Legend of Faerghail

Legend of Faerghail is a classic fantasy role-playing game released in 1990 for the Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS platforms. Developed by Electronic Design Hannover and published by reLINE Software, the game tries to blend the dungeon crawling mechanics of The Bard’s Tale with the open-world design of Ultima, offering a rich setting filled with towns, dungeons, and wilderness to explore.

The story begins with your party sent to investigate a growing threat from orcs in the lands of Thyn. Unlike many RPGs of the era, the game features a fully developed backstory, complete with different races and factions vying for power. You can import characters from other games, or create a new party using a detailed creation system with numerous classes and races.

The gameplay is structured around turn-based combat and first-person exploration. While some of the interface elements feel clunky by today’s standards, Legend of Faerghail offered a deep and rewarding experience for players willing to invest time in learning its systems. Towns are fully explorable, with shops, guilds, and quests that provide useful diversions from the main story. The use of hunger, sleep, and language skills adds realism, though sometimes it can feel tedious.

The Amiga version in particular shines thanks to its vibrant graphics and atmospheric soundtrack, though loading times and disk swapping may test your patience. The DOS version lacks some of the sound and visual flair, while the C64 version (planned but ultimately unreleased) was previewed in magazines but never saw the light of day.

Critics at the time were impressed by the ambition of the game, even if some rough edges were apparent. Publications like Zzap! noted the originality of some ideas, especially the more dynamic world and non-linear structure, though they also pointed out its slow pacing and awkward combat flow.

Despite its flaws, Legend of Faerghail remains a unique and ambitious entry in the world of classic CRPGs. It's a game that rewards patience and careful planning, and for fans of deep, complex fantasy adventures, it still offers a glimpse into the creative spirit of early European RPG design.