"Why did they have to change so much?!"

Having loved the NES version of this game to pieces, I was seriously disappointed with this version . . . even with the core gameplay being the same, this version just can\'t compete.

Story: 6
This was one of the best parts of the original, and is much the same on this version. But they changed practically all the dialogue in the game, as well as took out most references to lies, greed, and betrayal. Sure, the kiddies can have death, but they can\'t see greedy backstabbers, now can they?

Music: 0
The music of the original fitted nearly every event you went through perfectly. This is sadly not the case of the GBC version. All the lovely music from the original has been replaced by truly generic adventure type music. You don\'t nearly feel the tragic situation of one of the game\'s cities enough without hearing it\'s appropriate music, and you don\'t get the same sense that you\'re going through a rather untamed place in one of the other areas. The music of the original set a lot of the game\'s mood, this version\'s music is just kinda there.

Graphics: 6
Yay, the graphics are nearly the same as the NES version, with a couple of extras! Unfortunately, this is where it stops being good. The scrolling isn\'t nearly as smooth as the original, with dropped frames in places. If there\'s a lot of stuff on the screen, there\'s slowdown that wasn\'t in the original either.

Controls: 5
The controls seem slightly outta whack, maybe a little bit floaty. Because when you move your character, sometimes he goes a bit further than you wanted him to. The slowdown usually doesn\'t help matters, either.

Gameplay: 6
It\'s basically the same game, this is a good thing! But the semi-floaty controls can sometimes make you run right into the enemies that you\'re trying to kill. Also, the elemental weaknesses that were used in the NES game aren\'t used here, so it\'s a bit simpler to kill things now.

Challenge: 5
This is a fairly challenging game, with it\'s various mazes and enemies. Unfortunately, the game tends to guide you by the hand FAR MORE OFTEN than the original. This game tells you where to go most of the time, where the original often had players wandering for hours trying to figure out what to do.

Overall: 4
This would have been a great port, provided they didn\'t change so darn much, and done something about the messed up scrolling and controls.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/03