Let bygars be bygars.
PLAYERS: 1
PUBLISHER: Tecmo
DEVELOPER: Tecmo
GENRE: Action/adventure
RELEASE DATE: July 1987
“Rygar” is a name that demands to be shouted at the heavens, much like “Khan” or “Mendoza.” Go ahead, take a few seconds, and do just that. Shout twice if need be, I’ll wait….
Feel the power of a thousand suns coursing through your body? Good.
The amount of testosterone you just received from yelling at the sky is greater than the amount of excitement you’ll have playing Rygar. Don’t misunderstand me. Rygar is a moderately enjoyable action-adventure title. But it doesn’t replicate the heart-pounding exhilaration that comes from making a fool of yourself.
Rygar arms you with a six-pack o’ abs, a courageous heart, and your main offensive, the Diskarmor, a shield attached to a long chain. As you search for the Indora gods and destroy the neverending mongrels that roam the land, the Diskarmor is your lone companion, steadfast and true. Much of Rygar is, indeed, guiding your Diskarmor against those who oppose you. And there are many who oppose you. Enemies are never-ceasing, but thankfully, their non-stop exploits serve a purpose: experience. The more enemies you slay, the more experience you get, the greater your attack and defense. You’ll also gain more hearts for your life bar, and the more hearts the better: this is a one-life game (continues are available, but unsure if they’re limited or not). Don’t forget to use the spells at your disposal. Recover completely heals you, Attack and Assail will mercilessly “disk”-capitate all enemies on screen, and Power Up will briefly increase your attack. Exploring and backtracking are another large portion of the game. As you progress, you’ll find items like the grappling hook and the cross bow that will open up previous sections.
Rygar sounds fun, no? And it can be, but it can also be incredibly tedious. Destroying tons (and I mean tons) of enemies is necessary to gain more hearts. Later areas will find you getting lost in mazes and questioning your every move. Also, this is more of an aesthetic preference, but I was really hoping Rygar’s Diskarmor would get malevolent-looking upgrades. It’s a unique weapon that deserved to become incredibly powerful throughout the course of the game. Without RPG/adventure elements, Rygar would be just another side-scrolling man-bro action title, sweaty and corpse-ridden and empty. Rygar has a bit more class than your typical sausage-fest, but not much.
B-
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8 replies on “#548 – Rygar”
One of my earliest NES title. I remember renting this and playing it over a weekend. I had a lot of fun with the game, beating it on the second day’s efforts. It left a favorable impression, but I haven’t played it since. I suspect it wouldn’t hold up quite as well now if I were to go back to that particular well.
It wouldn’t hold up as well because there’s no save feature and the repetitive level-building Dylan mentions. But the music and graphics are still impressive. A horizon that didn’t scroll with the foreground!
Top 20 game for me.
Fun fact: Rygar on the Amstrad was one of the first video games I ever played. (Although it has little in common with the NES version save the title character).
Rygar has some of the best music on the NES, granted it also has some of the worst music as well.
I LOVED this one as a kid, but could never really make any headway, I think I was just a little too young for the concept. Regardless I have nothing but fond memories of this fantastic title.
Sleepyweasel
I always enjoyed this game as a kid, but was never able to beat it until a few years back. It’s a rather solid and misunderstood adventure/platformer and can be confusing as all hell, especially when you get to the last area and don’t have all the equipment to complete the game, which happened to me the first time I almost beat the game.
Rygar is an amazing game. There are a couple of stages you can switch the order of when you play them. Theres some superb music… Caverns of Siglia anyone? The game can easily be finished in three hours. The “level building” takesno more than 15 minutes, if that. This and Solomons Key are the only two NES games I play through once a year. The first time I finished Rygar, I was 8 years old and didnt know there was magic or how to use it. Ill never forget seeing the lion citadel in the sky, and it still gives me chills and fluttery feelings to this day.
I’m spoiled by the arcade version. NES version doesn’t even come close. Hey, if I fed at least $50 in quarters into the arcade, does that mean I can own a copy of the arcade version? Ok, no one has to answer this question, but I did play this on arcade A LOT. I especially loved it when the volume on the cabinet was turned up loud:p
Another classic title from my childhood. I love this game and my brother and I still play it today. This was actually my cousin’s game when I was younger, but I played it every time I visited. I actually beat it before he did. There was a little bit sprinkled in from a few different genres, and at the time, I hadn’t played a game quite like it. Very fond memories.