<s>
Lionheart	B-Application
is	O
a	O
platform	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
developed	O
and	O
self-published	O
by	O
German	O
video	O
game	O
developer	O
Thalion	O
Software	O
in	O
1993	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
a	O
fantasy	B-Application
motif	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
takes	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
land	O
of	O
the	O
Cat	O
People	O
,	O
a	O
race	O
of	O
feline	O
humanoids	O
,	O
who	O
are	O
threatened	O
by	O
the	O
evil	O
Norka	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
assumes	O
control	O
of	O
Valdyn	O
,	O
an	O
outlaw	O
swordsman	O
who	O
is	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Lionheart	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lionheart	B-Application
is	O
a	O
side	O
scrolling	O
action-platformer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
an	O
unpleasant	O
time	O
in	O
the	O
palace	O
's	O
dungeon	O
,	O
he	O
is	O
summoned	O
by	O
the	O
King	O
and	O
is	O
assigned	O
a	O
quest	O
:	O
the	O
Lionheart	B-Application
,	O
the	O
holiest	O
relic	O
of	O
the	O
Cat	O
People	O
and	O
center	O
of	O
their	O
religion	O
,	O
has	O
been	O
stolen	O
by	O
thieves	O
sent	O
by	O
the	O
evil	O
Norka	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Furthermore	O
,	O
the	O
night	O
the	O
Lionheart	B-Application
was	O
stolen	O
,	O
Valdyn	O
's	O
beloved	O
Ilene	O
was	O
praying	O
in	O
the	O
Temple	O
's	O
entrance	O
chamber	O
and	O
the	O
thieves	O
turned	O
her	O
to	O
stone	O
using	O
a	O
very	O
rare	O
poison	O
which	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
Norka	O
's	O
country	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
epilogue	O
has	O
Valdyn	O
return	O
the	O
Lionheart	B-Application
in	O
the	O
Temple	O
,	O
still	O
grieving	O
for	O
Ilene	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kloibhofer	O
and	O
Nieborg	O
were	O
fans	O
of	O
Japanese	O
action	O
games	O
like	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
,	O
Castlevania	B-Application
,	O
Super	B-Application
Contra	I-Application
,	O
Super	B-Application
Ghouls	I-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
Ghosts	I-Application
and	O
Castle	B-Application
of	I-Application
Illusion	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thalion	O
producer	O
Eric	O
Simon	O
describes	O
Lionheart	B-Application
as	O
a	O
game	O
"	O
created	O
out	O
of	O
passion	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
a	O
project	O
born	O
from	O
the	O
desire	O
of	O
Kloibhofer	O
and	O
Nieborg	O
to	O
make	O
"	O
a	O
really	O
outstanding	O
action	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
"	O
,	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
game	O
"	O
that	O
we	O
would	O
buy	O
ourselves	O
on	O
a	O
console	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Just	O
before	O
joining	O
Thalion	O
,	O
Nieborg	O
drew	O
a	O
16-color	O
tileset/background	O
and	O
designed	O
the	O
protagonist	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
Valdyn	O
,	O
on	O
his	O
Amiga	B-Device
500	O
as	O
preliminary	O
work	O
for	O
their	O
next	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
These	O
pixels	O
were	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
Lionheart	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Kloibhofer	O
and	O
Nieborg	O
,	O
Erik	O
Simon	O
had	O
the	O
idea	O
for	O
Lionheart	B-Application
and	O
also	O
"	O
edited	O
and	O
designed	O
practically	O
the	O
entire	O
game	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2002	O
interview	O
,	O
Erik	O
Simon	O
described	O
the	O
development	O
process	O
as	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
these	O
rare	O
projects	O
where	O
everything	O
just	O
came	O
together	O
perfectly	O
"	O
,	O
saying	O
,	O
"	O
I	O
am	O
still	O
grateful	O
that	O
I	O
had	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
Lionheart	B-Application
with	O
Erwin	O
Kloibhofer	O
as	O
main	O
programmer	O
and	O
Henk	O
Nieborg	O
,	O
the	O
best	O
pixel	O
artist	O
I	O
have	O
ever	O
met	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Simon	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
parallax	O
scrolling	O
did	O
n't	O
require	O
any	O
demo-style	O
programming	O
,	O
"	O
Erwin	O
and	O
Michael	O
were	O
just	O
very	O
skilled	O
68000	B-Device
programmers	O
who	O
knew	O
exactly	O
what	O
they	O
were	O
doing	O
"	O
