Game:

Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (1993)

Duration: 8:25

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The Lands of Lore movement system works through a series of six arrow icons on the screen. In order to move, we have to click a particular arrow, and Michael moves one “space” in that direction. We can move forward, backward, to the left, or to the right. The remaining two arrows allow us to change which direction we’re facing while still remaining in our current space. It’s a bit of a clunky system by modern standards, to be sure, but it’s still quite intuitive and easy to use once the player masters the controls. With this in mind, I begin the process of moving through Gladstone Keep. There’s a door blocking our way, and we’ll need to click the little button next to the door to open it. First, though, I turn to the right and click some of the scenery to have Michael comment. Clicking on the window has him remark that the kingdom looks “deceptively peaceful”, while clicking a large red banner has him comment that it’s the Gladstone crest. From there, I head through the door and have Michael comment on an indoor fountain and an eagle symbol before moving forward. I enter another door, comment on a tapestry, and then move through a corridor that ends in two soldiers standing guard. These guys protect the throne room, and when we appear they step aside so we can enter. I have Michael comment on some battle banners outside the throne room, then we head inside to meet King Richard.

We’re treated to a cutscene where King Richard is speaking with two of his advisors. One, the balding guy we saw in the intro, is Royal Chamberlain Geron Arbroath. The other, a beautiful blonde woman, is the mystic Dawn and the king’s top spellcaster. As we approach, both Geron and Dawn seem confident that the castle is prepared for anything Scotia might try, but Richard isn’t so sure. As the king turns to us, he explains that he needs an item called the Ruby of Truth to combat Scotia. This item is currently in the possession of a noble named Roland, based in the Southland region. Our job is to head to the Southland and retrieve the Ruby. Geron tells us to visit his office and get a Royal Writ—we’ll need that Writ to sail for the Southlands later, and the guards actually won’t allow us to leave Gladstone Keep without it. Moreover, Richard gives us a key to his private library so we can get a Magic Atlas. This Magic Atlas enables the game’s minimap feature, so it’s invaluable.

When the cutscene ends, I backtrack to a closed door and open it. I have Michael comment on a portrait there—it’s Richard’s great grandfather—and then use the key Richard gave us on a keyhole. That automatically opens the library door, and inside the library itself are four books. One of them is the Magic Atlas, while the other three just give us quotes. I already know which one is the Atlas, but I still click all four books to get the quotes—they have some very interesting backstory for the Lands of Lore setting. Once we get the Atlas, a book icon appears on the screen; clicking it shows a map of wherever we happen to be, in this case Gladstone Keep. There’s nothing there right now, but the map will expand as we explore. With that new feature enabled, I backtrack to the start of Gladstone Keep and identify Geron’s office—he has a name plate outside his door that we can read. Going in, he’s noticeably abrasive and annoyed with us, but still gives us the Writ. We can now leave the Keep, but first I want to pay a visit to two other people in the keep. First I go to the Royal Herborium to visit Nathaniel. He sells various healing items—ginseng cures poison, aloe leaves heal damage, and salves also heal damage. Next we head to Victor, the Royal Blacksmith. He sells weapons and has some pretty impressive ones available, although we can’t afford them right now. In addition, I show off the Rest feature. Touching some swords on display injures our character slightly, but clicking the “ZZZ” button allows us to go to sleep, and while we sleep damage is naturally healed. That’s not going to work in the heat of combat—enemy attacks can force us awake—but it’s a critically important feature that we’ll be using quite often throughout the game.

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