Leander
| Leander | |
|---|---|
 Scan is part of ExoticA's Games Gallery. Click thumbnail for full image. | |
| Composer(s) | Matthew Simmonds (Title) Tim Wright |
| Team(s) | Travellers Tales |
| Publisher(s) | Psygnosis |
| Music Format(s) | ChipTracker NoiseTracker |
| Year published | 1991 |
Leander is Travellers Tales first published game, and is one of the many graphically and musically splendid titles in the Psygnosis pantheon. Graphically, it ranks along Shadow of the Beast as one of the best examples of the Amiga's hardware prowess.
The game concerns Leander, captain of the guards, setting off to rescue Princess Lucanna from Thanatos, master of all evil. The result is a platform game spread across 3 worlds, each with 6 levels and a boss. In each level, you have to find a teleport key, and then take it to the teleport, with the final level of each area requiring you to fight a boss. There is an in-game shop, where you can buy more powerful swords. The three most powerful swords can be "powered up" by holding down the fire button.
You can find power-ups by breaking open chests. Be careful, though; if you don't pick up a power-up, it turns into a skull symbol. Collecting this summons Thanatos himself. It starts raining, all other enemies disappear, and the ethereal presence of Thanatos arrives, swirling around you. He can only be defeated by firing rune bombs at him, or by succumbing to his superior powers and politely dieing.
Graphically, the game is excellent, with parallax scrolling achieved through horizontally recycled sprites, and a well-animated main character. The music is a treat, mostly medieval-style tunes. The loading tune is a wonderful composition by Tim Wright, a slow melody on a harp which builds up over several minutes. This gentle melody can be contrasted with the title-music by Matthew Simmonds, which is an action-packed horn and (oddly) distorted guitar led piece which synchronises perfectly with the animated battle scene depicted in the opening titles.
The somewhat out-of-place Japanese text on the front of the box reads ライオン·マンと獣が力比べをしています (raion-man to kemono ga chikara kurabe o shite imasu), which translates as "The Lion-Man and beast compare strength". As Leander is Greek for "Lion-Man", this is quite apt.
Development team
- Programming
- Jon Burton
- DMA Design (disk access routines)
- Chris Wylie (compression code)
- Lee Wright (sound effects replayer)
- Graphics
- Andy Ingram
- Simon James (additional creature designs)
- Music
- Tim Wright
- Matthew Simmonds (title screen music)
- Level design
- Gra Watkinson and Andy Ingram
Gallery
The intro logo
The title screen. Leander's sword is still smoking after killing an orc
You can buy weapons, armour and rune bombs in the shop
The Force Blade sends out a sonic wave
The Tempest Blade lets you move faster and jump further
The Lion Blade destroys everyone on screen
If you accidentally touch a skull icon, it starts to rain
And when it rains, Thanatos turns up
This lovely waving GAME OVER flag appears when you die
But you can try again
Leander and Lucanna watch Thanatos' evil lair collapse. That was a load-bearing boss!
Success! You got a high score
Dragons
Dragons are a regular occurrence in Leander's travels.
The dragon from the intro and the box art
A dragon from world 1
An elderly dragon from world 2
A little dragon from world 3
A robot dragon from world 3
World 1
Before each level, you take advice from one of the Sirens
Well, here we are in world 1, level 1. Better get on with it.
In every level, you need to find the teleport key, then get to the teleport
Ugh! A spider!
Even worse, the Spider Queen! She's the boss of world 1
World 2
The siren for world 2
Here we are in world 2
The interiors are vaguely Aztec in design
They don't fuck about
The end of world 2 boss, the Giant Otter
World 3
The siren for world 3
World 3, where chains hang in mid-air
Oi! You! Don't you dare!
The cogs in the parallax layer are animated
Lemmings? Are we in the right game?
I don't think we are. Aren't these from The Killing Game Show?
So is their mother
A big evil thing pops out of the ground
Thanatos's pet Alien
The love triangle between Leander, Lucanna and Thanatos
UnExoticA Music Files
Game/Simmonds_Matthew/Leander.lha
Download archive Game/Simmonds_Matthew/Leander.lha
| Filename | File Size | Composer | Game | Year | Team / Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leander | |||||
 mod.OUR-ROUT. |
231238 | Matthew Simmonds | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
- Updates
- Wednesday 24 January 2001 (Kyzer): Added to collection
- Monday 20 May 2002 (XtC): Renamed file prefix.
Game/Wright_Tim/Leander.lha
Download archive Game/Wright_Tim/Leander.lha
Also included are the original MODs direct from the composer, including one that was unused.
| Filename | File Size | Composer | Game | Year | Team / Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leander | |||||
 Direct_from_Composer |
|||||
 mod.game complete |
111248 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.game continue ... |
43220 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.hi-score |
73038 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.rejected |
74912 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.shop song |
35140 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.title tune cut |
276474 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.world one |
74054 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.world three |
76818 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.world two |
74140 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.game complete |
111248 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.game continue ... |
43220 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.hi-score |
73038 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.shop song |
35140 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.title tune cut |
275450 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.world one.1 |
70000 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.world three.2 |
70000 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
| mod.world two.1 |
70000 | Tim Wright | Leander | 1991 | Psygnosis / Travellers Tales |
- Updates
- Wednesday 24 January 2001 (Kyzer): Added to collection
- Sunday 19 May 2002 (XtC): Removed Lee Wright from the credits.
- Friday 11 October 2002 (XtC): Added tunes from Composer.
External Links
- Leander (ECS) at the Hall Of Light
- Leander at Lemon Amiga
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