The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate
A young alchemist must save Kyrandia from vanishing.
The Legend of Kyrandia: Book Two - Hand of Fate is a 1993 point-and-click adventure for MS-DOS, created by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive. It follows a young alchemist and magician trying to stop Kyrandia’s total erasure. This sequel to the 1992 original is the second Fables & Fiends title, featuring more whimsical humor and trickier puzzles than its predecessor. Though a commercial hit, it drew criticism for being too short. A follow-up, Malcolm's Revenge, arrived in 1994. GOG.com released an emulated version for Windows and Mac in 2013.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Westwood Studios
- Publisher
- Virgin Interactive Entertainment
- Director
- Rick "Coco" Gush
- Programmer
- Michael Legg
- Artist
- Rick Parks
- Composer
- Frank Klepacki
- Series
- Fables & Fiends
- Platforms
- MS-DOS
- FM Towns
- PC-98
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
In Hand of Fate, you play as Zanthia, a young magic user traveling through various lands to solve puzzles and move the story along. The game uses a simple point-and-click interface instead of a verb-command system for interacting with people and objects. Your inventory has more room than in the first game, and you can leave items in a location to pick up later. Once you get a cauldron, you can brew potions by combining the right ingredients; each potion has a set number of uses, and you can empty the cauldron early if you need a different mixture. You find new potion recipes by collecting missing spell pages during your journey. Unlike the previous game, you cannot keep every item when advancing—only certain ones carry over. Dangerous situations that you handle poorly can cause an instant game over, forcing you to start over or load a saved game.
Plot
A few years after the events of The Legend of Kyrandia, the kingdom of Kyrandia faces a crisis as pieces of the land begin to disappear. The Mystics, the kingdom's most powerful magic users, search for answers, aided by newcomer Marko and his assistant The Hand, a giant living gloved left hand. Their search leads to the Hand pointing out that Kyrandia requires a magical anchor stone from the center of the world. Zanthia, the youngest Mystic and a skilled alchemist, is tasked to acquire the stone. However, she finds her home ransacked, preventing her from creating a portal potion. Finding some of her older equipment hidden nearby by the thief, Zanthia seeks another way to the center of the world and heads to Morning Mist for passage to a volcano island that links to the center. Marko discovers the Hand had one of Zanthia's alchemy tools but is uncertain why. Zanthia reaches the center of the world, but as she is about to acquire an anchor stone, Marko appears through a portal to say it is not required. He reveals the Mystics discovered Kyrandia's situation is tied to the Wheels of Fate, and something has happened to them. Before he can help her reach them, the Hand intrudes and pulls him back through the portal. Reaching the surface, Zanthia heads toward the Wheels of Fate. She encounters two men seeking to capture a living disembodied foot and learns the Hand is a fragment of a long-deceased gigantic evil sorcerer, likely trying to revive it by destroying Kyrandia. Zanthia reaches the Wheels of Fate and finds the Hand removed a gear powering the machine keeping Kyrandia in existence. She fixes it and confronts the Hand, defeating it with Marko's help. They return home, with Marko hinting he is in love with Zanthia. In a post-credit scene, a lightning bolt strikes a junkyard near the castle, hitting a statue of Malcolm and freeing him.
Reception
According to writer Rick "Coco" Gush, Hand of Fate sold roughly half as many copies as its predecessor, a commercial disappointment he blamed on a cryptic ad campaign overseen by an arrogant new VP of marketing who was fired from Virgin Interactive shortly after launch. A later bundle including the first game and Malcolm's Revenge added tens of thousands of sales in its first few months. By August 1996, the entire Kyrandia series had sold over 250,000 units. InfoWorld recommended the game in 1993 to inexperienced adventurers and King's Quest fans, citing its low difficulty and short length, and noted it would pleasantly entertain for however long it took. Dragon gave it 4 out of 5. In 1994, Computer Gaming World's Scorpia praised its avoidance of unwinnable situations and a definite improvement in puzzle design over the original, though Westwood still relied too heavily on red herrings. She criticized the short length and the arcade-style endgame as a sore point, but concluded Hand of Fate fixed much of what was wrong with Legend of Kyrandia and was a good choice for anyone seeking a short adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who published The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate?
The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate was published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment.
What platforms is The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate available on?
The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate was released for MS-DOS, FM Towns and PC-98.
Who composed the music for The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate?
The music for The Legend of Kyrandia: Hand of Fate was composed by Frank Klepacki.
More in Point-and-Click Adventure Games of the 1990s
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