''The Return of Medusa,'' also known as ''The Return of Medusa: Rings of Medusa II'', is a 1991

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

and

strategy video game Strategy is a major video game genre that emphasizes thinking and planning over direct instant action in order to achieve victory. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, as a genre, strategy games are most commonly defi ...

hybrid developed by X-Ample and published by Starbyte Software for

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

and PC

DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...

as a sequel to the 1989 game '' Rings of Medusa''. A planned

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

version was cancelled.

Gameplay

The game is different from the original as its main component is now a typical first-person perspective

dungeon crawl A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games an ...

, similar to Dungeon Master. Once the player has escaped the dungeon the game becomes a strategy style, involving visiting various locations where trading can be done in order to finance armies. Alternative ways to accumulate income include attacking enemy gangs, playing roulette at the casino and robbing banks.

Plot

It has been many years since the young Cirion, Crown Prince of Morenor, won what he thought to be the final battle against the wicked queen Medusa and conquered her hellish army. But the very night before the Cirion's coronation, he is confronted by the returning Medusa, who kidnaps his girlfriend and boastfully declares her intent to travel to the far future, where he would be long dead and there would be no-one to stop her from gaining absolute control over his land. In the last moment, Cirion follows Medusa through the portal, emerging 300 years into the future in a modern era. Cirion is now again alone in the fight against the overwhelming forces of evil. Hie must find thirteen keys to Medusa's lair hidden in the mazes of underground bunkers, and destroy the dark crystal Dohor that is the source of the witch's power to defeat her forever and rescue his beloved.

Reception

The game received generally positive reviews, including the scores of 85% from ''

Amiga Format ''Amiga Format'' was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future plc. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ''ACE'' to EMAP, Future split the dual-format t ...

'', 69% from ''

Amiga Action ''Amiga Action'' was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Europress (later IDG Media) and ran for 89 full issues, from October 1989 to December 1996. After its closure, it was merged into sister pu ...

,'' 90% from ''Joystick'', 82% from ''Amiga Joker'', 70% from ''Power Play'', and 42/50 from ''ASM''.

References

External links

''The Return of Medusa''
at

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''Rings of Medusa II: The Return of Medusa''
at Lemon Amiga
''The Return of Medusa: Rings of Medusa II Amiga''
at HOL Amiga database {{DEFAULTSORT:Return of Medusa, the 1991 video games Amiga games Atari ST games Cancelled Commodore 64 games DOS games Dungeon crawler video games Role-playing video games Science fantasy video games Single-player video games Video games about time travel Video games developed in Germany Video games scored by Jochen Hippel Video game sequels Video games about witchcraft Starbyte Software games