Description
The Legend of Kyrandia is the first in a trilogy of adventure games by
Westwood. In this game the player controls Brandon, grandson of Kallak - a wizard of the realm of Kyrandia. Malcolm, a psychotic jester imprisoned in the past by Kallak, has broken free and wishes to take over the land as well as lay down his revenge. He turns Kallak into stone leaving him with only his eyes, so that Kallak is not denied his tears for Kyrandia's sake.
This is where Brandon steps in; returning home shortly afterwards only to find that his grandfather has been turned into stone, Brandon is being told by a messenger from the Realm of the Land that he has been chosen to embark on a journey that will rid this realm of Malcolm and his evil. He has to prove himself not only a hero, but a worthy heir to the crown and ultimately of becoming a king.
Throughout the journey Brandon will collect many items and also learn how to master magic. Available spells include disappearing, healing yourself, summoning ice upon fire and shifting into a wisp. Interaction with the environment is confined to highlighted items, and a single cursor is used for all actions, without differentiating precise commands.
Alternate Titles
- "דברי ימי קירנדיה" -- Hebrew spelling
- "Kyrandia 1" -- Informal title
- "Fables & Fiends - The Legend of Kyrandia, book one" -- Alternate/informal title
- "키란디아의 전설 " -- Korean spelling
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Trivia
CD version
The CD version adds speech and support for Windows 3.x (albeit completely identical to the DOS version).
Development
The Legend of Kyrandia is based on the text adventure
Kyrandia: Fantasy World of Legends, a BBS game. It was designed and programmed by
Scott Brinker and
Richard Skurnick in 1988, and based on multiplayer interactive game concepts by
Tim Stryker.
According to
Rick Gush,
Mike Legg and
Brett Sperry
played the game online, bought the rights to the game and were sued later on by the person who sold the game to them, but after several years the court case was decided in favor of them.
The game introduced a single-icon cursor for all actions, and Brett Sperry and
Louis Castle, thinking that this was their secret weapon, presented a demo of the game to
Ken Williams.
But Ken showed them
King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder which was in development then. It had its own new icon-driven interface, so it was a big letdown moment. Ken liked the game though and asked them if they want to sell
Westwood to
Sierra,
but at that moment they preferred their freedom and control.
Extras
The Legend of Kyrandia CD-ROM version came with a free poster based on a painting by
Roger Loveless.
Awards
- GameStar (Germany)
- Issue 12/1999 - #88 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
- Power Play
- Issue 02/1993 – #2 Best Adventure in 1992
Information also contributed by
game nostalgia and
Roger Wilco
