Ludography
Spellbound cover

1985 · David Jones · Adventure · Arcade

Spellbound

Thanks to a spell gone awry your tutor Gimbal has gone missing in time. You have to find him.

Released
1985
Platforms
Amstrad CPCAtari 8-bitCommodore 64Commodore C64/128/MAXZX Spectrum
Genres
AdventureArcadePlatformerPuzzle
Developers
David Jones
Publishers
Mastertronic
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
Fantasy
Country
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Composers
Rob Hubbard

About

Spellbound is a video game that was designed and programmed by David Jones with music by Rob Hubbard and released in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC (also with Ed Hickman) home computers. Versions for the Commodore 64 (with Richard Darling) and the Atari 8-bit computers (with Adrian Sheppard) and an enhanced 128K Spectrum version with music and additional graphics were all released in 1986. Unlike the other Magic Knight games, Spellbound was never released for the MSX system back in 1985, but an authorized version was finally released by Tracy Lewis in 2023. It is the second game in the Magic Knight series and was published by Mastertronic as part of their Mastertronic Added Dimension label.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Unlike the previous game in the series, Finders Keepers, the game is less action-oriented and more of a graphic adventure although it still contains some platform game elements.

The player controls Magic Knight as he wanders around the castle. As well as the player character, the cast also contains various other characters who have found themselves trapped. Like Magic Knight, these characters move around (albeit off-screen, they are always static when on-screen) and can fall asleep and grow hungry. Magic Knight needs to look after and "maintain" these other characters (as well as himself) and this adds a further strategic element to gameplay.

Story

Magic Knight is transported to a castle with a collection of other characters and must rescue his friend Gimbal the wizard. Gimbal has become trapped by a self-inflicted "white-out" spell whilst trying to create a better-tasting rice pudding. Magic Knight must rescue Gimbal from his self-inflicted imprisonment and then ensure both he and the castle's other inhabitants are all returned to their correct time and place.

Legacy

Two further Magic Knight games were released: Knight Tyme (1986) and Stormbringer (1987).

A game called Crime Busters featuring a detective in a mansion, was released by IJK Software in 1986, and found to use significant portions of the Spellbound code. This game was withdrawn following Mastertronic's demand for a written apology from the Crime Busters author, Harry S. Price, and the threat of legal action after Price refused to apologise.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Amstrad CPC31 December 1985Europe
ZX Spectrum31 December 1985Europe
Atari 8-bit31 December 1986Europe
Commodore C64/128/MAX31 December 1986Europe

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.