I can actually explain the game's 'perplexing conclusion', or at least the reason why it's there. I'll preface this by saying *1.)* Apologies for length; and *2.)* I _swear_ I'm not making any of this up. So, the game's working title was _Silversword_ (meant as a sort of 'step up', I suppose, from _Ironsword_ ). Its chief designers, Ste and John Pickford of Zippo Games, who had been tasked to create the game for Rare, intended it to be a partial homage to _Atic Atac,_ a 1983 ZX Spectrum title published by Ultimate Play the Game, which was, at that time, the trade name of the company which eventually became known as Rare. This is primarily evident in the form of the three playable character classes/'disguises', as in _Atic Atac,_ the player can similarly choose between the Knight, Wizard, and Serf, each of whom has different abilities, advantages, and even ground friction. (Funnily enough, it's also a game containing many keys and many doors.) Anyway, this idea was implemented by the Pickford Brothers in their _Silversword_ project - but ended up presenting a bit of a conundrum when it was realised that, as all three playable 'forms' are, in fact, meant to be Kuros in different 'disguises', the three rescued princesses will have each vowed to marry the same man. Initially, the idea of having all three women meet and realise this dilemma in a farcical sort of ending was bandied about, but Ste Pickford decided instead to go for what he called 'the ultimate cheapo cop-out', in which Kuros is _abducted by a flying saucer,_ whose occupants proceed to send him into the future, setting the scene for the planned fourth game, which Pickford intended to call _Lasersword,_ and which would have evidently featured a futuristic sci-fi setting. Obviously, this would also end up being scrapped before the game's final release, and the fourth game would never materialise, but some remnants of this bizarre concept were apparently retained; hence the seemingly random ending in which a time warp deposits Kuros in the year 2191, for reasons which, in the released version, are never explained nor given an iota of context or consequence in-game. In other words, your joke about a potential _Judge Dredd_ crossover sequel really wasn't too far off the mark! An additional, unrelated fun fact is that the name of one of the tavernkeepers shown in the game's opening 'roll call', Newton N. Ridley, is a reference to the fictional brewery Newton and Ridley, featured in the British soap opera _Coronation Street._
@@BigOleWords *A WINNER IS ME!* ...See, kids? It _pays_ to be a font of useless, yet oddly fascinating, knowledge! ...No, but seriously, thanks a lot. Your channel is the greatest!
Wizards and Warriors 1 is one of my all time favorite games. 3 is just such a departure from the first two games that I never finished it when I was younger. Fun fact, Wizards and Warriors was made by Rare! Though the sequels were developed by a subsidiary of Rare.
In 1993 I had appendicitis and had to have surgery. When my dad got home from work that day he took me to our local Toys R Us and let me pick any game. This was the one I picked, and it has remained one of my favorite NES games. It was the first adventure style game that I ever managed to beat, and started a life-long obsession with adventure games that had puzzle elements - whether they were action adventure games like this or Zelda, or proper Metroidvanias, or even point and click adventures. I still have my original NES copy and play through it once every couple of years. A real underrated gem, and surprisingly forgiving for a Rare game of that era. Wish they'd release the trilogy on modern platforms. I'd happily fork over 15 bucks for a Wizards & Warriors compilation on the Switch or Xbox.
The most popular game in this series was hands down Iron Sword: Wizards and Warriors 2. A lot of people owned that game back in the day. I remember Wizards and Warriors 3 being advertised in an issue of the magazine "Video Games and Computer Entertainment" during 1992. But I didn't buy it, because by 1992 the Sega Genesis was entering it's peak period of greatness, the SNES was slowly building it's great library up, the Turbo Duo was in it's "Last Hurrah" period where they were releasing lots of good games, etc. The NES was way past it's prime by 1992 and a lot of people were leaving the NES in their closet while they had one of the 16-bit consoles hooked up to their TV. They seriously should have made Wizards and Warriors 3 for the SNES or Sega Genesis. Anyway, at least the last remaining NES owners still playing on their NES during 1992 that hadn't moved on to a 16-bit console yet were still getting new games. I still would like to play Wizards of Warriors 3: Kuros Visions of Power.
First game.. and there's a shortcut to skip the castle once you're in the second forest if you use the potion of levitation to push yourself into the first forest and just complete the next two maps again ;)
Wizards & Warriors III was the only one I played. I lived in a remote village in the UK in the 90s and on a very rare occasion My family went to Toys 'R' Us. My brother bought the Ninja for the Master System, and I got W&WIII. I was just loved the box art and the pictures of the gameplay looked cool. Fast forward 30 years later and I still haven't completed it. I remember playing it for hours jumping around the city always trying to figure out what to do. I know I have it somewhere but can't find it. Always vouching to play and finally complete it when I got older. Great video! Gave me some great flashbacks of seeing certain parts.
