Legends of Valour
Encyclopedia
Legends of Valour is a role-playing video game
developed by Synthetic Dimensions and released by U.S. Gold
and SSI
in 1992 for the Amiga
, Atari ST
and PC DOS
systems, with the additional FM Towns
and PC-98 versions in Japan
only. Todd Howard
cited the game as an influence on Bethesda Softworks
' series The Elder Scrolls
.
engine in the style of Wolfenstein 3D
. The game also features a point-and-click
interface, an either automated or realtime combat, and day/night cycle. The game's system is quite complex and realistic for its time. For example, the player character can become drunk (impairing movement and vision), and be arrested for this, undernourished characters (the players need to eat, drink and sleep regularly) are more likely to catch a disease, and a passing guard may overhear an illegal conversation. Fantasy
world of Legends of Valour is inhabited by humans, elves and dwarfs, and the player can choose which of these races he wishes to play as (the chosen race influences relations with other characters), with player-customized face and body build for the character.
The game takes place in a walled capital city called Mitteldorf, where the player can explore the streets, buildings and a massive network of dungeons and sewers connected through a natural cave system, while completing various missions given by its numerous citizens, all while looking for his/her missing cousin Sven (named Gareth in the early version), which is the starting point of the game's main quest (to restore the king to power and slay an evil demon). Mitteldorf is over a squared mile in size and among its many building are several taverns, hostels, shops, guilds, temples, prisons as well as other places of interest (well over 100 locations in total). The guilds and temples offer the player career paths with unique missions; through the game, the player's character can even become a vampire or a werewolf.
called the game "a stimulating new perspective on fantasy role-playing", but strongly critcized its "general lack of atmosphere"; it received only 2 out of 5 stars in Dragon
. According to VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "Legends of Valor is an ambitious attempt that couldn't get itself out of the starting gate." The Amiga version was received much better, including the scores of 91% in Amiga Format
and 88% in CU Amiga and Amiga Power
.
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
developed by Synthetic Dimensions and released by U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold
U.S. Gold was a British video game publisher and developer from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, producing numerous titles on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms.-History:...
and SSI
Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Strategic Simulations, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit since its founding in 1979. It was especially noted for its numerous wargames, its official computer game adaptations of Dungeons & Dragons, and for the groundbreaking Panzer General...
in 1992 for the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and PC DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
systems, with the additional FM Towns
FM Towns
The FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...
and PC-98 versions in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
only. Todd Howard
Todd Howard
Todd Howard is an American designer, director, and producer. He is currently Game Director and Executive Producer for Bethesda Game Studios, where he has led the creation of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls video game series. GamePro magazine named him to the Top 20 Most Influential People in Gaming...
cited the game as an influence on Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
' series The Elder Scrolls
The Elder Scrolls
The Elder Scrolls is a role-playing video game series developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.-History:...
.
Story and gameplay
The game is seen in first-person perspective, being one of the first RPG games (after Ultima Underworld) to use a smooth-scrolling three-dimensional environment3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
engine in the style of Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded by critics and gaming journalists as having both popularized the first-person shooter genre on the PC and created the basic archetype upon which all subsequent games of the same genre would be built. It was created by id Software and...
. The game also features a point-and-click
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
interface, an either automated or realtime combat, and day/night cycle. The game's system is quite complex and realistic for its time. For example, the player character can become drunk (impairing movement and vision), and be arrested for this, undernourished characters (the players need to eat, drink and sleep regularly) are more likely to catch a disease, and a passing guard may overhear an illegal conversation. Fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
world of Legends of Valour is inhabited by humans, elves and dwarfs, and the player can choose which of these races he wishes to play as (the chosen race influences relations with other characters), with player-customized face and body build for the character.
The game takes place in a walled capital city called Mitteldorf, where the player can explore the streets, buildings and a massive network of dungeons and sewers connected through a natural cave system, while completing various missions given by its numerous citizens, all while looking for his/her missing cousin Sven (named Gareth in the early version), which is the starting point of the game's main quest (to restore the king to power and slay an evil demon). Mitteldorf is over a squared mile in size and among its many building are several taverns, hostels, shops, guilds, temples, prisons as well as other places of interest (well over 100 locations in total). The guilds and temples offer the player career paths with unique missions; through the game, the player's character can even become a vampire or a werewolf.
Reception
Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
called the game "a stimulating new perspective on fantasy role-playing", but strongly critcized its "general lack of atmosphere"; it received only 2 out of 5 stars in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
. According to VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "Legends of Valor is an ambitious attempt that couldn't get itself out of the starting gate." The Amiga version was received much better, including the scores of 91% in Amiga Format
Amiga Format
Amiga Format was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ACE to EMAP, Future split the dual-format title ST/Amiga Format into two separate publications...
and 88% in CU Amiga and Amiga Power
Amiga Power
Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
.