This is another of my favorite video games of all time as well as beat em up. You can also say this game is another of the first major franchises that helped make the beat em up genre a permanent place in the video game world.
I really love that the game took on the fantasy genre as it's one of my favorite genres of all time, so it's easy to imagine how much it blew away fans of that genre as there was never anything like this game at the time. But also, just simply something different as most beat em ups at the time were always set in the urban streets and the present day, so it was a wise choice to place this in the fantasy genre as it has plenty of offer and the possibilities are endless.
Obviously, this game was inspired by Robert E Howard's "Conan" series along with the "Conan" films derived from it, which is perfect as the "Conan" series is well known for its action. But mainly just the fantasy films in the 80's in general which makes sense as that decade was practically the golden age for the fantasy genre as you have plenty of them going on.
The graphical presentation is great as its inspired by the fantasy art from Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo. From the background down to the character designs it really looks and feels like the artwork from them comes to life. But most importantly helps in giving you the feel of being in a dangerous but fascinating fantasy world.
Really like the characters you play as, each of them handles differently as they have their strengths and weaknesses. And best of all about them is each of them weld different types of magic. Two of my favorites I like playing are Ax Battler who is obviously the Conan equivalent, his character is armed with a broadsword, and he controls earth magic. The other is Tyris Flare who is the Red Sonja equivalent or even Sailor Mars from "Sailor Moon" if you think of Tyris as an Elseworlds version of that character. Of course, she's true to her last name as she controls fire magic.
Gameplay is solid, from the levels which all look and feel different along with a good assortment of enemies. Like in one level you have skeletons armed with swords and shields, that was cool obviously an homage to the fantasy film "Jason and the Argonauts". In one level you have two boss giants armed with sledgehammers, though I don't know what's worse either getting hit with the hammers or their arrogant and mocking laughs that you see every time you get hit, which in a why even more motivated me to kick their butts; once that happens those smiles are always wiped from their faces, which always puts a smile on my face.
And just like with any beat em up, you have the typical jump and attack, each of the characters have a good combo system. And of course, the magic ability which you should use for emergencies only. I like there is a small RPG element as your character has this magical ability. You of course use this for emergencies only but as you see there is this gauge to track your jars; though you can refill them by knocking and kicking mischievous midget thieves that are holding them. But they only show up in the middle of the level and the bonus games, they also move slightly fast before they run away, so get the jars out of them quick and use those jars sparingly. The more magic jars you collect the bigger the effect and damage, which is part of why I love playing this game to try and build up so I can see what kind of power I can conjure up. My favorite is with Tyris as she has the best kind of fire effects.
Another highlight of the game is the fact that you get to ride on each of the fantasy creatures you encounter and each of them have their strengths and weaknesses. You have this bird lizard creature, despite how small it is packing a wallop, as it can swing its tail like a giant whip and make contact and take down not just your regular enemies but also the bosses. And of course, my favorite is the dragon as it just breathes out a flame thrower that just lights everyone up within its parameter.
And the last highlight is the music, this game has some of the best video game soundtracks ever, each of the tracks are memorable as it's almost hard to pick favorites, though if I had to my favorite is the first level. But anyway, the tracks are just beautiful as they just sing out epic fantasy action adventures, just hearing them always just pumps you up to fight off evil that you encounter or comes your way, and at the same time discover what wonders the world you venture in has to offer.
This vintage classic is sharp and still shines with golden fun.
Rating: 4 stars.
I really love that the game took on the fantasy genre as it's one of my favorite genres of all time, so it's easy to imagine how much it blew away fans of that genre as there was never anything like this game at the time. But also, just simply something different as most beat em ups at the time were always set in the urban streets and the present day, so it was a wise choice to place this in the fantasy genre as it has plenty of offer and the possibilities are endless.
Obviously, this game was inspired by Robert E Howard's "Conan" series along with the "Conan" films derived from it, which is perfect as the "Conan" series is well known for its action. But mainly just the fantasy films in the 80's in general which makes sense as that decade was practically the golden age for the fantasy genre as you have plenty of them going on.
The graphical presentation is great as its inspired by the fantasy art from Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo. From the background down to the character designs it really looks and feels like the artwork from them comes to life. But most importantly helps in giving you the feel of being in a dangerous but fascinating fantasy world.
Really like the characters you play as, each of them handles differently as they have their strengths and weaknesses. And best of all about them is each of them weld different types of magic. Two of my favorites I like playing are Ax Battler who is obviously the Conan equivalent, his character is armed with a broadsword, and he controls earth magic. The other is Tyris Flare who is the Red Sonja equivalent or even Sailor Mars from "Sailor Moon" if you think of Tyris as an Elseworlds version of that character. Of course, she's true to her last name as she controls fire magic.
Gameplay is solid, from the levels which all look and feel different along with a good assortment of enemies. Like in one level you have skeletons armed with swords and shields, that was cool obviously an homage to the fantasy film "Jason and the Argonauts". In one level you have two boss giants armed with sledgehammers, though I don't know what's worse either getting hit with the hammers or their arrogant and mocking laughs that you see every time you get hit, which in a why even more motivated me to kick their butts; once that happens those smiles are always wiped from their faces, which always puts a smile on my face.
And just like with any beat em up, you have the typical jump and attack, each of the characters have a good combo system. And of course, the magic ability which you should use for emergencies only. I like there is a small RPG element as your character has this magical ability. You of course use this for emergencies only but as you see there is this gauge to track your jars; though you can refill them by knocking and kicking mischievous midget thieves that are holding them. But they only show up in the middle of the level and the bonus games, they also move slightly fast before they run away, so get the jars out of them quick and use those jars sparingly. The more magic jars you collect the bigger the effect and damage, which is part of why I love playing this game to try and build up so I can see what kind of power I can conjure up. My favorite is with Tyris as she has the best kind of fire effects.
Another highlight of the game is the fact that you get to ride on each of the fantasy creatures you encounter and each of them have their strengths and weaknesses. You have this bird lizard creature, despite how small it is packing a wallop, as it can swing its tail like a giant whip and make contact and take down not just your regular enemies but also the bosses. And of course, my favorite is the dragon as it just breathes out a flame thrower that just lights everyone up within its parameter.
And the last highlight is the music, this game has some of the best video game soundtracks ever, each of the tracks are memorable as it's almost hard to pick favorites, though if I had to my favorite is the first level. But anyway, the tracks are just beautiful as they just sing out epic fantasy action adventures, just hearing them always just pumps you up to fight off evil that you encounter or comes your way, and at the same time discover what wonders the world you venture in has to offer.
This vintage classic is sharp and still shines with golden fun.
Rating: 4 stars.