Some recent NES and Colecovision scores. See the full post for all 4 images. Above: Adventure Island (NES) 116,320.
-no continues
Frenzy (Colecovision Emulated) 22,702
-Game 1
Mega Man (NES) 1,667,200
-no continues
Showing posts with label Wizards and Warriors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wizards and Warriors. Show all posts
Monday, November 25, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wizards and Warriors NES Box Scans
Back in the day box art was badass. Look at that dude, he's about to seriously fuck up that goblin. Surprisingly the copytext and story for W&W isn't total corporate vomit. More of a Lord of the Rings meets Le Morte D'Arthur while hooking up with a drunk Ghost 'n Goblins.
In a world where magic reigns supreme in almost every game or movie, it's refreshing to have Wizards and Warriors break the trend. "Yo! magic is shit dog, hack some bitches up, holla!" says the box.
The game taunts you by promising "untold riches" to the "ultimate knight warrior." Are you an ultimate enough warrior to knight the shit out of this game? Of course you aren't, you probably use savestates. Pussy.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wizards & Warriors
I spent the weekend reading Faulkner and playing Wizards and Warriors. (and Ironsword, the first two games in the 4-part series). You play as Kuros, a knight running around freeing tied-up half-naked babes from evil monsters.
Fun game, really hard. However, you continue from exactly where you die... so eventually you forget about lives altogether. And as the afternoon drifted into evening like insects skimming on water, improbable yet somehow vindicated by the harsh physics of our world, I battled as Kuros, falling repeatedly in battle like Confederate and Yankee soldiers pierced by bullet from afar or the close and familiar sting of a bayonet, leg vaporized by the earth tumbling explosion of a cannonball... In the words of the wizard in Conan the Barbarian: "Life and Death, the same."
It's a curious game, because it's kind of bad. The jumping physics are awkward (though somewhat fun), you can easily loose the best items in the game by picking certain treasure chests, and monsters constantly spawn off-screen and kamikaze into Kuros with no hope of ever defending the attack.
But, the game has nice artwork, great music, infinite lives, and some cool areas to explore. It's a good game if you are looking for a fantasy adventure and have already played Legacy of the Wizard (and part 2 of the post) and Faxanadu. Similar and inferior to both, that about sums it up.
Had I played this game as a child, I might enjoy it more. But as the list of NES games I haven't played dwindles, Wizards and Warriors is a refreshing reminder of the high-quality NES library. I have owned the sequel, Ironsword: Wizards and Warriors 2, for some time, but I could never figure out what to do. I've decided to sink some more time into Ironsword, maybe it gets better as the game progresses.
Wizards and Warriors (the entire series) is also notable for being made in America. Most good NES games come from the land of the rising sun and it's comforting to see that at least some Americans were trying to make a decent NES game.
This installment steal it's story from Mario, having you rescue a princess in 8 castles, the first 7 named from myth and literature, but not being "your" princess. Eventually "Thou Hath Rescued Thy Princess / Thy Search Hath Ended" and thy princess remaineth kneeling in submission, half-naked and blond.
Levels 2-4 are caves, and all look similar, thus the game drags. But stages 6-8 are fantastic, epic, and worth the trouble of getting there. Wizards and Warriors simply needed well-programmed enemies, something even Legacy of the Wizard couldn't accomplish. Enemies in this game appear from everywhere, can fly through walls, or simply can't be killed. Every enemy in the game feels cheap, both in battle and programming.
There is also a place (I believe it is level 5, but it could be 6) that seems oddly familiar. Hmm, what could it be? See the final screenshot, I had to take it with a real camera; I was playing on cartridge today. I'll continue the series and post my thoughts if something interesting should come to mind. I've been looking for a Game Boy game to play recently, and Wizards and Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear looks fun. Any other fans of this series or a particular game within?
Fun game, really hard. However, you continue from exactly where you die... so eventually you forget about lives altogether. And as the afternoon drifted into evening like insects skimming on water, improbable yet somehow vindicated by the harsh physics of our world, I battled as Kuros, falling repeatedly in battle like Confederate and Yankee soldiers pierced by bullet from afar or the close and familiar sting of a bayonet, leg vaporized by the earth tumbling explosion of a cannonball... In the words of the wizard in Conan the Barbarian: "Life and Death, the same."
It's a curious game, because it's kind of bad. The jumping physics are awkward (though somewhat fun), you can easily loose the best items in the game by picking certain treasure chests, and monsters constantly spawn off-screen and kamikaze into Kuros with no hope of ever defending the attack.
But, the game has nice artwork, great music, infinite lives, and some cool areas to explore. It's a good game if you are looking for a fantasy adventure and have already played Legacy of the Wizard (and part 2 of the post) and Faxanadu. Similar and inferior to both, that about sums it up.
Had I played this game as a child, I might enjoy it more. But as the list of NES games I haven't played dwindles, Wizards and Warriors is a refreshing reminder of the high-quality NES library. I have owned the sequel, Ironsword: Wizards and Warriors 2, for some time, but I could never figure out what to do. I've decided to sink some more time into Ironsword, maybe it gets better as the game progresses.
Wizards and Warriors (the entire series) is also notable for being made in America. Most good NES games come from the land of the rising sun and it's comforting to see that at least some Americans were trying to make a decent NES game.
This installment steal it's story from Mario, having you rescue a princess in 8 castles, the first 7 named from myth and literature, but not being "your" princess. Eventually "Thou Hath Rescued Thy Princess / Thy Search Hath Ended" and thy princess remaineth kneeling in submission, half-naked and blond.
Levels 2-4 are caves, and all look similar, thus the game drags. But stages 6-8 are fantastic, epic, and worth the trouble of getting there. Wizards and Warriors simply needed well-programmed enemies, something even Legacy of the Wizard couldn't accomplish. Enemies in this game appear from everywhere, can fly through walls, or simply can't be killed. Every enemy in the game feels cheap, both in battle and programming.
There is also a place (I believe it is level 5, but it could be 6) that seems oddly familiar. Hmm, what could it be? See the final screenshot, I had to take it with a real camera; I was playing on cartridge today. I'll continue the series and post my thoughts if something interesting should come to mind. I've been looking for a Game Boy game to play recently, and Wizards and Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear looks fun. Any other fans of this series or a particular game within?
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