Finding a good hack-and-slash game on the Nintendo Entertainment System isn't
an easy prospect. It's a genre that would thrive on the 16-bit consoles, with
games like Golden Axe and Knights of the Round being ported from the arcades,
but the titles on the leading 8-bit platform were scarce. For this reason,
Astyanax caught my eye when it was released back in 1990, and though it took
me another 19 years before I would add it to my collection, it always remained
in my mind as one of those games I had to get my hands on someday.
So, the burning question is, was Astyanax worth the wait? Is Astyanax a good
game?
If making a good game were just a matter of combining aspects of already
successful games, then there would be no question, as there are qualities of
this game which are reminiscent of Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, and The
Legendary Axe - all games which are typically held in high regard. Astyanax has
similar platforming and controls to Castlevania. Its presentation includes
cut scenes to help tell its story, just like Ninja Gaiden. The gameplay is
also quite similar to The Legendary Axe, especially considering how your axe
powers up the longer you wait between attacks in both games.
Unfortunately, though Astyanax appears to borrow from these and similar games,
it lacks the polish of these games. The controls often feel unresponsive and
the hit detection can be poor. The cut scenes, though attractive, really do
not add a lot to a very basic save-the-princess storyline. Even powering up
your axe has its problems. Along with your power bar increasing, you will
also be able to upgrade your weapon when you receive a special token from the
stone idols placed throughout the levels. The first token you will get
changes your axe to a spear, which actually decreases your attack power. If
you find another token, you will then wield a sword, which is the most
powerful of the three weapons, but unless you are sure you will be able to
upgrade to the sword, there is no reason to take one of these tokens, as it
will just make defeating your enemies more difficult.
The graphics are probably the one area in which Astyanax shines, but there are
still issues that prevent it from really excelling even in this regard. For
an NES game, your character sprite is large, as are those for many of your
enemies, such as the skeletons and the mini-bosses. The problem this creates
is that it only takes four or five enemies to appear onscreen to cause a lot
of flicker and a painful amount of slowdown. This slowdown will often be
crippling, as it makes the controls that much more unresponsive, which will
often lead to you taking cheap hits and falling into one of many pits to your
doom. Strangely, there does not appear to be a lot of slowdown when facing
the end bosses, which are huge and well defined. As is the case with many NES
games featuring large bosses, the background is removed for boss fights, and
all that will appear onscreen are a ground plane, your character, and the
boss. While the bosses look nice, they are not well animated, and will
frequently feature just one or two parts that actually appear to move. It's
not enough to detract totally from the presentation of these enemies, but it
is noticeable.
Overall, Astyanax isn't a bad game, and for those of us looking for hack-and-
slash action on the NES, it is probably one of the better titles to choose
from. Though the game does not rank among the best the 8-bit era has to
offer, it will provide a couple of hours of fun - interspersed with the
occasional expletive as you fall victim to another cheap pit death ...
