The Legend of Kyrandia

Short description: 1992 video game

The Legend of Kyrandia

Developer(s)| Westwood Studios
Publisher(s)| Virgin Games
Director(s)| Brett Sperry
Designer(s)| Michael Legg
Rick Parks
Paul S. Mudra
Programmer(s)| Michael Legg
Artist(s)| Rick Parks
Writer(s)| Coco
Composer(s)| Frank Klepacki
Series| Fables & Fiends
Platform(s)| Amiga, MS-DOS, FM Towns, Mac, PC-98
Release| August 1, 1992: MS-DOS[1]
1992: Amiga
October 1993: FM Towns
1993: Mac
February 15, 1994: PC-98
Genre(s)| Graphic adventure
Mode(s)| Single-player

The Legend of Kyrandia: Book One is a point-and-click adventure game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Games in August 1992. It was originally released for MS-DOS, then ported to Amiga, FM Towns, Mac, and PC-98. It is the first in the Legend of Kyrandia series, and focuses on players taking on the role of a young prince who must put an end to the tyrannical chaos of an evil court jester.

The game was a commercial success at launch, with critics praising it for its lush artwork and stereotyped fantasy writing. There are two sequels: Software:The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate (1993) and Software:The Legend of Kyrandia: Malcolm's Revenge (1994).

## Contents

* 1 Gameplay
* 2 Plot
* 3 Development and release
* 4 Reception
* 5 References
* 6 External links
* 7 Features
* 8 History
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links

## Gameplay

Players assume the role of Brandon, a young man who happens to be a prince, whose focus is to put an end to an evil threat. The story involves visiting locations, solving puzzles, and talking to people. Players can click on anything to examine and interact with objects and people. Objects can be taken and carried in an inventory—a maximum of ten items can be stored, with the option to drop items in a location for later collection.[2] Locations are viewed in a fixed-isometric viewpoint. The mouse cursor changes around the edges of the main display to indicate if there is an exit available there.

Solving puzzles requires either the right object or a special power. During the game, Brandon acquires an amulet which, upon being empowered, grants him magical abilities to overcome obstacles. The game features various hazardous obstacles and moments that, if handled poorly, can incur an automatic game over; when this happens, players must either start a new game or reload from the last save they made.

## Plot

In the kingdom of Kyrandia, the court jester Malcolm is imprisoned by the Mystics - the kingdom's most powerful magic users - for the murders of King William and Queen Katherine, on the belief he sought the power of the Kyragem that the royal family guards. Eighteen years after his imprisonment, Malcolm escapes and uses the power of Kyragem to corrupt the land's magic, effectively sowing chaos across the kingdom. Kallak, leader of the mystics, writes a message to Brynn, a fellow Mystic, instructing her to help his grandson Brandon prepare for the task of stopping Malcolm's evil tyranny. Before he can send the letter to her, Malcolm finds him in his treehouse home and petrifies him retaliation for his imprisonment.

Brandon, finding his grandfather has been turned to stone, soon learns of the situation when the treehouse forms a face created by the kingdom's land, declaring he must put an end to the evil endangering it. Taking Kallak's note, Brandon seeks out Brynn, who in turn directs him to secure the royal amulet from its hiding place. With it in his possession, Brandon works to restore the magical powers it once had. Meeting with the sage Darm (another Mystic), he receives items to help him reach the alchemist Zanthia, one of the youngest Mystics of the group. Through her, Brandon learns he is the son of William and Katherine, and rightful heir to the throne, and thus the only one who can restore the Kyragem to normal.

With Zanthia's help, Brandon works to create potions to help him reach the castle, recovering one of the royal treasures near her abode. Whilst outside the castle, Brandon pays homage to his parents at their grave, in return receiving the final power for his amulet from Katherine's spirit. In the castle, Brandon overcomes further tricks by Malcolm in order to recover the remaining royal treasures, discovering the other Mystics were captured and petrified in his absence. Using the treasures, Brandon enters the Kyragem vault, and tricks Malcolm into petrifying himself, ending his terror and freeing the land. With Kyrandia saved, Brandon assumes his rightful role as the kingdom's new king, declaring in his first act that sandals shall be the official footwear for the people.

