Rings of Medusa
| Rings of Medusa | |
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Cover art
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| Developer(s) | Starbyte Software |
| Publisher(s) | Starbyte Software General Admission Software (R.O.M. Gold) |
| Designer(s) | Tilmann Bubeck |
| Programmer(s) | Tilmann Bubeck |
| Artist(s) | Thorsten Zimmermann |
| Series | Rings of Medusa |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS |
| Release | 1989, 1994 (Gold) |
| Genre(s) | Strategy, RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Rings of Medusa is a fantasy-themed video game developed and published by Starbyte Software for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and DOS in 1989. The game is a hybrid of role-playing, strategy and trading genres. It has received mixed reviews.
A well-received enhanced remake titled R.O.M. Gold: Rings of Medusa was released in 1994 for the Amiga and DOS, and another is currently in development. The game was followed by a sequel, The Return of Medusa, in 1991.
The game centers around the quest of Prince Cirion of Morenor attempting to save the kingdom from an evil spell of the demonworld queen Medusa who has split his country and forced him into exile. Cirion must find five magic rings, scattered around the country, to summon the witch for a final showdown.
The rings can be found by conquering cities, digging for treasure and a sea fight. The player must gain enough money to finance a strong army. To achieve this, the protagonist Cirion trades with goods between towns, whereas he is subject to bandit attacks (scouts increase view range to enable avoiding them). On the map the player may also dig for treasures, conquer cities and install troops to defend that town, and later cross the large ocean and visit other islands.
Within the game, the player controls directly only the squadron that Cirion is with, the other troops use a defense plan chosen previously. When the player visits a city, a control screen appears, with options to sell and buy wares, gamble in the casino, gather information on temples and recruit troops.
Rings of Medusa received mixed reviews, including the same highly positive score of 85% in both Amiga Computing and ACE. Other ratings included 80% from Power Play, 71% from Zzap!64, 51/60 from ASM, and 44% from The Games Machine.Computer Gaming World approved of the game's graphics, but criticized the interface and gameplay as clumsy, needlessly difficult, and unrealistic. The magazine concluded that it "can find no way to recommend Rings of Medusa ... an unfinished game with a need for a major overhaul."
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