Game 168: The Legend of Kyrandia, Book 3: Malcolm’s Revenge (1994) - Introduction

Written by Michael

In the first Kyrandia game, we played young Brandon, a self-entitled prince who needed to save the land of Kyrandia from a psychopathic court jester named Malcolm.  In the second game, we played a mystic named Zantha that Brandon briefly meets during the first game, and she saves the world from a maniacal giant hand that wants complete control.

In the third game, we’re going to be playing Malcom, in his version of an O.J. Simpson tall tale.  The premise of this game is that Malcom was innocent; he was framed by mystic leader Kallak, Brandon’s grandfather. 

Flash Gordon: il Rapimento di Dale – Final Rating

If only...

Written by Vetinari

Not to put too fine a point on it, this game sucks. But – how much does it suck? Let's find out with the final rating.

Flash Gordon: il Rapimento di Dale – Won!

Written by Vetinari

What?!? Already? Yes, dear reader. Saying that this game is short is an understatement. Compared to this, “Daughter of Serpents” feels like “Der Zauberberg”.

Or Heimat 2 if you are more of a cinephile.

So, this game starts with Flash near the wreckage of his spaceship. I seize the opportunity to try some of the keyboard controls, like ducking, jumping and so on.

You know, the typical adventure game fare.

Freddi Fish 1 - Final Rating

And the Oscar goes to...

Written by Michael

Okay, this game was short, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to score in the single digits.  Remember, this was a children’s title aimed at those barely starting to use computers at the time, and this game is so well designed in that regard that, if the iPad and Android versions released a decade ago were still maintained, they would require absolutely no changes to connect with their audience.

As I look at each of these categories, I’m also reading all three of Ilmari’s reviews of their previous adventures, to see what has changed and what has stayed the same.  They had a winning formula in many ways, and that was recognized when they were bought out for $76 million in 1996.  A few years later, after several corporate mergers, acquisitions, and whatnot, the company was essentially gone.  Only the brand name remains today, owned by another company repackaging the products for modern audiences.  As sad as this is, it also says that, just maybe, there’s something there for the ages.

Let’s do the deep dive...

Game 166: Flash Gordon: il Rapimento di Dale (1994) - Introduction

Written by Vetinari

Welcome one and all to this new playthrough for the Adventurers’ Guild. The game that we will tackle in this series of posts is “Flash Gordon: il rapimento di Dale” (Dale’s kidnapping).

The character of Flash Gordon originated in 1934 and was created by comic book legend Alex Raymond. The idea was for the new character to compete with the similar and already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. It was a smash hit, such that Flash Gordon is regarded as one of the best illustrated and most influential American adventure comic strips; for example its success is often cited as a big influence on early superhero comics characters design.