Wizards & Warriors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the TV series, see Wizards and Warriors (TV series).
- For the Heuristic Park game by D.W.Bradley, creator of several games in the Wizardry series, please see the official page at Heuristic Park.
| Wizards & Warriors | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Rare Ltd. |
| Publisher(s) | Acclaim (North America, Europe) Jaleco (Japan) |
| Platform(s) | Famicom/NES |
| Release date | NA December 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media | 1-megabit cartridge |
| Input methods | NES controller |
Wizards & Warriors is the first video game in the trilogy of the same name, developed by Rare and released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States in 1987 by Acclaim. A Japanese release by Jaleco followed in 1988, for which the game title was changed to 伝説の騎士エルロンド (Densetsu no Kishi Elrond), and in 1990 the game was released in Europe. The game's hero, Kuros, must fight his way through eight areas of the Kingdom of Elrond in order to save the kingdom's princess, who has been kidnapped by the evil wizard Malkil.
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[edit] Gameplay
The objective of most of the levels is to rescue all the Damsels (princesses) in distress. To get to the princess on each level, Kuros must collect a certain number of gems in order to get past an invincible guard on the level. Once he has enough gems to bribe the guard, Kuros faces the level's boss. After the boss is defeated, Kuros frees the princess.
By defeating enemies and opening treasure chests throughout the levels, Kuros may pick up items to aid him in his quest. Kuros may find Potions, Food (healing items), extra weapons, and other Tools. Although the game is considered to be quite challenging, the player is aided with unlimited continues with the only penalty being that the score is reset to 0.
[edit] Kuros
The protagonist of the series, Kuros, is typically dressed in full platemail, and carries a sword or axe, and a shield. In Ironsword, the entire game was focused on acquiring pieces of a large two-handed sword called the Ironsword. Ironsword also allowed Kuros to change his appearance via helmets and weapons. Kuros had to defeat a manifestation of each of the four elements (Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water) to acquire the pieces, and then use the sword on Icefire Mountain to defeat the elements again to thwart Malkil.
In Kuros: Visions of Power, Kuros starts multiclassing, and after passing certain trials, he can change into a thief or a wizard. Each of his three classes (Knight, Thief, and Wizard) have three modes, each of which with different capabilities. Using all of these abilities, Kuros had to rescue the imprisoned princesses, collect the royal jewels to open the secret door into the castle, and confront his archenemy Malkil, who was posing as the King.
After Malkil's defeat in Kuros: Visions of Power, Malkil cast one final spell that sent Kuros hurtling forward in time.
Although he is typically dressed in full platemail in the games, the box art for all four games depicts a Conan the Barbarian-like character (portrayed by the male model Fabio on the second game cover). It was this depiction of Kuros that apparently his character was based on for the show the Power Team, a cartoon segment of the TV show Video Power.
[edit] Series history
- Wizards & Warriors is a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1987.
- Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II is a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1989.
- Wizards & Warriors Chapter X: The Fortress of Fear is a game for the Game Boy. Released in 1990.
- Wizards and Warriors III - Kuros: Visions of Power is a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Released in 1992.
[edit] Other media
[edit] Television
Malkil appeared in an episode of Captain N: The Game Master called "Nightmare on Mother Brain's Street", though here the world of the game was referred to as "Excalibur" and not the Kingdom of Elrond. Kuros also starred in the cartoon Power Team, where Malkil also appeared. Kuros' appearance was modeled after the cover art from the games (as a half-naked barbarian, rather than the fully-armored knight he appears as in the games), giving him a strong resemblance to He-Man.
[edit] Novelization
Wizards and Warriors was adapted into a book in the Worlds of Power series of novels for children. A boy named Matthew who's having trouble using his imagination for a creative writing class accidentally brings his father's knight figurine to life. He is then spirited away to the land of Elrond to help Kuros defeat the evil wizard Malkil. One notable change was that in the book, all of the creatures that they killed were made from the lives of the people of Elrond. Thus, whenever a creature was slain, a person was returned to their normal state. Also along the way, they save Kuros sister in the pink caves. While Matthew was invulnerable at the start of the mission, as the two drew closer to the evil wizard, he became more vulnerable to the attacks of Malkils villains.
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