The Legend of Kyrandia (Book One)

The Legend of Kyrandia (Book One) is a nice adventure game. The story is nothing groundbreaking, but it’s not bad either. Evil clown wants to take over the world. Nothing to be afraid of. Our main protagonist is Hanson, member of the royal family. The evil jester (who killed Brynton’s parents a long time ago) has escaped, and only he can stop it. It occupies a middle ground between being serious and comedic. The presentation of the game is great, the pixelart is good looking and the music is catchy. The voice acting is ok, you will hear Brindon most of the time of course. There are some unique gameplay mechanics that are not present in average adventure games. The inventory space is limited to 10. Because of this you have to swap old items to pick up new ones after some time. The items bounce on the floor. Nice. Interactions are limited, there aren’t individual commands for actions. You also have an amulet, that throughout the game gets filled up with 4 gems, each of them representing a spell. You have to use these spells to solve puzzles. The puzzles themselves are alright most of the time. There are no inventory puzzles, but mazes. You can also die, but most of the deaths are logical conclusions of the player’s actions, and you can save anytime. While the game is generally enjoyable, there are some negatives. While the backgrounds are nice, they can be samey, and a lot of rooms lack interactivity. Some puzzles can be really cryptic, others straight up impossible to solve without trial and error. Furthermore, the unique spell abilities are underutilized. I’ve also read you can softlock yourself at a point in the game, but I can’t confirm that, since I have not tried to do that. The game is also a bit short. Not too short, but it’s not that long. To sum up: this is a good game with great presentation, but it can be frustrating and it’s a bit short.

In the first instalment of The Legend of Kyrandia, you play as Brandon, who sets out to save the kingdom from the evil jester Malcolm. It's a magical journey that puts your brain to the test in one of the genre-defining point-and-click adventures. I suggest keeping a pen and paper nearby, or having an exceptional visual memory, as many scenes appear quite similar, and mapping your progress will help immensely. Most of the puzzles are logical, but a few require trial and error, and taking notes on what you've already attempted can save you a lot of frustration. As you journey through Kyrandia, you unlock new powers to aid in defeating Malcolm by interacting with various objects. Watching your amulet absorb colours from these magical items is immensely satisfying and expands your gameplay options. Limited inventory space adds a layer of challenge, forcing you to choose carefully what to carry, as some objects become obsolete. There are also many ways to meet an untimely end, which is why I frequently save my game; better safe than starting over. The comedy is delightful, making the experience even more enjoyable, and the voice acting consistently impresses. You’ll come to care about what happens to Kyrandia and meet a cast of memorable characters. Darm and his dragon form a humorous duo that’s hard to leave behind once you’ve fulfilled Darm’s request. For an early ’90s game, the pixel art is impressive, though it’s clear some shortcuts were taken. Many areas, especially the forests, look very similar, and more than once, I felt as though I’d looped back to the starting point. Again, mapping your path proves extremely helpful. The music is whimsical and perfectly complements the game’s atmosphere. It never feels repetitive or grating. And the soundtrack is available to stream. I highly recommend this game to anyone taking their first steps into point-and-click adventures or those looking to revisit the classics and experience what laid the foundation for the genre.

One of those games that immediately evokes memories of my (misspent) youth, locked in my bedroom with curtains drawn, the game's amazing soundtrack flowing from my Sound Blaster 16 to my speakers. Totally worth a play, though as other reviewers have said it IS possible to make in-game decisions that will prevent you from finishing the game... so use your save slots judiciously!

Back in the day when DRM meant starting the game and grabbing the manual to locate a keyword to start the game. Loved playing Gobliins and this series as a kid and now it'll be fun to enjoy it again. I actually still have my boxed copy of Hand of Fate from childhood packed away along with some memories.

This adventure game has plenty of wit and humour, beautifully drawn pixel graphics, and a simple intuitive interface. Some of the puzzles are a little obscure to figure out, this is where luck fills the gaps. The game allows you to make mistakes that are detrimental to your success later, so save many points of progress. As with most games in this genre, a maze or two is expected, and these are not impossible to master (as long as you map them out).