Legend of Kage
Reviewed by Billbowsky
I'm sure we've all seen a crazy kung-fu movie once in our lives.
Some of you out there may have seen some of Jet-Li's old stuff
from Japan. Well, if you haven't, then the closest you can come to
fast action and no plot is Legend of Kage for the grandaddy of them
all, The NES. The plot's simple- your a ninja guy with a long pony tail,
a small sword that you slash out and acts like a shield, and Ninja stars.
And man, you can JUMP! You have to save your girlfriend from some
weird dude. That's it, that's the plot. It sounds bad, but trust me, this
game is awesome. And if you have a Game Genie, than be prepared for
the time of your life!
Graphics 4 out of 10
Well, the graphics aren't that great. The whole game takes place in
three settings: a forest, a wall that you climb to lead up to the top
of the castle, and the inside of the castle. You play through them in
that order until you save your lady. You jump OFF THE TOP OF THE
CASTLE to the bottom of the forest and start running, until she is
kidnapped again. And then you go through the forest, wall, and castle,
only to have this happen AGAIN! Finally, on the last try, you succeed,
and the game starts over like Kung-Fu. During this time, the background
goes through changes-first time, everything is green and brown, next
time, everything is red, third time, everything is snowy. The enemies
and you character all look the same, only that some bad guys wear hats.
So graphics aren't that strong in this game. And on top of that, your
character is small, and the background is HUGE. Just to give you an
idea of how big, think about this: a normal jump, just tapping the A
Button, gets you to the TOP of the TV screen! You can jump like this
two and a half time before finally hitting an invisible ceiling!
Music and Sound 5 out of 10
The sound is bad, and the bad guys don't make sounds when they die, it
doesn't matter though. You'll be too busy running around like a crazy
man and jumping all over the place to notice.
Game Challenge 7 out of 10
The game can be pretty difficult. You are basically guaranteed a
shield by constantly swinging you sword, so enemy Ninja stars won't
hit that often. The only way you'll die is if you get hit by a fire blast
or from some freak Ninja star that hits you from behind. So why is
the difficulty so high? Because once you get through the scenes for
the first time, the enemies come at you faster and the Ninja stars
just don't seem to kill them. Plus, your sword isn't quite as
effective as you'd like it to be. By the time you finish the game, your
fingers will have been given quite a workout.
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
This game is way too much fun. Your character runs at the speed of light,
and he jumps the entire height of the screen. All without pick-ups.
And if you through a Game Genie in there, your set for hours of fun.
But this game is most successful when you play with a friend. Although
you take turns, it is fun watching your friend climb the entire wall, only
to have some stray Ninja star hit him after he's sped through the entire level.
Frustration
Only frustrating thing is that once you beat it, you won't really feel
the want to play it again. Its one of those games where, even though
its great fun, you just don't want to play it because of the lack of
satisfaction at having beat it. You won't play this game over and
over again.
Replayability 7 out of 10
You'll find that Legend of Kage is great fun when you first play it,
and with friends. But after about three weeks to a month, you'll find
yourself playing Zelda or Star Tropics instead.
Game Value 10 out of 10
The game is a blast, and since it's only $1.50 at Funcoland, you won't
be disappointed with the selection.
Overall 8 out of 10
Legend of Kage is one fun game to play alone, and even better with
friends. You'll find yourself laughing at the way the game moves
to fast for its own good. But, unfortunately, you'll put it away after
a month. But it's real cheep at Funcoland, so why not pick up a copy?