Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
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| Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole | |
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| Developer(s) | Climax Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Mega Drive/Genesis, Virtual Console |
| Release date | JP October 30, 1992 NA 1993 EU October 1993 |
| Genre(s) | Action-RPG/Action-adventure game/Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) (VC) |
| Media | 16-megabit cartridge |
| Input methods | Game controller |
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole is an action role-playing game that was developed by Climax Entertainment originally for the Mega Drive/Genesis. A follow up game called Lady Stalker was released in Japan for the SNES in 1995. The Sega Saturn game Dark Savior (produced by the same company) is considered its spiritual successor. The main characters from Landstalker, Nigel (Lyle in Japan and France, Niels in Germany) and Friday, reappear in the Dreamcast game Time Stalkers.
In 2005, it was announced that Landstalker will be remade for the PlayStation Portable. The release date is TBA for 2008. This game was added to the Wii's Virtual Console in North America on September 3, 2007, and in Europe on October 5, 2007.
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[edit] Gameplay
The player, as Nigel the treasure hunter, is tasked with searching for clues that lead to the treasure of King Nole. This is accomplished primarily by travelling through both outdoor areas and dungeons. All gameplay takes place in an isometric view, including plot-advancing scenes.
From the outset of the game, Nigel may walk, jump, swing his sword, talk to various non-player characters, and pick up and throw various objects. With very few exceptions, these basic actions do not change throughout the game, although Nigel's weapons and armor may be replaced with better versions thereof. There are a variety of items throughout the game, most of which are either restorative in nature or important to advancing the plot or solving puzzles.
The game's dungeons are filled with monsters, puzzles, and traps that require the player to jump from platform to platform. Locked doors inhibit the player's progress, and keys must be found to unlock them. The player has health which is kept track of by hearts; health and the maximum health limit may be increased with items purchased in towns or found in dungeons. The player is not prevented from revisiting old towns and dungeons, and is frequently required to do so to advance the plot.
 Title Screen |
[edit] Plot
Nigel, a treasure hunter who is far older than he appears, is accosted by a wood nymph named Friday. She explains that she is being chased by three persistent yet bumbling thieves named Kayla, Ink, and Wally because she knows the location of the legendary treasure of King Nole. Once Nigel spends most of his money on a bird to carry him to the island Friday admits that while she doesn't know the exact location of the treasure she "has a feeling" where it is. Nigel and Friday's adventuring together starts them through a dungeon until they fall into a river and end up in the care of the red-furred bear-people of Massan. When Nigel awakes, he finds his way to the neighboring village of Gumi, where the yellow-furred bear-people are ready to sacrifice the daughter of Massan's leader, Fara. Nigel follows the crazed tribe into their shrine and breaks them of their curse, freeing Fara and earning the respect of both tribes and a clue to help him to the treasure.
Nigel and Friday travel westward until they come to the lighthouse town of Rumya which has been attacked by thieves. Nigel goes to the thieves' cave and rescues the mayor and some other men who have been kidnapped, he also finds a lithograph of a dragon, which Friday tells him is a clue to the treasure. Before he can leave, Kayla, Ink, and Wally show up and hold Friday hostage until Nigel hands them the lithograph.
Nigel's heroics earn him a place in the court of Duke Mercator who orders him to go and defeat an old wizard, Mir, who is locked in a tower nearby and who has been terrorizing the town and extorting the Duke. Nigel braves a crypt and the wizard's tower and faces him in single combat. Defeated, Mir confesses all he knows about King Nole's treasure and then explains that the Duke had been using him as a scapegoat for years. Nigel returns to the Duke and is about ready to confront him when he is tossed into a dungeon. While imprisoned he finds out that the princess of Maple, his home country, who had been a guest at the castle, has been taken away by the Duke's dragon-like henchman, Zak. He manages to escape to find the castle knights in open revolt and ships stuck in the harbour because the magical lighthouse in Rumya is broken. Nigel saves Arthur, the Duke's general, and is rewarded with the key to the Greenmaze, where the Duke has hidden the Sunstone, the gem that powers Rumya's lighthouse.
Nigel navigates the maze despite the best efforts of troublesome gnomes and restores the lighthouse. He then takes a ship to pursue the Duke. He makes landing up the coast of the island at Verla, which has practically become a ghost town. The Duke had enslaved the population of the town and forced them to work in nearby mines searching for a legendary treasure. Nigel frees the townspeople and they give him a legendary sword they found but had hidden from the Duke. Nigel continues through the mine to find the Duke sailing, via rafts, across a river to an island temple. Nigel finds a way over and navigates through the labyrinth to fight the Duke but is caught off-guard by Zak. Nigel is teleported to safety by Mir, before the Duke and Zak can finish him off, who proceeds to give Nigel some more information about King Nole's treasure. Mir then casts a spell on Nigel which allows him to cut down trees with a single swing of his sword.
Nigel retakes his sword in hand and Friday leads him up through mountains to get to the entrance to the underground dungeon where King Nole hid his treasure. They encounter Zak again who has decided that while he doesn't like working for the Duke any longer he still wants to face Nigel one on one. After Nigel proves his superiority, Zak gives Nigel something he stole from the Duke that will allow Nigel to enter the underground. Zak departs defeated.
Nigel finds himself back at the same cave he started in, this time filled with monsters but no traps. He gets to the Duke just as he uses the Princess to open the gate between the above and below worlds. Nigel charges through into the center of the island and into King Nole's labyrinth, a massive confusing dungeon guarding King Nole's palace. After making it through the labyrinth and the palace, Nigel makes it to the room which held the treasure. After all the challenges so far, things are not quite finished for King Nole's restless Spirit attacks Nigel but Nigel makes quick work of him. The Duke then shows up and as he thanks Nigel for doing the dirty work for him, Gola, the Dragon God that King Nole worshipped, burns him alive.
Nigel fights Gola using all of his strength and cunning, and when the beast is finally vanquished, the treasure is his. With vast sums of gold under his control he decides that rather than retire he and Friday will continue their adventures.
[edit] Localization changes
- The Japanese version is region free unlike the North American and European versions.
- “Madam Yards Studio” (brothel) was renamed to “Ballet Studio” for NA and European territories.[citation needed]
