Leander (video game)

Leander

Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	1991
Founder	Traveller's Tales
Products	Leander

Leander is a video game created by Traveller's Tales and released by Psygnosis in 1991. This title marked the debut of Traveller's Tales. Originally designed for the Amiga platform, it was subsequently ported to the Atari ST by Philipp Wyatt from W.J.S Design. In 1992, Electronic Arts published a version titled Galahad for the Sega Mega Drive.

Plot

The player takes on the role of the knight Leander (renamed Galahad in the Mega Drive edition), whose mission is to save Princess Lucanna. She has been abducted by the sorcerer Thanatos (called Miragorn in the Mega Drive adaptation) as bait to trap King Arthur.

Gameplay

Leander explores three large realms, each containing seven stages. Throughout these levels, players gather coins to purchase armour, potions, and swords from occasional shops within the game. Progression in each stage depends on locating a specific item before accessing a portal; missing this item prevents advancement.

Opponents encountered include dragons, elves, snakes, and oversized otters. Each realm concludes with a boss fight that must be defeated to move forward.

Reception

The Amiga version received a 93% rating from The One, which commended its elegant design and visually impressive graphics featuring detailed effects such as waves and rain. The review emphasized Leander's fluid scrolling and controls that are both user-friendly and complex enough to allow actions like high jumping and climbing ladders, effectively emulating the platforming style found on consoles.

Anti-piracy

An anti-piracy technique tested involved creating a laser hole in the disk; without this physical marker, the game would freeze during loading. If this check was circumvented, the game would start but limit progress past level four by removing collision detection on a critical platform, while later stages lacked any terrain, causing the character to fall through. Additionally, damage inflicted on the player was reduced by half. Ultimately, this form of copy protection was not implemented.