Faxanadu

#gm0114 - Developed by the Nihon Falcon Corporation and published by Hudson Soft Company, Ltd., Faxanadu was released in August of 1989 and is the classic medieval game of good versus evil. Frankly, this is a highly underestimated game and one of the best made for the NES. Faxanadu plays much like a mix between Metroid, Link and Castlevania. It has great side scrolling performance along with great elements of role-playing and adventure. The scenario is that the once peaceful Elf town of Eolis has had a meteor crash into the Worldtree. Thus evil monsters have risen bringing with them chaos and destruction. The people of the land are terrorized, the well has dried up, and the town has been left in ruins by evil drawfs. You play an unnamed elf who must go on a quest to return the water and conquer the evil boss so that peace may be restored to the land. You must collect new tools and weapons as you progress into the game through your quest, and like any good RPG, in Faxanadu there are many places you must visit to accomplish your task. Each place you visit has it's own style, music and atmosphere and getting to know the layout will help greatly in the game. The graphics are great and the sound is very well done. These are only eclipsed by the sterling gameplay. Simply put, the gameplay is great. You can move your character effortlessly through the game. The menu’s are also positioned well, and easy to use. Faxanadu is different from many other RPGs in that it is 'level oriented.' So as you defeat enemies, you progress to the next level and your character becomes stronger and moves up to a new rank. So by all means attempt to move up the levels before quiting because they effect how rich you are when password restored. Faxanadu is a highly underrated game, so if you have a chance, make sure you add this great NES classic sleeper to your collection. It doesn't disappoint. Faxanadu game review by "The Prince" NES Gamer.