Milon's Secret Castle
Encyclopedia
Milon's Secret Castle, known in Japan
as , is an action-adventure game released by Hudson Soft
for the Nintendo
Famicom
(Japan) on November 13, 1986, the Nintendo Entertainment System
(North America) in September 1988.
s. The player starts out at the bottom floor of a four-story castle, named Castle Garland, and he must work his way upwards, searching the three main stories, the well, two side towers and the very top. If the player stays too long outside of the castle, lightning bolts fall off from the sky. Each room the castle contains many enemies and hidden items. Milon's bubbles are both a tool and a weapon throwing bubbles at soft blocks causes them to break apart and either create additional routes, hidden shops, or expose specific items, and the bubbles can also destroy the demons that inhabit the given rooms, though they will come back to life after several seconds. Each story can only be reached by defeating the first boss. Although seemingly basic, the only way the bosses can even be reached is by discovering a host of secrets, some of which require sheer luck or a helpful manual. These bosses are much larger than the regular demons and take many bubbles to defeat. They attack by leaping back and forth, spitting out fireballs that take a lot of life off. When a demon-monster dies it stays dead and releases a crystal ball and, at times, make Milon's bubbles larger and make them fly out farther. The demon-monster's room can then be used to get to the next story of the castle. Throughout the entire game the player is only given one life. When one life is lost, the game is over and the player must start over. However, if the player holds left on the control pad while pressing the Start button at the title screen, he or she can start where they left off. This command does not work before collecting the first crystal, and was only featured in the instruction booklet of the Famicom version.
Along the way, Milon will come across various items found in shops; some shops are in plain sight, some are hidden in the differing rooms or outside the castle, and some can be found after Milon defeats a certain demon-monster boss. All of the items augment Milon in one specific way or another, though not all of them are found in shops.
The game has generally been considered by several gamers to be extremely difficult and frustrating. There are no save points, and once a player runs out of life, the game is over; however, it is possible to continue after obtaining the first crystal. The number of continues at your disposal is random, you just have to hold "Left + Start" and hope that your game is saved. Unlike in most platform games of the era, Milon does not "blink" to become briefly invincible when he is attacked by an enemy, which means his energy can be sapped very quickly if he does not move away. This is offset by the fact that each room in the castle has a "honeycomb" which restores your life bar entirely and extends it by one unit.
The game has a rather unorthodox approach when compared to other 2D platformers; the rooms can be accessed in any order, and the rooms themselves do not flow like traditional platformer stages. In each room, there is only one single exit, which is in a fixed spot within the room, but does not appear until you fire a bubble at its hidden location. Navigating a castle's room does not always require simply running from left to right, which gives each room a free-flowing feel. Each room of the castle contains secrets similar to those of the Super Mario Bros.
series; the secrets are uncovered by shooting bubbles into invisible trigger objects and breaking soft blocks.
A cumulative side-quest involves finding music boxes. By touching a music box, Milon is transported to a mini-game where he attempts to pick up many musical notes as possible, with extra points given for sharps
and negative points given for accidentally picking up flats. The first time the player reaches the mini-game, only one elf with a drum appears to play the music. Each time the player collects a music box and is transported to the mini-game, a new elf with a new instrument appears, and the song gets more elaborate.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is an action-adventure game released by Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
for the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(Japan) on November 13, 1986, the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(North America) in September 1988.
Plot
The protagonist, , from the Hudson brand, lives in the land of Hudson where people use music to communicate with each other. However, Milon does not have the ability to communicate. He always asked himself why he is the only one who lacks the ability to understand people and music. One day he decides to travel throughout the land of Hudson to search for other people like himself. Before leaving for his trip, Milon decides to visit Queen Eliza who lives in Castle Garland (known as "Hudson's Secret Castle" in Japan). When Milon arrives at Castle Garland, the people were being attacked by the Evil Warlord Maharito from the north region. Maharito robs the innocent people, by stealing all their musical instruments and occupies the Castle Garland. Queen Eliza is held captive deep inside Castle Garland by Maharito and his demon-monsters. Milon volunteers to fight the Maharito and his demons and to rescue Queen Eliza and the musical instruments for the people of Hudson. This will not be an easy task. Castle Garland has many different rooms and each room is a maze filled with demons, secret passages and doors. However, the Castle's Magician tells Milon that Queen Eliza has hidden many tools, instruments and money to help him. The Magician also gives Milon a magic "Bubble" to assist him in finding the places where the helpful items are hidden and where they may be bought.Gameplay
The player controls Milon by running, jumping and shooting bubbleLiquid bubble
A bubble is a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid.Due to the Marangoni effect, bubbles may remain intact when they reach the surface of the immersive substance.-Common examples:...
s. The player starts out at the bottom floor of a four-story castle, named Castle Garland, and he must work his way upwards, searching the three main stories, the well, two side towers and the very top. If the player stays too long outside of the castle, lightning bolts fall off from the sky. Each room the castle contains many enemies and hidden items. Milon's bubbles are both a tool and a weapon throwing bubbles at soft blocks causes them to break apart and either create additional routes, hidden shops, or expose specific items, and the bubbles can also destroy the demons that inhabit the given rooms, though they will come back to life after several seconds. Each story can only be reached by defeating the first boss. Although seemingly basic, the only way the bosses can even be reached is by discovering a host of secrets, some of which require sheer luck or a helpful manual. These bosses are much larger than the regular demons and take many bubbles to defeat. They attack by leaping back and forth, spitting out fireballs that take a lot of life off. When a demon-monster dies it stays dead and releases a crystal ball and, at times, make Milon's bubbles larger and make them fly out farther. The demon-monster's room can then be used to get to the next story of the castle. Throughout the entire game the player is only given one life. When one life is lost, the game is over and the player must start over. However, if the player holds left on the control pad while pressing the Start button at the title screen, he or she can start where they left off. This command does not work before collecting the first crystal, and was only featured in the instruction booklet of the Famicom version.
