Willow

"There is nothing...and the Kasket means nothing! That comes close to perfection as this title does..."

Looking into the past on the Nintendo Entertainment System, you come across games that have such a great role-playing element to them, and you find that they have nothing to do with the Final Fantasy series. Coming across this little gem, I found that Willow was not only a great role-playing game, but also an adventure that really took time, effort and patience to get through, without going to far into the ‘must find items’ category that most RPG games do! You take the role of a little Nelwyn named Willow Ufgood and must battle your way through a world that is strangely different than ours, in which dragons, trolls and mad queens are your norm. Through your adventure, you’ll complete quests, slay dragons, vanish trolls and help to save the life of a little girl and that of the world from the clutches of a power hungry queen! RPG’s on the NES are hard to find that offer you such action and adventure as well as a great story line to follow that actually follows the movie, so if you happen to find a copy, pick it up and immerse yourself in the world of Willow.

The game play is basically a role-playing game in which you have to find items and slay enemies that will allow you to continue and advance into the bigger story. Different missions await you in which you may have to find an item and return it to some other person, but the overall game is about experience and finding the items that will help you through the game while combating the forces of evil! The game isn’t any different than any RPG in which you have to level up through the destruction of enemies that get your way. The battles themselves range in difficulty from easy to hard, depending on what it is that you’re facing and at what level. The weapon system that you use allows you to upgrade your weapons at various points, but you have to take into effect the speed of your sword and just how far the reach is. You start out slow to swing, but with a few different level ups, you’ll find that you can swing your sword faster than before and in no time, the battles will quickly turn in your favor. The story of the game never really changes from the movie, and plenty of the locations and situations that you run into will flow together without leaving you to wonder just what in the hell is going on. This makes for a more smooth game play and game flow that isn’t found in games of this type in which the movie is turned into an RPG successfully!

The control is something that could be tweaked up a bit in some of the areas of the game. Although there is no jumping involved, you’ll find that the battle system is a little screwed up to play with in which you need to be precise on what way that you’re facing, or else you’ll take undue damage! This will come as an annoying aspect when you’ve played for hours, only to have the game screw you because the NES control won’t let you face the right way. This Ghost Control appears in several NES games, but when you have such a nicely flowing game like this, you’ll find that it is more of a hindering experience. The menu system is easy enough to traverse through and select items and weapons from, so beginners and veterans to RPG’s will have no problem working with any of the controls including the menu system.

Visually, the game is expansive as well as extremely detailed. With most of the but scenes having been taken out of the movie, there is really no difference between the game and the way that the comic novel was created, so you’ll see plenty of reference to that! The detailing on the weapons and different enemies as well as the creation of the environments of the game is something that should be seen to be believed. The most astonishing part of the game is the introduction sequence, which will probably blow most gamers away, simply because there hasn’t been a case of visual display in an RPG other than the Final Fantasy games. All in all, a successful hit on the eye candy, and you’ll find that with the different enemies and the way they are presented, as well as the cut scenes and menu items, that this game is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted!

The audio in Willow is nothing short of amazing as well. Creating an adventurous and rather immersing environment for you to play through, you’ll find that the musical score is nothing short of spectacular. With each passing event in the game, you have something that is a little different to listen to, although the same theme is used. This will probably come as a shock to most NES gamers, in which the NES is known for just using one standard track and nothing else throughout an entire game! The sound effects are your general RPG fare with sword clangs and swishes as well as small explosions and the like, so you’ll have to take the larger good with the smaller bad in this instance.

Willow is an amazing game that truly took me off of my feet at the way it was present. In all areas of the game, you have aspects that make it one of the best RPG’s available for the NES and in all honesty, the only thing that could beat it out is probably Final Fantasy. You’ll find that the exploration as well as the leveling up combined with the true to story game play makes for an impressive mix! The control is a little hard to use, but nothing that you can't get around while the visuals and the music is something that has to be admired, simply because of the age and the system it appears on. If you’re into huge RPG’s and like a good dose of adventure and action as well as exploration, then look no further, because Willow has got it all.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/01, Updated 12/11/01