The Legend of Kyrandia: Malcolm's Revenge
| Industry | Video game development |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | The Legend of Kyrandia: Book Three - Malcolm's Revenge |
The Legend of Kyrandia: Book Three - Malcolm's Revenge is a 2D point-and-click adventure title created by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in 1994. Serving as the concluding chapter of the Fables & Fiends trilogy, the narrative centers on the antagonist from the initial game, who embarks on a quest for vengeance and subsequently strives to clear his name from a false murder charge.
While preserving the franchise’s established point-and-click gameplay, this installment introduces a novel feature enabling players to alternate the main character among three distinct personalities to overcome puzzles. Additionally, it incorporates a scoring system that rewards specific player actions. Westwood utilized their custom video compression technology with the .VQA (Vector Quantized Animation) format. Although critical reception was mixed and sales were modest, largely due to Westwood’s shift in focus toward Command & Conquer during the mid-1990s, an emulated version was later launched on GOG.com for both Windows and Mac OS X in 2013.
Gameplay
Continuing with the straightforward point-and-click interface characteristic of the series, players engage with objects, settings, and characters through mouse clicks. Collected items are stored within an inventory system to assist in puzzle resolution, though at times inventory resets require players to reacquire lost items. New features in this edition include a points mechanism that grants rewards for particular in-game actions and a "laughter-track" activated during humorous sequences. A key gameplay element allows switching the protagonist’s demeanor among truthful, normal, and deceitful personas to solve puzzles; a critical decision later in the game locks the player into one chosen personality path.
Plot
Long before the events of Fables and Fiends, Malcolm’s upbringing was influenced by two opposing consciences: his virtuous side Stewart and his malevolent side Gunther. As Malcolm became increasingly rebellious, Stewart disapproved while Gunther encouraged his misbehavior. Their struggle culminated with Stewart being cast aside, leaving Gunther as Malcolm’s sole guide. Malcolm’s mischief continued until he became court jester for King William and Queen Catherine of Kyrandia. Following their assassination, Malcolm was falsely implicated and retaliated against the kingdom until eventually defeated by their son Brandon alongside Kallak, leader of the Mystics.
After attempting a spell that turned him into a statue prisoner, Malcolm was discarded outside the castle until released by a storm following Hand of Fate. Driven by vengeance and fearing re-arrest, he sought to escape Kyrandia. On the Isle of Cats, Malcolm gained pirate assistance by acquiring a spell capable of transforming people into anthropomorphic mice. With pirate support, he returned to Kyrandia but was ultimately betrayed. Brandon and Kallak considered him too dangerous and banished him to the edge of the world.
Malcolm lost consciousness during his descent down this edge and awoke in Limbo, where he was compelled to serve its queen. He managed to flee to the Underworld, freeing himself from her control but unable to remain there. Transported back to Kyrandia, he reunited with Stewart and faced a choice to follow one conscience or merge both. Discovering Kyrandia devastated under pirate dominion using his own spell, Malcolm deceived their captain into relinquishing the collar that upheld their authority.
To clear his name regarding the rulers’ murders, Malcolm summoned King William’s spirit for judgment before Brandon and Kallak. William disclosed that his death resulted from a cursed blade targeting royal lineage and revealed Malcolm was his cousin. Ashamed, Brandon and Kallak absolved Malcolm and restored his freedom. As he prepared for rest, Malcolm was unexpectedly approached by the kingdom’s prison warden bearing news of his son.
Designer Rick Gush remarked that Westwood’s management under-promoted Malcolm's Revenge due to their prioritization of Command & Conquer. Nonetheless, the title achieved commercial success, surpassing combined sales of Fables and Fiends and Hand of Fate. A subsequent bundle including all three games contributed tens of thousands more copies early on. By August 1996, total sales for the entire Legend of Kyrandia series—including Malcolm's Revenge—exceeded 250,000 units.
Computer Gaming Worlds reviewer Scorpia found the game simultaneously refreshing and frustrating. It earned Electronic Entertainments 1994 "Best Adventure Game" accolade and received a nomination from PC Gamer US, where it lost out to System Shock. Meanwhile, Next Generation commended its outstanding visuals, humor, and demanding puzzles.
Reviews
- ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) - December 1994
- PC Gamer - January 1995
- MikroBitti - January 1995
- PC Player (Germany) - December 1994
- Jeuxvideo.com - September 23, 2011
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1994 video games
- Adventure games
- DOS games
- Fantasy video games
- Fiction about wrongful convictions
- Fictional jesters
- Games commercially released with DOSBox
- Point-and-click adventure games
- ScummVM-supported games
- Single-player video games
- Video games about clowns
- Video games about dissociative identity disorder
- Video games about mental health
- Video games about revenge
- Video games developed in the United States
- Video games scored by Frank Klepacki
- Virgin Interactive games
- Westwood Studios games