And we hit the ground running with punch number 2 of a duo of A-listers (As in both games start with the letter A) from the NES library.
Following up Abadox is a fantasy sidescroller. Its name?
Astyanax.
Some name, huh? Well, according to the game's prologue, Astynax is an ordinary high school Freshman with an unusual name. In his words, his namesake comes from Greek Mythology.
Stop me if you've heard this one before. A young man living in an ordinary town with an ordinary life where nothing happens is bored with his hum-drum daily grind. Until one day, from out of nowhere, a voice contacts him as he is transported, without warning, to a strange place in a strange land. He is approached by a strange creature--a fairy (with leg warmers?) named Cutie who tell him he is the hero chosen for a great quest as Princess Rosebud has been captured and imprisoned by the evil warlock, Blackhorn. Blackhorn schemes to enslave the princess to make her power his and his alone in order to conquer all. Rosebud, alone, has the power to return Astyanax home.
With a mighty axe called Bash, Astynax sets out from Remlia to the Tower on Blackhorn's fortress on the mountain cliff of the island of Thelenea. With armies of beasts and monsters led by minibosses and bosses in front of him, the only way home is forward.
It's a test of blade-wielding skill and use of a powerful magic spell as his lone ace as Astyanax and Cutie brave all sorts of mythical, magical, and fantastic lands and creatures to free the princess from the Tower. With anime cutscenes in the style of Ninja Gaiden, telling the story, this is one of the finest hidden gem entries in the NES library brought to you by third party, Jaleco.
This is my 14th profile. Let me show you how far I've come...
Let's get started:
Prologue, Title, and Cutscene 1
Round 1-1: Remlia, Caesar Boss and Cut Scene 2. Marble pillars, paintings, and gargoyle statues. The boss is now a trio.
Round 2-2: Inazumi and Boss Medusa. Scaling the mountains, we duel with a gorgon.
Round 3-1: Ryogoku. A mix of Roman/Greek architecture which also gives me Egyptian vibes, somehow. Perhaps a coluseum?
Round 3-2: Rent, Brain Golemn Boss and Cutscene 3. Now we descend down the mountain. Boss's true self is a brain creature.
Round 4-1: Marshy. Nuclear slime and radioactive vines make this dark swamp extra nasty.
Round 4-2: Grave and Plant Boss. It's an underground tomb full of caskets, skuklls, and stalactites. And now spinning lanterns.
Cutscene 4 and Round 5: Telagamn. Some story and then we cross the ocean to an island fortress. The way in has bridges and aqueducts.
Round 5-2: Cliff and Cutscene 5. A cliff. Descriptive enough to tell you what you need to know. You're in for a climb and some more story.
Round 6-1: Thelenea. We're down to the wire as we enter the deadly maze. Look for the signs! A cutscene reveals a noble sacrifice.
Round 6-2: Tower and Ending. This is it. The last stage and it drops you into some miniboss battles before the final boss. Take it in, battle it out and finally witness how the story ends.
And that's Astyanax for NES. See you next profile.
UPDATE: A long list of polishes and fixes. Most of which you won't see in the videos but suffice to say the final profile will look noticeably improved in certain spots.