Rygar | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Tecmo[a] |
Publisher(s) | |
Designer(s) | Hideo Yoshizawa |
Platform(s) | |
Release | June 6, 1986
|
Genre(s) | Platform |
Mode(s) |
Rygar[b] is a 1986 side-scrolling platform game created by Tecmo. Originally released for Japanese arcades in June 1986, the game was subsequently ported to the NES (1987), Commodore 64 (1987), ZX Spectrum (1987), Amstrad CPC (1987), Master System (1988), Atari Lynx (1990), and X68000 (1994). Emulations have also been released for Xbox (2005), Sprint mobile phones (2005), Wii (2009), PlayStation 4 (2014), Nintendo Switch (2018), and Android (2023), with an unofficial fan-made emulation released for Amiga AGA in 2019. A remake, Rygar: The Legendary Adventure, was released for PlayStation 2 in 2002. The Legendary Adventure was remastered for the Wii in 2008 as Rygar: The Battle of Argus.
The original arcade game has very little story, with the player assuming the role of a "Legendary Warrior" who must fight through a series of increasingly hostile landscapes so as to defeat Ligar, an evil "dominator". Later ports, particularly the NES and Lynx versions, expanded on the storyline, with the NES version depicting Rygar as a warrior returned from the dead to fulfil an ancient prophecy. In all versions of the game, the main mechanic is the use of a weapon called the "Diskarmor", a razor-sharp shield with a long chain attached to it that operates like a yo-yo.
Rygar received mixed reviews across its various platforms. The most lauded version of the game was the NES version, which was praised for incorporating RPG elements into an otherwise standard platformer, and which has since been recognised as an important early example of the Metroidvania sub-genre. On the other hand, the Commodore, Spectrum, and Amstrad ports were poorly received, particularly their graphics. A common criticism across all platforms was the game's high difficulty. Financially, the games have been successful; the original arcade version proved profitable worldwide, and as of June 2007, the various ports, emulations, and remakes of Rygar have sold 1.5 million units across all platforms.
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