Willow

Some of you may notice I have sort of an 80's theme to my decor and that's because some of the best stuff was made in the 80s. For example, I was made in the 80s, and so were most of my favorite films. For example, Willow.

Now Willow is a film that doesn't get a lot of love but if you ask me, there's no good reason for why. If you really step back and analyze it, it's has all the ingredients of the perfect fantasy film. This isn't sarcasm; I really do feel this way about the film and I can back up my statement with a carefully constructed argument if I really wanted to.

But this review isn't about Willow the film. No this review is about Willow the action rpg game so let's dive in!

Willow for the NES was developed by Capcom and released in 1989. The game has very, very little to do with the film and it kinda seems like the game wasn't originally intended to be based on Willow. Either that or someone at Capcom decided they didn't like Willow and they would make their own story. A story involving badger people and eagle men, neither of which were in the movie. I swear the writer had a furry fetish.

As explained by the intro, the plot of the game is that there are two spirits and they both sent their messengers to bring peace to the world . One of the messengers is Bavmorda, and the other is Fin Razial. Bavmorda obviously starts spreading wickedness around the world and a prophecy is made that says a hero will rise up and defeat her. The hero happens to be Willow.

Mind you, there are characters from the film in this game but they have different roles and you encounter them in different situations. There is also a host of brand new characters such as this talking skunk and this eagle man dude.

The creative licensing is mostly forgivable because Willow is a pretty decent action RPG for its time, but still, there is some weird shit going on in this game.

First off, look at the graphics. On the one hand the level design is pretty impressive for a NES game and the artists have gone the extra mile to animate the grass during a battle. However, look at Willow; he looks like a Mr. Potato Head doll! But during the cutscenes his sprite changes and looks like like a Ys game; why couldn't they have just used that sprite for the regular gameplay? I don't understand what the hell is going on.

  The game is somewhat of a cross between a Ys game and Zelda, although Willow had some unique elements of its own. For example, how fast you can swing a specific sword depends on your level. you start out swinging very slowly but eventually you can turn into a little buzzsaw and cut down pretty much every enemy in the game. 

And boy are there enemies; slimes, floating skulls, giant snakeman things, winged dalmatians, those damn rat dogs from the movie, skeleton knights, and trolls.  

Willow has access to magic via items he acquires; there are the magic acorns from the film that turn enemies to stone, but Willow can also bust out fireballs, throw lightning bolts and use a healmace to recover his HP. 

I think it's worth pointing out the graphics and music are pretty good for an NES game, especially when you look at the grass moving during a battle. The only big criticism I have in this area is how goddamn annoying the village music gets if you get lost in a town. The villages also a'bit larger than they should be, especially given most town areas have nothing in them. Also, the graphics of your swords and shields in the inventory menu don't match the graphics when you actually equip them, which is kinda sucky. 

Something I feel I should comment on is how this game seems to have inspired a few things that later appeared in Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Willow, for example, swings his sword in a circular fashion. Willow also obtains an oricana that allows him to summon a dinosaur to warp him around the overworld map. Now I don't have any proof that Willow inspired these elements in A Link to the Past but the simplest answer is usually the correct one. 

As a kid, I never beat this game. I loved it and rented it often, but I found it too damn hard. Now as an adult, I'm tackling it again and this time Bavmorda is going down!