BryanM wrote:BIL wrote:If only because it leaves a more or less 1:1 conversion of the AC's sharp controls with little to do, I think Tecmo could've included a bit more traditional action/platforming.
Definitely would've been a better fit for console if it had more heft added to it. If it was like Zelda 2 or Cadash, I would have loved it.
Even Karnov, a game I'm not fond of besides its creepiness, had more to it.
Thinking more of the stage design - something like Holy Diver's treacherous latter half. Even if you fixed HD's
input bugs, it'd remain tense, with its Metroid-styled floaty-yet-punishing handling model.
Down too long in the midnight sea to PLAYTEST THEIR FUCKING CONTROLS
^^^ Conversely, I could see stuff like that being a blast via FC Rygar handling. No need to make do/die snipes, just clap bullets and senders alike with a 360' lash of your MurderYoYo. Made a panicky jump? Just bend it back with frame-instant response and stomp on the nearest head. Only need to reinstate the AC's stomp kill and invincible somersault followup, for maximum rudeness!
Particularly with AC Rygar being hardcore to the bone, Tecmo missed an obvious, perplexing unfilled niche for a breezier Rygar Jr. (as hinted at by the FC's cute boxart - ignored by the NES release, much like its distinguishing subtitle
)
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Oho! Bagged an
AC Lordy nomiss. And so,
Hard Gay Village was liberated from
The Tower Of Dicks. An easy 1CC, with all those score extends. The balance reminds me of NMK's Saint Dragon - another third-party Mega System title - which tends to be regarded as balls-hard, yet papered over with copious 1UPs. Come to think of it, that's what Holy Diver does too. Although, both of those use checkpoints - and are quite a bit meaner, besides. So Lordy's 1CC won't tax veterans, even ignoring the bombs.
However, it's quite a bit thornier to nomiss. Stages 1-4 aren't much threat, even ignoring the generous drops. Stages 5-6 have much less margin for error, and the last boss is a bit of a dick. Or rather, his zako are (he is OFC quite literally phallic). Sometimes I get virtually none, other times they rain like confetti - position seems random, regardless. With it being much trickier to anti-air from a crouch, it seems a choice between risky safespot speedkill, or an attrition-prone fight attacking Dickman during his jumps. Hm. Might be more balanced for 2P. At any rate, not the surliest arcade 1LC I've seen.
Good game. Other than the seemingly over-random last boss, my complaints are just two. Stage 4's elevator seems to be missing its boss, blueballing me with barbarous BGM and a limp mob - seems st5's Ogre surprise is meant to compensate. More fundamentally, the innately high input lag is a shame. It's largely neutralised by generous (and well-designed) attack frames - just leaves Lordy a bit loose-feeling, compared to airlock-tight greats like Rygar and Saigo.
Oh WAO.
You can see
The Tower Of Dicks, and the lake/bridge, from the lowly undergrowth of Stage 1! That's great cinematic detail!
Takemori's own FC Machoman does something very similar, with its "U"-shaped island. FC Ninja Gaiden's latter half, too. It wasn't just FC Dracula's third stage with an eye for scenic continuity, though it's the earliest scrolling action example I can think of.
The rather nice recurring twin suns (seen from Stage 1's forest and Stage 3's lakeside) make me wish the finale had stuck to its upward trajectory. A nice arch-demon to fight at the summit of Dick Tower, which is a solarium, or some shit. The linear scenario makes me wonder if the intended JP title really was "The Road Of King" - a common variation I'd considered Engrish until now. (maybe The Load Of King?
) To Aicom's credit, the eerily-lit finale is tasteful Gigeresque, on par with anything from his more famous Konami/IREM epigones. And finding utter darkness lurking at the seat nearest the heavens is a satisfying concept, just arrived at a bit jarringly (the point, I suppose).
Was surprised to see the Famicom boxart is cropped directly from the arcade flyer - which is superbly on-model to the PCB, and thus very off-model to FC
(some wild shit in that manual, including a comparable lust for monster boobage). Interesting situation, a big marquee coinop getting a simultaneous FC cart of tenuous relation. Not unlike this thread's founding game! Ideally, I'd like the FC's bloodening soundtrack and vivid monsters with the AC's raging carnage and tight runtime.