This is a tough game to play, and I mean from the first level up until the last. The first thing you notice when playing is that you can only kick, and the height of your jumps but it becomes natural with time.
The weapons are based on the enemies you kill, which don't always drop a weapon. So the guys in the trees might not drop a bow and arrow, the horses might not drop their stick sword or yellow sword, and the pig guys might not drop the pipe looking things.
Oddly enough, the guy with the arrows is named Kat, the pig guys are named Momo and the horse looking guys are named Gabby. The only ones I guessed where those little school bus looking slime things, I actually called them all Goobers without knowing.
You're going to notice a system of how this game is played, your weapons. First you get the Billy Club that can break the bricks, then you get the Hammer that breaks the brick with a single hit, then the Iron Ball and Chain that wrecks bricks and sounds mechanical.
This is the system of how the weapons work, which can make or break how you play. So most of the time if you're going to use the weapons, if you get one of the weaker weapons it can throw off your game.
Here's the system of the weapons:
Billy Club < Hammer < Iron Ball and Chain
Magic Stick < Magic Scroll < Magic Book
Bow and Arrow < Metal Arrow < Fire Arrow
Wooden Sword < Yellow Sword < Red Sword < Fire Sword
You can tell that the Fire Sword is the most powerful weapon in the game, being the fourth upgrade. It's a weapon I don't recommend, it heals you when you get it, but it also kills you when you use it, and one of the bosses requires Arrows to be killed in the World of Ice.
With defense, it's a bit tricky because my television didn't have much color. I know it's a white or green color, but it's really hard to tell when you're playing. Plus most enemies steal your upgrades.
Here's the system of defensive weapons:
Iron Helmet < Bronze Helmet < Dragon Helmet
Iron Armor < Bronze Armor < Braves Armor
Iron Shield < Bronze Shield < Lion's Shield
The armors work this way, you have to have at least the Iron then if you get some upgrades, like the Fighter's Ring, or the Wisdom Crown all the armors upgrade. Then if you get Ciba's Mirror, it helps your armor last longer so enemies don't steal your weapons or armor.
There's also a few other items worth getting, the teapot helps you get through the other section of the level without having to fight the boss. The "K" block, also known as K-Mark Slate, keeps your weapons when you die so you don't have to start over without any weapons.
There is a key you can get in the World of Sky, but it warps around how you face each level, it's doesn't skip any of the levels. So it's basically a waste of time, no different ending.
I also recommend getting the blue Hourglass, it extends your time to 5 minutes, then the blue potion saves you from being poisoned. They also have Pegasus Wings, like the cover of the game, you have the ability to fly which is pretty cool.
The outfit icon gives you a life. Roses sprout out if you walk near them, one is clearly the health that fly around, while if you get a heart with a white circle around it, that expands your health bar.
Stuff to avoid:
Hand
red Skull
red Hourglass
Poison
There are several items you want to avoid, especially a new weapon. They have the hand, which is a downgrade, same with the red skull looking face. They also have a key in the Land of Sky, but I'll let anyone figure that out because I could never beat the World of Labyrinth.
The hit detection is terrible, but I believe it's because there's an arcade game. Now the arcade game is a complete hunk of crap, with great music, but it's a huge let down with how bad it is. I've never beaten the arcade, and the only reason why I know it existed was because of the cover of the NES game.
With the arcade game, there's a glitch to move left (off screen) when you approach the boss. So with a projectile weapon, you can beat most of them. It's just a glitch with the regular enemies that ruined it for me, you get 3 lives per quarter, and after $3, I was done.
Now, the translation of this game is done very well. The music is similar, lowered down to the ability of the Nintendo, but I think it's alright. There's only so much you can do with a Nintendo game.
Quick Tips to beat the game:
So, the first level is World of Forest. This is an introduction level, you learn the buttons and weapons. Most of the level you're getting your feet wet just to learn more about the game.
You want to get the Red Sword (not the Fire Sword) right around the beginning of the level where the horses first show up, there are other secrets. Don't break the blocks to your right, there is a blue Fighter's Ring before you can break through the lower area of the level.
So you stick with the Yellow Sword up until you find Red Sword, there are a few quick ways to get it but make sure you get it before reaching the boss.
When you get to the boss, the Red Sword is your best option aside from the Fire Arrows. You shoot the tree what feels like 20 times and you're good, but stay away from the branches and dodge the fires they throw.
