Without a doubt the most rewarding genesis game I have yet to play!
Story: You play as Hercules, a Greek warrior looking to become one of the Gods. To be granted his wish, he must travel through a lengthy labyrinth in search of 4 guardian monsters and defeat them... sounds simple, but again, praise be that it aint!
Gameplay: The basic controls are easy enough to get to grips with. You are to navigate your warrior through the humongous landscapes (Markets, Temples, Underworlds... each is very open, with no obvious path through to the end. This makes for many choices and optional play), preparing yourself for the upcoming battle with each area's guardian. This involves solving many a puzzle and fighting a vast array of lesser enemies, all the while collecting as much treasure as possible (to trade for weapons and power ups). The puzzles range from notch combinations to carrying special-case items to certain rooms. Due to the rapid increase in difficulty of enemies, you'll find yourself carefully exploring each area to the fullest for treasure, and the hardest puzzles are generally protecting valuables rather than the route through the level.
The stores in the game make for alot of consideration due to the huge range of items available. To make it far into the game, a skilled player will need to balance their spending between upgrades, weapons and stockpiling lives.
Graphics: Nothing spectacular, decent detail in both background and characters. The Guardians however, not only offer some great gaming, but also look fantastic.
Sound: Effects get the job done, and the music fits the mood of each level perfectly- sad, eerie melodies for the labyrinth, catchy beats for the temple and tense thumping for a guardian faceoff.
Lifespan: This is NOT your usual 1 hour sidescroller expected of genesis, its an epic, rewarding experience that demands replay and alot of exploration. No one can expect to complete it their first, second or third go. Hell, it took me (a pretty great gamer when it comes to old-school consoles) a few days of restarts to finally face-off against the last guardian... ALOT of knowledge is required to get far (let alone a good final score), and it can get quite frustrating when you helplessly fall down yet another pit or realize your current weapons ain't even tickling the enemy swarms... BUT... each new stage is worth it, and the old stages get more and more enjoyable as you improve.