,	O
adding	O
that	O
"	O
much	O
of	O
Lionheart	B-Application
's	O
routines	O
,	O
where	O
processing	O
speed	O
was	O
of	O
minor	O
importance	O
,	O
were	O
even	O
written	B-Language
in	I-Language
C	I-Language
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Their	O
style	O
really	O
struck	O
me	O
like	O
nothing	O
else	O
and	O
was	O
a	O
huge	O
inspiration	O
for	O
Lionheart	B-Application
and	O
some	O
other	O
titles	O
after	O
that	O
as	O
well	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
looked	O
so	O
impressive	O
that	O
during	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
demonstrations	O
of	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Application
1200	I-Application
in	O
Frankfurt	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
managers	O
of	O
Commodore	O
actually	O
believed	O
that	O
Lionheart	B-Application
was	O
made	O
specifically	O
for	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Application
1200	I-Application
"	O
and	O
its	O
AGA	B-Device
graphic	O
chipset	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Nieborg	O
,	O
Lionheart	B-Application
"	O
really	O
shines	O
because	O
it	O
benefits	O
from	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
’s	O
graphical	O
and	O
technical	O
features	O
"	O
,	O
describing	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
"	O
tailor-made	O
for	O
that	O
system	O
"	O
In	O
a	O
2019	O
interview	O
,	O
he	O
said	O
"	O
I	O
’m	O
still	O
proud	O
of	O
Lionheart	B-Application
and	O
what	O
we	O
achieved	O
as	O
a	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lionheart	B-Application
was	O
supposed	O
to	O
be	O
ready	O
in	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
1992	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
eventually	O
released	O
in	O
January	O
1993	O
and	O
Thalion	O
explicitly	O
used	O
it	O
to	O
test	O
if	O
the	O
piracy-ridden	O
Amiga	B-Device
market	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
sustain	O
ambitious	O
action	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
team	O
stated	O
that	O
,	O
if	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
users	O
decide	O
to	O
copy	O
a	O
game	O
with	O
so	O
much	O
effort	O
put	O
into	O
it	O
,	O
then	O
"	O
Lionheart	B-Application
will	O
be	O
our	O
last	O
action	O
game	O
on	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
before	O
we	O
have	O
to	O
say	O
goodbye	O
to	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
,	O
we	O
want	O
to	O
make	O
sure	O
that	O
we	O
are	O
at	O
least	O
missed	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
1993	O
interview	O
with	O
The	O
One	O
,	O
Erik	O
Simon	O
said	O
that	O
Thalion	O
did	O
n't	O
even	O
bother	O
copy-protecting	O
Lionheart	B-Application
,	O
"	O
because	O
there	O
's	O
no	O
point	O
in	O
simply	O
delaying	O
the	O
pirates	O
from	O
cracking	O
the	O
games	O
and	O
sticking	O
them	O
on	O
bulletin	O
boards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
users	O
do	O
n't	O
change	O
their	O
way	O
of	O
thinking	O
about	O
pirating	O
games	O
,	O
the	O
machine	O
will	O
disappear	O
from	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GamesMaster	O
described	O
Lionheart	B-Application
as	O
"	O
a	O
technical	O
marvel	O
which	O
looks	O
,	O
sounds	O
and	O
plays	O
like	O
a	O
dream	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
called	O
the	O
graphics	O
"	O
astounding	O
"	O
,	O
arguing	O
that	O
"	O
Thalion	O
have	O
squeezed	O
all	O
the	O
graphic	O
power	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
"	O
and	O
praised	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
audio	O
for	O
offering	O
"	O
high	O
quality	O
atmospheric	O
music	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
very	O
convincing	O
sound	O
effects	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
One	O
agreed	O
and	O
gave	O
Lionheart	B-Application
an	O
overall	O
score	O
of	O
91%	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
it	O
's	O
"	O
without	O
a	O
doubt	O
,	O
the	O
finest	O
example	O
of	O
its	O
kind	O
,	O
mainly	O
because	O
it	O
actually	O
tries	O
to	O
introduce	O
some	O
degree	O
of	O
originality	O
into	O
the	O
gameplay	O
rather	O
than	O
simply	O
being	O
content	O
to	O
just	O
bombard	O
the	O
gamer	O
with	O
large	O
sprawling	O
levels	O
and	O
calling	O
it	O
'	O
a	O
challenge	O
 '	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
gave	O
