Spellbound (video game)
| Spellbound | |
|---|---|
| File:Spellbound128.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | David Jones, Richard Darling, Rob Hubbard |
| Publisher(s) | Mastertronic (on the M.A.D. label) |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum (separate 48K and 128K versions), Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari 800/XL/XE |
| Release | 1985, 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game, graphic adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Spellbound is a computer game that was released in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computers. Versions for the Commodore 64 and the Atari 8-bit computers and an enhanced 128K Spectrum version with music and additional graphics were all released in 1986. It is the second game in the Magic Knight series and was programmed by David Jones and Richard Darling with music by Rob Hubbard. It was published by Mastertronic as part of their Mastertronic Added Dimension label.
Plot
Magic Knight is transported to a castle with a collection of other characters and must rescue his friend Gimbal the wizard. Gimbal has become trapped by a self-inflicted "white-out" spell whilst trying to create a better-tasting rice pudding.
Magic Knight must rescue Gimbal from his self-inflicted imprisonment and then ensure both he and the castle's other inhabitants are all returned to their correct time and place.
Gameplay
Unlike the previous game in the series, Finders Keepers, the game is less action-oriented and more of a graphic adventure although it still contains some platform game elements.
The player controls Magic Knight as he wanders around the castle. As well as the player character, the cast also contains various other characters who have found themselves there. Like Magic Knight, these characters move around (albeit off-screen, they are always static when on-screen) and can fall asleep and grow hungry. Magic Knight needs to look after and "maintain" these other characters (as well as himself) and this adds a further strategic element to gamplay.
Magic Knight interacts with his environment and other characters using a drop-down window full of commands such as "take object" and "talk to character". Because of this, much of the gameplay is quite similar to later graphic adventures such as The Secret of Monkey Island. Most of the games puzzles are solved by using objects in the correct place or giving objects to the correct character and then having them assist you. Another method of solving problems is to use Magic Knight's spellcasting abilities. Most of his spells require him to have collected certain objects first.
The castle itself consists of several floors (including a roof garden and a basement) that can be accessed via a lift. Some of these areas are only fully-accessible once some puzzles are solved.
Magic Knight only has a certain amount of energy and if he runs out of this he dies and it is game over. His energy is depleted both by moving between rooms and when dangerous objects such as bouncing balls hit him. Finding a way of topping-up Magic Knight's energy is one of the first puzzles the player must solve. There are also a few rooms cause Magic Knight to die just by entering them. These can be passed by solving puzzles.
The game is also played against a time limit.
Sequels
There were a further two Magic Knight games released. These are Knight Tyme (1986) and Stormbringer (1987). Both of these games have similar gameplay to Spellbound.
The Crime Busters controversy
A game with striking similarities to Spellbound (to the extent that Mastertronic claimed that the code was so similar that the anti-hacker protection they had written into Spellbound was largely unchanged), called Crime Busters, was released in 1986 but featured a detective in a mansion. This game was withdrawn following a demand for a written apology from the author of Crime Busters, Harry Price, and the threat of legal action by Mastertronic. [1]
Trivia
- Many of the other characters in the castle are based on legend or spoofs of fiction, for example "Samson the Strong" (presumably based on the Biblical Samson) and "Florin the Dwarf" (a spoof of Thorin from The Hobbit). There is also an appearance by a Banshee, a legendary Celtic ghost.
- The only utterly useless item in the game is the Prism. This is reputed to be an unflattering reference to Prism Leisure.
- One of the rooms that kills Magic Knight if he doesn't have a light source due to the "dark" has glowing candles clearly featured as background on the screen.
- It's possible to pass one barrier in the game (the wall) without solving the necessary puzzle by repeatedly summoning characters to the room until one of them "merges" with the wall, allowing Magic Knight to pass through it. However, should the character move later Magic Knight will be unable to pass the wall again.
- Magic Knight begins the game holding an advert whose only purpose is to be read to reveal a plug for Finders Keepers. This type of object appears in later Magic Knight games with further uses.
External links
- 1985 review of Spellbound from Crash magazine.
- Information about the Commodore 64 version at Lemon 64
- Entry for Spellbound at Mobygames
- ^ "Sinclair User No. 57, News". EMAP Business and Computer Publications. December, 1986.
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