Link plays Atari
Fanwor is a brave attempt to recreate the commercial NES game "The Legend of Zelda" and works on all Atari computers. Thomas Huth took on the challenge of Fanwor a quarter of a century ago for the MagiC Game Contest. However, unless you have an upgraded ST/STe, this is a game for the TT and Falcon.
The storyline is unique, so concentrate - Princess Gemda ruled over the peaceful land of Fanwor protected by eight "Gems of Power" (I imagine these were created by Sam Tramiel). Monsters stole the gems and buried them in dungeons. Let's take a wild stab at what we've got to do to restore peace and prosperity.
So, who's up for helping Princess Zelda's sister and going on a gem hunt...
You begin your noble quest here. Don't bother going into the cave, he's not there!
Triforce of Wisdom
The original is an action/role-playing game with outdoor locations full of monsters. There are secret locations, interactions, weapon upgrades, and pick-ups for health/etc. Sadly, the Atari game is stripped down somewhat, but the map and (most) of the monsters are present while you hunt down the stolen gems.
Fans of the original will instantly notice the difference; ours runs in GEM. On the first screen, we begin armed, so there is no need to enter the cave - which is void of that helpful dude. As you explore, you will notice that there are no secret passages (that I found), no character interactions, no extra weapons, and no pickups for health/etc. I imagine implementing the extra parts would have been a massive undertaking.
Thankfully, almost all locations are near-exact replications, which is surprising considering how many there are. A few are slightly different because of their missing content, but not enough to warrant any kind of criticism. Even without the role-playing elements, we have a tremendous explorational action-adventure.
A cynic will say it's now a different game, but I'll halt that topic for a screenshot...
The spiders bounce around their location in an annoyingly accurate manner!
Explore & Kill
So, with these differences out of the way, what is left? Fanwor is old school, and keeps the objective simple for a damn fine game of exploration and monster killing. The objective, the game map, and the enemies remain much the same (any slain monsters will respawn if you go back to any given screen). However, the gameplay is now completely centred on exploring and killing monsters as you look for the eight gems.
Link can move in all four directions, and hitting the fire, thrusts his sword. You can use the keyboard, joystick, or JagPad, but I preferred the keyboard. Monsters can be killed with one hit, but the further you venture, the tougher they become. These enemies aren't merely sitting idle as they roam in random patterns. The spiders and flies are different and bounce around wildly, making them difficult to hit without losing HP.
Without the pickups from the original game, health is quite hard to replenish. You begin with 20HP and have three methods to stay alive 1) find a fairy to fully regenerate health. 2) find one of the eight gems, which also increases your max HP by 10. 3) don't fight every battle, and learn to be evasive.
The third option is good advice, which is a trait you should employ. Fanwor is well-balanced, and although 20HP is low, finding the gems is not impossible. Soon, I had 40HP and repeatedly used the fairies to keep me alive. Using this process, I completed Fanwor without cheating. A commendable attribute of any game.
It's got to that point where I stop waffling and show a couple of screenshots...
One of the few lakes with a magical fairy who's only too willing to help you out.
Aesthetics
Even if you've played the NES game, the graphics won't impress. It's crude and too yellow much of the time, but this is a game from 1986, and I think it looks like retrogaming gold, something I never expected. Thankfully, Thomas didn't use push scrolling and opted for flick-screen, which is easily the best choice and suits the style. Overall, our ST conversion closely follows the original, and its authenticity is commendable.
Sadly, I've no idea why the performance is so poor. On an ST (without Blitter), it's too sluggish to be playable. The STs with a Blitter handle gameplay better with faster controls and smoother visuals. However, even on these computers, it's still too slow (especially if you have played the original). So, unless you have an upgraded ST/e or own a Mega STe/TT/Falcon, you are forced to use emulation, opting for a speedy config.
The quirky fun doesn't stop there - the audio is well-supported with chip and DMA sounds. These play alongside stunning tracker music by Malcolm Grant. There is an option to use your preferred ACC player (BackTrack, Paula, etc). Sadly, the music is a hit to performance and is best left to the faster computers!
This is one of the rare times real hardware loses out. Unless you're rich! Screenshot time...
Gone is the yellow desert for a murky graveyard (and a chasing ghost!)
CryptO'pinion
For all its ridiculous hardware demands and missing gameplay elements, I have still thoroughly enjoyed Fanwor. It's simple, without much depth, and reminded me of Sword of Kadash in some respects. Sure, it's far too slow, so I used my 16MHz Mega STe - consider that the minimum spec, but obviously, all upgraded STs will be fine. With this in mind, I have had a blast exploring, mapping, and completing the game.
So if you enjoy exploring and blindly killing hundreds of monsters, you're gonna enjoy this walk down memory lane. For those who turned up their noses when they saw the screenshots, well, they've already left and will miss an opportunity to play something quirky, pointless, and mind-numbingly enjoyable.
One for the eccentric odd-bod gamer with enough time on their hands for something different. :]
- Atarimania has the floppies https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-fanwor...
- 8BitChip has a version ready for hard drives https://atari.8bitchip.info/SCRSH/fanwor.html
- There is a newer v1.03 with "updated" graphics https://demozoo.org/productions/135316/
- Reservoir Gods have something cool for Falcon owners! https://www.atarimania.com/g...
- Here is a list of loads more STe enhanced games https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/enhanced...
- I've mapped many other Atari ST games https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/maps...
There might be no secrets, but we still need to find the gems. Look inside the cave!
This is how the later versions look, but I preferred the older games myself.
Now that I've finished Fanwor, I was thinking about Fantastic World(s). A good idea?
The Maps
Right then, you've scrolled this far and are still here. I'm impressed! Continue to scroll a little more for a thumbnail of the map. Wait, it's a small thumbnail picture and not a high-resolution map!!
To download the high-resolution images, just click here. Within this download is the map for the HUGE outdoor area. Also included are the keys to each of the eight dungeons (also fully mapped).
I hope my maps are enough to lure you into playing this game. Enjoy...
Are you wondering why it's small? You clicked it, right? Doh!! Read the text above!!