it	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
92%	O
,	O
with	O
Paul	O
Anglin	O
commenting	O
that	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
only	O
slight	O
niggle	O
I	O
have	O
with	O
Lionheart	B-Application
is	O
that	O
some	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
are	O
so	O
frustratingly	O
hard	O
that	O
it	O
takes	O
ages	O
before	O
you	O
can	O
even	O
see	O
what	O
you	O
're	O
supposed	O
to	O
do	O
,	O
let	O
alone	O
actually	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
do	O
it	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apart	O
from	O
this	O
,	O
"	O
Lionheart	B-Application
is	O
excellent	O
stuff	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amiga	B-Device
Force	O
had	O
similar	O
feelings	O
about	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lionheart	B-Application
excels	O
in	O
all	O
aspects	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amiga	B-Device
Format	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
graphics	O
as	O
"	O
gob-smacking	O
"	O
with	O
lots	O
of	O
colours	O
and	O
brilliant	O
parallax	O
scrolling	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
"	O
if	O
there	O
was	O
ever	O
a	O
game	O
to	O
match	O
(	O
and	O
even	O
better	O
)	O
the	O
best	O
console	O
graphics	O
,	O
then	O
it	O
's	O
Lionheart	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CU	O
Amiga	B-Device
rated	O
it	O
84%	O
arguing	O
that	O
"	O
there	O
really	O
is	O
n't	O
anything	O
new	O
here	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ASM	O
described	O
Lionheart	B-Application
's	O
presentation	O
as	O
"	O
breathtaking	O
"	O
,	O
praising	O
its	O
smooth	O
frame	O
rate	O
,	O
graphics	O
and	O
animation	O
,	O
particularly	O
the	O
movement	O
of	O
the	O
monsters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
found	O
its	O
use	O
of	O
parallax	O
scrolling	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
unparalleled	O
"	O
on	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
and	O
commended	O
the	O
level	O
design	O
for	O
introducing	O
elements	O
which	O
felt	O
like	O
"	O
a	O
breath	O
of	O
fresh	O
air	O
"	O
in	O
a	O
very	O
worn	O
out	O
genre	O
void	O
of	O
much	O
originality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
rated	O
it	O
83%	O
stating	O
that	O
,	O
while	O
Lionheart	B-Application
is	O
n't	O
the	O
quantum	O
leap	O
that	O
Thalion	O
wanted	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
,	O
it	O
's	O
"	O
definitely	O
one	O
step	O
ahead	O
of	O
its	O
competition	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amiga	B-Device
Action	O
agreed	O
,	O
explaining	O
that	O
"	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
attention	O
to	O
detail	O
and	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
thought	O
that	O
has	O
obviously	O
gone	O
into	O
it	O
that	O
brings	O
it	O
to	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
pile	O
"	O
,	O
giving	O
it	O
82%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Valdyn	O
is	O
a	O
playable	O
character	O
in	O
Ambermoon	B-Application
,	O
a	O
1993	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
also	O
from	O
Thalion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
avid	O
fan	O
from	O
France	O
has	O
programmed	O
several	O
versions	O
of	O
Lionheart	B-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Lionheart	B-Application
Remake	O
Evolved	O
"	O
expands	O
the	O
game	O
using	O
additional	O
graphics	O
provided	O
by	O
Henk	O
Nieborg	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
"	O
Lionheart	B-Application
Remake	O
Enhanced	O
"	O
attempts	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
faithful	O
port	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
,	O
while	O
offering	O
options	O
like	O
higher	O
resolutions	O
and	O
transparencies	O
in	O
place	O
of	O
interlacing	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
author	O
has	O
started	O
another	O
remake	O
in	O
Java	B-Language
,	O
which	O
promises	O
better	O
compatibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Lionheart	B-Application
,	O
Erwin	O
Kloibhofer	O
,	O
Henk	O
Nieborg	O
and	O
Matthias	O
Steinwachs	O
created	O
Flink	B-Application
(	O
1994	O
)	O
for	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1996	O
,	O
Kloibhofer	O
and	O
Nieborg	O
collaborated	O
one	O
last	O
time	O
on	O
Lomax	B-Application
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
