Rygar
System: NES
Release Date: July 1987
Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Tecmo
Genre: Action
Tecmo’s Rygar is up next and I have some mixed feelings about it. You are Rygar, resurrected from the dead to put a stop to the evil Ligar. He has taken over the peaceful land of Argool and it’s up to you to put an end to the evil spirits he controls. I just noticed how Rygar and Ligar would be pronounced the same in Japanese and am wondering what the original was… Too lazy to use the internet… maybe a kind commenter will inform me.
Rygar is equipped with his Diskarmor, which he throws at enemies. He can attack while standing or ducking and you’re going to want to use both at different points in the game. Rygar can also jump, which can help you avoid enemies, or even stun them for a moment. I wish I would have realized that sooner… To begin with, Rygar is pretty weak and it takes multiple attacks to defeat enemies. However, Rygar gets more powerful as he defeats enemies, an early form of leveling up, both in hit strength and life points. By the time you’re at the end of the journey, Rygar is a formidable killing machine.
The world is open, yet linear. You can go anywhere off the bat, but may need an item to proceed further. These are held by five Indora Gods. You have to find the grappling hook in Garoz, the wind pulley in Eruga, the crossbow in the Den of Sagila, the suit of armor from Dorago, and the Flute of Pegasus from the tower of Garba. You can also find a coat of arms in Lapis, which will convince some Indora Gods to heal you and give you a full life potion.
As you kill enemies, rarely will you find a few drops. You can find star power, which will add one unit to your spiritual strength. Double star power, which adds three units to your spiritual strength. And life potions, which will refill one life circle. These drops are few and far between in my experience. As spiritual strength fills, you can use one of three different powers. Power-Up, Attack & Assail, and Recovery.
Controls were frustrating from the beginning of the game to the end. To use the grappling hook, you have to hold up and press the A button. You have to stop running to get it to work, though. I would expect if I rolled my finger to press up, I would be able to press the A button and go, but NOOOOOOO… If you roll your finger to up, you just keep running! This led to a few needless deaths that almost had me quitting. Using the wind pulley to move across gaps on a line had me swearing, as well. If you’re not lined up perfectly, you just fall to your doom. I think the only reason I finished this one was because continues were endless and you start at the beginning of the particular section you died in.
Bosses were quite easy, just get in there and attack, avoid projectiles if need be, but swing away to win. Enemies were typically the same. Just mash away and they won’t be able to get you. Except for the scorpion/centipede looking dude. Any time you’re on the same plane as him, he shoots projectiles from his tail. I died many times before screen glitching him away. Then I realized I could jump on top of him and not get hurt. I may go through and see how quickly I can beat the game now that I know the steps.
Graphics: 2.5
I think the backgrounds and sprites look pretty good. Not award winning, but good.
Sound: 3.0
I think most of the tunes are memorable. I knew a lot of them without playing Rygar much growing up.
Gameplay: 1.0
I would give this a higher rating if the controls were tighter. As it was, there were way too many deaths caused by the game not considering my positioning correctly.
Difficulty: 2.0
Unlimited continues makes the actual difficulty of the game trivial. This is both good and bad in my opinion.
Fun Factor: 1.5
I had a good time going through it, but also a frustrating time. Eh, I think frustrating won out o that one.
Overall Grade: 2.0
Rygar gets a C. Rygar as a whole is fine. It’s a good example of an average game with some good parts and some bad ones.