p800207

Released a couple of years after the success of the original Gargoyle's Quest on the Game Boy, Gargoyle's Quest II boasts some great level-design and great music. As one of the later generation games for the NES GQ II is a very good and well designed game. You star as Firebrand to save the Demon's realm from total domination of the evil Demon king. You travel through the vastness of the realm collecting items and gaining in strength before you can challenge the demon king. Followed by Demon's Crest (1994) on the SNES, which is still today a masterpiece for the SNES.

Total rating: 7/10

Gyromite was released back in 1985. Together with Stackup they were the only games especially designed for the legendary NES robot R.O.B. (which stands for Robotic Operation Buddy). R.O.B. wasn't a success, due to very slow arm movements and a lack of games. Gyromite however remains a cute little game, more than 20 years later. With the first NEScontroller you control the scientist who has to find dynamite hidden in his laboratory. If you don't succeed his laboratory will be blown up. On his way the scientist (who looks remarkably like Dr. Wily!) encounters some foes, one touch with these creatures is lethal. To make things worse your path to find the dynamite is blocked. This is where R.O.B. shows up. R.O.B. will help (using controller 2) you be lifting poles so you can continue your way. The game boasts 40 levels in A mode and some more levels B mode. Using R.O.B. can be quite annoying since he is extremely slow, seeing him work is quite nice to see though. I recommend playing it with a friend. You'll find a lot of fun that way, since squashing your friend is without a doubt very funny!

Overall rating: 7/10

After the success of the original Wizards & Warriors which was released in 1987, Rare/Acclaim released a sequel within a year. Although some elements remained the same in this game, the game overall is a let-down compared to it's superb predecessor. Malkil survived the attack of Kuros and now returns. He has gained control of the four natural elements and pits them against Kuros. It is up to you as Kuros to defy the four elements of nature, earth, wind, fire and water and defeat Malkil once again. Use your weapons and familiars well, you'll need them! This game has a great finale on top of the mountain. You'll need all your skills to defeat four bosses at the same time! Although not as great as its predecessor it still is a great game and has some very nice music. Followed by Wizards & Warriors III, Silversword (1991)

Final rating: 7/10