El Viento
System: Genesis
Release Date: November 1991
Developer: Wolf Team
Publisher: Renovation Products
Genre: Action
Defeat a cult attempting to resurrect a God in El Viento! You are Annet, from a small village deep in Peru. The plus, she is a sorceress with mystical powers. The downside, she has an accursed blood relationship with the god Hastur. This relationship makes her the constant target of the Hastur Group, which is a shady religious group intent on bringing their God back. Can you travel around the United States and put an end to their machinations?
Wolf Team has put together a competent platformer here that has both horizontal and vertical maneuverability. You run forward and enemies pop up in your way. They have to be dispatched by throwing bladed boomerangs at them, or by using your magic. Despite being imbued power by a wind god, Annet can shoot fireballs, drop a water torrent, use a wind cutter, create an explosion, and use homing arrows. You choose which one to use by holding the magic button a proper amount of time. These magic attacks are found as you move through the levels.
There are a few items that you can find. A yellow potion will restore some of your hit points and is a very happy find. You can add a third boomerang to your arsenal if you pick it up here by the Mega Man 2 platform. There are even items that will increase your maximum HP if you can figure out how to collect them.
Down and jump is a dash, which is useful for crossing gaps that are too big to walk normally across. I used it frequently on this level that had a lot of traps. Each stage has a few portions for you to get through. If you die, you can continue back from the beginning of the entire level. There are only three continues, so make sure to get good or use save states. This is especially true in the final level, where flying demon guys constantly respawn and are a giant pain in the butt to kill efficiently. I bet this is where most people quit.
At the end of each stage is a boss. Most of them took me a couple tries to figure out and then perform on. DeMarco is in a tank that loads up like a gun and has two phases. This guy shoots out bubbles that steal your boomerangs. This guy requires you to play three card monte and shoot the right box. The final boss was a bit anti-climactic, as it just required spamming magic and avoiding fireballs.
Graphics: 3.0
I expect a bit more from the graphical fidelity, but the cutscenes look very good.
Sound: 3.0
The music is good, but the sound effects are a bit overpowering.
Gameplay: 3.5
You’re given what you need to get through, even though a couple more potions would have been nice.
Difficulty: 2.5
Three lives and some pretty rude design choices by the end.
Fun Factor: 3.0
This is an enjoyable play and it’s good for a one time through.
Overall Rating: 3.0
El Viento earns a B. Solid follow up to Arcus Odyssey, pop it in and give it a go!