Vimm's Lair: NES Reviews - IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II

Nintendo
IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
8.08
8.54
7.96
8.35
Votes: 26
Reviews: 3


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Reviewer: Nathaniel Date: Oct 17, 2008
This is the sequel to Wizards & Warriors. I absolutely hated that first title, so this one was a VERY welcome change to the series.

Graphics: 8
For its time the graphics are great. The clouds in the cloud level look quite rounded and are rendered nicely. The ledges and the level colors are nice. There aren't any real backgrounds to speak of; most of the time, you're in front of a black background, like in the secret rooms. There aren't any clouds or daytime sky in most levels; you seem to be doing this all at night or under cover of evil Malkil storm clouds (my theory, anyway; and even if that theory is plausible, they sure don't show anything). But when you're on a mountain, or in the volcano, it's nice to see some detail behind you.
The enemies are detailed nicely, and animated pretty smoothly (the eagles that bombard you come to mind). Kuros himself had pretty much the same animations from his previous incarnation in W&W, but he still looked better than in W&W.
As a funny side note, walk into the Inn and try to speak to the Innkeeper with 0 money at the beginning of the game. The result is hilarious!

Sound: 8
In this game, sound isn't an issue for me; usually I'm concentrating on trying not to die. But the sounds were pretty good, WHOLE WORLDS better than W&W. Things such as taking damage (that dull thud sound that amuses me so), and little things like opening locked chests, etc., were pretty well done. The wind elemental boss even has the sound of wind blowing during the battle, giving you the feel of fighting an evil cloud up in the sky.
The music was pretty catchy, and a few tunes, like the music in the IceFire Mountain level, were incredibly bouncy. Great music to have Kuros die to!

Gameplay: 10
I gave this a ten simply because, well, this game is INCREDIBLY challenging. And it STAYS challenging even after you get the hang of it. I owned this game when I was younger, and got rid of it a few years back. Now I've re-purchased it, and I love playing it. I wouldn't dare use a Game Genie on it because I love reliving the challenge of this game.
Kuros was easy to control, but getting him to jump into tighter places and not lose his footing was a bit annoying. There are also a LOT of enemies attacking you at once, and their shots as well (Those little blue demons that throw curved throwing blades come to mind). But overall, the controls are simple and its pretty smooth gameplay.
And yes, the last boss/bosses are close to impossible. Save your money and buy a ton of lives in the Earth level. You will NEED to.

Overall: 9
This game is a happy childhood memory for me, and a great challenge. This completely blows the first W&W out of the water, and upon trying W&W III, I decided I still liked this game the best of the series.
Great gameplay, really well-done sounds and music, and the choice of what armor you can get (diamond helmet or diamond swords as opposed to a standard helmet and a standard sword) was a nice touch. But remember to keep your number of lives as high as possible!

Those who love Nintendo in all of its classic splendor will love this game. Try it and see for yourself. Even if you may not like it upon first try, it will grow on you if you give it a chance! (It did for me back in the day).

 

Reviewer: electric tigerboy Date: Aug 30, 2001
I don't remember much about this game, but a comment in the last review sparked a powerful memory--the final boss (or bosses, shall I say) IS very close to impossible--I spent the better part of three weeks, off and on, of my young life trying to beat the bastards. Other than the final frustration at the end, I don't remember much about the game, and taht's all I wanted to say

 

Reviewer: Vega Date: Jun 21, 2001
One of my favourites NES games, due to its graphics and music, it's a pity the difficult, hardly ever u can't advance without getting hurt, but... maybe, this is the ""charme"" of this game :)
One of the things i like more are the secret rooms, they're exciting...
Anyway, i hope one day i get to destroy the final boss, something impossible for me by now...