I own this game. I played it for hours and hours. I had memorized most of the maps and locations for all the trophy pieces, guilds, and bosses. I remember beating it, and then playing it again and choosing to join the final boss. It was a crazy time playing this gem.
Fabio FtW! Even though this is the deepest of the three, I strongly prefer Ironsword. The music and difficulty is perfect, I remember drawing that Frog King as a kid. Also, I’m probably a bit bias. My 3 older siblings couldn’t figure out how to defeat the waterfall demon and when I finally did, it felt really good as a kid. Great video!
David Wise. Just the selection of sounds is a dead giveaway for David Wise. Great stuff in this trilogy. Other games, too, specifically Captain Skyhawk and Battletoads.
I just love the way the three princesses slowly walk off with their hands over their foreheads. You don't often see that kind of characterization in NES games. It's those little details that add so much charm.
I do a full playthrough of the original every few years. Love the atmosphere and general vibe. It's been a while since I've played through Ironsword, and I've never played part 3! Time to revisit the series...
When I eventually get to Dark Souls, I'm gonna play as Kuros, start him as a knight with a thief's key and teach him pyromancy. I love this game, but a lot of that love is that I admire the ambition and love the soundtrack. I've beaten it exactly once and I don't know if I could do it again without rewinding or save scumming.
Iron Sword is the best of the series IMO. Apparently, there is four games, though. From what I've heard the GameBoy one is garbage. Wizards & Warriors X: Fortress of Fear is its title.
I rented this game back in 92 and i remember that feeling. The air conditioner was on full blast, i can smell cornbread baking and i was on this game all day. i looove it. THank you aunt Sarah
I have this game. It’s a lot of fun and not that hard once you get used to it. My favorite song is the one that plays in the secret passage from the underground to the throne room. It just gets progressively faster.
The thing that always stood out to me about the Wizards & Warriors III cover was how the three pyramids form a W shape. With "Wizards" and "Warriors" both starting with a W, I found it very peculiar and interesting.
Wow!! Great observation and you're totally right!! I didn't notice that either!! And can't be a coincidence, definitely something the developers were going for!?!
This is often referred to as the Kuros trilogy. A fourth title was in production but ultimately scrapped as a result of poor sales of the third game (the first two games had better sales). As a previous commenter pointed out, the fourth game would explain the bizarre ending of the third
WAAAAY back in 1991 when I was in 3rd grade, there was an NES in our classroom that "good kids" could play for 15/20 minutes at a stretch. They had some weird ones like Rollergames and Rad Gravity, but Ironsword was the one that stuck with me. Loved the music and the whole vibe in general.
My old church actually had an NES and a ton of games in the youth group room. Even though I grew up with the system it exposed me to a lot of great, obscure titles like Dragon Spirit and even bootleg titles such as Spiritual Warfare and Bible Adventures.
@@BigOleWords Miami Park Elementary. The late 80s and early 90s were a special time for incentivizing kids in school: I remember kids who had 100% homework completion throughout the week getting donuts on Friday 😄
W&W II will always be my favorite title. The first game set the stage, and the second just blew it out of the water. Both had incredible music that got me hooked. Graphically, I hated W&W III and couldn't get into it. A far removed game from the originals and while I get what they were going for, just wasn't my thing at the time.
I have very fond memories of playing all three of these games. Oddly, the only time I ever had the time and patience to beat them was when I was super sick, home from school and often running a high fever. Perhaps having my brain fried has made them all more memorable for me? The invisible boss in WaW 1 was such a pain in the backside!
Great review, you normally don't hear a lot of nice things said about this game. I think I may have rented it only once at a corner store at the time and wrote it off for being too complicated for me. It's more now that I can see it's positive qualities and what they were trying to do. The first Wizards & Warriors is still my favorite though, loved the darker look it had and the music is permanently engrained in my mind.
I couldn't get into Wizards and Warriors II back in the day because it seemed as if enemies could do random damage, and sometimes one hit could kill your character. Wizards and Warriors III was awesome, but so difficult. I couldn't really get anywhere as a kid, but in my early 20s, I finally made it to the last boss. However, I couldn't defeat him because I only had the 2nd Knight Guild. So, I wasn't powered up enough. That was my final attempt at this game - lol.
