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Legend ZX Spectrum Game Part 2 |
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Written by Sky
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Monday, 16 February 2009 00:08 |
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This is the game Legend based off of David Gemmell's first novel of the same name and made for the ZX Spectrum game system. There are two parts to this game. This page contains part 2. Click here to play Part 1.
To play this game within a webpage, I am using a ZX Spectrum emulator called JX-Speccy. The files used in this game were downloaded from World of Spectrum. It is a little buggy and sometimes goes slow and freezes up but this was more for fun rather than something really serious. Enjoy!
Controls
For the most part, this game is straighforward. It will give you options to select and give you the key to press. This can be a number or letter. The hard part comes when you have to do something but aren't shown what keys to press to perform a specific action. The list below should help. |
Main Screen
The main screen is where you see the flashing "Legend" logo. |
Enter - Begin Game
, (comma) - Menu |
In-Game
These are generic commands used throughout the game. |
Enter - go to next screen
, (comma) + 1 - Menu |
Action Keys
Sometimes you'll be asked what action to perform. Here are the actions. They are listed by the number key they are associated with. |
1 - Attack
2 - Retreat
3 - Negotiate
4 - Wait and See
5 - Search
6 - Talk |
Dueling
Here are the commands for fighting. There are two sets, attack and defense. |
Attack
1 - Over Head Cut
2 - High Left Slash
3 - High Right Slash
4 - Thrust
5 - Low Left Slash
6 - Low Right Slash |
Defense
1 - High Defense
2 - Center Defense
3 - Low Defense
4 - Left Defense
5 - Right Defense |
Cave of Doom
Running through a cave, you have to avoid high and low arrows. |
Enter - Jump
, (comma) - Duck |
Game Manual
This is the text of the game manual |
INSTRUCTIONS
Welcome to the world of Legend!
You are about to enter the fantasy world of Drenai - a world of
danger and high adventure - the world of LEGEND.
LEGEND is a high quality computer game created for your
enjoyment by a professional team of writers, games concep-
tualizers and micro-programmers. You will be challenged by a
sophisticated role-playing game, a strategy game and action
skills.
EQUIPMENT REQUIRED
Included in the package with this documentation are LEGEND
(a paperback book ), a map of Drenai, a cassette tape and a
template, which you should place over keys 1-6 of the
keyboard. You will need a 48K Spectrum connected to a TV
(preferably colour) and a cassette recorder.
HOW TO LOAD THE GAMES
Instructions for loading the game programs are given on the
cassette label. The first program that you load holds the
role-playing game and action skills, the second contains the
strategy game. These are very large machine code games and
despite the use of compression (a new language had to be
invented to control the role-playing game) each program will
take some time to load.
THE STORYLINE
LEGEND - the game is not \"based on\" or \"inspired by\"
LEGEND - the book; it is the world of LEGEND brought to life.
You are strongly advised to read the book before playing.
However, a slavish adherence to the plot of the book will just
get you killed. It is the world of Drenai where you play the
reluctant hero Rek and you create the story and the ending.
PART ONE
THE MENU
Pressing the CAPS/SHIFT and EDIT keys puts a menu onto the
screen.
Menu 1 can be called up when the LEGEND sign is flashing
after the game has been loaded. It allows the action skill
games to be practised independently of the role playing game.
Menu 2 can be called up whenever you are asked to press a
key - for example when the screen gives you the option of
moving to another city; eg. \"Do you wish to go to Graven
Forest (F) Glendrin (G) Cerfak (C) Lentrum (L)? Press
appropriate key\". The Menu has 5 options:
SAVE - which allows you to save the game to a blank tape to
continue playing at another time. You will return to the
beginning of your last location.
LOAD - which allows you to load such a previously saved game.
CONTINUE - which continues the game you are playing.
SIEGE - which jumps to the end of Part One of the game to
allow you to play the Siege game.
ABANDON - which abandons your present game and takes
you back to the start of Part One.
THE ROLE-PLAYING GAME
As Rek you have to recruit leaders and regiments to defend
Dros Delnoch against the Nadir Hordes. There are also magic
weapons which lie hidden but they can be found by following
the trails of clues. Remember you have only 3 months (give or
take a few days) to complete your task. To remind you, time
passing is recorded on the top left of the screen. You are
expected to use your wits and knowledge of the world of
LEGEND to survive and complete your mission. This is not an
animated crossword so you have to select the right action not
the right word. Multi-choice questions are used extensively but
where a free choice is used the computer will accept a variety
of words with the right meaning (there is no need to be
verbose). The prompt \"greater than\" indicates that a letter is required; \"less than\"
indicates a word or phrase.
In certain circumstances you can choose from a variety of
general responses to a situation using the ACTION KEYS (see
template). These are:
1 ATTACK - You attack the characters confronting you (see
DUEL)
2 RETREAT - You retrace your steps or run for your life as
appropriate.
3 NEGOTIATE - You have something to offer the charac-
ters confronting you in exchange for something they
have.
4 WAIT AND SEE - You do nothing and await developments.
5 SEARCH - You hope to find something not immediately
obvious.
6 TALK - You chat to the characters confronting you.
To fulfil your destiny you will need to move around the map -
as a guide it takes 2 days to move by land from place to place
and 1 day to travel by sea from any port to any other port.
Beware, travel is dangerous.
RIVERSIDE
Shown on the sketch is a cross-section through the river banks
at Riverside indicating the three levels at which it is possible to
build a bridge; A-B = 40 ft, C-D = 30 ft, E-F - 15 ft.
