Rygar: The Legendary Adventure

"Legendary Adventure? Not by a Long Shot"

If anyone has even heard of Rygar, it is probably due to the recent re-release of the game on the Nintendo Wii. From what I had seen, it looked like a pretty interesting game and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the game had been released on the Playstation 2 several years earlier.

Rygar revolves around a hero of the same name who is returning to his homeland of Argus after a battle. Upon his return, monsters attack and end up running off with the Princess and toss Rygar into a deep crevice. He is eventually revived by a disembodied voice and given the Diskarmor (a shield attached to a chain, which functions much like the Blades of Chaos in the much later God of War) and told to go fight the monsters who attacked his homeland.

As far as story goes, it's not a good one and it's made worse by a variety of things. First and foremost, it is never presented during the actual gameplay in any coherent fashion (that plot description was actually summarized from the game manual). Second, the writing is indescribably bad and the closest thing I can compare it to is the moronic prose a middle school student would come up if they attempted to write like Shakespeare. Finally, the voice acting that accompanies this atrocious script is so over the top it would be laughable in even the worst anime to ever reach American shores.

The game plays quite similarly to God of War, but with all the awesomeness and fun stripped away. Rygar eventually has three sets of Diskarmor to choose from, none of which are especially thrilling to use. The combos are slow and by the time it's over, the enemy has most likely moved around. One interesting thing Diskarmor is capable of is summoning a beast, which helps out in the fight.

Rygar also comes up against problems other than its lackluster combat and utterly incomprehensible story. Namely, the game just feels aimless. There's rarely any real directive as to what needs to be done, or where a player needs to go in order to progress. Most of the time, it all comes down to wandering until something happens. Suffice to say, this really isn't the best way for a developer to handle things.

There is at least one small surprise with Rygar; for a seven year old game, it does look pretty good. Character and enemy models are very nice, and environments aren't half bad, although there are some expected instances of bad texturing and lighting.

THE VERDICT
Once upon a time this might have been a decent game. But every now and then a game comes along that changes everything, and whatever came before seems hopelessly outdated in comparison. God of War was one of those games, and coming back to something that came before it brings no sort of satisfaction or entertainment. Don't bother searching for Rygar – he's a hero best forgotten.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/09/09

Game Release: Rygar: The Legendary Adventure (US, 11/25/02)