''Leander'' is a

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

developed by

Traveller's Tales Traveller's Tales is a British video game developer and a subsidiary of TT Games. Traveller's Tales was founded in 1989 by Jon Burton and Andy Ingram. Initially a small company focused on its own games, it grew in profile through developing game ...

and published by

Psygnosis Psygnosis Limited (; known as SCE Studio Liverpool or simply Studio Liverpool from 1999) was a British video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Het ...

in 1991. It was the first game developed by Traveller's Tales. The game was developed on the Amiga, then converted to the

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

by Philipp Wyatt for W.J.S Design. A year later it was published for the Sega MegaDrive as ''Galahad'' by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

Plot

The player assumes the role of the legendary knight Leander (changed in the MegaDrive port to Galahad, son of

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...

) and rescue the princess Lucanna from the wizard Thanatos (Miragorn in the MegaDrive port, who kidnapped Lucanna in an attempt to get

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

to come to him).

Gameplay

Leander collects coins through three sprawling worlds, each composed of seven levels, with which he can purchase armour, potions and new swords in a shop which appears infrequently during the game. The ultimate aim of each level is to find a certain object named at the start of a level (with instructions where to find it). When Leander finds it, he must find a portal which will lead him on to the next level. If he does not find the object, he cannot enter the portal. Enemies encountered during the game range from dragons and elves to snakes and giant

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

s. At the end of each world, Leander faces a gargantuan boss, whom he must defeat to enter the next world.

Reception

'' The One'' gave the Amiga version of ''Leander'' an overall score of 93%, calling it "classy" and "graphically amazing", making note of "additional touches" such as detailed waves, waterfalls and rain. ''The One'' praises ''Leander'''s colourful graphics, 'smooth' scrolling, and gameplay, stating that "''Leander'' has captured the console concept perfectly ... Control over ''Leander'' quickly becomes second nature, but is sophisticated enough to allow high jumping and ladder climbing."

Anti-piracy

An anti-piracy measure was tested during development which required punching a hole into the disk with a laser. If implemented, the game would freeze and refuse to load without the punch being present. Should the physical check be removed, the game will load fine then, but with one catch. The player will be unable to get past level four as one of the platforms needed to progress has its collision removed. Further levels have no terrain whatsoever, resulting in the player falling through the platforms. Not only this, but the damage the player deals is halved. The copy protection method was ultimately unused.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1991 video games Action-adventure games Amiga games Atari ST games Electronic Arts games Fantasy video games set in the Middle Ages Psygnosis games Side-scrolling platformers Single-player online games Video games based on Arthurian legend Video games based on Greek mythology Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Matthew Simmonds Video games scored by Tim Wright (Welsh musician)