Skull & Crossbones
System: NES
Release Date: December 1990
Developer: Tengen
Publisher: Tengen
Genre: Action
Take to the high seas to fight a wizard in Skull & Crossbones! A pair of pirates, One Eye and Red Dog, were protecting a Princess, when the Evil Wizard cast a pox on them and kidnapped their charge. They vowed to put an end to the wizard at any cost, which consists of six levels of killing action and the showdown with the Evil Wizard.
You choose any of the six levels to play. They are split into ship levels and land levels. You need to kill a certain number of respawning enemies to beat the level and move on to the boss. You have three weapons with limited uses. The weakest is the sword, which kills the typical enemy in three swings. The dagger, which is thrown and kills the typical enemy in two hits. And the gun, which kills most enemies in one hit. You can switch among your weapons in the Booty screen by pressing the Select Button.
You can collect weapons strewn across the stage by stepping on their icons. Sometimes they are hidden behind crossbones icons, which need to be stepped on to reveal the treasure beneath. Some of these are invisible until you get right next to them. In land based levels, there are treasures to collect, which turn into weapons at the end of the level.
You’re running around the stage, jumping platforms and trying to avoid enemies. I found the enemies to be quite relentless. You have 50 health to begin with and it counts down as you are hit. If your health drops to zero, you must use a continue and are sent right back to where you were killed, usually into harms way. There are also skull items which will kill you instantly.
Once you kill the proper number of enemies, you are sent to a boss. These guys take a ton of hits even if you’re unloading lead into them. If you didn’t collect every item and weren’t perfect on your accuracy, you may have to fight them with your fists. If this is the case, prepare to die a time or two. You also have to keep an eye out on the timer, because if it reaches zero before you can find an hourglass, it’s an instant game over. Looks like I didn’t follow through with One Eye’s vow.
Graphics: 2.0
I kind of like the graphics, they’re unique, but do fall into the sprite flickering trap on occasion.
Sound: 1.5
The music is interesting, but poorly composed, and the sound effects aren’t pleasant.
Gameplay: 1.5
Movement is incredibly floaty and getting around the stage is a pain.
Difficulty: 1.5
The levels become a race against time that you’ll lose if you’re trying to get enough weapons or treasure to succeed.
Fun Factor: 1.5
There’s something here, but it isn’t a very good showing.
Overall Rating: 1.6
Skull & Crossbones earns a C-. This is one of those games that could have been better with some better designers and programmers at the helm.