The Law of the Claw! Before Man ruled the world there were the monsters of Etruria. One such beast Firebrand the Gargoyle. must act to restore the magic that quickly fades from the Ghoul Realm. Join him on his perilous journey as he looks for the origin of a mysterious dark beam of light. This epic quest features a hero with leathery wings and the claws of a lion. Breathe fire at hideous creatures that hunger for your essence. Dodge magical assaults. deadly traps and cunning opponents that will stop at nothing to protect their ghastly secret! See if you have what it takes to solve riddles while battling for your very life! -State-of-the-art Graphics with incredible Music and Sound! -Collect magical items to boost your awesome powers! -From the sensational hit that set the standard for Game Boy!
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This is a nice improvement over its predecessor, thanks to its better visuals and music, removal of random encounters, and other small quality-of-life features such as removing the command window, negating the need to have to select "Talk" from a menu to talk to NPCs or "Search" to get items. The overall gameplay remains fundamentally the same so if you enjoyed the first game then you'll like this one as well.
A prequel to the Gameboy hit. Pretty much plays the same as the original but even better due to the lack of screen crunch and no random overworld battles. The pacing in this game is one of the best for the NES. Highly recommended if you like NES era action platformers.
This review contains spoilers
I played this one after I didn't like the first one, in fact I already liked this one when I played it for the first time even though I didn't get very far, but now that I wanted to go deeper into this trilogy, I played this guy, what can I say? of this game? Well, it's much better than its predecessor, the graphics are still simple, but it has a charm that only the Nintendo 8-Bits can offer, I think it's even more beautiful than that mess on the Game Boy, the gameplay is the same, you has limited flight, you don't get money when you kill enemies, and you even get vials to exchange with NPCs to gain extra lives, the game has a bit of a Zelda 2 feel (but less boring), you have an RPG-style overworld mode like Final Fantasy , but when you go to a place or enter a palace or something, the screen changes to something more platform, and despite there being some really boring parts and some horrible bosses (cough cough Doppelgengar cough cough), I felt like I had more fun than The first one, of course, isn't perfect, not even remotely better than Demon's Crest, but I say it's worth it, you don't even need to play the first one to understand the second one and it's almost like it's a remake of it.
Esse é um jogo que me deixou muito na dúvida de qual nota dar neste site, 3 estrelas é pouco, 3,5 seria talvez demais, é um jogo um tanto quanto interessante para o nes, uma aventura em "mundo aberto" e as fases em 2d, pode imaginar algo parecido com zelda 2, apesar que este mundo aberto não se tem tanto o que fazer, mas as coisas são bem colocadas na gameplay, tem uma progressão legal, as fases 2d boas, com um level design um pouco punitivo mas que deixa aberto ir resolvendo as fases com os poderes que o jogador achar melhor, achei a dificuldade bem acima do possivel (santo save state), a história superficial mas okay, é um bom jogo da bilbioteca do nes, não envelheceu tão bem assim, mas caso curta jogos 8 bits esse pode ser uma pedida interessante.
While I do still question how the hell this spin-off even came into existence in the first place, the original Gargoyle’s Quest was a pretty fun and unique spin-off for the Ghosts ‘n Goblins franchise. The main side-scrolling stages were fun to traverse through, while challenging you all the way through, the upgrades you got throughout the game made it so that you felt like you were getting stronger as you kept going, and the combination of adventure and 2D platforming styles worked pretty well, even if there were definitely areas that could’ve been improved upon. Now, despite how this seemed like it would just be a one-off title, however, it did end up spawning its own short sub-series that would be released alongside the original titles, which would expand on the base gameplay and take Firebrand’s power to brand new heights!........ or at least, I assume that is what’s gonna happen as we move from the Game Boy to the NES with the second game, Gargoyle’s Quest II: The Demon Darkness.
When it comes to a video game’s sequel, there are two things that said sequel should set out to do. First, it should keep the gameplay pretty similar to the original, while also expanding on it by introducing new elements or challenges for the player to take on, and secondly, it should aim to fix the problems that the original game had to make a better experience. So, when discussing Gargoyle’s Quest II, I can safely confirm that it manages to do only one of these things. I mean, hey, at least that is better than other sequels that I have seen out there, which do neither. And hey, at the end of the day, I would consider Gargoyle’s Quest II to be an improvement over the original game, and a great game all on its own. It may be lacking in several areas, such as in terms of innovations for both story and gameplay, but it does manage to come out on top over the original when all elements are taken into account and compared.
The story is pretty simple, being a prequel to the original game, where Firebrand has to take down King Braeger and his army of monsters to stop them from taking over the Ghoul Realm, which is kind of a let down for a plot for a sequel, but again, story doesn’t really matter too much when it comes to NES games, the graphics are pretty good, having the distinct style and feel that you would expect from a Ghosts ‘n Goblins game, but it doesn’t really innovate anywhere or look as good as other games released at the time, the music is pretty good, having plenty of good tunes to listen to throughout the levels, but none of it really stuck out to me for me to remember it after my initial playthrough, the control is pretty much the same as the original game, with all of the same basic abilities at your disposal, and it all controls well enough, even if it can be a little finicky at times, and the gameplay remains true to what was presented in the original, and improves it in several areas… while also ignoring others.
