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Sibling theivery I first encountered this utter gem of a game many, many years ago, when every second Tuesday after school, my sister and I would stay over at a friend of the family’s house until late in the evening. This was thanks to my Mum working night shifts as a nurse and needing some peace and quiet to sleep. My sister was always happy to disappear and play with her friend who was in her class at school. So, with them off doing whatever girls of that age do, I was pretty much left to my own devices to entertain myself. Salvation was at hand however, as they had themselves a “family computer”, a ZX Spectrum, in its own little box room with a decent sized stack of games that no-one ever used. They even had a Kempston joystick, which was an added delight in the days when joysticks were rare.
So each and every Tuesday fortnight, I’d be sat in there playing my way through all these games, and reading the cases of the others while waiting for them to load. One day, I found a game called "Feud" lurking in the depths of the stack. I’d never heard of it, and it looked rubbish from the box. However, having worked my way through plenty of the more popular titles already, I though I’d give it a crack. 5 minutes later, I was hooked. Feud is quite possibly the original precursor to the modern death match mode - two equally matched characters pitting it out head-to-head in an arena. The premise of the game is this: you are a monk, Learic, who has a Feud (as the title suggests) with another monk, Leanoric, and it’s a battle to the death. Each of you must roam the lands in search of wild herbs, which you then mix to create spells. Each spell requires two herbs to create, and must be mixed at your own cauldron before they can be used. Your arsenal consists of a range of offensive, defensive and tactical spells, all useful in different situations. The catch is, both of you are using exactly the same spellbook, and thusly both of you are looking for the same ingredients. The land itself is rather expansive, with trees, rocks and bushes aplenty, along with a few interesting features, such as small villages, a river that bisects the realm, graveyards, ponds and gardens. The elusive herbs are hidden in all sorts of nooks and crannies, with dead ends cropping up everywhere, requiring you to learn the lay of the land and work out how to reach them. Once the herb has been collected, it doesn’t regenerate for some time, meaning that you can easily unknowingly walk past where a herb was located as you fruitlessly search for more ingredients. Sometimes you’ll head to where you know a herb is, only to find that Leanoric, the complete and utter bastard, has nicked it before you. Feud has an incredibly eerie atmosphere, rivalling that of the original shit-em-up (sic), Sinistar. As you walk around, the only sound is that of your own footsteps, pacing away slowly and steadily. The compass in the corner shows you where Leanoric is, although you never know how near or far he is. You start to wonder what he is doing in that direction - does he know about some herbs that I don’t? Is he collecting all the herbs that I need on his way back to his cauldron, stopping me from completing my spells? I found myself jumping when encountering the villagers in the middle of town, fearing that Leanoric had found me and was ready to unleash hell on me, when I was wondering around, desperately trying to find the second parts of so many spells. Sometimes you’ll catch a glimpse of him running around on the other side of a barrier from you, instantly making you wary. Is he looking for me, or is he trying to get that herb that I just saw and knows how to get there more quickly than I can? I learned about paranoia from herbs at a very young age! When Leanoric does find you, and starts attacking - then wow! The panic really sets in! You hear the dreaded sound of his spell powering up, and he comes after you, blazing fire and lightning. You try and run away, but he follows relentlessly, making Jason Vorhees seem like that awfully nice chap next door by comparison. Shit! Which way do I go? Bollocks! I’ve taken a wrong turn and I’m cornered! You stand there and take the brunt of his attack with no means of escape. How many more spells does he have? Your character in the corner representing your health is rapidly sinking into his grave, whilst his stands proudly next to yours with both feet still solidly on terra firma. And then suddenly, he is gone, doing his best Kaiser Soze impression (before Kaiser Soze was even invented, no less!), leaving you to nurse your wounds and ponder your next move. You’re down, but not out. You may have lost the battle, but you haven’t lost the war, and it’s time to gear up for revenge...
Soon, you learn the locations of the easier-to-find herbs, and then have to start finding the harder ones. Do you risk running into the fields, where there are lots of herbs, but also a rather irate farmer monk who’ll give your health a sound kicking if he catches you scrumping? Or do you try and navigate through one of the mazes, wasting precious time in all the many possible wrong turns? Dare you take the long path to the herb in the corner, with little escape opportunity and no way of knowing if it’s even still there? What about the herbs located near Leanorics cauldron? Is it worth the risk wandering into his territory when there’s a good chance of him coming back at any time? And do you navigate your way back to your cauldron and mix the spells that you’ve already completed for a minor skirmish, or do you hold out and get as many spells completed as possible before going after Leanoric? There were many different strategies to undertake, all dependant on your circumstances at the time. Eventually, after lots of searching and a few skirmishes, you’ll find yourself in a position where the tables are turned and the hunted becomes the hunter. You’re armed, dangerous and ready to kick his robes in. You follow the compass, chasing him relentlessly, trying to catch his tail. Suddenly, you find him, and launch a few fireballs his way - but he does likewise, and damage is taken on both sides. Both of your health-bar characters are slipping further and further into the grave! Then, he turns heel and legs it - he’s running scared! Time to put a stop to that! Bam! A freeze spell stops him dead in his tracks, helpless to endure your volley of firepower! Shit! It’s worn off, and he’s hot footing it again! You fire up another offensive spell, chasing all the time and wearing him down. Suddenly, he’s trapped, and it’s time to put an end to this once and for all! Yippee-ki-yay!
I couldn’t tell you how many hours I spent playing this game, but each hour was as wonderful as the previous one. Eventually, it got to the point where I knew the layout inside out, and could win with ease, and had to move on to fresher pastures, although I never found a title on the Spectrum that I enjoyed nearly as much. If only there had been an option to randomise the locations of the herbs - it would have at least doubled the amount of playing time and thrown in all new searching strategies! But this is only a minor quibble, and the only one I have with this incredibly fun title. Playing it again these days brings back many fond memories, although I do find it somewhat easier than I did when I first played it, even though most memory of the layout has gone. I don’t know how well recognised Feud is in the gaming community, but if you haven’t even heard of it, never mind played it, then I heartily recommend that you give it a whirl - it’s easily found online and there are plenty of decent Spectrum emulators out there. For extra atmosphere, try playing it like I did all those years ago, in a small darkened room with the sound turned up! Can't help with the making you ten years old bit though - you'll have to consult the inner child about that one... June 2006
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