Wizards & Warriors

Overview

Wizards & Warriors, developed by Rare, was released in December of 1987 for the NES. The game stars Kuros, a powerful knight who enters the woods of Elrond in a quest to defeat the wizard Malkil. The game is depicted in 2D but has an open-world aspect to it, requiring that Kuros find a sufficient number of coins throughout the stage in order to proceed to the next. He can also acquire equipment that provides permanent boosts to various stats by finding the right keys and chests.

The game was followed by two sequels for the NES: 1989's Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II and 1992's Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros Visions of Power.

Story

Legend says that a powerful wizard named Malkil has has gone completely mad during his years and turned his powerful magic to the dark side. Malkil has his base in Castle IronSpire where he has imprisoned a young and beautiful princess.

It is up to the brave knight Kuros to save the princess and defeat Malkil once and for all. In order to do this, Kuros must make his way through 8 unique levels, while collecting items and defeating enemies along the way.

Gameplay

While the eight main levels must be tackled linearly, the gameplay within them is more open-ended. The primary goal in each level is to collect enough gems to bribe the guardian knight, a mysterious character who guards the entrance to the next area. Gems can be found within treasure chests or items, hidden within secret areas, or just lying on the ground. Occasionally, gems also appear upon defeating enemies. Once enough gems have been collected, the guardian knight allows passage to the exit, where Kuros must defeat a deadly boss enemy to complete the level.

In order to collect enough gems to pass the guardian, Kuros must find and use a number of special items, the most important of which are the three keys hidden within each level. These color-coded keys (blue, pink, and red) correspond to doors and treasure chests of the same color. Finding one key usually opens a door that leads to the next, and so on. By the time all three keys are collected, Kuros usually has enough gems to clear the level. Keys cannot be carried from one area to the next, so the process begins anew with each new level.

There are also a number of items available which bestow special abilities to Kuros. These special items are hidden away in treasure chests, and unlike keys, can be retained permanently. Examples of these items are the Dagger of Throwing and the Battle Axe of Agor, which add long-range attacks to Kuros' arsenal; the Potion of Levitation and Feather of Feather Fall, which greatly bolster his jumping and falling actions, respectively; and the Wand of Wonder and Staff of Power, which grant the ability to perform special magical attacks. In addition to these, there are also a number of other unique items hidden away with the game.

While platforming elements play a huge role in gameplay, Kuros must also contend with a whole bestiary of relentless foes. In fact, the attacks come so often, there is almost never a single moment throughout the course of the entire game in which Kuros is not defending himself. In most games, this constant onslaught would be cause for great frustration. And in fact, Wizards & Warriors would very likely not be remembered fondly by anyone if not for one merciful feature - the inclusion of infinite "continues". Any time Kuros loses his last life, the game can be continued from that exact spot. The only repercussion is a loss of points - everything else in his arsenal (keys, gems, items) is retained. Run-of-the-mill by today's standards, but in the NES era it was a godsend to gamers who were likely all too familiar with the dreaded "game over" screen.

Legacy

Wizards & Warriors is acclaimed for its atmospheric soundtrack. The title screen tune sets the tone with its appropriately medieval flair, but the soundtrack also includes a number of other memorable melodies, each of which has its own unique mood and feel.

Despite its generic premise and over-the-top box art, Wizards & Warriors actually proved to be successful enough to warrant two NES sequels: Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II (1989) and Wizards and Warriors III - Kuros: Visions of Power (1992), as well as one Game Boy sequel: Wizards and Warrios X: The Fortress of Fear.