Adventure Island
REDISCOVER RETRO GAMING - CLASSIC 8-BIT NINTENDO NES
NINTENDO NES
Game Title:Adventure Island
System:Nintendo NES
Players:1 Player
Genre:Platform
Developer(s):Hudson Soft/Escape
Release Date(s):1986 - JAP
1988 - US 1992 -EU |
Adventure Island, is a side-scrolling platform game produced by Hudson Soft that was released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System on September 1988 and in the PAL region in 1992 under the title of Adventure Island Classic.
Adventure Island is an adaptation of the arcade game Wonder Boy, originally published by Sega for developer Escape. Adventure Island was followed by a series of sequels that were independently developed by Hudson Soft for various platforms. You control a slightly short and plump little man, called Master Higgins, a young man who ventured to Adventure Island, after hearing that the Evil Witch Doctor kidnapped Princess Leilani. To rescue her, Higgins must survive a series of 32 game stages. There are eight worlds/area's, which are divided four stages each, which are further divided into four checkpoints. When you reach the fourth round of each area, you then confront a level boss at the end to continue to the next area. The game is completed when the player saves the girl after defeating the eighth and final form of the evil lord.
Master Higgins (the player character) loses a life whenever he touches an enemy, an enemy's attack or a fire roast, or when he falls into a hole or water. Also, the player also has a health gauge that starts out with 11 points, which gradually depletes over time or whenever Higgins trips on a rock in his path. When Higgins' health gauge reaches zero, he will lose a life. If Higgins still has extra lives left, he will revive at the last checkpoint he passed through. The game ends when all of Higgins' lives runs out. To replenish his health, Higgins can pick up numerous fruits, or milk bottle's on his path (his maximum health reaches up to 13 points). When your score reaches 50,000 points, 100,000 points, and 200,000 points, Higgins will receive an extra life. Finding a bee-like fairy known as Honey Girl will grant Higgins invincibility for fifteen seconds and allow him to kill enemies with a single touch.
Higgins starts off each life without the ability to attack and can only gain the ability to attack by picking up a stone axe, which can be found in specific spots in each stage. When Higgins is wielding the stone axe, he can trade it for magical fireballs that have longer range and are capable of destroying rocks and rolling stones. At the fourth round of each area, Higgins will confront a different form of the Evil Witch Doctor, the game's boss character. He has the ability to change his head by up to eight different types. Higgins must defeat him by striking his head a specific amount of times with his weapon. The number of hits required to defeat him increases with each area (his first form requires eight hits and every subsequent form requires two additional hits until the eighth and final form, which requires 22 hits). When the Evil Witch Doctor is defeated, he will change his head and escape to the next area. He uses the same attack in each form, with the only thing that changes besides his durability are his mobility speed and the speed of his fireball attacks. When Higgins defeats his final form, the Evil Witch Doctor will fall into a pit of doom, and the girl will be rescued. And the Verdict is...
Average!. The boss fights are fun, but that's about the only good thing I can say about it. The rest of the game is just an average side-scroller that tries in many ways to be like Super Mario Bros, but falls terribly short. |