Hero Quest II: Legacy of Sorasil Soundtrack (Amiga CD32), Patrick Phelan, 1994
While it was based on a popular fantasy board game license, Hero Quest didn’t exactly set the video game world on fire upon release in 1991. Ultimately, it didn’t leave much more than a reasonably positive impression with reviewers and gamers. Still, developer Gremlin Interactive must have felt that there was enough life left in the license to squeeze out another Hero Quest game. Hero Quest II: Legacy of Sorasil was released in 1994, reusing its predecessor’s engine and isometric view. The game didn’t deliver much in terms of new ideas or innovations and consequently reaped the same muted response as the first Hero Quest. The fact that Legacy of Sorasil hit store shelves towards the end of the Amiga 1200’s lifespan didn’t help – and its showing on the Amiga CD32 was doomed by the console’s quick demise.
Hero Quest’s biggest achievement might have been its music. Neil Baldwin (on the NES) and Barry Leitch (ZX Spectrum) delivered a couple of classic fantasy scores that both made full use of the limited sound capacities of their respective platforms. For the Hero Quest II: Legacy of Sorasil soundtrack, scoring duties went to Patrick Phelan. Phelan had only entered the game industry in 1992, but quickly established himself as one of Gremlin Interactive’s go-to composers, working on its Zool, Lotus and Top Gear games. Interestingly enough, on the Lotus and Top Gear series, Phelan took over from Leitch, who had scored earlier franchise iterations – and this trend would continue with Legacy of Sorasil.