I had all 4 Wizards & Warriors games growing up (the NES trilogy and the Game Boy one). I don't recall ever beating any of them, but I remember trying the hardest with 3. Many weekends were spent trying to beat that game. I got as far as facing off with Malkil, but I couldn't seem to do any damage to him, so I think I probably missed something. This was years ago though, so heck if I know what I was doing wrong now. Anyway, great video! You've got my sub
I recently came across your RUclips Channel and I love it! I'm a fellow lifelong NES fan and your videos do a great job of covering some of the more obscure games while dealing with fun topics as well! Please continue to keep them coming man. On a Wizards & Warriors 3 note, I bought this game from a local rental store a long, long time ago and I was pleasantly surprised when I played it! W&W3 isn't perfect by any means but I agree with you in that it's the best game in the trilogy. There's just something about the exploration and item hunting that I find enjoyable and the visuals and soundtrack really carry the game to be honest. I recommend it too!
I play the Japanese rom of the first game. It's called "Elrond". You take way less damage in that version and don't have to hear the annoying low health music as much. I want to hear them tunes. I used to go to this website for games like Wizards and Warriors 3 called Nintendo maps...or something like that. For games like that you just want to look at a map. The verbal walkthrough is really akward. I think the website got taken down but the maps are out there. Ironsword is my favorite in the series. Best NES soundtrack imo. I got a playthrough on my channel. There are a lot of tricks to cheese the game that seem to be left there by the developers. I think they took pity on us after they saw how hard the game is. You can get infinite magic and also keep your spells from level to level with some simple tricks.
@@BigOleWords 'Elrond' is the name of the kingdom in which the first game takes place (hence, 'Forest of Elrond', 'Princess of Elrond', &c.). Although of course developed by UK-based Rare, it was the only game in the series which saw a release in Japan, where it was published by Jaleco under the title _伝説の騎士エルロンド (Densetsu no Kishi Elrond),_ or _'Legendary Knight Elrond'._
they change the boss order for elrond as i recall and the final boss is super infuriating as it starts dropping rocks or acid rain or something when he dies and you have to run to the final door
I was still on NES for quite a while after my peers had moved on to SNES, so I played many of the later titles like W&W3. That game rocks, it's like Lord of the Rings meets Metroid. I was always hoping for a part 4, scifi version.
I was born in 86 so by time my parents got us an NES (when I was 5 or so), the SNES was already on the market. We didn't actually get an SNES until around the time the N64 came out in 96. So I played a ton of late-release NES games. It's still my all-time favorite console.
Ironsword was my favorite platforming game on the NES, and I owned the first and second games. The third I only ever found for rent at a Phar-Mor if anyone remembers that place, and I got to play it a few times before being able to play and beat it on an emulator years later.
Great video. I love to see this kind of break down of the games I never got to play when I was younger, but would daydream about in the school bus flipping thru game mags or the vague descriptions in the Game Genie code book. Well done. Also super nice you do art for subscribers. Hope you get too big for that to be practical.
I bought this game new when it came out... I still have my complete copy. Also finished this game multiple times as a kid and this was in a time without getting info from the internet. I really enjoyed this game back then.
I remember being home from school with the flu and beating the original Wizards and Warriors. This was the second game besides the pack in Mario that I ever played for NES.
Found the cartridge in a thrift store or GameStop when PlayStation was getting big. I enjoyed how everything wasn't always trying to kill you all the time, and the great pause music
0:09 my exact same history there older neighbors played and I would sit there and watch, actually got myself a copy last year and beat it 😅👍 with the help of RUclips
I had a very similar experience. I saw some older kids playing the first game, I got the sequel for Christmas one year, and my copy of the third game has a label that's been beaten up.
I used to play Wizards and Warriors on the NES all the time, I loved that game. I never owned it, but I remember renting it more than once and borrowing it from classmates. I never played any of the sequels.
What do you mean "no one played"? Wizards and Warriors... all three games... me and my brothers sat up endless nights in the dark playing. Soaking up the music, the ambiance, the magical wonder. Sitting in the glow of that 37 inch screen just transfixed determined to get to the next level. Thumbing through Nintendo Power... Man those were the days.
I had W&W1 as a kid and still love it to this day. Never had Ironsword but gave it a shot through emulation and enjoyed it despite not making it too far due to the difficulty. Same with W&W3 although it was due to its open world and not knowing where to go. Wizards and Warriors is actually a tetralogy though - there is a Game Boy game as well. Haven't played it but I heard it wasn't good.
