We’ll see who the real Time Lord is around here, buddy.
PLAYERS: 1
PUBLISHER: Milton Bradley
DEVELOPER: Rare
GENRE: Action
RELEASE DATE: September 1990
Time waits for no man, including the man known as “Time Lord.” One would think if your birth name was Time Lord, you’d have some power over Time. But even Time Lords are subject to eras they supposedly lord over. In Time Lord (the Time Lord’s one and only starring vehicle), the Earth is being attacked by the Drakkon alien force in 2999. The Time Lord has one year to go to four different historical time periods – medieval England, American Old West, the Caribbean, and France circa WWII – collect five orbs per period, and destroy the Drakkon forces. But mind the clock, which is always pushing forward, regardless of the Time Lord’s pleas. If it strikes Jan 1., 3000 before you’ve had a chance to snatch orbs and curb stomp Drakkon, then it’s game over.
Collecting orbs in particular is an odd business. You don’t just find, collect, and push forward. Many of the orbs have to be grabbed by a leap of faith, or shot or jump-kicked. They are rebellious orbs. In one ridiculous instance, the Time Lord has to be stationary under the orb for it to move down onto him. How would anyone, including the Time Lord, know you’re supposed to do this unless the Nintendo Power lords explained it? The enemies are insufferable, and the hit detection is paltry at best. Even when he’s equipped with a weapon, like a sword or a gun, the pseudo-3D landscapes can throw off his aim. Time Lord doesn’t use the potential of its boundless time-travel concept, and what is accomplished is half-baked. No time like the present to forget it ever existed.
D
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7 replies on “#664 – Time Lord”
Oh yeah, this one sucked really hard.
Believe it or not, however, I did actually beat it as a kid. It was a thankless experience, but I did it at some point.
The only decent thing about this game is the music. some of it's not bad.
The music some of the best on the nes. The game is pretty good too, apart from the total unfairness and stupidity with the orbs. Never finished it, tried many times.
This is one of my favourite nes games but I never want to play it again. Does that make sense?
I think so. You have a fondness for it, even though you know it's objectively not that good of a game?
I had this game as a kid, and I actually found all the orbs and beat the game on my own with no help. The hit detection is horrid, but it helps if you jump repeatedly. When in battle, never stop jumping!
Wait…you BEAT this thing? I didn't think we ever got last level 3. And how DID we figure out to stand under the orb? This game was never in Nintendo Power, was it?