pirate cat easter egg.
- If you find pieces of paper in the bottles while sailing, they will be automatically pieced together to form a passage from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, the one just before the raven appears. Certain letters in red will tell you to go to and dive to one of the sunken ships where the sharks are, and, using the metal detector, you will find an Easter Egg.
Continuity[]
- Dwayne Powers returns to exact revenge on Nancy. She only remembers him as "the guy from New York" who "threatened Rick Arlen's life." Ironically, he kidnapped Bess, who was a fan of Rick in that game. (Stay Tuned for Danger)
- Sonny Joon worked at the monkey research center. (Secret of the Scarlet Hand, Danger by Design)
- CouCou is the granddaughter of LouLou. (Curse of Blackmoor Manor)
- Brendan Malloy's rocket crash-landed on Dread Isle. (The Haunting of Castle Malloy)
Foreshadowing[]
- The reference to Edgar Allan Poe also foreshadows his key importance in the next game, Warnings at Waverly Academy.
Main/recurring character revelations[]
Allusions[]
Goofs[]
- Voice actors are credited for the characters "Roy MacGuffin", "Kidnapper 1", and "Kidnapper 2", even though they never appear in the game.
References[]