I got this game from a Nintendo power magazine when I was a kid . For years I've been trying to figure out what the name of it was . I could remember liking the game , just couldn't remember the damn name. Thank you
I loved this trilogy, started with Ironsword (a christmas present) but had played part 1 at a friends house previously. Ive beat II so many times that now III has become my fav. Gotta love the Fabio graphic on II
Ww3 was amazing game. I remember when it came out. I put a zillion hrs in and never beat it. Might have to try again! Wish theyd put this trilogy on nso
I had given 1 and 2 a go but never 3. Might have to check this shit out. I was reminded of Stanley for NES during the house hopping bit. Have you played that? You should do a vid on that game.
As I kid, once or twice I was lucky enough to rent Visions of Power. It had really stuck with me even tho I owned the first game and didn't come to enjoy the second one until decades later. But I *remember* so much about the third game despite having played it the least. I'd love to see Kuros come back, either in his own new Nintendo game or, hell, throw him in Smash.
3 wives, one first each of the 3 characters is what I'm thinking but it's probably not programmed to differentiate between character since you wouldn't see them again. Love your stuff man keep up the good work!
I like this game. Played it a ton as a kid and still replay it once in a while. It's imo a better game than its predecessors which were a confusing nightmare. The little secondary intro with the tavernkeepers and co is unique, definitely a bonus to the game.
I know this is an NES channel, but I thought it might be worth mentioning that there was actually one more _Wizards & Warriors_ game in addition to the NES trilogy. _Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear_ was released on the Game Boy just after _Ironsword_ came out in North America. It's a much more simple, stripped-down, left-to-right platformer than its console cousins, and a short (if fairly challenging) one at that. Still, it's a decent little diversion, and I thought I'd mention it, as it doesn't seem to be nearly as well-known as the NES titles.
I had the first game. No idea there was others. Me and my brother loved that game. I was super young when I played it and was not very good at it but it didn’t stop me from enjoying it. This is one of those games you think you were the only one who played because it was never popular and non of my friends had it. It’s cool to see that others played it.
I had this game, and in fact got it as a replacement for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves which was so cryptic I couldn't even make it out of the intro dungeon. Going from that to W&W3 definitely felt way more approachable by comparison so that helped me appreciate it for what it is. Getting shackled and enslaved by the Burger King definitely changed my impression of him forever. Revisiting Robin Hood much later, it's actually a really interesting NES game with an ambitious scope combining CRPG elements (complete with paper doll inventory) with action and strategy. Definitely not a good fit for a young child though.
I did miss this one back in the day. played it fairly recently through emulation but yeah, had no idea what the heck I was doing! Seems like there's some neat ideas if you're willing to put in the time, but doesn't seem to quite come together in the end. And yeah that ending is so bizarre! you would think they're setting up for a fourth game... would have been interesting to see what they would've come up with for part 4 probably on SNES. But I suppose there's always going back to the predecessors, both of which I kinda liked. Ironsword is definitely the tougher one, at least the one saving grace is the password so you're not entirely screwed when you run out of continues.
Loved W&W 1 and 2. Never did get to play 3, even though I did recall seeing it in Nintendo Power. The Gameboy W&W X is extremely hard and I never got far in that one. A shame a SNES W&W game was never made.
@@BigOleWords I thought he had more of a role in NES games but I was wrong - he only did The Immortal and Skate or Die 2 (which were both pretty solid). He was way more prolific in the C64 scene.
The moment you showed the second game's box art, I thought, "Oh yeah, I remember that one; I had that?". I did not recognize the game play one bit... It may just be an example of the box art making an indelible impression on me. Fabio someplace other than the cover of my grandmother's smutty romance novels.
Now THIS is a good find! I tried to beat these games back in 2000 and even with save states with was a slog. Never heard of part 3 which is how you got my click
This was a game I rented many times, got to the final battle, but never finished. Definitely a game of exploration with a lot of trial by fire. Not sure why it never had a password system like the previous games. Still, I wonder just how much I’ll remember when I manage to get a hold of a copy again
I played the first 2 WW games but don't think I ever passed them. Always wanted the 3rd game but didn't have money at the time for it. Funny thing was I got this game in an eBay NES game lot around 2000 and never played it still. Maybe one day will try but looking at your video I need to make sure I have like 30+ hours of free time for this game.