Soon as you beat the tree, there's a K-Mark Slate block that drops from above. Grab the "K" block, move your ass to the end because you've beaten the level. You might laugh but I recall going to the right, seeing the end and the time running out because I didn't know the level ended by moving all the way right.
The next level is, World of Cavern. I'd say try getting the Red Sword if you're still using Fire Arrows, this is also the first time you're going to notice the game rush if you stop playing the game.
You can beat the boss with all sorts of weapons, but I recommend the Red Sword. It's easier to kill him on the ground but his head will rush you. You can stand on the little rock on the bottom left and if you kneel and shoot his head, it will die, then stand and shoot until the rest of him dies.
Move to the right, avoid the shitty weapons, and you're off to the next level. This is actually where the game gets pretty tough, so be cautious.
Next level, World of Sea. Much like the previous boss, you will be rushed by enemies and your energy can die out really fast, so you need to be careful. You want to avoid the weapons the enemies drop the most.
Make sure to avoid the weapons, but you can get a Shell Necklace at the beginning. It's before the level begins where you want to get the rose. It's impossible for you to get out of the water, once you're in you have to beat the level to get out.
On the arcade it's different. There's clouds before the level where you can get items on the outside before you enter the water, so I think they tried it on Nintendo before they gave up. I only mention this because you can see another part of the level, which seems like you can enter the level from there.
Make sure you get the Shell Necklace, you need it to get to the boss. There are a few areas with the blue Hourglass you need to get, one is the top left of a mass of blocks with 2 background tunnel things. It's right before you can break blocks to move right.
There are a ton of roses here, if you really want to stock up on energy I wouldn't recommend it here unless you're familiar where to find a blue Hourglass. Energy is good but if you die twice you lose your weapon.
Move up and don't break blocks to enter the next area, you'll find a small area to crawl through as a mermaid to enter the area of the boss. Once you're at the boss as a mermaid it's easy to beat.
Just be at the ground, move forward all the way and shoot him until he dies. Just don't aim low and fire, because that doesn't do anything. When he dies move back, a Billy Club appears above you and will drop.
Just avoid the stupid Billy Club weapons, move to the right and you're set. Don't worry if you lost your Red Sword because the next level is more generous with getting it again, along with that "K" block.
Next level, World of Sky. Depending if you've lost your weapon, you can get a yellow sword really quick and some Pegasus Wings by going left at the beginning, also moving right and going down.
I mentioned that the "K" block is also easier to find in this level, they're all over. Make sure you've got the Red Sword and make your way to the end, there are a ton of roses to stock up on energy.
You can beat the boss fairly easy, it's a dragon that you can get behind and shoot. Most of the weapons work against this boss, but I recommend using the Red Sword.
With the wings you can make him go up, then go down and behind him. Shoot him from behind, his heads will disappear until he's dead. Don't get what he gives you, just move on to the end.
I got the key on this level, so it skipped me to the last level, only to make me play the next level.
Next level, World of Ice. This level sucks, the boss can only be killed with any of the Arrows. It takes forever to kill him too, but you want to get the Arrows last.
Make your way through the level, basically until the area that looks like you can skip the level. There's a blue Hourglass in the area above with 4 blocks on that special platform. Jump and it's on the top left.
It should be enough time but after you break the next 4 blocks to your right, there's 3 solid green blocks above you at the top, break the one on the right of the green blocks and it's the Bow and Arrow. You need to keep this to beat the boss, do not lose this weapon.
When you get to the boss move to the right of him, then jump and shoot at his eye. This may take a long time to kill him, but it works. When he dies, grab what he drops so you can break the blocks to the next level.
Next level, World of Hell. Here's a secret to this level, you have to stay on top. So you need to get the Red Sword right away, which is easy to do because you're constantly attacked by a funny looking Gabby.
Get the Red Sword, fight your way through up top, find a few blue Hourglass things. You're going to notice that time is a bitch, so you need to memorize where to find the blue Hourglass.
When you get to the boss, stay on the top left of the platform and kneel while attacking. The boss will warp around, but you're hitting him. Defeat him, grab the key, and move on to the next level.
Next level, World of Labyrinth. This is the hardest level, because you have to find a specific area where you break the blocks and get a harp from the image of a lady behind you. The screen will blink when you do it, then she drops the harp for you to get.
You have the memorize the level, know where each blue Hourglass is hidden. So it take a little time to memorize those spots, along with the "K" blocks, if you need the extra help.
