Mean Machines


Iron Sword
By Acclaim
Nintendo (US Version)

 
Published in Mean Machines #8

Iron Sword

Malkil's back and he's not very happy! After his humiliating defeat the first time around, the Evil One has sworn revenge and enlisted the elemental forces of Wind, Water, Fire and Earth to his side. Only one man can defeat these monstrosities; Kuros the mighty warrior. He is dedicated to recovering the four sections of the fabled Iron Sword from the land of Sindarin!

Battling through the four elemental planes, Kuros faces repulsive creatures and fiendish platforms. Luckily, there are plenty of useful items scattered about the landscape, such as gems, coins, weapons and food (to recover lost energy). Some things are hidden in chests or in secret caverns, so Kuros has to carefully search each area before contronting the final guardian.

The Inns provide a welcome rest from the slaughter, and the chance to buy handy items like food and spells. There's also a bonus game in wihch a ball falls down to a random cup - if Kuros bets correctly, he gets 290 coins, but if he's wrong he loses 100!

Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword

As the hero progresses the challenge gets increasingly tough. Yet with the fate of the world resting on his shoulders, he cannot afford to give up!

Zen And The Art Of Scoring

Killing the horrid monsters is an effective way of gaining points, apart from grabgbing gems and the like. Watch out for those monsters that can't be killed; these include the Skull and Crossbones on the wind level, the Steam Cloud on the water level, and the Floor Flames on the fire level.

The Elementals on Icefire Mountain, though, are worth a whopping 20,500 points each...!

Looking At Chests

Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword

The huge chests in the game hold a variety of fun objetcts - and sometimes booby prizes. Diamond swords, helmets and shields are there for the taking, but even better are the Relics of Sindarin; these are items of great power (and worth tons of points!).

Keys are needed to open locked chests of course, so don't miss any. Most importantly, remember the Seven League Boots, because without them Kuros will never get to Icefire Mountain!

Learn To Spell

Using magic is the key to completing the game successfully. Here's a list of some of the spells, but bear in mind that some have to be bought and others are hidden around the landscape!

Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword

1. Slumber If the foes are moving quickly, then this handy scroll slows them down to a more manageable speed!

2. Familiar This turns enemies into coins that help to buy extra goodies at the Inn. Let's hope the wallet's big enough!

3. Silver Fleece Are the nasties hitting Kuros just a little too often? Then grab this useful piece of clothing which gives him a shield to make him invincible!

Commment

Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword

I'm afraid that this didn't impress me a great deal. Agreed, it's a nice game and fun to play, but I can't help thinking that we've seen it all before. DuckTales and Gremlins II are better platform games, and have a more original approach.

How many times are console owners going to be sent to find X pieces of a magic sword? Still, the game has its merits, and it's fun to play - although not being able to hit baddies while jumping is a major problem. But if platform games are your bad then it may be a good idea to have a look at this.

Julian

Wizards And Warriors was a fun game, but it didn't exactly set the world on fire. The same can be said about this sequel. It's tough, challenging and features some excellent graphics, but doesn't exactly ooze original features.

Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword

There are so many brilliant platform games on the Nintendo, a game of this type really needs something special to make it a vital addition to your software collection.

Megaman and Megaman II had it, and so did Mario II and DuckTales. This one unfortunately hasn't.

It's not that it's a bad game - on any other console this would be seen as brilliant! - it's just that there are several better ones than this available on the Nintendo. If you're a platform fan, check this out by all means, but not before you've had a look at the other games I mentioned.

Verdict

Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword

Presentation 83%
Pleasant intro screens and a password system greet the player, before the action starts in earnest.

Graphics 76%
Kuros is animated cleverly, and dies in an amusing way. The backgrounds are slightly bland though.

Sound 73%
Fairly good tunes and effects which fit the action well.

Wizards & Warriors II: Ironsword

Playability 80%
Controlling the hero is a bit awkward at first, but once you learn the game is easy to get into.

Lastability 75%
This is a tough game, and it won't be easy to fight through to the final conflict.

Overall 77%
A fun but ultimately limited game that will appeal to platform fans.