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Fighting Fantasy #54
Legend of Zagor
Banished from the world of Titan, Zagor the sorcerer is slowly regaining his strength. Within Castle Argent, in the kingdom of Amarillia, Zagor has been transformed into a demon. Such is his power, he must be destroyed. There are several adventurers willing to volunteer, but only one will be chosen. Are you that hero?
Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Ian Livingstone
145 books166 followersSir Ian Livingstone is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. Along with Steve Jackson, he is the co-founder of the Fighting Fantasy series of role-playing gamebooks, and the author of many books within that series. He co-founded Games Workshop in 1975 and helped create Eidos Interactive as executive chairman of Eidos Plc in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 17, 2019
Guess Who’s Back?
17 January 2019
Well, remember way back in the history of roleplaying games, with that first gamebook where you had to go into the domain of a reclusive wizard, deal with all of his guards, murder him, and then steal all of his loot. Well, he happens to be back. Not quite, because he was back with Return to Firetop Mountain, where we actually learnt that he was not a very nice guy, as opposed to simply being a reclusive wizard, and you being some sort of thug with no morals at all (okay, he did have orcs as guards, but come on, assuming that just because somebody is an orc then they are evil and should be killed is a little bit racist, isn’t it?).
Anyway, after dealing with this supposed bad guy (it sort of sounds like history was rewritten somewhat after the fact) it seemed as if he was gone for good. Well, when it came to Alansia, the world of the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, he was. However, it doesn’t mean that he had been dealt with, rather that he had just become somebody else’s problem – yours.
This book is actually a little different to the others in the series in that this time you aren’t just a stock standard character that does what the stock standard character is supposed to do in these books. Rather, you get the choice of one of four characters – a barbarian, a dwarf, a fighter, or a sorcerer. Each of them have their own special skills and flaws, well, all except for the fighter, who is just a general cut them down and ask questions after sort of guy.
One thing that surprises me with these books is the amount of stuff that they are able to fit into 400 entries. Well, that is 400 entries, so then again that is still quite a lot. However, this adventure did feel like it was a pretty big one – two whole castle levels to explore, and then the end game. However, it was also one that I do quite prefer because you can actually go back and explore the entire castle, as opposed to simply being pushed in one direction, and then wandering whether you made the right choice, only to discover that when you get to the end, that door you decided to avoid was the door you were actually supposed to go through.
Mind you, these adventures always make me wander because, well, everytime you kill something you automatically loot the corpse. Honestly, that is sort of like a court marshall offense if you happen to be in the military, or even in the police force. Yeah, I’m sort of a little uncomfortable with this whole looting corpses thing, and a part of me feels that you are probably going to get pretty dirty, and quite smelly, as well, especially with all of the creatures you slay. Honestly, all that blood that happens to be caked all over you is surely going to put people off when you walk into the tavern at the end of the day. Then again, I suspect that back in the medieval world you wouldn’t be the only one that stunk of, well, you know what.
17 January 2019
Well, remember way back in the history of roleplaying games, with that first gamebook where you had to go into the domain of a reclusive wizard, deal with all of his guards, murder him, and then steal all of his loot. Well, he happens to be back. Not quite, because he was back with Return to Firetop Mountain, where we actually learnt that he was not a very nice guy, as opposed to simply being a reclusive wizard, and you being some sort of thug with no morals at all (okay, he did have orcs as guards, but come on, assuming that just because somebody is an orc then they are evil and should be killed is a little bit racist, isn’t it?).
Anyway, after dealing with this supposed bad guy (it sort of sounds like history was rewritten somewhat after the fact) it seemed as if he was gone for good. Well, when it came to Alansia, the world of the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, he was. However, it doesn’t mean that he had been dealt with, rather that he had just become somebody else’s problem – yours.
This book is actually a little different to the others in the series in that this time you aren’t just a stock standard character that does what the stock standard character is supposed to do in these books. Rather, you get the choice of one of four characters – a barbarian, a dwarf, a fighter, or a sorcerer. Each of them have their own special skills and flaws, well, all except for the fighter, who is just a general cut them down and ask questions after sort of guy.
One thing that surprises me with these books is the amount of stuff that they are able to fit into 400 entries. Well, that is 400 entries, so then again that is still quite a lot. However, this adventure did feel like it was a pretty big one – two whole castle levels to explore, and then the end game. However, it was also one that I do quite prefer because you can actually go back and explore the entire castle, as opposed to simply being pushed in one direction, and then wandering whether you made the right choice, only to discover that when you get to the end, that door you decided to avoid was the door you were actually supposed to go through.
