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Legend (1992 video game)

Legend, also known as The Four Crystals of Trazere in the United States, is an isometric fantasy role-playing game released in 1992 for the Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS. It was developed by Pete James and Anthony Taglione for the then UK-based Mindscape, and published by The Software Toolworks. In the game, the player controls four adventurers on a quest to save the land of Trazere from an ancient, re-awakening evil. In 1993, Mindscape released a sequel, Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire. The copyrights for both "Legend" and "Worlds of Legend" are currently owned by Ubisoft, who bought them from Mattel Interactive with the rest of the Mindscape library in 2001.

Release
The Four Crystals of Trazere is an American version of Legend. It was commenced under funding from Mirrorsoft, which went into receivership after the death of Robert Maxwell. The following day, December 11, Taglione was meeting with Phil Harrison of Mindscape to discuss the conversion to PC of Tony Crowther's Amiga game, Captive. On hearing that Mirrorsoft had just gone into receivership, Taglione suggested the possibility of publication by Mindscape. The game was released by Mindscape in 1992. PC Home demo In October 1992, an exclusive, specially-written demo version of Legend, courtesy of Anthony 'Tag' Taglione and Mindscape, was released free in the UK with the first issue of the personal computer magazine PC Home, as part of a real-life competition by Mindscape. The demo's content is not taken from the storyline or any part of the full game, but comprises a small but challenging standalone adventure in the world of Trazere. The gameplay of the demo is limited to the city of Treihadwyl, and a single dungeon within - the overrun cellars of the Mad Monks' temple - as there is no world map view and therefore no way to travel to any other location. However, the adventure has not been subsequently re-released or incorporated into any retail version of the game, and as such its availability is incredibly limited. The demo's difficulty is high in comparison to the beginning stages of the full game, due to the presence of far more intricate puzzle rooms, stronger monster spawns, and more frequent wandering monster ambushes. However, these challenges are offset slightly in that the runemaster begins the demo with an array of powerful spells ready-made, invaluable protective and healing items are scattered around the first dungeon room, and mid to high-level weapons and armour are always available for purchase from the city blacksmith. The following year, Taglione coded another similarly unique demo for PC Home, this time for Legend's sequel, Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire. Sequel The game spawned a sequel a year later called Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire. Although set in a different realm of Trazere, the gameplay is almost identical with a few tweaks and bugfixes. ==Development==
Development
Legend began development in August 1990, and was originally scheduled for a September 1991 release for Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS. ==Reception==
Reception
The Four Crystals of Trazere was reviewed in 1992 in Dragon #187 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the DOS version 3 out of 5 stars. The One gave the Amiga version of Legend an overall score of 79%, praising its gameplay and pacing of quests, stating that "[Legend] presents a realistic, attainable challenge, with plenty of sub-games to keep the action moving along ... Thanks to some thoughtful game design, however, even a novice Role Player will, at the very least, understand what is loosely expected of him." The One notes the magic and potion-making system, saying it "deserves a special mention for its entertainment value. Absolutely fiendish potions can be mixed ... and used with great effect in the most unlikely situations." Legend was named the 80th best computer game ever by PC Gamer UK in 1997. The editors called it a precursor to Diablo, and wrote that it offered "countless nights of puzzling, hacking, slashing and magic-casting." == References ==
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