The Collection Chamber: WORLDS OF LEGEND: SON OF THE EMPIRE

Take control of the Assassin, Berserker, Troubadour and Runemaster as the enter the mysterious Empire of the Moon. Your quest - vengeance for the murder of the Assassin's father, the Emperor of Imperia. Track down Sorcerer Ti-Mann Mochun, once the Emperor's aide, now your deadly enemy. But watch your backs - the lands of the East are filled with Assassins and Warriors just waiting to fulfil their villainous ambitions! Strangers will be well noticed in these parts...
Four independent simultaneously controlled characters.
Superb spell casting system
Magical scrolls and weapons.
Devious puzzles and tasks.
Hordes of objects and characters.
Import you original LEGEND team retaining all of their features.

~ from the back of the box

With Legend proving quite popular with PC gamers back in 1992, its UK publisher Mindscape commissioned a direct sequel; Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire. In fact, many more were considered, each telling a story based on one of the four party member. Only the Assassin's story came to light and this is it.

It turns out this stealthy rogue is the son of the Emperor of Imperia (who knew?) and poor old pops popped his clogs. Murdered. So, the four of you travel eastward to the Empire of the Moon to take revenge on his murderer. This premise alone is more of a plot than the entirety of the original game, and it's all the better for it.

Gameplay-wise, nothing has changed. Visually and mechanically it's almost exactly the same with an East Asian-themed palatte swap. So, to save repeasting myself, I think I'd just go a bit deeper on the features only touched upon in the first game's review. Character selecting is still the same, including the four elemental boosts. You can assign any combination of earth, air, fire and water to increase some stats while decreasing others. For instance, earth boosts strength, constitution and armour, but lowers intelligence, speed and dexterity.

Once your party has entered the world, the entire Empire is open to you from the world map. It's not just you wandering the plains either, but other allies and enemies with their own machinations. Some travel to boosts defenses of other towns, while others are activly looking for trouble (that's you). Even worse, these warring factions will take over towns preventing you from entering and using their services unless you have a pass or bribe the guards at the gate. If one reaches the castle and takes it over, it's game over.

This will become a problem if the enemy takes over the Mad Monks to the north. They are like the Guild in the first game and is the only place where you can level up. It costs a lot more to do so too, though your coffers is not the only way you can. There is an option to fight them for experience and if you defeat them, you're in for a free upgrade. Thankfully, combat has had a few small quality of life improvements. Your troubadour will automatically play March of the Bold Ones for slow health regenertaion when entering a dungeon and the Assassin will automatically Hide in the Shadows when attacked. It seems like small tings, but those saved clicks mean all the difference.

While fewer in number, the labyrinths are larger this time round with an increased amount of puzzle rooms. As such, you'd likely need greater use of Elliot the dragon. Even though no-one is called Pete in your party, he is still friendly enough to jot down a map, filling in rooms wherever you go. He's found on the top left of the screen and is sadly rarely mentioned in the overall plot.

Combat gets harder quicker too, so you need to make use of all you have handy at any given time. At least the Runemaster begins with a healthy number of spells pre-prepared including ones that merge runes. Combine a healer with a missile rune, and you can throw a healing spell to an ally. Do the same with a damage spell and you can throw damage to an enemy. Add extra ingredients and that damage will double.

If your runecaster has perished or run out of spells, other players can use items to just as great an effect. You can find spell scrolls, potions, armour upgrades and other useful stuff if you explore everything that isn't a floor tile. A Serpent's Ring can be constantly used to heal you far faster than the Bard's melody, while a Serpent's Potion is a one-use curing spell. Sun rings give the bearer continuous regeneration for a while while Amber rings will protect you from magical spells (including heals as well as damage). In a pinch, the Cloud ring's teleportation can prove useful when your surrounded but by far, the best item is the Dragon potion. For a short period, this gives the same effect as the Sun ring and the Amber ring as well as giving you a bit of a speed boost. There is a lot more too, so I recommend perusing the Adventurer's Handbook for both this game and the first for more information.

While very little has actually changed, Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire is still a very worthy sequel. Everything that was fun about the first game is here, and minor niggles have been smoothed over. A must play if you're into mettle-testing computer RPGs.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the DOSBox Daum build of DOSBox 0.74 to bring the PC version to modern systems and FS-UAE with WHDload to emulate the Amiga version. Manual, Reference Card and Adventurer's Handbook included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 101 Mb. Install Size: 216 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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