Willow
System: NES
Release Date: December 1989
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Action RPG
What’s this? A good movie based video game? Yes, it’s Willow! The evil Bavmorda plans to rule the world with her twisted magic. In the game, the Nelwyn tribe has a prophecy that one of their people will lead the world out of its darkest hour and that one is Willow Ufgood. Collect ever upgrading weaponry, kill enemies galore, and defeat the witch in this action RPG.
When you start off, you are unarmed with no magic, a quick visit with the High Aldwyn gives you a magic acorn, which can be thrown at enemies to stun them (11:37). Swords, shields, and magic must all be equipped from the Start Menu. Vohnkar gives you a sword (4:30), which you don’t want to leave town without. The sword is swung with the B Button, while magic is activated with the A Button. When you exit town, your first encounter is with some slimes. Willow swings the sword if you are standing still and jabs if you’re holding a direction. The first thing you notice is how slow Willow attacks, in fact, you’re warned about it, luckily, it doesn’t last forever. As you level up, your swing quickens. Every new sword you find requires you to be at a certain level in order to be efficient with it.
On screen, you can see your experience points, hit points, and magic points in the upper left corner. HP and MP rise generously with each level up, but it can take a long time in order to earn enough experience to get there. The manual warns you that you have to be at level 13 in order to turn Fin Raziel back into human form. This is necessary in order to get a cane, required to beat the game. In order to get to the higher levels, you’ll have to do some grinding. It took me awhile to find a good grinding place, but I finally succeeded in finding one where I fought ghosts that would split every few seconds. Some enemies can only be hit with the Devil Eye sword, which isn’t made clear anywhere. And the first time the zombie turns you into a pig you’ll be panicked figuring out what to do.
As expected, your quest is a string of fetch quests used to unlock the next area. There are a few bosses that can catch you off guard if you aren’t prepared for them. It’s always a good idea to find a house that heals you on occasion, because if you die, you’re transported back to your last inn visit. This means dying robs you of your hard earned experience. I typically kept the healmace spell at the ready through most of the game. There are other magic spells (42:25 Vid 3), like a lighting bolt that I used to destroy a creepy wall face (3:00 Vid 3). Specter magic, which turns you into a slime, necessary for getting through a path without taking damage (9:36 Vid 3). You can also use the Ocarina for fast travel to a few points (42:50 Vid 3).
You’re either in a town looking for people that can help with items or information. Or you’re in a cave, looking for a way through or to an item at the end. You also traverse the overland between points of interest. And there are a couple castles of many rooms, enemies, and treasure. Some of the puzzles will require you to search for awhile before you realize or stumble in to what to do (35:22 Vid 4). With perseverance, you’ll make it to the end and as long as you’ve made it to Level 15, you’ll have enough MP to defeat the final boss and bring peace to the land.
Graphics: 3.0
The graphics are decent with different tile sets for different regions.
Sound: 2.5
The music started to grate on my nerves because there was very little variety.
Gameplay: 3.0
Swordplay works as you might expect. I didn’t spend a lot of time experimenting with the magic.
Difficulty: 2.5
Most enemies were pretty easy to figure out, but some of the quests near the end take a lot of trial and error.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I enjoyed myself, but there is a lull in the middle of the game when you need to do a lot of grinding
Overall Grade: 2.8
Willow earns a B. It’s certainly a worthwhile game to play. You probably won’t need to play it more than once, though.