DUEL
This is the first computer game to incorporate the tension and
skills of a role-playing combat game. If you attack a
computer-controlled character then you will see the character
displayed before you on the screen. You strike the first blow
against the character and if you penetrate his defence you will
see his endurance fall, as indicated on the screen. He then
attacks you, swinging his sword. The position of the sword
when it stops indicates the type of attack. The Spectrum beeps
and the bar across the top of the screen is red. You then have a
split second to choose an appropriate defence position - if the
attack penetrates your defence your endurance falls. The
Spectrum will then beep if you press a defence key or when
you run out of time. The bar across the top of the screen turns
to green when it's your turn to attack. If you wait too long, the
bar will return to red, and the character on the screen will
attack you again, and so on. A combatant is killed when his endurance falls to zero and this usually ends the duel. The
cycle of attack/defence continues until the duel ends. If a
computer character attacks you then he gets first attack. The
attack keys are indicated on the template, along with a
description of the attack. Keys 1-5 are also used for defence
according to the description shown below (not on the
template).
Players should memorise these before attempting to duel.
1 High defence
2 Centre defence
3 Low defence
4 Left defence
5 Right defence
6 - (not used) -
Note that computer characters differ in strength, speed, the
sort of attack they favour and their vulnerability to different
attacks - so be flexible and remember the book. If you win but
are wounded you may lose time while you recover.
CAVE OF DOOM
Before the Armour of Egel is within Rek's grasp, he must run
the length of the Cave of Doom through a flight of arrows. Each
time an arrow hits it causes wounds according to the severity
of the strike - shown by a line of asterisks on the screen. When
the line stretches from one side of the screen to the other, Rek
is dead. This arcade game can be practised independently of
the main role-playing game by calling up Menu 1 (press the
CAPS/SHIFT key after LEGEND Part One has been loaded and
the LEGEND title is flashing on the screen).
MEASURE OF EFFICIENCY
At the end of Part One, the computer will give you a
percentage measure of your efficiency in recruiting forces to
defend Dros Delnoch against the Nadir barbarians.
PART TWO
You will be given the option of loading regiments recruited
from Part One of the game. You will be asked to select a
complexity level of 1-3 (higher is more complex). The game is
played in game turns each of which represents the passage of
a day/ The Nadir do not fight at night and will retreat off a wall
at dusk if they have not secured at least half of it.
SIEGE GAME
This game recreates the final battle at Dros Delnoch between
the Drenai and the Nadir. It can be played independently of the
role-playing game or forces recruited from the latter can be
saved onto tape and loaded into the siege game.
The player has to withstand an attack by an effectively infinite
number of tribesmen until relieved. There are 6 defensive
walls, one behind the other. The player starts by defending the
first (outermost) wall and will be pushed back by the Nadir
wall by wall. Should the last wall fall then the game is lost. The
morale of the army falls every time a wall is lost; conversely it
rises whenever a wall is held against attack. Morale is critical to
your army's combat performance, indeed your army will
disintegrate if morale drops too low.
At the start of each day the leaders and regiments with their
current strengths are displayed on the screen. Then the wall
currently under attack is displayed and regiments and leaders
are listed one at a time for allocation to a wall section (or
reserve). The Nadir will launch 3 attacks per day.
Attacks are resolved as follows. Firstly, melees between
attackers and defenders occupying the same section (or
reserve) take place. The Nadir will spread into other areas if
they sweep the defenders aside. Nadir outside the wall will
then attack the wall and try to get more men on top. After each
attack the player can order a fighting retreat back to the next
wall; but be warned, this is a dangerous tactical manoeuvre,
especially if Nadir have got behind you into the reserve
section. Finally, after each attack the player may move up to
six regiments and any leaders to a new section (or reserve).
Once again the player is warned that withdrawing units that
are already engaged is hazardous.
When dusk falls the player may choose to retreat safely under
cover of darkness (if the Nadir occupy a substantial part of the
wall retreat is mandatory).
DISPLAY
Drenai are indicated by blue figures and Nadir by red. Flashing
figures indicate that combat is taking place while a flashing
ladder symbol indicates an attack against a wall section.
Combat strengths within each section are also displayed,
Drenai in blue and Nadir in red.
INTERRUPT KEYS
In the siege game the number keys (1 to 0) and the R key stop
the game. They also cause a more detailed breakdown of the
contents of the wall section corresponding to the key pressed
(NB. 0 = section ten and R = reserve). Note that the number of
wall sections changes from wall to wall.
LEADERS
Leaders are distinguished by the code letter L. Some leaders
are more powerful if they occupy the same section as
regiments personally loyal to them: Joachim - Sathuli or
Faithful; Bowman - Archers; Gan - Kernak; Hogan - Legion.
Virae is more powerful if she accompanies Rek. If Rek found
the Armour of Bronze in the role-playing game then he is
called Earl and is stronger.
HINTS
Leaders are powerful units in the game, not least because they
never weaken, they just get killed. Players must maintain an
adequate combat strength in each wall section to prevent too
many Nadir scaling the wall but beware of relying on
regiments that have suffered heavy losses - they can crack
without warning, Central to the game is knowing when to fight
and when to retreat - too early and morale will suffer, too late
and your army will be chewed up.
Good Luck!
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Last Updated on Monday, 16 February 2009 00:21 |
David Gemmell