FAXANADU - Review

                                              Retro Games Reviewer #8; Faxanadu Review

I remember well when I asked my mother to buy me this game. It was actually one my first. I was 8 or 9 years old, and my English was as good as shit, since I was Portuguese. Well, I still am. You know what I meant. And there's a lot of reading throughout the game. However, I loved the cover, the game pictures, and also the description, in the back. - yes, we had a translation stick on the game.

So, I read about swords, saving the World Tree, wing boots, castles, demons, finding keys, solving puzzles, and more swords, swords to use on the monsters' heads, yes, this is what a game should be all about, for a middle age based fantasy fanatic.

So, - I'm using "So" a lot, am I not? - I got home, and I plugged the game in my good old, then brand new, NES.

Title screen, amazing. Music: amazingly epic. Metal cover is required.

Anyway, young me is liking it a lot. Start. Keeps getting better. I see the hero - it has no name, which only adds to the game - walking towards his village. We can see the giant Tree. The graphics are pretty good. I am aware that this game is a big, fat adventure, which I won't beat easily.

And now the action starts. Well, it doesn't actually "start." We have to read what's going on. The village was ripped apart by the evil Dwarves - most of them are actually quite big, and some are even giant. - and now, the hero, yourself, has to find out what happened, why, and, of course, save the Elves - the good guys, that you have to protect.

The graphics are very good, since the beggining. The initial village or town, whatever, is very dark, and medieval. The scenarios are great. If you play it during the night, with the lights out, it's definitely a worthy video game experience. The game is a mix between action, platform, beat'em up, I mean cut'em up (since you use swords...) and RPG.

In the beggining, you need to go to the king, and he will give you money. After that, you can buy your first weapons, magic attacks, and start the action. You will have to manage your money, buy stuff that you'll need, like keys, and many other items. You can get money by slaughtering enemies. You will also hear clues from the villagers.

That's very nice, now that I think of it. You are saving their country, ALONE, and you still have to BUY the stuff you need from the people you are saving.

Another touch of realism to the game...

Anyway, off you go, from town to town, castle to castle, through forests, mazes, and all that good shit.

The game play is ok. It's not perfect, but it doesn't fuck up the game. The graphics are excellent. For example, for each time you upgrade your weapon, or you get a new shield, it's visible on the screen. The long sword is really long, it's not the same as the small dagger. Same logic with the shields. Each magic attack is also different. From Deluge to Death, the flames look different.

The scenarios are quite rich. If you go into a store, for example, it's always decorated. Keys in the key store, food on the walls of the food store, and so on.

Faxanadu is not the best option for those who only want to relax while playing a good old (or new) easy going video game. You will have to put some effort and time in order to beat it.

You'll have to pick up lots of keys, and sometimes you need to re-enter the same castle to search for something that you didn't, and should have. If you need, for example, 3 keys to advance in the game, and you only got 2, you can be forced to go back a long way, after fighting a whole bunch of enemies.

When you reach a certain number of points/kills, the Guru will reward you with another "title". Adept, hero, paladin, warrior, etc. It's a good add to the game.

It's an RPG, nevertheless its adventurous nature. You get mantras from a guru, in a temple, which looks like a church. Those mantras are nothing more than passwords. If you make a mistake copying a password, goodbye game progress! Back in the days, - I love this expression - it made many people mad. Today you can go to the internet, and get all sorts of mantras, or play on an emulator. But it's not the same. You want to beat Faxanadu by yourself. It's a man's game.

I'm sorry, ladies, I only wrote the last part in order to provoke my girlfriend. (Who edited this blog right now because her bf doesnt know how to and just read it, thanks bf!) 

The story is based a lot on Norse Mythology. And it's very interesting. You'll get to revive water fountains who were dry, fly through wing boots, and search for all sorts of items.

 So, if you're aiming for a great adventure, Faxanadu is definitely a good choice. Stay out from youtube speed runs or long plays of the game. It will spoil the fun.

Categories: Faxanadu Review