Wizards & Warriors

I was just playing IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II, go to 4chan and see this

It comes up basically every time we have an ARPG thread or that chestnut "What is the retro equivalent of Dark Souls" but although I played the first game incessantly back in the day even more than Faxanadu or Zelda 2 (it was easier/shorter) when you look back at it, it was really only a B+ game to start with and the series is one of those sad ones where every game is progressively worse.

One of the big problems with the series I think is that your character starts out too weak. You get weapon upgrades fairly early on, but most people drop the game when they're retardedly flopping into enemies hoping their sword connects.

What is this?

>try to play 2
>forget what I'm supposed to remember
>get the cloak of invisibility
>have to start over
>give up for another few years
>repeat

>>3914501
>get the cloak of invisibility

You're thinking of the first game. And I'm pretty sure that treasure is either non-functional, or has such a niche use that it might as well have been scrapped.

ironsword is a pretty good game. it has its issues, hit detection can be wonky, but it's worth playing through. the spells make things more interesting, and I like the overall vibe. I've beaten the final boss but it's genuinely hard.

w&w 3 had good ideas, but the execution was lacking. I like the whole concept of switching between classes, the guilds were challenging (especially the last wizard test, holy shit). that song on the way to malkil really builds suspense. however, the overworld is really big and empty, and it feels kind of pointless without more content. I'd recommend checking a map/guide to see where the guilds are so you don't get bogged down. also, the ending was dumb.

for some weird reason, I've only played 2 and 3, but not the original. I should get on that...

>>3914764

Unlike 2 and 3, the first game is completely linear. You just progress from one stage to the next, with no backtracking to previous stages. It's fun though, and it doesn't take long to complete. You also have unlimited continues, so you can easily get through it in one sitting.

>>3914190

No it isn't. All three games are good but flawed. The series gets better, if anything. The first one is drab and repetitive; the second one adds color and variety; the third one adds nonlinear progression. Each of the three could pretty easily be considered either the best or the worst, for one reason or another. And no it wasn't easier than Faxanadu or any Zelda game, because it didn't have any kind of save system.

Stop using a name, or stop making mediocre posts. Either will suffice. The first would be easier, of course.

Nobody cares about your stupid identity. You're just an ordinary poster. Act like one.

>>3914764
Since there isn't really much story to W&W1, I suggest playing the Japanese version "Densetsu no Kishi - Elrond" if only because it uses hitpoints instead of a lifebar/lives mechanic, so you can just rack up HP from meat.

>>3914764

They play pretty differently, as 2 and 3 were made by different developers than the original.

I tried the first one recently for the first time. Not at all what I was expecting, and I wasn't really all that into it. The music is 10/10 though.

>>3915653
>>3916507
>>3916517

word, good to know.

All three of these games were a big part of my childhood, they all have big flaws but god damn the soundtrack is almost always solid. They'll always hold a special place in my heart.

Kuros is a cool character and I wish he'd return in some way, that lanky dork of a knight is really likable between his overexaggerated animations and how much ass he's actually kicked in the span of the 4 games he's in.

>>3914173
The first game had good graphics and music for its age (it was one of the earlier NES games). Not too challenging but good enough to play it for an evening. I'd recommend it.
Never played the sequels so not sure how they are compared to the first game.

>>3914605
IIRC the cloak just increases your defense by one in a certain niche circumstance that almost never happens

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You know, I sat down and drafted out some ideas for a W&W sequel once.

It would pick up at the end of W&W3, with Malkil retroactively getting sucked into the time warp along with Kuros. Kuros then appears in a future Elrond, now ruled by an evil sorceress who's enslaved Malkil and is draining his power to augment her own. Now too powerful to be opposed by any kingdom, she sets her sights on abducting several maidens, all of whom she plans to sacrifice in a ritual that would allow her to attain eternal youth.

Kuros begrudgingly sets out to free the captive Malkil, realizing that the sorceress is too powerful to conquer while she's able to channel Malkil's energy. Along the way, Kuros must also free the aforementioned maidens from various dungeons guarded by the sorceress' minions.

Pic related is something like how I would envision the sorceress character. The game itself would be done in a retro art style though, similar to Mega Man 9. One game feature I had in mind is the return of magic scrolls from IronSword. It would also be possible for Kuros to be afflicted by temporary status effects, such as being transformed into a toad. Some of these effects would actually be required to navigate certain types of obstacles, like purposefully getting transformed into a toad so you could fit Kuros through a small corridor and obtain an item on the other side.

>>3915826
>A game with a dead battery is harder than the same game without a dead battery
lolokay and I bet you think the first three Castlevania games get progressively better too.

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I played only the Game Boy version. Jumping into that 'Skull of Terror' (what it is apparently called) was fun.

There's something weird about most of the sprites in this series. It's like... they weren't designed as pixel art or something. It's more like they were just doodled on a piece of paper then down-ressed and put into the game with no care given to individual pixel placement or shading or anything.

Kind of ugly, imo.

music in these games rules

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>>3920152
You might be right, given the concept art