Sabre Wulf

"Over 15 years later, we finally get our sequel"

Back in 1985 a little known game came from a little known British company called Ultimate Play The Game. This game was Sabrewulf. Appearing on the Specturm Vision and the Commodore 64, this game was overshadowed by many many other games. There have been groups of people who have tried to spread the knowledge of this series, and this proves it was not all for nothing. In this game you controlled the Sabreman, a nair-do-well adventurer whos only plan in life is to get treasure. He has a problem though, the treasure is guarded by the ferocious Sabrewulf. This however is not the same game. Three years ago, 2001, the company that use to be Ultimate Play The Game, Rareware, state that they were going to release a sequel to this gem. The date they gave us was February 16th 2002. Well they were two years and several days late, but finally Sabrewulf on the GBA has been released. During that time the name of the enemy, Sabrewulf, was used in the critically acclaimed Rareware fighting series Killer Instinct. That however was not the same Sabrewulf, just a similar version of this beast. Sabreman also made a cameo in Banjo Tooie. Actually his appearance was the one that gave us hints of him ''riding a dolphin'' and thus this game became a reality. When I was a child the original Sabrewulf was one of the first games that I played back on my older cousins Commodore, so this review maybe a little bias. I will try my best to give a fair review. Enough of my batched history lesson, on to what you're here for, the review.

Graphically this game is unique. On the ''overworld'' it is an isometric view with psuedopolygon sprites. This is an imitation of the Golden Sun style. However when you go to the ''underworlds'' it's the same character model for the Sabreman, just it's a sidescroller. It uses several layers and mixes them all beautifully. The Sabreman, Sabrewulf, traps, and helping monsters are all beautiful. The color scheme is bland sometimes, but it fits the stages really well. The Sabrewulf itself has an amazing blue coat, while the Sabreman has his traditional British explorer garb. One of my favorite parts of this game, is in the ''overworld'' there are birds and other animals who walk or fly around, as you run around. This is possibly the weakest part of the game, which is really saying alot.

Utilizing the sound clips to their fullest the game boast not only clips of voice, but a nice soundtrack. On the overworld the characters talk like they were from Animal Crossing or The Sims. But in the sidescrolling portion, the Sabreman screams out many great quotes. ''Spendiferous,'' ''Run for it,''''Sporting,'' and ''For the Queen'' are some of the ones that stuck with me after playing the game. The music can get a bit repetitive, but thats true of every game. Tailored for each section of the world the music includes tribal drums and woodwinds. The Sabrewulf howls when you steal the treasure, and the Sabreman makes classic grunts and growls as you maneuver him throughout these stages. I second the sound only to Magical Vacation, which is just another amazing GBA game.

Now this is where the game takes off, gameplay. The point of the game is to gather shards of an amulet that will trap the Sabrewulf yet again. I don't want to ruin the story anymore than that, but I will say its quite funny and something that I believe only Rareware could pull off. On the ''overworld'' you walk around and talk to people, and pick a ''underworld'' opening that you havent been to yet. You can also buy stuff from the stores, like more helping animals or armor. The ''underworld'' contains the bulk of the game, and all of its action. In the ''underworld'' you start out at your base camp. Then you have to run across the stage, using your animals to get you passed dangers and to the sleeping Sabrewulf. In front of the Sabrewulf there is an object that he has stolen, be it a ladder, jeweled pot, or tribal mask. Once you pick it up the Sabrewulf howls, causing all the monsters and animals to turn into coins, and you have to run back with it in hot pursuit. This is all timed. If you get there fast enough, the treasure will be gold, then silver, then bronze. The treasure you get can be sold to the store so you can get more money, like the coins, and can buy more animals or equipment. This may sound really easy, but around the 8th encounter with the beast, it gets really tricky. There are many obstacles and the wulf gets faster and faster. On some stages you can find a key that unlocks a mini game. These are incredibly hard because the wulf gets faster really quickly, and can pouch at you. Now if this game is that tough why play? Well you can retry everything as many times as you want, and eventually you will find patterns and whats the best method for doing things. There are 9 areas to explore and will take you roughly 10 hours to get through them all. In 4 hours I got through the first 3, but I've always been good at this kind of game, and this varies per person. Since I only rate out of 10, I cant give the gameplay the 11 it deserves. So Ill just have to settle with the perfect 10.

To Import or not to import, that is the question. The answer? YES. Since THQ and Rareware have had absolutely no comment on this for a U.S. or Japanese release its worth importing. Also since it is a multi-language cart, you could play in English, German, or French if you so desired. This is just one amazing game and worthy of all the praise it can be given. A beautiful and amazing sequel to what was an all but forgotten game. So remember, if you see a blue wolf running around stealing things, don't run, call the Sabreman. Hes back in town and still kicking ass.

Graphics: 7
Sound: 8
Control: 10
Replay: 10
Import Value: 10
Overall: 45/50

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/12/04