Legacy of the Ancients
Encyclopedia
Legacy of the Ancients is a fantasy
RPG computer game published by Electronic Arts
in 1987.
The museum has various display cases that require the insertion of special coins of various types to access. Some coins can be bought in random encounters with NPCs
, some can be found as loot after combat, and some coins can only be found at the bottom level of various dungeons, meaning the player cannot proceed beyond a certain point until that dungeon is finished.
Unlike many RPGs, the game does not use an experience point
system. The player gains levels only through the successful completion of various quests.
The game is mostly in top-down style for the world maps, towns, and castles, but switches to a 3D style in the dungeons and in the museum.
Several different areas of the game, like games in towns and certain museum displays, allow the character to play in special mini-games, which, if done successfully, will permanently increase attributes. Also, various casinos about the towns let players gamble to win money. It is also possible to rob banks in cities, but this attracts the attention of the town guards, who will remember the robbery until the player enters another town.
.
Another part of the copy protection involves an attempt by the program to modify the program disk itself on startup and render it unusable. On authentic game disks, this operation fails since the disks are write-protected. When playing the game using an emulator, it is advisable to set the read-only attribute for each disk image to avoid this modification.
. Although it is not a sequel, it uses an updated engine shared by Questron and Questron II.
enjoyed the museum setting of the game, but noted there was very little interacting with the world. The game's difficulty was described as "suitable for beginner and intermediate-level play".
The game was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon
#131 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3½ stars.
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...
RPG computer game published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
in 1987.
Gameplay
The player takes on the role of a young shepherd who finds and loots a recently dead body while on a first trip to the city, taking a black disk, a bracelet, and a leather scroll. The Galactic Museum mysteriously appears to the player after collecting these items. The player learns that by taking these items, he has become the next in a line of adventurers attempting to destroy the Wizard's Compendium, the leather scroll the player picked up.The museum has various display cases that require the insertion of special coins of various types to access. Some coins can be bought in random encounters with NPCs
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
, some can be found as loot after combat, and some coins can only be found at the bottom level of various dungeons, meaning the player cannot proceed beyond a certain point until that dungeon is finished.
Unlike many RPGs, the game does not use an experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
system. The player gains levels only through the successful completion of various quests.
The game is mostly in top-down style for the world maps, towns, and castles, but switches to a 3D style in the dungeons and in the museum.
Several different areas of the game, like games in towns and certain museum displays, allow the character to play in special mini-games, which, if done successfully, will permanently increase attributes. Also, various casinos about the towns let players gamble to win money. It is also possible to rob banks in cities, but this attracts the attention of the town guards, who will remember the robbery until the player enters another town.
Copy Protection
The game makes use of a code-disc copy protection that requires the player to match a gemstone and the name of a world on which another branch of the Galactic Museum exists. The player then has to enter a six-digit number to proceed. One of the worlds on the disk, Bantross, became the setting for the sequel, The Legend of BlacksilverThe Legend of Blacksilver
The Legend of Blacksilver is a fantasy adventure game developed by Charles W. Dougherty and John C. Dougherty of Quest, Inc. and published by Epyx, Inc. in 1988. It is an indirect sequel to the game Legacy of the Ancients.-Introductory plot:...
.
Another part of the copy protection involves an attempt by the program to modify the program disk itself on startup and render it unusable. On authentic game disks, this operation fails since the disks are write-protected. When playing the game using an emulator, it is advisable to set the read-only attribute for each disk image to avoid this modification.
Similarity to Questron
This game shares a similar design to QuestronQuestron
Questron is a fantasy RPG computer game series produced by Strategic Simulations, Inc.-Questron:In Questron the player takes on the role of a young serf who tries to make a name for himself by traveling the realm in order to gain the power and experience necessary to defeat the wicked "Mantor",...
. Although it is not a sequel, it uses an updated engine shared by Questron and Questron II.
Reception
A review in 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...
enjoyed the museum setting of the game, but noted there was very little interacting with the world. The game's difficulty was described as "suitable for beginner and intermediate-level play".
The game was reviewed in 1988 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...
#131 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3½ stars.