Mind you, these adventures always make me wander because, well, everytime you kill something you automatically loot the corpse. Honestly, that is sort of like a court marshall offense if you happen to be in the military, or even in the police force. Yeah, I’m sort of a little uncomfortable with this whole looting corpses thing, and a part of me feels that you are probably going to get pretty dirty, and quite smelly, as well, especially with all of the creatures you slay. Honestly, all that blood that happens to be caked all over you is surely going to put people off when you walk into the tavern at the end of the day. Then again, I suspect that back in the medieval world you wouldn’t be the only one that stunk of, well, you know what.
August 1, 2015
If the truth is to be known, these books are fun at first. Sadly, however, they quickly grow old.
If you have experienced one of these kinds of books you have experienced them all. Whilst the stories differ, the effect they have upon a person is the same across the board. You have fun for a while and then they are put aside.
It is okay to pick up one or two throughout your life but I would not recommend going out of your way to buy them en masse. As for which one(s) you pick up… well, that is a choice only you can make.
If you have experienced one of these kinds of books you have experienced them all. Whilst the stories differ, the effect they have upon a person is the same across the board. You have fun for a while and then they are put aside.
It is okay to pick up one or two throughout your life but I would not recommend going out of your way to buy them en masse. As for which one(s) you pick up… well, that is a choice only you can make.
October 14, 2017
Of the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, this has been for me hands down one of the best, if not, the best. It is large and there is a lot of freedom of movement within the game. It plays much more like a comptuer game, with choice of character and labyrinthine maps which you can get lost in, which i did on many an occasion. It is hard and good. This one and Knights of Doom and Spellbreaker were the best and darkest of some of the FF gamebooks i played.
December 28, 2023
Despite the name on the cover, this was not written by Ian Livingstone, but by Carl Sargent, author of several FF books under the name of Keith Martin.
To my mind, this is one of the weaker entries in the series. The root of the problem, I would say, is the freedom given to the player. Livingstone is, of course, well known among FF readers for writing very linear adventures, an approach which naturally gives rise to its own difficulties. In this book, the player is, to a great extent, free to wander. That, though, makes it harder to generate any sense of narrative momentum. That is a problem here. The player wanders between disconnected encounters with opponents apparently just sitting waiting for the character to turn up. Frankly, it's all just a bit dull, and that is fatal.
There are also problems with realism (I mean in terms of the book's internal logic. Obviously, in a fantasy world, things don't have to make sense in terms of our reality, but they do have to make internal sense.) Another difficulty with allowing the player to wander is that, if at some point you want the player not to be able to turn back, you have to adopt an artificial device like a portcullis randomly falling behind the player, or (here) a door randomly slamming behind the character and being unable to be re-opened. One can only imagine that this is very inconvenient for the inhabitants of the castle. (In a Livingstone-style adventure, the player can be guided away from turning back by simply not being given an option to do so.)
Another element that doesn't make sense is the tower chests. Why do they even exist? Why would they just be sitting there? Why is there a merchant sitting in a room in a castle that is occupied by orcs and zombies? How can he possibly be making enough money to survive? How is he getting supplies? It is all a bit baffling.
To my mind, this is one of the weaker entries in the series. The root of the problem, I would say, is the freedom given to the player. Livingstone is, of course, well known among FF readers for writing very linear adventures, an approach which naturally gives rise to its own difficulties. In this book, the player is, to a great extent, free to wander. That, though, makes it harder to generate any sense of narrative momentum. That is a problem here. The player wanders between disconnected encounters with opponents apparently just sitting waiting for the character to turn up. Frankly, it's all just a bit dull, and that is fatal.
There are also problems with realism (I mean in terms of the book's internal logic. Obviously, in a fantasy world, things don't have to make sense in terms of our reality, but they do have to make internal sense.) Another difficulty with allowing the player to wander is that, if at some point you want the player not to be able to turn back, you have to adopt an artificial device like a portcullis randomly falling behind the player, or (here) a door randomly slamming behind the character and being unable to be re-opened. One can only imagine that this is very inconvenient for the inhabitants of the castle. (In a Livingstone-style adventure, the player can be guided away from turning back by simply not being given an option to do so.)
Another element that doesn't make sense is the tower chests. Why do they even exist? Why would they just be sitting there? Why is there a merchant sitting in a room in a castle that is occupied by orcs and zombies? How can he possibly be making enough money to survive? How is he getting supplies? It is all a bit baffling.
