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Rygar (NES)


mbd30

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Ah, RYGAR...I have lots of personal investment on this game. It was literally one of the first five NES games I ever played back in the 80s. It was the first 'action adventure' games that I ever saw, and didn't realize there was an arcade version until months afterward. My buddy owned this one, and wasn't a fan...he thought it would be like the arcade version. I was blown away by the graphics, the scope and the music...this game literally had me drooling. I didn't own an NES back at that time, so I'd borrow the manuals for games like this, searching for tips we may have missed. The big problem with Rygar was that we had no idea about the whole 'building up' process, which was admittedly a new concept back then, akin to boosting weapon firepower. We weren't about to 'grind', we'd always get to the same point and usually die because we didn't have the weapon adequately powered up.

 

Then one day a nerdy guy in high school showed up, and was a gamer like us...he bragged about how he could be Rygar in one life! We called him on it, and of course he did it. His method (and the method I still use to this day) is to power up in that tower level, on those slug creatures. He grinded there for about ten minutes, and then proceeded to demolish the game. I did the same feat in the mid 90s when I found another copy.

 

This game is hard to appreciate if you don't put it in proper context. It's majestic in scope, and Tecmo did a fantastic job of nailing the theme. Surely, the mechanics were a bit clunky at times...and you could easily get lost if you didn't have an idea from the manual, all the items. But it wasn't really cheap, either, like other games of the time (Simon's Quest and the whole kneeling business thing that you'd never be able to figure out on your own).

 

I'll never forget the soundtrack, it's just awesome. I love Rygar, and while I agree the replay is limited, it's a perfect time capsule to what my life was like back then: hating high school, loving video games and heroic characters like Conan. I play it every few years to completion, and like a great book, it's always fun. I always recommend this game, but again, it needs to be properly portrayed and set up. I doubt any younger players today would 'get it', but for guys from my generation, I think it's one of the NES gems. That's all I got, take care.

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I'll never forget the soundtrack, it's just awesome. I love Rygar, and while I agree the replay is limited, it's a perfect time capsule to what my life was like back then: hating high school, loving video games and heroic characters like Conan. I play it every few years to completion, and like a great book, it's always fun. I always recommend this game, but again, it needs to be properly portrayed and set up. I doubt any younger players today would 'get it', but for guys from my generation, I think it's one of the NES gems. That's all I got, take care.

 

I was the right age when it came out, but I never played it much back in the day, and none of my friends were into it.

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I grew up with the Rygar arcade game at a local pizza shop, and liked it for what it was, a very challenging platform arcade game. I also bought the lynx game for my system when it came out. While I liked the game port, the music on the Lynx version is craptastic.

 

Rygar on the Nes to me really showcased how Nes games were breaking away from traditional Arcade ports and offering a different game experience. While I know that many who grew up with Rygar wanted the arcade port, I actually prefer the NES game, that had a great soundtrack. Tecmo made some of my favorite games for the system, and while Rygar is not my favorite game(that goes to Ninja Gaiden), this game was fun to play, glitches and all. I could not get into the PS2 port, but maybe I will try it again.

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  • 1 year later...

I appreciate this game much more after recently completing it for a second time. It's a fun little action RPG that can be completed in a couple hours (more or less). Great music too.

I love the music in this game. And I also agree finishing it a second time was just as if not more exciting than the first. One of my all time favorites

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My favorite 8-bit console game of all time. Even with maxing-out TONE and LAST, as well as loitering around with several God and Hermit visits, this game can still be beaten well under an hour. A relatively recent video capture update highlighted the aforementioned and is posted below:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KLnBTw6P1Y

 

P.S. If you go to the video's YouTube page and click "SHOW MORE" all major checkpoints are bookmarked.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This was the first NES game I picked after we moved to our new residence... had to be around '87?

 

I played the NES version *before* the arcade release, and I much prefer the former. I really wish they would've pushed another sequel for this on the NES.

 

I have a question on this game on some enemies on the last stage...and I'm referring to the shadow enemies on Ligar's Palace. Someone posted on Youtube comments that these particular character sprites weren't completed in time??? So sure enough, I found the enemy sprites via Google - apparently they were still hidden in code.

post-17478-0-06258100-1489454188.png

post-17478-0-34253400-1489454192.png

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This was the first NES game I picked after we moved to our new residence... had to be around '87?