## Development and release

Kyrandia was originally a MUD for MajorBBS programmed by Richard Skurnick & Scott Brinker. Westwood Studios purchased the Kyrandia intellectual property. The story was adapted by Rick "Coco" Gush, who called the original designer "a jerk" who "tried to make a stink" after Westwood's franchise became financially successful through their publisher at Virgin.[3]

GOG.com released an emulated version for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X in 2013.[4]

## Reception

According to Gush, The Legend of Kyrandia was commercially successful. He noted that it was "a solid A-minus or B-plus" title that helped to secure Westwood's "new relationship with Virgin". Later bundles with its sequels continued this success.[3] The Legend of Kyrandia series as a whole, totaled above 250,000 units in sales by August 1996.[5]

In 1992, Computer Gaming World's Robin Matthews described The Legend of Kyrandia "as a cross between Loom, King's Quest V and Secret of Monkey Island 2", praising the "beautifully drawn" VGA graphics and humor. Although he considered the storyline as "hardly original", he said that the presentation of the game, the general quality and the feel, make this game a welcome addition to the world of graphic adventures.[6] In April 1994 the magazine said that the CD version "is a quality product throughout" that added digitized voices to the "excellent, if somewhat short" game's "stunning graphics and sound", and advised Westwood to "just release the CD version of their titles first".[7] InfoWorld in 1993 criticized Kyrandia and its sequel for their low level of difficulty and short length.[8] The first installment in the series received 5/5 in Dragon[9] magazine.

Jim Trunzo reviewed Legends and Lore: The Legend of Kyrandia in White Wolf #34 (Jan./Feb., 1993), rating it a 4 out of 5 and stated that "Overall, The Legend of Kyrandia lulls you to the point of overconfidence with its seemingly simplistic theme and approach, only to shock you with a sudden turn of events and a difficult obstacle placed in your path. Gamers will enjoy Kyrandia first for its aesthetic appeal and eventually for its challenge. But they will enjoy it!"[10]

## References

1. ↑ "Kyrandia Advert". Computer Gaming World (Software Publishers Association) (96): 115. July 1992. https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_96#page/n113.
2. ↑ (in English) Fables & Fiends: The Legend of Kyrandia Book One (game manual). Virgin Games. 1992.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dickens, Evan (May 20, 2002). "Rick Gush, designer of the Kyrandia games". Adventure Gamers. https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/17522.
4. ↑ "Release: Legend of Kyrandia". CD Projekt. September 12, 2013. https://www.gog.com/news/release_legend_of_kyrandia. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
5. ↑ "Westwood hits GENCON 96" (Press release). Westwood Studios. August 28, 1996. Archived from the original on June 5, 1997.
6. ↑ Matthews, Robin (November 1992). "Westwood Studios' The Legend of Kyrandia". Computer Gaming World (100): 34, 36. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=100. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
7. ↑ "Invasion Of The Data Stashers". Computer Gaming World: 20–42. April 1994. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=117.
8. ↑ Petreley, Nicholas (1993-12-20). "Hand of Fate" (in en). InfoWorld (InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.): 85. https://books.google.com/books?id=IDsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA85. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
9. ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (March 1993). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (191): 57–62.
10. ↑ Trunzo, Jim (January–February 1993). "The Silicon Dungeon". White Wolf Magazine (34): 13–14. https://imgur.com/a/GAqejO8.

## External links

* MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

## Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

## History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

## See also

* IGDB - game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/.
2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/.
3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1.
4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521.
8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media.
9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned.
10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner.
11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames.
12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games.
13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/.
14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/.
15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/.
16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/.
17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames.
18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628.

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