Rygar: The Legendary Adventure

"A magnificent journey into a mystical world"

Story 8/10

Rygar: The Legendary Journey takes place during the mythological times in a mystical and surreal land called Argos. You assume the role of Rygar, a battle hardened warrior who is totally committed to rescuing his beloved princess Harmonia from the evil titans who have taken over the land. Basically you need to traverse over great distances and overcome numerous obstacles, battles and puzzles in order to achieve your goal.

Gameplay 8/10

The controls are set up in a very user friendly fashion and are very easy to grow accustomed to. Your main weapon is the Diskarmor which is a very useful and powerful shield that acts as a yo-yo of sorts and really slices and dices all who come into contact with it. There are three in total that you will acquire during the game and each will have it's strengths and weaknesses mainly depending on how many enemies you are facing and how far or near they happen to be. There are also a slew of mystical stones that you can find which can then be attached to your diskarmor as attack modifiers. Besides this you also have access to magic ''Familiars'' that you can summon which will then assist you in attacking your foes. These can also be varied depending on how much magic you are willing to use. Lastly there are several secret abilities that you can unlock as you progress throughout the game which will unlock even more options for you. As you journey through the game you can find many secret rooms as well as smash up most rocks, pillars and other background materials for added exploration. Overall the character handles very well and you will be able to pull of a host of different combinations and varieties of attacks.

Graphics 10/10

The graphics and animations in this game are absolutely superb in my opinion and I can tell you that you will most certainly find the scenery breathtaking. Since the game takes place during the time of mythological beings, Gods and sorcery you will be dazzled by landscapes and architecture that even Aristotle would have been in awe of. There are all types of fully interactive backdrops such as floating castles, labyrinth towers, deep underground chasms as well as beaches and mountains that you can venture through on your quest to save your princess.

Camera Angles 7/10

This is the one shortfall of this otherwise splendid game. There is a preset camera angle structure that is already set meaning that the point of view will change not by your movements but rather by your position on the screen. For example if you come around a corner the camera will suddenly switch to an overhead view and then as you near the bend the camera will again automatically switch to another random angle. Sometimes this can become quite frustrating especially during a battle when all of a sudden the camera looks only at you rather that from behind you. After a few minutes of playing you will get the hang of it but it still lingers enough to keep you from 100% submersion into the gameplay.

FMV's, Music and SFX 9/10

All of these areas are covered extremely well overall. The cutscenes are beautifully rendered and very realistic considering the fantasy genre that this game belongs to. The music and sounds likewise are very appropriate and non-repetitive, they bring life to the overall experience in my opinion. The sound effects are also well thought out and detailed to the extent that walking over every type of surface has its own distinct sound and there seem to be no ''standard'' effects anywhere noticeable. The only weakness is in some of the dialogue like at one point where your character decides to ''swear his victory to a feather'' but that is tolerable overall.

Replayability 7/10

Because there is so much to unlock and discover and many things such as some of the mystical stones can only be found when playing through the game again on a harder setting, this game could provide you with a good amount of replay time. The initial time however that it should take you to initially complete the game should range somewhere between 5 to 9 hours which makes the story portion aspect a tad short. However, there is plenty packed in there though so it appears shorter that it plays.

Overall 8/10

Overall I think that this game is a very good game and I personally have no regrets for buying it. Yes there are a few shortcomings like the camera angles but once you get into the game and start figuring out some of the secrets and puzzles I'm sure that you will love it. Also the fact that there are so many beautiful landscapes to travel through coupled with a very well layed out combat system makes Rygar a good game for any collection. Ultimately I believe that you will find Rygar a most enjoyable game to conquer.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/01/03, Updated 01/01/03