October 18, 2021
Zagor is back!
Zagor makes his third appearance whilst proving to truly be a pain in the backside. The guy has been slain two times already but he tries his luck for a third time.
Straight off the bat, I got a lot of Dark Souls vibes from this book. Maybe it's the castle, maybe it's the art style, maybe there's a bunch of factors here, but I couldn't put my finger on it. This adventure seems darker in tone than a lot of the other books. It felt as if there was a lot at stake if you didn't finish your adventure.
The adventure itself felt really long. Really long, and not necessarily in a good way. In all honesty, the only real downside to this book is going to be the length. Fortunately, Ian Livingstone didn't pad out half of the book with an awkward maze, but there was a lot of circling back to chose another direction.
The monsters were pretty tough and pretty fantastic. Some of them had a mechanic where you could roll to see what attack they would use. The Stamina scores on some of these creatures were pretty high, however. Combined with it already being a long adventure, getting slain by a monster because they simply outlasted you in combat might annoy some.
All in all, an okay adventure. I can't wait for Zagor to come back a fourth time as an old school Nokia or something.
3/5
Zagor makes his third appearance whilst proving to truly be a pain in the backside. The guy has been slain two times already but he tries his luck for a third time.
Straight off the bat, I got a lot of Dark Souls vibes from this book. Maybe it's the castle, maybe it's the art style, maybe there's a bunch of factors here, but I couldn't put my finger on it. This adventure seems darker in tone than a lot of the other books. It felt as if there was a lot at stake if you didn't finish your adventure.
The adventure itself felt really long. Really long, and not necessarily in a good way. In all honesty, the only real downside to this book is going to be the length. Fortunately, Ian Livingstone didn't pad out half of the book with an awkward maze, but there was a lot of circling back to chose another direction.
The monsters were pretty tough and pretty fantastic. Some of them had a mechanic where you could roll to see what attack they would use. The Stamina scores on some of these creatures were pretty high, however. Combined with it already being a long adventure, getting slain by a monster because they simply outlasted you in combat might annoy some.
All in all, an okay adventure. I can't wait for Zagor to come back a fourth time as an old school Nokia or something.
3/5
June 4, 2024
This gamebook is really interesting. It's very much a solo AD&D dungeon crawl converted to Fighting Fantasy. Multiple characters to choose from, each with special abilities, and an entire castle to explore. It's also high in the classic 90's Games Workshop look-and-feel with amazing illustrations. But it's still a dungeon crawl in its oldest, truest sense; this book is going to be a slog if you don't enjoy that sort of thing. I prefer my gamebooks peppy, varied, and quick. This book will see you walking down every hallway and trying every door to find the items required to win the book. As usual, there are a many, many items you need to win.
It's biggest problem isn't that it's dull, it's too much of a good thing. Too many halls, too many doors, too many special encounters, too many special rules for items, spells, puzzles, name-to-number converstions...too much of everything. Fighting Fantasy gamebooks are best when there are choices that sweep you along one of several paths through the story; repeat to find the right path. In this book, you have every path and had better keep copious notes.
Despite struggling with this one, I can't give it a low score. There is a lot of cool stuff to explore, treasures to find, encounters to have, and monsters to fight. Neither can I give it a high ratings. So, I'll give it a grudging 3 stars, edging toward 2.5. Play it, but prepare yourself and set aside a lot of time.
It's biggest problem isn't that it's dull, it's too much of a good thing. Too many halls, too many doors, too many special encounters, too many special rules for items, spells, puzzles, name-to-number converstions...too much of everything. Fighting Fantasy gamebooks are best when there are choices that sweep you along one of several paths through the story; repeat to find the right path. In this book, you have every path and had better keep copious notes.
Despite struggling with this one, I can't give it a low score. There is a lot of cool stuff to explore, treasures to find, encounters to have, and monsters to fight. Neither can I give it a high ratings. So, I'll give it a grudging 3 stars, edging toward 2.5. Play it, but prepare yourself and set aside a lot of time.
December 22, 2020
Played as a fully fledged grown up and thoroughly enjoyed it. The map making wasn't too intense and I'm fairly sure the rooms I never saw would have led to certain death since my decision making was pretty astute 😉. Looking forward to revisiting childhood favourites 'Port Blacksand' and the 'Forest of Doom' to play properly without cheating and see if I can survive. Give Fighting Fantasy another go, they're most enjoyable. Preferably on a rainy Sunday when you're not allowed on the building site with your BMX as it's too muddy.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews