Ancient Legends
Ancient Legends is a low fantasy adventure game. You will start your journey as a lowly commoner and advance through your experiences to become a legend and discover the many secrets of the land. Along the way you may become a talented merchant, an unscrupulous brigand or a virtuous hero.
Please read the fully detailed PDF for more information.
Please read the fully detailed PDF for more information.
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Last modified 2021-01-19 10:00:31
NOTE: This review was written for version 1.0 and may be outdated.
Admittedly I haven't gotten very far in this game yet, but I don't feel like I have to in order to recommend it very highly, especially if you're a fan of games like Oregon Trail, a fan of RPGs, or a fan of the strange things that can happen in games like Dwarf Fortress.
It plays rather like a more open-ended Oregon Trail, and most of the things that can happen to you seem somewhat randomized and not particularly active. My one complaint is that, especially at the beginning, it is very easy to accidentally wind up for example fighting a cultist who beats you up so badly you'll never be able to heal with the money you start out with. It's a very unforgiving game, and I've already abandoned a couple saves rather than risk having to take out a loan and not be able to pay it back.
Aesthetically it's one of the most unique and pretty MegaZeux games I've seen in a while, even as simple as its interface is. It's very well done, with a great style that reminds me of classic MacOS games from the Hypercard era.
The only other complaint I have is that the mouse click, especially on the "event" screen, needs some form of debounce or a release check, because you can cause many events to happen at once just by holding the mouse down too long. Easiest fix without editing the game is probably just to lower the MZX speed, it's not the sort of game that needs to run fast anyway.
I'd really, really encourage trying this one.
A final note, mostly to the developer, this could really do with some chill town music and a few minor sound effects. I'm not used to MZX games being so quiet.
EDIT: Some things I've noticed that are either bugs or just incomplete in this version:
The Smith and Crafters Workshop menu items do not work, nor does the Gambling Den or Quests. These are listed in the manual as "incomplete in the beta".
As mentioned above, the mouse input is a bit too touchy sometimes.
Occasionally banks claim you've taken out exorbitant loans in places you haven't been.
Admittedly I haven't gotten very far in this game yet, but I don't feel like I have to in order to recommend it very highly, especially if you're a fan of games like Oregon Trail, a fan of RPGs, or a fan of the strange things that can happen in games like Dwarf Fortress.
It plays rather like a more open-ended Oregon Trail, and most of the things that can happen to you seem somewhat randomized and not particularly active. My one complaint is that, especially at the beginning, it is very easy to accidentally wind up for example fighting a cultist who beats you up so badly you'll never be able to heal with the money you start out with. It's a very unforgiving game, and I've already abandoned a couple saves rather than risk having to take out a loan and not be able to pay it back.
Aesthetically it's one of the most unique and pretty MegaZeux games I've seen in a while, even as simple as its interface is. It's very well done, with a great style that reminds me of classic MacOS games from the Hypercard era.
The only other complaint I have is that the mouse click, especially on the "event" screen, needs some form of debounce or a release check, because you can cause many events to happen at once just by holding the mouse down too long. Easiest fix without editing the game is probably just to lower the MZX speed, it's not the sort of game that needs to run fast anyway.
I'd really, really encourage trying this one.
A final note, mostly to the developer, this could really do with some chill town music and a few minor sound effects. I'm not used to MZX games being so quiet.
EDIT: Some things I've noticed that are either bugs or just incomplete in this version:
The Smith and Crafters Workshop menu items do not work, nor does the Gambling Den or Quests. These are listed in the manual as "incomplete in the beta".
As mentioned above, the mouse input is a bit too touchy sometimes.
Occasionally banks claim you've taken out exorbitant loans in places you haven't been.