Game Review: Feud (MSX, Bulldog)

Feud is the tale of Learic and Leanoric, are two feuding wizard brothers, who have lived in the village of Little Dullford for so many years, that none of the locals can remember when they turned up there. In fact, the story for the game does all of that, with you imagining it being spoken in a West Country accent to really give the story its weight. You play Learic, and are out to effectively get all the spells you need so that you can battle your rival brother wizard Leanoric, in a battle to the death. All of this and the thought of creating your own magic spells sounds somewhat promising, especially given the reception given to the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions. Unlike those, on the MSX, there is no loading screen to speak of – which is a shame, as it would have been nice to have the Ste Pickford loading screen on here.

Hunt for the Herbs

The title screen is rudimentary with all the game credits, and the sprite of your wizard Learic at the bottom left of the screen. Although you can use the joystick, you can use keys too, but it is the more Spectrum standard of QAOP and space rather than using the MSX’s cursor keys instead. It would have been nice to have a redefine keys option, but with the joystick plugged in, it is fire and off we go, with you as Learic starting by your hut and with you cauldron outside, which you will find useful once you have some herbs located and can mix them to get your spells ready for casting.

The gardens and village that you explore are effectively a reasonable sized map, with small streams to cross by a bridge, walled paths to work a way in or around, and other characters such as the gardener making their way around the garden too, as well as some of the villagers going around their daily business. The key here when you start is to locate as many herbs (or the bones) as possible whilst avoiding Leonaric – who may be ready to cast some spells on you initially. There is a compass to the bottom right which works correctly and will show his whereabouts as you move. Unlike the bugged Commodore 64 version, here on the MSX it works perfectly and is also accurate, so if Leonaric is North he normally above you on the map, if it says East, he is to the right of you. Having this working really does make a huge difference.

Collecting Conundrum

At first, when you move around the herb gardens and parts of the village, you will see the herbs well as a set of bones, usually placed where you may need to back track through a certain path or direction to locate it. To collect the ingredient, you need to be underneath so Learic touches the bottom right of the ingredient. This did prove a little finicky to work out at first but once you have this mastered, it does become second nature and does allow for relatively quick collection. Once collected, it will then show what herb you have collected in the spell book as part of a spell, located in the status display. Helpfully, anything you have collected shows in red text, so if both the parts of a spell are red, you can head back to your cauldron and mix them up for a spell ready to cast.

There are twenty-three herbs (and one set of bones) in all to make up the twenty-four ingredients and each of the twelve spells require two ingredients to be collected. These are all detailed both in the helpful instructions, and in the spell book as you scroll through with fire held down and left/right to go through the book. Perhaps the most useful of these is the zombie spell, where you can turn some of the villagers into zombies and be under your control, meaning they do not only follow you, but also would be able to locate Leonaric and do some damage for you. Similarly, the likes of fireball, sprites and lightning are also very useful for any additional firepower to be armed with – but of course, if Leonaric has those to hand, it could well be a battle to the death, so knowing when to stand and fight, and when to run, or even use a spell to become invisible, is key.

Wizards of War

The status bar shows the spell book and what page of the book you are on, complete with two representations of Learic and Leonaric – the more you see of them, the more energy you have, and if one sinks into the ground, the other has won. The compass also gives you the helpful direction of Leonaric at any time, so whether you wish to seek him with a spell or keep away until you have some spells of your own, it is laid out. The main area is flick screen, with some overlap from the previous screen as you move around in each direction, but it is clear and defined when you do, so it does at least mean you can map the game, and you will definitely need to do that in order to locate the herbs and get to the spells as quickly as you can.

The only thing that was noticeable was that the movement of Learic appeared to be a little slower on the MSX compared to the Spectrum version. It was not a case of it going really slow to spoil the game, but it may mean the game plays at a pace which may suit some. I would have preferred the same speed as the Spectrum, but it is a minor niggle and once you get used to it, all the elements work and play the same way. With two villagers and you on screen, there was a slight slow down of response, but nothing that detracted at all from the gameplay, and still meant you could move around well enough. Crucially, you did not get stuck in the background at any pint either and the freedom of movement around did mean a good time being able to explore and locate the herbs needed.

I Never Promised You a Herb Garden

Once you have some ingredients collected, and have headed back to the cauldron of your own to mix them up, and have got the spells to hand, you can cast them ready for use on Leonaric by heading through the spell book and firing on the spell you wish to use. Obviously, some work better than others, but the invisible spell is handy if you know that Leonaric has a weaponry spell and by being invisible you cannot be hit, but his other spells could be wasted in the meantime. This is where the strategy comes in, knowing what spells to mix and use and when to use them in order to ensure you win, rather than your energy bar showing the tombstone and RIP when you do die, complete with a total score in percentage if you managed to progress well enough.

There is an immense feeling of satisfaction when the spells are cast and you start doing some damage to Leonaric, knowing that you have become a wizard in the making. There is a solution which involves the zombie spell which does mean you can complete the game a little quicker, but it is finding out where the ingredients are, and how you would manage to ensure that the right villager is selected to play the zombie, that becomes the challenge in its own right. Or do you go all out for the fireball, lightning and sprites, and attempt to inflict the most damage that way? The freedom to select as you please is also another big plus why the game is so well liked – it was open with choices in a fairly good-sized map and that makes it a mappers’ delight as well as a different game from the other arcade adventures out there, and handled correctly as here, it all works very well.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Feud are high resolution with plenty of colour, and although look very much like the ZX Spectrum version, do have the main characters as sprites and they move around with a good level of animation, with the static backdrops of the village and herb garden well drawn with good use of the colour palette throughout. There are also some good uses of the animations in the spells, with the sprites and fireball spells being particularly appealing. The soundtrack by David Whittaker sounds just as good as the Amstrad CPC AY counterparts, with a trademark arpeggio and catchy melody that suits the feel of the game well, and some functional sound effects for when you cast a spell, or one is cast against you, complete with effects for being hit. Solid enough and adds some nice extra presentation and polish to the game. It would have been nice to feature the loading screen though.

Final Thoughts

Feud is an excellent conversion to the MSX, showcasing what could be done on the machine if due care and attention was paid. Maintaining the graphics from the Spectrum may have been an easier option, but that coupled with the lovely AY soundtrack works effectively to give the game the polished feel. Most importantly of all, although the game does feel like it is running a little slower, all the gameplay elements, including the all-important tracking of Leonaric working properly (take note, C64 version) mean that the experience is a very enjoyable one, as you mix the herbs in the cauldron and get to cast some serious spells to do eventual damage to your enemy brother. What this all means is that all the originality of the game shines through and like with the other Z80 systems, becomes an essential purchase for all MSX owners that they can be rightfully proud of. Right, I’m off to find those ingredients for the zombie spell and get one of the villagers to do my dirty work for me…

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