 

I played the NES version *before* the arcade release, and I much prefer the former. I really wish they would've pushed another sequel for this on the NES.

 

I have a question on this game on some enemies on the last stage...and I'm referring to the shadow enemies on Ligar's Palace. Someone posted on Youtube comments that these particular character sprites weren't completed in time??? So sure enough, I found the enemy sprites via Google - apparently they were still hidden in code.

 

So the whole shadow enemies thing was the result of a rushed game? They actually look pretty cool and mysterious that way so it's just as well that they weren't finished.

Edited by mbd30
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So the whole shadow enemies thing was the result of a rushed game? They actually look pretty cool and mysterious that way so it's just as well that they weren't finished.

Not entirely sure, I was just paraphrasing what the dude said on the comments section.

 

I searched for more info and found those two images that were hidden in the code.

 

I always thought even back then, those enemies appeared *unpolished*.

 

I found those images here:

https://tcrf.net/Rygar_(NES)

Edited by schuwalker
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I was under the impression the shadow were intentional because it was the final area before you reached Ligar. The fact the image were complete in game seems to suggest this. Maybe they planned to show the monster as normal and decided to make them shadow at last minute?

 

Password was interesting, I didn't know of it. I would imagine it'd store LAST, TONE, and total of 7 items. It might be possible to hack Rygar to have password system enabled but it's a moot point when most emulator can store save point and people can probably play entire Rygar from start to end in under an hour.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was a HUGE fan of the arcade version, and I bought the NES version as soon as it came out.

But once I started up the game, I felt totally ripped off:

- Rygar doesn't say "HYA!" when he uses his weapon

- He doesn't say "FHO!" when he jumps

- You can't collect power-ups that let you shoot upwards? Or extend your weapon to cover half the screen?

- the enemies you hit don't fly backward and crumble into bones??? That was the COOLEST part of Rygar!!!

- the grim reaper doesn't carry you away when you die

- where's the minotaurs??? They added a touch of Greek mythology to the ambiance

- where's the headless golems??? They were COOL!

- where's the giant creepy face that chases you when you dawdle too long???

- where's the giant blue shogun-warrior enemy that hops back and forth??? He was COOL!

- where's the cool "SHING SHING SHING" sound when enemies need multiple hits to beat???

- there's no sub-tunnel underneath you so you can tell when the grubs are about to emerge

- when the grubs DO emerge, they don't make their signature "creepy crawly sound"

- the NES opening level music is so corny and cheesy! Where's the groovy bass-line background music?

- where's the harpsicord music??? That was another AWESOME part of Rygar!

Later in the game though, it did redeem itself somewhat:

+ The tree stump enemies in the overworld were pretty creepy

+ the background music on Eruga's forest is pretty cool

+ The spider level's background music is AWESOME

+ The sound effect when you beat the giant snails in the tower was AWESOME

 

I also have the PS2 version, and my favorite part is the water shrine. Everything about it is so beautiful....especially the music. I'll often replay just that one level!

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Uh, yeah.. The NES Rygar is a new game, not a port of the arcade game. Similar to how Ninja Gaiden, Strider, and Bionic Commando pretty much had nothing to do with the arcade originals. I'm sure I would have been mad back in the day if I was familiar with the arcade one, but damn.. we're talking nearly 30 years ago now. I think it's OK to finally let it slide, heh.

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I was a HUGE fan of the arcade version, and I bought the NES version as soon as it came out...

 

I've had this conversation before with others, the above opposite is true with me. Being thoroughly familiar with the NES game, and having never played nor even seen the Arcade original previously, I remember what a colossal disappointment the Arcade game was for me back in the mid-late 90's.

 

First time I fired-up the REM! emulator, I thought for sure I was in for a treat...I was going to play Rygar (As I've always known it to be) with bumped up graphics, sound, and maybe some tweaked gameplay and design...

 

What the heck is this one level feel, continuous side-scrolling only game? Endless scroll running to the right with no end in sight. It felt like it only contained something along the lines of the Sueru and Primeval Mountains (Part 2), with a hint of the Den of Sagial, if referencing NES Rygar.

 

After Round 60 or 80 something, I finally stopped playing. Coming across as a never-ending single repetitious path where much of the rounds seemed near identical to me, it is so foreign to the NES game I love. Same holds true regarding the music. Absolutely loved the NES music, not so much the Arcade original.

 

Different strokes for different folks, and much depends on what a person is accustomed to experiencing. ;)

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