Astyanax is a port of an arcade side scrolling adventure game with rpg mechanics. You play a high school boy who is isekai into a fantasy world, to save a magical princess from a dark sorcerer. Yes, even then, isekai was a common storyline trope. A companion fairy name Cutie guides you on your journey, as you venture across six treacherous levels of brutal platforming and an endless onslaught of enemies. The graphics are awesome, and well designed and detailed. This is one of the best looking games on the NES. You have a magical weapon named, Bash. Bash can transform from a Battle Axe, to a Spear and a Sword. Each form is stronger in strength, but weakens your magic abilities. It’s a good counter to not make the player overpowered. It’s a standard affair. Transverse the stages, defeat the boss and advance onwards. What gives this game its charm is its detailed cutscenes. Excellent anime illustrations present a compelling narrative as you play. Considering the limitations of the NES, these scenes are well executed. I was surprised and became motivated to beat this game on stream. It feels as I am watching one of my mom’s old VHS OVA Anime tapes, only in game form.
Astyanax is very difficult…for new players. As a new player myself, this was a gauntlet. I was just brute forcing my way through the levels, until I advanced. Nothing trial and error with perseverance can’t handle. You know what we always say on this blog: GIT GUD.
My only complaint is the unfair enemy placement and the endless respawning of them. You have to look before you leap at every platform, because an unexpected enemy can just spawn from the ground and knock you back into the death pit. This game had to take inspiration from Castlevania, because the enemies are relentless and the dreaded knock back is your common demise. Don’t even get me started on the flying drone enemies, known as the “Medusa Head” clones to gamers. Still, despite the enemies and the occasional unfair challenges, it’s a nice feeling of accomplishment to beat the stage boss and progress. The bosses are so cool looking too. The sprite work is so detailed and imaginative. Very Heavy Metal kind of Vibe.
With an awesome and compelling presentation, excellent sprite designs, and fun game mechanics, I highly recommend this game. It’s really short too, if you know what you’re doing. You can just cheese the difficult parts with the time freeze spell anyways, including the boss fights. It’s a little unfair, but overall a fun time for challenge lovers like myself. Play this game. A Melody Hayashi Approval 🐰👍🏻