"The Legend of Kyrandia: Fables & Fiends" Review - Page 2

Ninth · 07-26-2005, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flux

That's only good for rather pointless debate over comparisons between stars or percentages.

Pointless debate is fun. Right?

EvilMulder · 07-26-2005, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninth

Pointless debate is fun. Right?

Absolutely!

So... who would win in a fight to the death between Malcolm and Gandalf if you keep in mind that magic was weakening in Legend of Kyrandia 1?

Oh, nice review and personally I'd give it 3.5 out of 5.

After a brisk nap · 07-27-2005, 04:10 AM

Kyrandia 1 was commissioned by Virgin to be a KQ clone. Virgin at that time had dreams of being the next Sierra, and they asked Westwood to make them a game to compete with KQ.

I also think 4 stars is extremely generous to the game. It has a number of serious flaws (including a large number of walking deads) that really should disqualify it for the rating. Hand of Fate might deserve 4 stars, but not this game, in my opinion. On the other hand, it doesn't really bother me that the reviewer thinks differently.

Ariel Type · 07-28-2005, 03:13 AM

chapter11studios
I didn't enjoy the maze nor Brandon, I agree with you here. As for the plot: it was actually a linear plot, told as one large story. Unlike KQ games, where you were given one main goal and tons of different scenes/characters etc that had nothing to do with the main story. You just walk around and help everyone in their needs, moving with little steps to your goal. Your sub-quests had nothing to do with the main story, which could be actually characterized "some trouble - hole - victory". In Kyrandia the hero was actually solving his own problems for his own needs. He didn't even want to save the whole kingdom from Malcolm - just his grandfather. And the story actually was centered around his personality - this is how the real plot should look like.
Other characters were very interesting and unique (unlike persons in KQ games, which were stolen from different fairy tales), the was a very good ballance between serious fantasy and humorous, and it was actually a separate world, not just an abstract, "dead" universe.
And, by the way, the world of Kyrandia appeared in 1988 as some little known text game, long before the first game. And it was meant to be a separate universe, not a KQ clone.
As for other ascpects, the pick-n-drop system was unique for adventures; the number of special abilities (the magic amulet) was unique; the puzzles weren't standart, not just "pick everything and use on everything", but mostly had a very unusual construction, with a dose of physic puzzles, and that use of "randomness". Their construction is also a unique feature, and a reason why many gamers consider Kyrandian puzzles bad - they are just not ordinary inventory-dialogue puzzles.
And graphics were symply brilliant. I was simply hypnothised by the beauty of the screens at that time, so I just sat and admired the for minutes.

07-27-2005, 04:10 AM	#23
After a brisk nap Elegantly copy+pasted Last Online: 09-02-2021 01:03 AM Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,773	Kyrandia 1 was commissioned by Virgin to be a KQ clone. Virgin at that time had dreams of being the next Sierra, and they asked Westwood to make them a game to compete with KQ. I also think 4 stars is extremely generous to the game. It has a number of serious flaws (including a large number of walking deads) that really should disqualify it for the rating. Hand of Fate might deserve 4 stars, but not this game, in my opinion. On the other hand, it doesn't really bother me that the reviewer thinks differently. __________________ Please excuse me. I've got to see a man about a dog.

07-28-2005, 03:13 AM	#24
Ariel Type LA-S-LE Last Online: 02-19-2010 04:55 PM Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Snow Country Posts: 549	chapter11studios I didn't enjoy the maze nor Brandon, I agree with you here. As for the plot: it was actually a linear plot, told as one large story. Unlike KQ games, where you were given one main goal and tons of different scenes/characters etc that had nothing to do with the main story. You just walk around and help everyone in their needs, moving with little steps to your goal. Your sub-quests had nothing to do with the main story, which could be actually characterized "some trouble - hole - victory". In Kyrandia the hero was actually solving his own problems for his own needs. He didn't even want to save the whole kingdom from Malcolm - just his grandfather. And the story actually was centered around his personality - this is how the real plot should look like. Other characters were very interesting and unique (unlike persons in KQ games, which were stolen from different fairy tales), the was a very good ballance between serious fantasy and humorous, and it was actually a separate world, not just an abstract, "dead" universe. And, by the way, the world of Kyrandia appeared in 1988 as some little known text game, long before the first game. And it was meant to be a separate universe, not a KQ clone. As for other ascpects, the pick-n-drop system was unique for adventures; the number of special abilities (the magic amulet) was unique; the puzzles weren't standart, not just "pick everything and use on everything", but mostly had a very unusual construction, with a dose of physic puzzles, and that use of "randomness". Their construction is also a unique feature, and a reason why many gamers consider Kyrandian puzzles bad - they are just not ordinary inventory-dialogue puzzles. And graphics were symply brilliant. I was simply hypnothised by the beauty of the screens at that time, so I just sat and admired the for minutes.