El Viento

Overview

El Viento is a game developed by Wolf Team for the Genesis/Mega Drive in the early 90s. It frequently attempts to emulate the appearance of the Super Famicom's Mode 7 graphics, and is a fairly high-speed action game for the era. The game presents its story in the form of cut-scenes between stages.

The game is a sequel to Earnest Evans, despite being released slightly earlier, and the second part of a trilogy of games that also includes Anett Futatabi.

When released Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded it scores of 8,8,7,8 calling the game, "one of the greatest combinations of hot graphics and play action".

Gameplay

The heroine, Annet, is controlled with the D-pad. The A button is used to attack with a boomerang, the B button is used to jump, and the C button is used to cast spells. Annet can also dash quickly by holding down on the D-pad and pressing the jump button.

Annet has a variety of spells and tools at her disposal.

Spells

Spells consume Annet's MP bar. If Annet takes a break from using spells, her MP bar refills over time. Spells are used by pressing and holding the magic button (C). The longer the button is held, the higher the level fo the resulting spell.

• Fireball: The weakest spell, Annet begins with this. A simple fireball projectile which can be fired fairly rapidly. It is stronger than the basic boomerang attack.
• Water current: The second spell. It isn't any stronger than the fireball, but it "flows" forwards and downwards, and consequently take out multiple enemies or enemies in odd positions.
• Explosion: A powerful explosive spell which costs a lot of MP to cast.
• Wind Cutter: A very powerful spell that covers a wide area.
• Homing beam: The final spell obtained, this makes Annet fire a stream of beams from her for a period of time that target enemies.

Other Items

• Healing potion: These restore Annet's life.
• Extra boomerang: Allows Annet to throw an additional boomerang, allowing for even faster attacking.
• Magic stones: These reduce the damage Annet takes for a limited period.

Story

In the year 1928 an evil cult calling itself the "Hastur Group" is attempting to summon the Lovecraftian deity Hastur to Earth. They intend to sacrifice a young woman, Restiana, to achieve this, and have secretly pushed to have the Empire State Building constructed for use as a temple to accomplish this dark goal. Annet, who shares the blood of Hastur, will put a stop to all of this!

Characters

Annet: Originally from Peru, Annet is a 17 year old girl who was brought up in a village that worshiped Hastur. She was found and rescued by Earnest Evans and is devoted to him. She shares the blood of Hastur, granting her magical abilities. She is apparently shy around strangers.

Earnest Evans: A handsome, 31 year old archaeologist who stopped the Hastur group from summoning Hastur and rescued Annet in Peru. He adopted Annet, and she seemingly has a crush on him. He possesses a PHD in archaeology, and is obviously a homage to Harrison Ford's character Indiana Jones.

Zigfried: An ex-German national who is an informant on the Hastur group's doings for Annet and Earnest. He had been a close associate of Al Capone's. There is something deeply suspicious about him.

Restiana: A 17 year old girl who also shares the blood of Hastur, she is from the same village as Annet and is her rival. The group intends to sacrifice her, but they have lied to her and said she will become extremely powerful during the ritual. She doesn't particularly care, as she is trying to summon Hastur on her own, without them.

Henry: The leader of the Hastur group, he is 52 years old. He is so dedicated to his cause and has done so many cruel things that he has virtually lost his humanity.

Al Capone: Alphonse Gabriel Capone, the infamous gangster responsible for the Saint Valentine's Day massacre. He has been bribed to assist the Hastur group and has lobbied for the Empire State Building to be constructed. However, he turns on them and assists Annet and Earnest. Apparently he was known as "Snorky" to his closest friends. For some reason he was renamed "Vincente DeMarco" in the North American release.

Hastur: The "Unspeakable One" dwells in the star Aldebaran. It is a god associated with wind on Earth, and while it is beyond such simple concepts as good and evil, its actions generally seem evil to humans.

Stages

Stage 1: The slums of New York city! Large numbers of mafia hit men attack Annet constantly. The mafia fields a surprisingly advanced tank as the stage boss.

Stage 2: A strange valley with amusement-park like devices, apparently in South Dakota. Annet encounters and fights Restiana here.

Stage 3: Anett starts in a liquor bootlegging operation and then enters the sewers. Silly looking giant mice and slimes swarm down there! The sewers eventually lead to a cave inhabited by club-tossing troglodytes, giant insects, and water dragons. Here Annet learns the water current spell; it is necessary to advance. The boss is a gelatinous cube.

Stage 4: Annet rides the back of a dolphin to a ship waiting offshore, encountering horrible avatars of Cthulhu en route. The ship's maze-like interior is covered in spikes, and strange creatures hide in the ship. Annet finds the wind cutter here. The boss is a strange electric life form resembling some kind fibrous mass.

Stage 5: Thanks to info from Al Capone, Annet heads to a temple to Hastur near the grand canyon. Various demonic creatures roam this place, and most of the statues seem to be traps. Annet finds the spell Explosion here. The boss is a foul, bubbling blue slime.

Stage 6: An automobile factory in Detroit. Conveyor belts and other obstacles get in the way here. The boss appears to be a Mi-go, aka a "fungi from yuggoth", a race of extraterrestrial creatures from H.P. Lovecraft's writings; it plays a deadly variation of "the shell game", hiding in metal crates.

Stage 7: An airship controlled by the Hastur group. Get inside and destroy its power source! Short and sweet.

Stage 8: Return to New York! Annet must scale the Empire State Building, which is still under construction, to stop Henry from performing the ritual to summon Hastur. Of course, the building is now crawling with various demons, such a spear-wielding snake men. Annet arrives too late, however, and must do battle with Hastur itself! Is Annet strong enough to defeat a Great Old One?