Along the way, Milon will come across various items found in shops; some shops are in plain sight, some are hidden in the differing rooms or outside the castle, and some can be found after Milon defeats a certain demon-monster boss. All of the items augment Milon in one specific way or another, though not all of them are found in shops.
The game has a rather unorthodox approach when compared to other 2D platformers; the rooms can be accessed in any order, and the rooms themselves do not flow like traditional platformer stages. In each room, there is only one single exit, which is in a fixed spot within the room, but does not appear until you fire a bubble at its hidden location. Navigating a castle's room does not always require simply running from left to right, which gives each room a free-flowing feel. Each room of the castle contains secrets similar to those of the Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
series; the secrets are uncovered by shooting bubbles into invisible trigger objects and breaking soft blocks.
A cumulative side-quest involves finding music boxes. By touching a music box, Milon is transported to a mini-game where he attempts to pick up many musical notes as possible, with extra points given for sharps
Sharp (music)
In music, sharp, dièse , or diesis means higher in pitch and the sharp symbol raises a note by a half tone. Intonation may be flat, sharp, or both, successively or simultaneously...
and negative points given for accidentally picking up flats. The first time the player reaches the mini-game, only one elf with a drum appears to play the music. Each time the player collects a music box and is transported to the mini-game, a new elf with a new instrument appears, and the song gets more elaborate.
Ports, sequels and related releases
- While the Game Boy version kept the same title as the NES version's in the US, the game was released in Japan on March 26, 1993 under the name and later in North America. The Game Boy version includes a password feature, but is otherwise mostly identical to the NES version. Besides that, there are other obvious differences between the Game Boy and NES versions. First, the room sizes are smaller, likely due in part to the smaller available screen size. As a result, many hidden items and platforms are not in the same absolute position, but can be found in roughly the same relative position. Second, every item costs a little less money than in the NES version. Additionally, there are slightly fewer money tiles to collect, which generally works in favor of the player. The store that gives you $10 in the NES version gives you $15 in this version. Third, the boss fights are substantially easier. You can attack the entire body of the boss, not just the head. Bosses send only one projectile out at a time, and the projectiles are much smaller. The projectiles are more focused on your current position, so they are easier to dodge. Finally, the ending has new illustrations added to it.
- The NES version was rereleased in 2005 as part of a compilation on the Game Boy Advance known as Hudson Best Collection Vol. 3. The same version of the game was also released to mobile phones, the Japan-exclusive Hudson Channel for the PS2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and the WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual ConsoleVirtual consoleA virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service in Japan and North America and later in the PAL region as an import release. - In 1996, a Super FamicomSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
sequelSequelA sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to the game was released only in Japan, known as DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki AdventureDoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventureis a 1996 game released only in Japan for the Super Famicom by Hudson Soft. The game is a sequel of the 1988 NES game Milon's Secret Castle.It was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console at a cost of 900 Wii Points, available in North America on March 10, 2008 under the "Import" category, and in...
. In 1997 three further sequels (BS Do-Re-Mi No.2, BS Do-Re-Mi Oku no Original Sound Witch - Blue Sound Witch, and BS Do-Re-Mi Oku no Original Sound Witch - Power Sound Witch) were broadcast via SatellaviewSatellaviewThe is a satellite modem add-on for Nintendo's Super Famicom system that was released in Japan in 1995. Available for pre-release orders as early as February 13, 1995, the Satellaview retailed for between ¥14,000 and 18,000 and came bundled with the BS-X Game Pak and an 8M Memory Pak.The...
to Japanese fans. In 2000, an English translation of the game was released as a ROM by a group of enthusiasts known as "Gaijin Productions of CTC", later completed by RPGONE. The cartridge version was released on Nintendo's Virtual ConsoleVirtual consoleA virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
download service for the WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
in North America on March 10, 2008. However, unlike other games in the "import" category, there is no English translation; all Japanese text is retained. - There are some references to Milon's Secret Castle in a few Hudson Soft games. Milon made a cameo appearance in the Sega SaturnSega SaturnThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
game Saturn BombermanSaturn BombermanSaturn Bomberman is a video game for the Sega Saturn. It is part of the Bomberman series.-Story:As from the instruction manual:Like most Bomberman games, Saturn Bomberman features a battle mode as well as a story mode. Along with them is a master mode in which the player races to finish a series...
, and in Star Soldier there are hidden Milon tiles that can only be uncovered and destroyed for a 40,000 point bonus when certain score conditions are met. - In episode #19 of GameCenter CXRetro Game MasterRetro Game Master, known in Japan as , is a Japanese television series where Shinya Arino, a member of comedy duo Yoiko, plays Japan's most popular video games and records his progress as he works through a time limit, usually lasting up to one day...
(known as "Retro Game Master" outside of Japan), Shinya Arino, the host of the show, played through the Famicom version of the game and successfully cleared it.