Wizards & Warriors Chapter X: The Fortress of Fear
Encyclopedia
Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear is a side-scrolling platforming
video game developed by UK-based company Rare for the Game Boy
. It was published by Acclaim Entertainment
in January 1990 in North America and as a launch title for the system in Europe in 1990. Taking place after the events in Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
, the game features the knight warrior Kuros; he sets out to the Fortress of Fear to defeat the evil wizard Malkil, who, after 17 years of dormancy, has captured Princess Elaine and has imprisoned her there.
Wizards & Warriors X consists of five "Chapters" that comprise 18 level
s. In contrast to the previous games in the series, gameplay is more linear. Reviews were mainly negative and focused on the slow gameplay, lack of continue
s, and the blurring caused by scrolling on the Game Boy. Moreover, in response to the game's title (Chapter X), some gaming magazines asked what happened to the intermediate chapters in the Wizards & Warriors series.
. The game features the knight warrior Kuros, "one of the bravest warriors ever to wield the IronSword" as well as the only person to defeat the evil wizard Malkil. After Malkil's defeat in Ironsword, he went into seclusion for more than 17 years, in which nobody was heard from him during that time. Then, Princess Elaine disappears without a trace, in which Kuros believes that Malkil has captured her and imprisoned her in the dreaded Fortress of Fear, located in the woods of Zanifer. Kuros then ventures into the Fortress of Fear to stop Malkil from furthering his evil plans. However, many people have went inside the Fortress of Fear, but none of them survived.
platform game
in which players assume the role of Kuros as he battles through the Fortress of Fear to defeat the evil wizard Malkil. Gameplay is more of a hack and slash
type and is linear, in contrast to the previous games in the series. The game consists of five "Chapters" that comprise 18 level
s in total. Players can move Kuros with the control pad and can gave him jump and attack enemies by pressing the other buttons. The main objectives in each level are to increase score by defeating enemies and collecting gems, maintain Kuros' life force
by collecting food and ale, and gain magic powers by collecting various spells. To accomplish these objectives, players need to find keys and open treasure chests, collect all items, avoid hazardous objects, and defeat any enemies who stand in the way. Throughout the game, players can collect various magic spells to help aid Kuros along the way. These spells are mostly found in locked chests and include the "Shield of Protection", the "Potion of Healing", the "Spell of Invincibility", and the "Boots of Jumping". At the end of each "Chapter" is a boss
, which must be defeated before moving to later levels.
Kuros' life force, which consists of a series of hearts located at the top of the screen, decreases every time he sustains damage from enemies and hazardous objects or if he falls too far a distance; the player loses a life if Kuros' life force runs out or if he falls off the screen, and the game ends
if all lives are lost. However, players can collect food and ale to help replenish Kuros' life force, and they can collect miniature versions of Kuros for extra lives. If the game ends, and a high enough a score is obtained, players can register their initials and high score in "The Scroll of Honor", where, according to the game's manual, "the scores of the greatest warriors ever to enter the Fortress of Fear are recorded". However, the players' high scores are erased once the device is turned off. The game does not offer continue
s, so players must restart the game from the beginning every time the game ends.
in January 1990 in North America and parts of Europe. It was briefly covered in Nintendo Power
magazine in its May–June 1990 issue. There, the staff was questioning as to why Acclaim titled the game Chapter X, saying that "if we find out what happend to Chapters III through IX, we'll let you know". It was also reviewed in UK-based gaming magazine Mean Machines
, where they praised the game overall, but they criticized the level of blurring caused on the Game Boy by the scrolling. According to reviewer Julian Rignall
: "It's a shame that this features such blurry scrolling, because otherwise it's a great game."
In a retrospective of the entire Wizards & Warriors series, UK-based retrogaming
magazine Retro Gamer
asked the same question Nintendo Power did 20 years earlier, asking what happened to the fourth through ninth chapters of the series. They noted the more linear hack and slash
gameplay that differentiated it from its NES counterparts. The game was mostly criticized by the magazine for its slow gameplay, high difficulty level (in which they claim it is more difficult than Ironsword), and lack of continues. Wrongly suspecting that the game was never released in Europe, they said that it "might have been a blessing in disguise".
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
video game developed by UK-based company Rare for the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
. It was published by Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
in January 1990 in North America and as a launch title for the system in Europe in 1990. Taking place after the events in Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II
Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II is a platforming adventure video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System developed by UK-based company Zippo Games for Rare. it was published by Acclaim and released in North America in December 1989 and in Europe on March 27, 1991. It is the sequel to...
, the game features the knight warrior Kuros; he sets out to the Fortress of Fear to defeat the evil wizard Malkil, who, after 17 years of dormancy, has captured Princess Elaine and has imprisoned her there.
