Wizards & Warriors X - Fortress of Fear - Game Boy - Review

Fortress of Fear was released for the original Game Boy back in 1990 and was the first and only handheld game in the somewhat obscure Wizards & Warriors series. Though published by Acclaim, the series was actually developed by Rare Ltd. The same Rare who would go on to become one of the most revered developers in the industry, with their catalogue of critically and commercially successful releases throughout the nineties and early 2000’s, before being bought out and subsequently ruined by Microsoft.

The original Wizards & Warriors was a fairly well received NES title upon its released in North America in 1987. The game, in which the player controls the Warrior Kuros in his quest to defeat the evil Wizard Malkil, was commended at the time for its non-linear gameplay style which combined platforming, combat, and exploration in the games large, open 2D levels. In fact the only real criticism raised at the time was aimed at the games lack of challenge due to unlimited continues and instant respawns.

In Fortress of Fear, Kuros must once again don his armour and battle countless foes over the game’s five chapters in order to reach and defeat his arch-nemesis and all round bastard Malkil the Wizard.

As with the first Wizards & Warriors the gameplay is a blend of platforming and combat, however when compared to the large open levels of the original game, the stages here are a much more linear affair with the objective typically being to make your way from left to right until you reach the exit. 

There are however numerous secret areas littered throughout the game which reward the more adventurous player. Apparently taking on board the criticism levelled at the previous game, the infinite continues have been removed and instead the player starts the game with a meagre three, with the odd extra one being placed in chests and hidden areas throughout the game. Once these are gone however the game is over and must be started again from the beginning. This makes the game extremely difficult to finish and it certainly feels like Rare went from one extreme to the other in their attempt to balance the difficulty.

Kuros walks at a somewhat sluggish pace and feels floaty when jumping which can make the platforming sections more frustrating and difficult than they really ought to be. The plucky knight will also take damage when he falls from a certain height, so care has to be taken by the player when choosing which platforms are safe to jump to. Kuros can stab enemies with his sword by using the B Button and can perform an overhead slash by pressing up and B. Due to the fairly short range of the weapon though he needs to be up close and personal to strike the spritely enemies and oftentimes will take unavoidable damage in the process. Strangely the power of the sword swings seems inconsistent as enemies that usually disappear after one hit will suddenly be able to survive two or more attacks. This can lead to frustrating deaths and further add to the game’s difficulty.

On the plus side Kuros’s armour affords him a lifebar which allows him to take a few hits before kicking the bucket. He can also consume any food and drink he finds lying around to gain back lost health, with the booze in particular doing a good job of patching him up. If he finds a key lying around he will be able to open one of the various treasure chests he will often pass. These can contain Gems which are utterly useless, a healing potion which will refill his lifebar, a shield of protection which will offer a little more defence, and boots of jumping which allows him to jump higher. Sadly dying will cause him to lose any keys and items he previously aquired which wouldn’t be such a problem if not for the fact that certain platforming sections require you to have the boots of jumping. Luckily such sections are usually fairly close to a key and chest containing said boots so in those instances you won’t have to back track too far.

The graphics are fairly respectable for an early Game Boy title but otherwise unremarkable. The character and enemy sprites are simple but a decent size and the levels are kept fairly sparse in detail which at least makes it easy to see what you’re doing. Reviewers of the time complained the game suffered from ghosting however when playing on anything other than an original dot-matrix Game Boy this problem doesn’t seem to be apparent.

The games music is composed by none other than David Wise, who has since gone on to become a legend in video game industry. Fortress of Fear, whilst not up there with the best of his work occasionally has its moments. The title music is definitely a highlight. It’s a short loop but one that you could happily sit and listen to for a few minutes before starting the game (I know I do anyway.) Sadly the in game music is a mixed bag with the first level theme being particularly offensive on the ears… yeah that’s enough of that. Later stages get a bit better but really the only other track worthy of turning up is the not-entirely-awful boss music.

Fortress of Fear is a difficult game for me to objectively review as it’s a title that I have fond memories of playing as a child. I remember asking my dad to buy me the game from Toys’R’Us in the early nineties.  I was around 8 years old at the time and obsessed with Swords and Sorcery and the Conan-esque figure depicted on the front of the box was enough to win me over. I seem to remember being a little disappointed when I realised that the character in the game wasn’t actually a long-haired musclebound barbarian but instead a goofy monty-python-esque knight. Nevertheless I played the game to death and, although I never got very far in it, it remains one of the defining games of my childhood.

The primitive graphics, high difficulty and floaty platforming will certainly mar newcomers enjoyment of the game but even so I feel it’s still a game worth having in your collection. If nothing else it’s an early piece of Rare’s history complete with a David Wise soundtrack and it doesn’t hurt that the game can be easily picked up for a few pounds.

So if you like what you’ve seen, why not fire up your Game Boy and take on the perilous journey through the Fortress of Fear.