Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown feels so old school you could potentially be called a hipster if you like this. Well… It’s mister hipster to you then from now on.
Might and the beholder
Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown is an homage to games like Might and Magic III to V, Daggerfall, and Wizardry to name a few. If you’re an old gamer like me, you know what to expect and shouldn’t need much more explanation to go out and give this one a try. For those still in the dark, let me enlighten your path a bit. Back in the 90s, computers weren’t all that powerful like nowadays. Games weren’t all that fluid looking and as such, game development focussed more on genres where that didn’t matter as much. Turn-based RPG’s actually make use of the static movement to make it a game element.
With a dash of Dungeons and Dragons lore added in the mix, many great adventure games saw the light of day. Within the limitations of the computers at the time, they created a giant world filled with fantasy elements for you to explore. These open worlds were a nice change of scenery as opposed to the many linear feeling games at the time. I remember myself totally getting lost in Might and Magic III. The static movement and blocky scenery were soon forgotten when indulged in the story told by these types of games. RPG’s gradually started looking nicer and became more action-based but there will always be a special place in my heart for old school western RPG’s.
A spell of forgottenness
Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown gives you a group of 7 heroes and a simple premise. Somewhere in the writings, there is mention of a crown everyone seems to have forgotten. It’s your task to get that crown and return it to the kingdom. As the game starts there is no limitation as to where you can go. Of course, the overworld is filled with enemies so some parts are best avoided while you are still a low-level group. With many dungeons in your sight, you can immediately go on an adventure. Going back and forth between towns to replenish your health and buy some upgrades.
Cut out the boring bits
Developer Silver Lemur Games is set to make turn-based games for people who don’t have much time. Well, that’s exactly what Legends of Amberland sets out to do. By throwing you directly in an open world it’s up to you to figure things out. Check out the nearby towns and check the inns for the latest gossip. Find a way around the overpowered troll on the bridge to get to the court wizard you’re supposed to meet. Find the two Ogre infested forts in the south without waypoints. Just go out and adventure is clearly the motto of this game and that’s perfectly fine by me.
No boring introductions, no long walks through endless scenery. Just fast-paced movement on a grid with visible enemies. So no random fights to elongate the game even more. This what you see is what you get approach feels liberating in the current day and age of gaming. I know certain people will find the lack of guidance quite daunting but trust me it’s fun to go in blind. Just try stuff out and see for yourself. You might feel fulfilled if it all works out.
All the stereotypes
With 7 heroes to freely choose for your group, you can get creative. Filling out your group with 6 wizards and one fighter might not be the most successful tactic but the fact you have that option is nice. The races and classes are all very stereotypical of the genre but make the choices to be made at the beginning a bit easier. Other things that are stereotypical in Legends of Amberland are basically the entire game. Now I don’t mind this at all but some people might want some more variation than just another generic goblin, ogre or snake as their opponent. The quests you gather are more or less the typical fetch quests you get in so many RPG’s. Nothing about the story is remarkably notable, to be honest. Still, the game flows as it used to in 199x and that’s the whole point.
Console conversion
Legends of Amberland was released this summer on PC but has just now been ported to the Nintendo Switch. Converting a game like this to a console is not the easiest job out there. The original is clearly intended for mouse and keyboard usage. Now the port is definitely playable with a controller but it’s not easy. The use of shoulder buttons in combination with keypresses gets you through the many options but this felt very slow to me. Now luckily they used the touch control abilities of the Nintendo Switch to basically mirror the use of a mouse. When I played the game in handheld mode and used the touchscreen, the game flowed like it was intended to flow.
Conclusion
If you want to play an old school no-nonsense turn-based RPG, Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown is the game for you. Go handheld and use the touchscreen if you’re opting for the Nintendo Switch version. And don’t forget to just take a leap into the unknown, you might have a real adventure.