The game, once again, contains two gameplay sections you will continuously swap between: the adventure sections and the platforming sections. The adventure sections work the same way as the original game, where you will take control of Firebrand, move around the overworld in a similar way to Final Fantasy, visit many towns, caves, and towers, talk to many citizens and kings to gather useful information and gain items, which you can use to help you progress through several areas of the game. Like with the original game, it mainly serves as a means of getting you from Point A to Point B a lot of the time, which does kinda suck, but thankfully, there are a little more exploration elements to be found in this title. Not to mention, they managed to fix one of my main complaints about these segments in the original game: the random battles. These were a complete waste of time in the original game, as not only were they usually the same battles every time, but they also gave you nothing for doing them. In this game though, there are now no more random battle at all, but instead, you can talk to certain people on the overworld that will initiate these fights, which if you ask me, is a much better way of handling these encounters.
The platforming sections also work almost identically to the original game, where you will take on plenty of stages varying in shape, size, and challenge, use your powers to fly across large gaps, cling onto walls, and take out the many ghoulish foes that you will encounter, gather plenty of vials and hearts to help you out along your journey, and take on plenty of bosses that will either put up quite the fight and test the limits of your platforming skills, or will be piss easy and go down pretty quickly. It all works practically the same as the original game in many different areas, but it is still fun a lot of the time, and satisfying to take down a lot of the changes faced before you. In addition, the upgrades that you do get throughout the game make these levels much more fun to go through as well, throwing new types of obstacles at you along the way.
With all that being said though, there is one big problem that I have with this game in general: the lack of innovation or change. Now, trust me, I don’t ask for too much when it comes to video game sequels (I am a Mega Man fanatic, after all), but the least I expect is some kind of of changes or new additions to what was there previously, such as with new types of stages, new powers to use, or new gimmicks thrown in that other games have done. However, with this game, there is little to no changes thrown in whatsoever, making it feel like I am just playing an upgraded port of the original game at times. The only new additions to the game that I could find was, again, the lack of random battles, as well as one new ability that allows you to make platforms for yourself…. that’s it. Aside from that, there aren’t really any other problems I have with the game as a whole, aside from some instances of poor design being present throughout.
Overall, despite a severe lack of innovation, this is still a good enough sequel to the original game, and a great game in general, one that I would say is an improvement over the original game in several areas. I would recommend it for those who were big fans of the original game, as well as those who are big fans of the Ghosts ‘n Goblins franchise as a whole, because it is worth at least checking out for a little bit. Although, don’t expect to find any huge changes in there, or else you may find yourself disappointed in the final product. And before we end this off, I just wanna say how I love that these games portray Firebrand as being the chosen one and a great hero, even though this is also the same fucker that caused many of my deaths in the main Ghosts ‘n Goblins games, and I guarantee he was the main cause of death for many others as well. Great hero or not, he can fuck all the way off for all I care.
Game #398
When it comes to a video game’s sequel, there are two things that said sequel should set out to do. First, it should keep the gameplay pretty similar to the original, while also expanding on it by introducing new elements or challenges for the player to take on, and secondly, it should aim to fix the problems that the original game had to make a better experience. So, when discussing Gargoyle’s Quest II, I can safely confirm that it manages to do only one of these things. I mean, hey, at least that is better than other sequels that I have seen out there, which do neither. And hey, at the end of the day, I would consider Gargoyle’s Quest II to be an improvement over the original game, and a great game all on its own. It may be lacking in several areas, such as in terms of innovations for both story and gameplay, but it does manage to come out on top over the original when all elements are taken into account and compared.
The story is pretty simple, being a prequel to the original game, where Firebrand has to take down King Braeger and his army of monsters to stop them from taking over the Ghoul Realm, which is kind of a let down for a plot for a sequel, but again, story doesn’t really matter too much when it comes to NES games, the graphics are pretty good, having the distinct style and feel that you would expect from a Ghosts ‘n Goblins game, but it doesn’t really innovate anywhere or look as good as other games released at the time, the music is pretty good, having plenty of good tunes to listen to throughout the levels, but none of it really stuck out to me for me to remember it after my initial playthrough, the control is pretty much the same as the original game, with all of the same basic abilities at your disposal, and it all controls well enough, even if it can be a little finicky at times, and the gameplay remains true to what was presented in the original, and improves it in several areas… while also ignoring others.
The game, once again, contains two gameplay sections you will continuously swap between: the adventure sections and the platforming sections. The adventure sections work the same way as the original game, where you will take control of Firebrand, move around the overworld in a similar way to Final Fantasy, visit many towns, caves, and towers, talk to many citizens and kings to gather useful information and gain items, which you can use to help you progress through several areas of the game. Like with the original game, it mainly serves as a means of getting you from Point A to Point B a lot of the time, which does kinda suck, but thankfully, there are a little more exploration elements to be found in this title. Not to mention, they managed to fix one of my main complaints about these segments in the original game: the random battles. These were a complete waste of time in the original game, as not only were they usually the same battles every time, but they also gave you nothing for doing them. In this game though, there are now no more random battle at all, but instead, you can talk to certain people on the overworld that will initiate these fights, which if you ask me, is a much better way of handling these encounters.
