"The Goddess of Nostalgia can be a cruel, dark mistress at times."

Astyanax, an NES Arcade port of "The Astyanax" (Despite it's story being complete separate of it's arcade doppelganger) is a very fondly remembered game in my eye. Beyond just the gameplay for me, the story completely enraptured my imagination as a kid. Astyanax, a kid in high school, transported to a fantasy realm where he's a hero destined to save the princess Rosebud. Cliched, sure, even for the era, but being a kid at the time, I didn't care about that. The idea enraptured me. I wanted to be Astyanax, and thus the escapism pulled me in. It was set in stone then, I was in love with this game.

Looking back, Astyanax is not the perfect game I had shaped it to be. Poor controls and collision detection are abound, the in game graphics aren't up to snuff with other games of it's time, the levels are linear, and it's really nothing more than an average sidescrolling game.

In fact, the only thing I can say is up to snuff with this game, is well, the story. Cliched as it may be, featuring characters with names such as "Blackhorn", or "Cutie", its presentation is spot on. Anime style cutscenes with graphics far above those when you're actually playing the game, a generally decent script given the subject material, and some of the most memorable music you could have heard on the NES during any point of it's lifespan. The characters are even pretty fleshed out, mostly Astyanax. Going in, you can tell he has a sense of justice and wants to help the people save their princess, but he's modest about his abilities, and really wants nothing more than to go home. You feel for him throughout the surprisingly numerous cutscenes, as well as attachment to his sidekick, the aforementioned Cutie.

But what really stands out to me, as much then as it does now, was the game's ending. At the time, most NES Games were hardly worth beating. You usually ended up with a screen of text, and if you were lucky, maybe even a picture. Without giving too much away Astyanax ties it's story up nicely, with a decent length cutscene that left you feeling like you've actually did something. It made you feel justified for having spent your time with it, and still does as you wade through the game's obvious design flaws. It's a trend that I think still needs to be committed to today's games, as we enter an age where we pay 60 dollars for what's supposed to be a robust experience.

As much as I can gush about the game's storyline and presentation, it doesn't make up for the its shortcomings. However, there's a reason this game stands as a cult classic. It has a lot of charm that most people remember and can use to ignore what's so poor about the game in the first place, making it fun to play. Really, that's what a game is supposed to accomplish, and Astyanax passes that test.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/17/07