Don't get the harp from the other lady, she's out in the open and it will poison you. The level ends when you go by her. The trick to this level is getting the Pegasus Wings, find the blocks to break and get the harp. Then maze your way to fly above the other lady and you're off to the next level.
Next level, all the levels. That's right, this game got lazy and makes you fight all the levels again. It's all the same bosses too, with the exception of the last level.
It's part of the level, then you fight the boss, then continue a short amount of the level. The trick is getting health and the blue Hourglass. During this point you should have plenty of health, but don't get the Fire Sword.
World of Forest, just kill the tree. Try to find roses and avoid getting a crappy weapon. It's really short there's nothing special here, but the bosses die quicker.
World of Cavern, at the beginning on your top left is usually a red Skull, or a power up, but behind it there's a blue Hourglass. The rest of the level is simple, just make your way through and don't worry about falling because it's where the boss is, and it's also where the level ends.
World of Sea, get the rose, drop in the water. On the bottom left is a Shell Necklace and blue Hourglass. The level is quick but keep the Red Sword and kill the boss, move right and it's over.
World of Sky, the platform on the right has Pegasus Wings. Kill a few horses and you're at the boss. Kill him, avoid the Billy Clubs, you get a blue Hourglass on the way out, there's a "K" block above and a rose on the platform before you drop to end the level.
World of Ice, fly all the way right, break the bottom right 2 bricks and you get a blue Hourglass and a rose will sprout while you land. Make sure to get the Arrows on the way down, from the top platform, it's the only way to kill the boss. Kill the boss, move right and there's nothing good to find so jump into the abyss to the next level of the game.
World of Hell, you want to get the Yellow Sword right away. In the first area with the skulls, you can find the Red Sword either from a skull or the bottom right, grab it fast and run. Kill the boss, move on to the final level.
World of Labyrinth, do not fall in this level, but move to the right and you will notice and enemy named Joss who looks like a fat chicken nugget with a club. Up there you will find the Pegasus Wings, go below and move to the right and continue to break the blocks.
You're chasing the clock, so focus on breaking through. You will notice a Fire Sword, it's optional to get it but there's a ton of health in this level. Only get it if your health is low.
With the boss, fly above and behind to kill the shield, kill the sword, then I go where the arm was and kneel to kill the body. Now you kill the heads, I have no idea how I killed them but I was basically where I was to kill the body and didn't get cornered because those heads rush you. Kill all 3 heads and you've won, to receive the greatest video game ending of all time, nothing.
The End.
So anyhow, that's a simple way to beat the game. I think they worked too hard on other portions of the game to add an ending to it, but it's how I feel about it.
If you read the manual, it's missing pieces in it. Half the enemies are missing, none of the bosses, some of the power ups are an unknown to them. So it sounds like the people in charge of making the manual tried their best to make the game sound cool instead of adding more pages.
The game itself is fine, but you need to know which power ups to use. I didn't know you needed arrows, or that the tree level is basically impossible to beat unless you use a projectile.
This is a game where I could tell they didn't test it, they looked at the first screen and got a wink out of it, and thought it was solid. The actual arcade game has the enemies kill you easily, also a block for how high you jump so this is the easier version.
It's not a bad game. It did feel incomplete playing it, but it was a game I played often. Most of the weapons you get are pretty cool, but they don't hit enemies too well. Some can't even break a brick.
The arcade version has more characters, probably even more items in the game as well. I think this was a decent translation, you don't die as frequently and they did what they could with the Nintendo.
I'm glad they didn't dumb down the game too much, but this game is easy when you play it often. It's all about memorizing where to find the items. The game is way easier after you've beaten it before.
So how I feel about this game. The controls are crap, the levels repeat, enemies can kill you in a single hit, most of the weapons are useless, the hardest boss is on the first level, the second hardest boss has his head fly at you, the best weapon in the game kills you, jumping near ladders glitches them up, enemies can barely graze you while stealing your weapon or armor, this was all based on a quarter munching arcade, and there's no ending to this stupid game after you beat it.
However, the sound is alright, the Pegasus Wings are pretty cool, there are plenty of roses to give you energy, the enemies look interesting, some of the bosses look kind of scary, and there is a fair level of difficulty. There's not much to brag about.
Overall, I'd rate this game a 5. It's worth trying, but the negatives outweigh the positives and the lack of an ending is highly disappointing.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you want me to review another game.
-Crissy