The platforming sections also work almost identically to the original game, where you will take on plenty of stages varying in shape, size, and challenge, use your powers to fly across large gaps, cling onto walls, and take out the many ghoulish foes that you will encounter, gather plenty of vials and hearts to help you out along your journey, and take on plenty of bosses that will either put up quite the fight and test the limits of your platforming skills, or will be piss easy and go down pretty quickly. It all works practically the same as the original game in many different areas, but it is still fun a lot of the time, and satisfying to take down a lot of the changes faced before you. In addition, the upgrades that you do get throughout the game make these levels much more fun to go through as well, throwing new types of obstacles at you along the way.
With all that being said though, there is one big problem that I have with this game in general: the lack of innovation or change. Now, trust me, I don’t ask for too much when it comes to video game sequels (I am a Mega Man fanatic, after all), but the least I expect is some kind of of changes or new additions to what was there previously, such as with new types of stages, new powers to use, or new gimmicks thrown in that other games have done. However, with this game, there is little to no changes thrown in whatsoever, making it feel like I am just playing an upgraded port of the original game at times. The only new additions to the game that I could find was, again, the lack of random battles, as well as one new ability that allows you to make platforms for yourself…. that’s it. Aside from that, there aren’t really any other problems I have with the game as a whole, aside from some instances of poor design being present throughout.
Overall, despite a severe lack of innovation, this is still a good enough sequel to the original game, and a great game in general, one that I would say is an improvement over the original game in several areas. I would recommend it for those who were big fans of the original game, as well as those who are big fans of the Ghosts ‘n Goblins franchise as a whole, because it is worth at least checking out for a little bit. Although, don’t expect to find any huge changes in there, or else you may find yourself disappointed in the final product. And before we end this off, I just wanna say how I love that these games portray Firebrand as being the chosen one and a great hero, even though this is also the same fucker that caused many of my deaths in the main Ghosts ‘n Goblins games, and I guarantee he was the main cause of death for many others as well. Great hero or not, he can fuck all the way off for all I care.
Game #398
I'm kinda blown away I hadn't played this before.
I loved Demon's Crest when I played it a few years ago, but this game may actually be a tighter expierence.
The platforming is so deliberate and satisfying. Whenever you have to make a precise jump with your flying ability, it feels amazing. The way they utilize the vertical space in their levels is genius.
The abilities you get all feel really useful actually. Even the last blob orb thing you get, despite it only being used on the final stage, is one of the most memorable abilities you get.
The boss fights are a little easy, but pretty satisfying to calculate that vertical angle, and just wail on.
I think the dicest part of the expierence was the overworld RPG stuff. I kinda winced when I started the game and saw this, but I wasn't too annoyed with it. It really doesn't add much to expierence besides some padding and really uneeded world-building, if I'm being honest. But pretty inoffensive. I ended up using a Youtube playthrough a few times just to alleviate some wondering around, since it's "hints" on how to proceed aren't exactly spelling it out for you somtimes.
But I didn't feel too bad about it, since the platforming was what I was mainly here for.
The music and ESPECIALLY its visuals are so good.
Seriously this is probably the slickest looking NES game I've ever seen. Firebrands sprite looks incredible. Would have throught this was a Genesis game if you showed me a screenshot.
Overall; i love this game. Easily up there with some of my favorite NES games like Blaster Master and Mega Man 6.
I guess I'm playing this backwards, so I'll be sure to try the original when I get a chance.
I loved Demon's Crest when I played it a few years ago, but this game may actually be a tighter expierence.
The platforming is so deliberate and satisfying. Whenever you have to make a precise jump with your flying ability, it feels amazing. The way they utilize the vertical space in their levels is genius.
The abilities you get all feel really useful actually. Even the last blob orb thing you get, despite it only being used on the final stage, is one of the most memorable abilities you get.
The boss fights are a little easy, but pretty satisfying to calculate that vertical angle, and just wail on.
I think the dicest part of the expierence was the overworld RPG stuff. I kinda winced when I started the game and saw this, but I wasn't too annoyed with it. It really doesn't add much to expierence besides some padding and really uneeded world-building, if I'm being honest. But pretty inoffensive. I ended up using a Youtube playthrough a few times just to alleviate some wondering around, since it's "hints" on how to proceed aren't exactly spelling it out for you somtimes.
But I didn't feel too bad about it, since the platforming was what I was mainly here for.
The music and ESPECIALLY its visuals are so good.
Seriously this is probably the slickest looking NES game I've ever seen. Firebrands sprite looks incredible. Would have throught this was a Genesis game if you showed me a screenshot.
Overall; i love this game. Easily up there with some of my favorite NES games like Blaster Master and Mega Man 6.
I guess I'm playing this backwards, so I'll be sure to try the original when I get a chance.