Wizards & Warriors X consists of five "Chapters" that comprise 18 level
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
s. In contrast to the previous games in the series, gameplay is more linear. Reviews were mainly negative and focused on the slow gameplay, lack of continue
Continue (video gaming)
Continue is a common term in video games for the option to continue the game after all of the player's lives have been lost, rather than ending the game and restarting from the very beginning.-Arcade games:...
s, and the blurring caused by scrolling on the Game Boy. Moreover, in response to the game's title (Chapter X), some gaming magazines asked what happened to the intermediate chapters in the Wizards & Warriors series.
Plot
The events in Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear take place after the events in Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors IIIronsword: Wizards & Warriors II
Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II is a platforming adventure video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System developed by UK-based company Zippo Games for Rare. it was published by Acclaim and released in North America in December 1989 and in Europe on March 27, 1991. It is the sequel to...
. The game features the knight warrior Kuros, "one of the bravest warriors ever to wield the IronSword" as well as the only person to defeat the evil wizard Malkil. After Malkil's defeat in Ironsword, he went into seclusion for more than 17 years, in which nobody was heard from him during that time. Then, Princess Elaine disappears without a trace, in which Kuros believes that Malkil has captured her and imprisoned her in the dreaded Fortress of Fear, located in the woods of Zanifer. Kuros then ventures into the Fortress of Fear to stop Malkil from furthering his evil plans. However, many people have went inside the Fortress of Fear, but none of them survived.
Gameplay
Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear is an actionAction game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
in which players assume the role of Kuros as he battles through the Fortress of Fear to defeat the evil wizard Malkil. Gameplay is more of a hack and slash
Hack and slash
Hack and slash or hack and slay, abbreviated H&S or HnS, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games , carrying over from there to MUDs, MMORPGs, and video games in general...
type and is linear, in contrast to the previous games in the series. The game consists of five "Chapters" that comprise 18 level
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
s in total. Players can move Kuros with the control pad and can gave him jump and attack enemies by pressing the other buttons. The main objectives in each level are to increase score by defeating enemies and collecting gems, maintain Kuros' life force
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
by collecting food and ale, and gain magic powers by collecting various spells. To accomplish these objectives, players need to find keys and open treasure chests, collect all items, avoid hazardous objects, and defeat any enemies who stand in the way. Throughout the game, players can collect various magic spells to help aid Kuros along the way. These spells are mostly found in locked chests and include the "Shield of Protection", the "Potion of Healing", the "Spell of Invincibility", and the "Boots of Jumping". At the end of each "Chapter" is a boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
, which must be defeated before moving to later levels.
Kuros' life force, which consists of a series of hearts located at the top of the screen, decreases every time he sustains damage from enemies and hazardous objects or if he falls too far a distance; the player loses a life if Kuros' life force runs out or if he falls off the screen, and the game ends
Game over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
if all lives are lost. However, players can collect food and ale to help replenish Kuros' life force, and they can collect miniature versions of Kuros for extra lives. If the game ends, and a high enough a score is obtained, players can register their initials and high score in "The Scroll of Honor", where, according to the game's manual, "the scores of the greatest warriors ever to enter the Fortress of Fear are recorded". However, the players' high scores are erased once the device is turned off. The game does not offer continue
Continue (video gaming)
Continue is a common term in video games for the option to continue the game after all of the player's lives have been lost, rather than ending the game and restarting from the very beginning.-Arcade games:...
s, so players must restart the game from the beginning every time the game ends.
Reception
Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear was developed by UK-based video game company Rare Ltd. and was published by Acclaim EntertainmentAcclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
in January 1990 in North America and parts of Europe. It was briefly covered in Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
magazine in its May–June 1990 issue. There, the staff was questioning as to why Acclaim titled the game Chapter X, saying that "if we find out what happend to Chapters III through IX, we'll let you know". It was also reviewed in UK-based gaming magazine Mean Machines
Mean Machines
Mean Machines was a market-leading multi-format gaming magazine released between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and its sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews.- Origins :In the late...
, where they praised the game overall, but they criticized the level of blurring caused on the Game Boy by the scrolling. According to reviewer Julian Rignall
Julian Rignall
Julian "Muppet" Rignall is a longterm publishing veteran with experience launching and managing numerous video game magazines and websites...
: "It's a shame that this features such blurry scrolling, because otherwise it's a great game."
In a retrospective of the entire Wizards & Warriors series, UK-based retrogaming
Retrogaming
Retrogaming, also known as old-school gaming, is the hobby of playing and collecting older computer, video, and arcade games. These games are played either on the original hardware, on modern hardware via emulation, or on modern hardware via ports or compilations...
magazine Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
asked the same question Nintendo Power did 20 years earlier, asking what happened to the fourth through ninth chapters of the series. They noted the more linear hack and slash
Hack and slash
Hack and slash or hack and slay, abbreviated H&S or HnS, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games , carrying over from there to MUDs, MMORPGs, and video games in general...
gameplay that differentiated it from its NES counterparts. The game was mostly criticized by the magazine for its slow gameplay, high difficulty level (in which they claim it is more difficult than Ironsword), and lack of continues. Wrongly suspecting that the game was never released in Europe, they said that it "might have been a blessing in disguise".
External links
- Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Review at Honest Gamers