This was one of the 3 games I had on my NES as a kid (Mario 3 and Probotector were the others - Probotector was a re-skinned Contra with robots for some reason??) I played the absolute shit out of this game, and reached the final boss multiple times - but could never beat him. I always loved the soundtrack, and the graphics are great. The character upgrading/swapping system is awesome as well. I definitely agree that this is an extremely confusing game in terms of knowing where to go, but that's just the way it was back then, haha. I still the remember the immense satisfaction I felt whenever I found another statue or beat a mini-boss that had been giving me trouble. Great game and great video!
I love LOVE the first game! It's a fun romp, and nostalgic masterpiece. It is, in fact, a go-to I like to revisit every once in a while. The second game, Ironsword, doesn't quite measure up to the first, but still fun to play. The third game... Ugh! It's a completely different feel than the previous two, jarringly so. The gameplay is vague and confusing; just altogether an inferior sequel to two otherwise amazing games. Thanks for a great video! I go back to the third game once in a blue moon, to see if I can get further than the first stage. Your video showed me some great tips I wasn't aware of, so thanks again! (Not that I'm likely to go back to it; this game seems way too involved for no payoff.)
LOVED this game and the series when I was a kid. I rented them all the time. The Wizards & Warriors series needs a reboot and it better not be a Dark Souls clone.
My thoughts on Wizards & Warriors: I only ever played Ironsword as a kid. I saw that it was W&WII, but never played W&W until I was an adult. 1 is the only one in the series I found actually beatable, thanks to the infinite continues and starting where you left off. 2 will always be my favorite. I love the setting, atmosphere and music. It feels darker than the other two. I feel like David Wise's music for 2 is the best in the series. And the giant eagle! I've never seen a cooler sprite animation on the NES! I didn't even know that there was a 3rd or 4th (Gameboy) game until much later. Only ever played emulators of them. Neither were as cool as 2 or as beatable as 1. 2 will always be my favorite, even though I suck at it. Because of the atmosphere. The incredible music. That mind-blowing Eagle! And Fabio as a wannabe Conan on the cover.
I remember liking Kuros in The Power Team, which was basically Captain N but only for Acclaim characters. If he could transform from a warrior into a thief and a wizard that'd have been even cooler, but this game might not have been finished by the time the cartoon was in production.
Strangely, I owned Wizards and Warriors II growing up... I have no idea how it came into my possession, but I too put sooooo many hours into it without getting anywhere good.
I can actually explain the game's 'perplexing conclusion', or at least the reason why it's there. I'll preface this by saying *1.)* Apologies for length; and *2.)* I _swear_ I'm not making any of this up. So, the game's working title was _Silversword_ (meant as a sort of 'step up', I suppose, from _Ironsword_ ). Its chief designers, Ste and John Pickford of Zippo Games, who had been tasked to create the game for Rare, intended it to be a partial homage to _Atic Atac,_ a 1983 ZX Spectrum title published by Ultimate Play the Game, which was, at that time, the trade name of the company which eventually became known as Rare. This is primarily evident in the form of the three playable character classes/'disguises', as in _Atic Atac,_ the player can similarly choose between the Knight, Wizard, and Serf, each of whom has different abilities, advantages, and even ground friction. (Funnily enough, it's also a game containing many keys and many doors.) Anyway, this idea was implemented by the Pickford Brothers in their _Silversword_ project - but ended up presenting a bit of a conundrum when it was realised that, as all three playable 'forms' are, in fact, meant to be Kuros in different 'disguises', the three rescued princesses will have each vowed to marry the same man. Initially, the idea of having all three women meet and realise this dilemma in a farcical sort of ending was bandied about, but Ste Pickford decided instead to go for what he called 'the ultimate cheapo cop-out', in which Kuros is _abducted by a flying saucer,_ whose occupants proceed to send him into the future, setting the scene for the planned fourth game, which Pickford intended to call _Lasersword,_ and which would have evidently featured a futuristic sci-fi setting. Obviously, this would also end up being scrapped before the game's final release, and the fourth game would never materialise, but some remnants of this bizarre concept were apparently retained; hence the seemingly random ending in which a time warp deposits Kuros in the year 2191, for reasons which, in the released version, are never explained nor given an iota of context or consequence in-game. In other words, your joke about a potential _Judge Dredd_ crossover sequel really wasn't too far off the mark! An additional, unrelated fun fact is that the name of one of the tavernkeepers shown in the game's opening 'roll call', Newton N. Ridley, is a reference to the fictional brewery Newton and Ridley, featured in the British soap opera _Coronation Street._
You sir are the winner :)
@@BigOleWords *A WINNER IS ME!* ...See, kids? It _pays_ to be a font of useless, yet oddly fascinating, knowledge!
