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Leander (video game)
Encyclopedia
Leander is a computer game for the Commodore Amiga developed
by Traveller's Tales
and published
by Psygnosis in 1991. It was the first game to be developed by Traveller's Tales
.
Leander is likened to an earlier Psygnosis game Shadow of the Beast
released in 1989. It was designed to run on the earliest Amigas with only 512KB of Chip RAM, such as the Amiga 1000
and A500
, which pushed the then 6 years old OCS
chipset to its limits.
The original version was developed on the Amiga
, then it was converted by Philipp Wyatt for W.J.S Design on the Atari ST
. A year later it was ported to the Sega Mega Drive
as The Legend of Galahad and published by Electronics Arts.
Leander
through three sprawling worlds, each composed of seven level
s, to defeat an evil wizard and rescue a princess
.
, potion
s and new sword
s 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 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 dragon
s and elves
to snake
s and giant otter
s. At the end of each world, Leander faces a gargantuan boss
, whom he must defeat to enter the next world.
In the final world, there is a secret Lemmings
-styled area and the main character from The Killing Game Show
as an enemy as well as a larger version of him.
In the game Puggsy
, originally made for the Sega Mega Drive, and also published by Psygnosis, an "extra-secret" level called "Lee and Errr", which can only be accessed by working out a maths equation given during the credits after completing the story game, contains the following message written in large print in the background: "Leander is the Galahanda on the Sega".
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales is an English software house founded in 1989 and fully established in 1990 and based in Knutsford, Cheshire.It is part of the TT Games group—after the merger of publisher Giant Interactive and the developer Traveller's Tales—along with TT Games Publishing...
and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Psygnosis in 1991. It was the first game to be developed by Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales
Traveller's Tales is an English software house founded in 1989 and fully established in 1990 and based in Knutsford, Cheshire.It is part of the TT Games group—after the merger of publisher Giant Interactive and the developer Traveller's Tales—along with TT Games Publishing...
.
Leander is likened to an earlier Psygnosis game Shadow of the Beast
Shadow of the Beast
Shadow of the Beast is a side-scrolling platform computer game produced by Reflections Interactive and published by Psygnosis in 1989. The original version was released for the Commodore Amiga, but the game has been ported to many other systems...
released in 1989. It was designed to run on the earliest Amigas with only 512KB of Chip RAM, such as the Amiga 1000
Amiga 1000
The A1000, or Commodore Amiga 1000, was Commodore's initial Amiga personal computer, introduced on July 23, 1985 at the Lincoln Center in New York City....
and A500
Amiga 500
The Amiga 500 - also known as the A500 - was the first “low-end” Commodore Amiga 16/32-bit multimedia home/personal computer. It was announced at the winter Consumer Electronics Show in January 1987 - at the same time as the high-end Amiga 2000 - and competed directly against the Atari 520ST...
, which pushed the then 6 years old OCS
Original Amiga chipset
The Original Chip Set was a chipset used in the earliest Commodore Amiga computers and defined the Amiga's graphics and sound capabilities...
chipset to its limits.
The original version was developed on 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...
, then it was converted by Philipp Wyatt for W.J.S Design on the 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...
. A year later it was ported to the Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
as The Legend of Galahad and published by Electronics Arts.
Story
The player assumes the role of the legendary knightKnight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
Leander
Leander
Leander, from the Hero and Leander myth, is a character from Greek myth, and has given his name to several individuals, at least one city and a number of warships and warship classes of the Royal Navy:-With the given name:...
through three sprawling worlds, each composed of seven level
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
s, to defeat an evil wizard and rescue a princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
.
Gameplay
Leander collects coins throughout each level, with which he can purchase armourArmour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
, potion
Potion
A potion is a consumable medicine or poison.In mythology and literature, a potion is usually made by a magician, sorcerer, dragon, fairy or witch and has magical properties. It might be used to heal, bewitch or poison people...
s and new sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
s 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 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 dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s and elves
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
to snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s and giant otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
s. At the end of each world, Leander faces a gargantuan boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
, whom he must defeat to enter the next world.
Cameos from other games
Lemmings (video game)
Lemmings is a puzzle computer game developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis in . Originally developed for PC and Commodore Amiga, Lemmings was one of the most popular computer games of its time, and several gaming magazines gave it some of their highest review scores at the time...
-styled area and the main character from The Killing Game Show
The Killing Game Show
The Killing Game Show is a run and gun shooter game developed by Raising Hell Software for the Amiga and Atari ST. It was released in 1990 and published by Psygnosis. It was re-released later under the name Fatal Rewind for the Sega Genesis and published by Electronic Arts. The music and sound...
as an enemy as well as a larger version of him.
In the game Puggsy
Puggsy
Puggsy is a 1993 platform/puzzle game, designed by Traveller's Tales and released by Psygnosis on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Mega CD/Sega CD consoles, and the Amiga computer...
, originally made for the Sega Mega Drive, and also published by Psygnosis, an "extra-secret" level called "Lee and Errr", which can only be accessed by working out a maths equation given during the credits after completing the story game, contains the following message written in large print in the background: "Leander is the Galahanda on the Sega".