Game Publisher: Acclaim, licensed from Rare

Year: 1986

Type of game: Platform Adventure

Players: 1 player

Story: She's asleep now, the Princess. But who knows what he has planned for heronce she awakens...
He is the Wizard Malkil. Legend has it that Malkil was once one of the greatest. So great, in fact,that even the renowned Merlin was his pupil. But alas, Malkil has gone madwith age, and turned his powerful magic to the dark side.You are Kuros, the only knight warrior brave enough to enter the woods of Elrond. Strong enough to wield the Brightsword. Powerful enough to ward off the demons, the undead, and the caverns of fire. And clever enough to discover where Malkil has hidden his prisoner.

Story ripped from NESWorld. [Thanks Martin.]

     My take on the story: Okay, you play a knight in a game based on the King Authorian legend with which the game program throws every baddie the programmers could cook up at you in a unrelentless volley. What can probably be attributed to this games creation was a game programmer played The Legend Of Zelda and said..."Hey, I wonder what a platform version of this game would be like...", guess he showed us, because the unlimited baddies, the levels with end bosses, having a weapon you can toss that kills enemies [like the sword off Zelda], and picks up items for you, [like the boomerang], all look and play like it was ripped from that game, even the storyline is based on save the princess, or princesses in this games case, and you even have a guy at the end that vanishes and shoots odd balls at you. Luckily it is different enough to overlook most of it and consider it a whole new type of game.

     Although I am critical on this game with the story above, [I got tired of the "save-the-princess" style ten years ago and it shows today], This was the first NES game I ever played, first time I ever tried playing one game all night, first one I beat, and a first for me with a NES spend the weekend with my cousins and play until thumbs go numb, so this game has a lot of memories and milestones behind it.

     Okay, now getting out of memory lane here, this is the game that made me fall in love with the NES, a month or so later I came by my cousins' house again and found The Legend of Zelda, so this game got me hooked and Zelda got me obsessed.

     This game here as a whole arsenal of Weapons, some you can use with the select button and will find, cycle through, and loose several since you can only use that button for one weapon, others are permanent but just as important, it is real neat to get a lot of different and varies weapons and objects, although some seem useless, I think they do have one good use and the secret was never well researched by players, out of all the people I know and asked, none can still explain what the horn or bugle is for in this game, and even though the Cloak of Darkness seems like a lame item, I bet it has one good quality [yet hidden] about it.

Play Control: A

     Has some pretty solid play control, in one or two areas when you swing your sword at a enemy it will make you move a little and make you fall off but that is to be expected, shifting your weight and fighting would have that effect occasionally, even though it wasn't meant for it, it does add some realism. Some areas do require some excellent jumping and maneuvering to get to, but that adds to the game, almost all of the hard to get to spaces you don't need to get to, but it adds to the challenge to those that skip them earlier in the game.

Graphics: A

     Well, everything is highly detailed, from the knight to the trees, no freeze-ups, but some things look lifeless,[the birds come to mind],other creatures don't do so bad, for the NES I guess that isn't a minus, but it would have made it score higher here. Everything is very clear and easy to identify, has a wide variety of enemies, a lot of neat enemies, excellent level layout and some of the bosses can still send a chill down my spine. Only thing really lacking is background is absent in most stages.

Sound: A-

     Not on the realistic side, but hey, its just a game, from the wrap of a dagger bouncing off a dead enemies hide to the deflecting of a rock off your shield, all sound well coded, it is somewhat limited on noise but the people at Rare did good.

Music: A-

     Although most to all the music tunes are unrecognizable computer-generated tunes, it is done in a excellent way with a well sounding beat, you can tell when you pop the game in for a first time it is first rate for the time period it was released in.

Theme and Fun: A+

     Well executed, and they did a good job when they thought out the mode of play, very unique style makes it a above average platformer. A lot of neat weapon options, and unlimited continues will keep you liking and playing this game completely through atleast three or four times before you start to get really bored with it.

Frustration: B

     Although this game is good, some of the jumps are a lot of trial and error. And some weapons you may want to keep may be lost opening the wrong chest, occasionally you'll never see the item again, some items will be a long ways away in other stages.

Repetition: B+

As with all platformers, this one will get old after a while.

Challenge: B-

     Most of the challenge is repetitious monsters that do constant assaults on you, but one or two areas actually need thought out before you can advance and some places require a lot of climbing and zig-zagging through doors, since this was only a few years after SMB, this platformer came along way from jump and shoot jump and shoot, even by today's standards it is a little simple, but still good.

Replay Value: B

     I find that if you have a good sized collection, and alternate between all the good games, you'll enjoy this one throughout your lifetime, but nothing beats playing and finishing it for your first time.

Final Pluses:

     Excellent graphics, cool play control, radical music,[ugh, eighties playground words], the weapons are rather far ranging for the NES too.

Final Minuses:

     Seems a little short for a NES game, they should have added a little more. Should have limited the continues to something that would make it slightly challenging, like seven or eight. [I continued four times last time I played]

Changes:

     Possible a higher difficulty, would have been a nice let small addition even if it would only take effect after you beat the game. Two player option would be nice since it is only averaged sized, atleast scores could be compared

Overall: B+

Good game, they should have spent a little more time on more stages but still good.

Final Note: If you like Zelda, or platformers, or a combo of the two get it.

Value: Loose, about $4, complete about $8

Related Games: closely related/in the series, Iron Sword,[Wizards & Warriors 2], Wizards & Warriors 3, loosely related: The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros.