When I talk about the game "Legend of Kings", my first reaction is not its excellent picture quality and dazzling special effects, but the time I spent squatting in front of the garage to pick up pirated cassettes. I still remember how little pocket money I had in junior high school. Genuine cards cost only one or two hundred, which I dare not even think about. The owner of the small shop at the school gate has a glass cabinet filled with colorful pirated cards, such as "128 in 1" and "256 in 1", the covers are printed crookedly, and the "Legend of Kings" is mixed in, crowded together with "Pocket Monsters" and "Fire Emblem". The names are often spelled incorrectly, such as "The Legend of Kings" and the like.
At that time, getting a pirated card was like opening a blind box. Plug in the GBA and turn it on. There is a familiar "click" sound, and the screen goes black. I silently say, "Don't leave the screen blank." As a result, "Legend of Kings" actually started running! Although the fonts are blurry and the screen occasionally blurs, the exhilarating feeling of "spawning monsters in dungeons, exploding equipment, and beating bosses" is unambiguous at all. I still remember squatting in bed, shining the flashlight on the screen, and when the assassin profession used the stealth skill, he stabbed me in the back. Oh my god, the health bar jumped up to the number, and my youth came back.
Later, I found a remastered version of "Legend of Kings" on my mobile phone. The Android 5.0 system was very smooth and the picture quality was so clear that it was a bit unreal. The operation has also changed from a cross-key to a virtual joystick. Although it loses the sense of step of physical buttons, the automatic pickup and automatic hang-up functions are simply a plug-in for those of us who were handicapped back then. Compared with the original stolen card, now you don't have to worry about losing files. The archives are synchronized with the cloud and files can be read at any time. You no longer have to cry over a dead GBA.
But to be honest, side scrolling, three professions, and imperial city battles, all these elements taken together still remind me of the nights when I squatted in the toilet, secretly stuffed the handheld device into my trouser pocket, and plugged in the power bank to continue playing while my parents were not paying attention. That sneaky and exciting feeling can never be regained no matter how convenient mobile games are now. But "Legend of Kings" at least made me feel that smell again, just like smelling the food in the old cafeteria and instantly traveling back to my student days.
Guys, do you still remember what your first pirated cassette was? Anyway, I got into the game from the "yellow leather card", the one with Mario and Sonic fighting on the cover🤣