Willow

"TALES OF DREAMS AND IMAGINATION. 

THERE ARE TWO SPIRITS WATCHING OVER THE WORLD. ONE, THE SPIRITS OF THE SKIES, GIVES LIGHT AND POWER TO ALL BEINGS.

THE OTHER IS THE SPIRITS OF THE EARTH WHO GIVES COURAGE AND HOPE.

THE TWO SPIRITS EACH SENT A MESSENGER IN ORDER TO BRING PEACE TO THE WORLD. AND THE BEATIFUL MESSENGERS WERE GIVEN SPECIAL POWER TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE'S FUTURE. THAT SPECIAL POWER WAS

 ......... MAGIC.

THE PEOPLE WERE LIVING PEACEFULLY, POTECTED BY A GREAT MAGIC. BAVMORDA, THE MESSENGER OF THE SKIES, BECAME GREEDY FOR POWER. IN ARROGANCE, SHE DECIDED TO CONQUER THE WORLD WITH HER MAGIC. 

FIN RAZIEL, THE MESSENGER OF THE EARTH, REALIZED HER PLOT AND TRIED TO PERSUADE BAVMORDA TO RETURN TO THE SKIES. BUT HER MAGIC WAS SEALED AND SHE WAS TURNED INTO AN OPOSSUM BY BAVMORDA'S WICKED MAGIC.

BAVMORDA DECLARED HERSELF QUEEN OF THE WORLD, AND STARTED TO BUILD UP HER STRENGTH TO RULE THE WORLD. "

Loosely based on the movie of the same name, this game offers a very in depth gaming expirience with a vast world to explore, in fact I dare say it's length is comparable to secret of mana (though probably longer). And (oddly enough) uses its deviations from the original script to offer a much richer plot.

The game is played from an overhead perspective Like Zelda, and like Zelda it  has an inventory system, where many items are needed to continue your quest. Like many RPG's Willow has an experience system, many types of weapons and shields, as well as magic attacks.



However this is just the tip of the iceberg, as this game's attention to detail covers many aspects. For example Willow may perform two different types of attack with his sword. He may swing it, in a very simila manner to Zelda III's that would come out years later (it even predates Crystalis), and he can also stab. Both have their advantages, swinging covers a greater area while stabbing has a longer reach and takes less time. New swords will be much harder to swing, however in time he will become acquainted with these weapons and swing much faster. Some swords are useful in some areas, and are in way like special items. There are many types of enemies, most of them not in the movie, and yet they all seem like likely foes for each zone. The spells are quite varied, from shooting an acorn to changing shape. The music is rich and appropiate, with a medieval air and changes to alternate version of itself whenever enemies are found. The bosses are all challenging yet behave very differently. Well I could go on, but why spoil it?

As for its short commings, like all NES titles Willow certainly has its age. Sometimes monsters are reused with palette changes. The people you talk to are often similar. People out in the open look kind of funny and don't have any animation whatsoever. But to be honest, those are some of the NES limitations rather than flaws in the game design (sure some covered those flaws and left some others, honestly it really doesn't get much better than this). So if you like Zelda 3, Secret of Mana and such, and you also like 8 bit games then there is no reason whatsoever not to try this game (which in my opinion is nothing short of incredible but as always you certainly have all the right to differ). But I warn you, like most NES games Willow won't be that easy:

Play Willow online at virtualnes.com

Aditional links

The following links cover more details from this game:

• Hardcore Gaming 101: This site also writes about the movie (which I liked it too).
• RPGClassics