- Not to be confused with the Nancy Drew book, The Secret of Shadow Ranch.
The Secret of Shadow Ranch is the 10th computer game in the series by Her Interactive and is based on 5th book of the Nancy Drew series, The Secret of Shadow Ranch.
Plot[]
Nancy goes to a Ranch in Arizona for a vacation with her best friends, Bess and George. On the first day there, Nancy discovers that the owners of the ranch, Mr. and Mrs. Rawley are at the hospital because Mr. Rawley was bitten by a rattlesnake. Then Nancy finds out that Bess and George are stuck at the airport due to mechanical problems. The ranch hands are the foreman Dave Gregory, the cook Shorty Thurmond, and the cowpoke Tex Britten. Mary Yazzie is a local store owner who Nancy visits.
Soon Nancy finds out of a legend from the 1880s about an outlaw, Dirk Valentine, who was involved with the daughter of the old owner at the ranch, Frances Humber. Dirk was caught and executed but supposedly hid a secret treasure and numerous clues for Frances to locate it. While the ranch is enjoying a barbecue on the first night, the phantom horse appears and the main line in the pump house bursts.
Nancy discovers that Tex is sensitive discussing his sister, Jane Nash. Nancy investigates further, and realizes that Dirk's valuable treasure for Frances may be a reason someone is trying to chase Mr. and Mrs. Rawley off the ranch. Nancy begins to try to solve Dirk's treasure hunt, which takes her to several locations, including a creepy old ghost town. Dave grows fond of Nancy and tries to ask her out; Nancy also discovers that Tex and Mary are involved with each other. The day ends with the phantom horse's appearance once again and the electrical wires to the ranch become live and spark.
The next day, Nancy wheedles information out of Mary, learning that she is in love with Tex. While sleuthing into ghost town she is attacked and locked inside Dirk's jail cell, but subsequently escapes. She finds more clues and determines the location of treasure; later culprit follows and confronts her. Nancy then has to be ingenious in order to outsmart the villain and survive.
Characters[]
Dave Gregory -- Dave is the Ranch Foreman who is always polite and very shy. He is a man of frustratingly few words who is mainly concerned with doing his job and doing it well; he grows very fond of Nancy over the course of the game.
Tex Britten -- Tex is an old-fashioned cowpoke whose weathered face and cynical attitude reflect the fact that he feels much more at home with horses and cattle than with humans. He dislikes city folk, and enjoys putting Nancy in situations that he thinks she can't handle.
Shorty Thurmond -- The ranch cook, Shorty, is more talkative than the other two ranch hands combined. He loves to gossip and for that reason loves having Nancy around. He also loves to cook, despite doing it badly, and takes great pride in the food he serves. An admitted opportunist, he's always looking for ways to get rich quick, but has failed every time.
Mary Yazzie -- A Native American who runs a local store on land that is adjacent to Shadow Ranch. Mary knows all about the history of the area, especially as it pertains to the ancient Pueblo people who once inhabited the nearby cliff dwellings. She has repeated offers to purchase a portion of the Rawley's land, allegedly in search of petrified wood, but her offers are continuously rejected.
Bet and Ed Rawley -- Bet and Ed Rawley are the friendly owners of Shadow Ranch, who recently sold their store to buy the property. Before Nancy's visit, Uncle Ed is hospitalized and they subsequently can only be reached by cell phone; they are Bess and George's aunt and uncle.
Charleena Purcell -- Charleena Purcell us an author of the best-selling novel Like Wind Through My Heart. She is the go-to person for information on the history surrounding Shadow Ranch and Dirk Valentine. She can only be reached through phone.
Sheriff Hernandez -- Hernandez is the sheriff who is also investigating on what happened to Ed Rawley and the pump house. He locked up one of the buildings in the ghost town where Nancy investigates. He is an unseen phone character but Nancy said she saw him while he was investigating the pump house. Hernandez's phone number can be seen in the ranch's refrigerator.
Bess Marvin and George Fayne -- Bess and George are cousins as well as Nancy's best friends. They talk to Nancy over the phone and offer tips and hints to aid her investigation.
Frank and Joe Hardy -- Frank and Joe are brothers and amateur detectives. They help Nancy in the same fashion as Bess and George.
Jane Nash -- An unseen and unheard character; she is the sister of Tex Britten. She worked for the Rawleys when they still had their dress shop. Bet Rawley fired her because she was lazy. She is mentioned in the game by the Rawleys, Tex, and Dave.
Character Gallery[]
Gallery[]
Second Chances[]
As in all Nancy Drew games, there are many fatal accidents such as:
- Picking unripe vegetables for Shorty twice.
- Trying to take an egg from the chicken with the warning sign over it.
- Leading the horse to the riding area before getting permission from Tex.
- Leaving the stables while the horse is still saddled up.
- Over-baking a cake.
- Making the chickens or horses sick.
- Not fixing the hole in the fence and letting the coyotes eat all the chickens.
- Getting bit by a rattlesnake in the garden.
- Get stung by a scorpion.
- Failing to escape and trap the villain in the maze.
- Falling through a hole under the rug while trying to get Dirk Valentine's treasure.
However, like in many of the Nancy Drew games, if the player makes a mistake, they may click on "Second Chance" at the main menu and it will take them back to the place before they made that mistake.
Trivia[]
- One of the newspapers in the den says "Golden Gate Gazette" which is from Message in a Haunted Mansion.
- Take a good look a Shorty's mineral deposit map. It has mine names referencing Secret of the Scarlet Hand (I.E. Sonny Joon (incorrectly spelled Sunny June) Ridge, Rutherford Peak, and Kringle Mountain).
- At the end of the game during the letter part/epilogue, there is a picture of Nancy, Bess and George riding horses. Their faces are obscured by Dave's fingers. This is because Nancy's face is never seen in any of the games. Her body is shown in Secret of the Scarlet Hand, and she takes a picture of herself in Shadow at the Water's Edge, but it comes out blurry.
- Charleena Purcell will be shown in person in Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon, but you can only call her in this game. If you try to mention it to her in Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon, she won't remember you.
- If you don't trick the culprit in time, they will come out at you and make a reference to The Shining.
Trailer[]
Source[]
External link[]
- The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Her Interactive
| Nancy Drew Games | |
|---|---|
| Nancy Drew Games: | Secrets Can Kill | Stay Tuned for Danger | Message in a Haunted Mansion | Treasure in the Royal Tower | The Final Scene | Secret of the Scarlet Hand | Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake | The Haunted Carousel | Danger on Deception Island | The Secret of Shadow Ranch | Curse of Blackmoor Manor | Secret of the Old Clock | Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon | Danger by Design | The Creature of Kapu Cave | The White Wolf of Icicle Creek | Legend of the Crystal Skull | The Phantom of Venice | The Haunting of Castle Malloy | Ransom of the Seven Ships | Warnings at Waverly Academy | Trail of the Twister | Secrets Can Kill Remastered | Shadow at the Water's Edge | The Captive Curse | Alibi in Ashes | Tomb of the Lost Queen | The Deadly Device | The Ghost of Thornton Hall | The Silent Spy | The Shattered Medallion | Labyrinth of Lies | Sea of Darkness |