Wizards & Warriors is one of my favorite game series ever. It's too bad that it never made it past NES era. (except for having a game on gameboy)
I guess Wizards & Warriors are one of Rare's more rare(heh) gems. It's buried and forgotten and probably unknown by todays videogame generation. But I also think this is Rare's most solid series when it comes to gameplay. All four games are fun to play and each of them are different.
You are the knight Kuros with the story of saving ladies and killing the evil wizard Malkil. In the first game you're suppose to collect gems and keys in order to progress to an end boss. During your quest you find treasure chests with various ablities and weapons. When you get game over you have the option to continue from the start of the level. W & W has some very cool platforming levels and does an excellent job of setting the mood. Your travel through forests, caves etc Later in the game you're at a giantic castle and that level is absolutely huge as you can climb to the top and fall for a very long time until you reach the bottom. Rare definitely set the standard for level design on the NES. For 1987 this game looks good.
Wizards & Warriors II - Ironswordin 1989 your favorite knight Kuros was back once again. The basics are the same but some things are different. You can now enter a tavern to buy things and gamble in a minigame. You're still getting stuff from treasure chests, but each level has an objective, like finding an artifact for an animal. You're also collecting pieces of the legendary ironsword. You'll gain a piece after each stage.
The levels are even more detailed and larger. When you climb a mountain in this game, it really feels like you're doing so too. Evil wizard Malkil is back and has taken control over the elements wind, water, fire and earth. The game is not as difficult as the first one, but you now only have 2 continues to make it to the end. For many gamers Ironsword is the high point of the series as it basically does everything better than the first one.
Wizards & Warriors X - Fortress of FearReleased in 1990, this is a sidegame in the series for Nintendos new handheld gameboy. It's more like the first game and you must collect keys to unlock doors. The game is level based but you can warp to different levels by unlocking secret doors. This is by far the hardest game in the series as the enemies and bosses are pretty insane. It's a good game but the weakest in the series, but still worth playing if you're a fan of a W&W.
Wizards & Warriors III - Kuros: Visions of PowerWizards & Warriors III released as late as 1992 is the last chapter of the Wizards and Warriors franchise. The series died with this game and it is a shame because imo this is the best game. Kuros is back once again but now the game is a lot different from its predecessors.
This time there is a hub world and you can access the other areas through-out the whole game. In order to do so, Kuros has to expand to becoming a thief and a wizard. In the game you collect statues, with these you bring to a hidden place and take a trial to become etc a better knight. Each class (knight, thief, wizard) has different ranks, and your goal is to become the best rank of each class. When you advances, your character get better abilities. You start in a main town and make your way through different areas like castles, underground caves etc. The game still focus on platforming but now exploration and backstracking are fundamental as well with adventure-like elements. Malkil is back once again and this time you have no continues at all. When you're out of lives; it's game over.
Other Wizards & Warriors references.-In an old Nintendo magazine I have, it states that Wizards & Warriors IV has been announced for Super NES. I wonder what happened
-Wizards & Warriors and Malkil makes an appearance in a Captain N cartoon episode.
I wish Kuros would make a comeback on 360, but I guess Rare is too incompetent these days.