...No, but seriously, thanks a lot. Your channel is the greatest!
that is fascinating
Having a follow-up to Ironsword and Silversword named Lasersword is pretty awesome!
Thanks for having taken the time to write all this.
@@satellachannel6423 Certainly. My pleasure!
I still have my complete in box copy from 1993 and still play it. One of my all-time favorites!
Nice!
It really is a very cool and different game. But never beat it.
Wizards and Warriors 1 is one of my all time favorite games. 3 is just such a departure from the first two games that I never finished it when I was younger. Fun fact, Wizards and Warriors was made by Rare! Though the sequels were developed by a subsidiary of Rare.
Yessir, Zippo Games I think?
In 1993 I had appendicitis and had to have surgery. When my dad got home from work that day he took me to our local Toys R Us and let me pick any game. This was the one I picked, and it has remained one of my favorite NES games. It was the first adventure style game that I ever managed to beat, and started a life-long obsession with adventure games that had puzzle elements - whether they were action adventure games like this or Zelda, or proper Metroidvanias, or even point and click adventures. I still have my original NES copy and play through it once every couple of years. A real underrated gem, and surprisingly forgiving for a Rare game of that era. Wish they'd release the trilogy on modern platforms. I'd happily fork over 15 bucks for a Wizards & Warriors compilation on the Switch or Xbox.
That’s awesome. Not the appendicitis but your story ;)
I love this game, ever since it came out. All the Wizards and Warriors are gold.
Especially the soundtracks. Flawless, in my opinion.
Definitely, especially Ironsword.
The most popular game in this series was hands down Iron Sword: Wizards and Warriors 2. A lot of people owned that game back in the day. I remember Wizards and Warriors 3 being advertised in an issue of the magazine "Video Games and Computer Entertainment" during 1992. But I didn't buy it, because by 1992 the Sega Genesis was entering it's peak period of greatness, the SNES was slowly building it's great library up, the Turbo Duo was in it's "Last Hurrah" period where they were releasing lots of good games, etc. The NES was way past it's prime by 1992 and a lot of people were leaving the NES in their closet while they had one of the 16-bit consoles hooked up to their TV. They seriously should have made Wizards and Warriors 3 for the SNES or Sega Genesis. Anyway, at least the last remaining NES owners still playing on their NES during 1992 that hadn't moved on to a 16-bit console yet were still getting new games. I still would like to play Wizards of Warriors 3: Kuros Visions of Power.
Never too late!
2nd game has a section where you have to jump on moving platforms to climb a castle. It was so hard, I remember crying as a kid.
I think that’s the first one, and it’s brutal!
First game.. and there's a shortcut to skip the castle once you're in the second forest if you use the potion of levitation to push yourself into the first forest and just complete the next two maps again ;)
Wizards & Warriors III was the only one I played. I lived in a remote village in the UK in the 90s and on a very rare occasion My family went to Toys 'R' Us. My brother bought the Ninja for the Master System, and I got W&WIII. I was just loved the box art and the pictures of the gameplay looked cool. Fast forward 30 years later and I still haven't completed it. I remember playing it for hours jumping around the city always trying to figure out what to do. I know I have it somewhere but can't find it. Always vouching to play and finally complete it when I got older. Great video! Gave me some great flashbacks of seeing certain parts.
That’s awesome! I think it’s worth sitting down with and trying to beat :)
I can get to the end boss... and he completely anihilates me lol
I always wanted a reboot of this series. The 2nd game was my favorite and ate a significant chunk of my childhood gaming hours.
omg imagine a remake on switch with graphics similar to 3D world of MM2
I own this game. I played it for hours and hours. I had memorized most of the maps and locations for all the trophy pieces, guilds, and bosses. I remember beating it, and then playing it again and choosing to join the final boss. It was a crazy time playing this gem.
Haha glad I’m not the only one to take him up on his offer!
How dare u besmirch the OG Wizards and Warriors and pump up the sequel. Uh boo.
Fabio FtW! Even though this is the deepest of the three, I strongly prefer Ironsword. The music and difficulty is perfect, I remember drawing that Frog King as a kid. Also, I’m probably a bit bias. My 3 older siblings couldn’t figure out how to defeat the waterfall demon and when I finally did, it felt really good as a kid. Great video!
Nice! I could never get past the fourth level as a kid
David Wise. Just the selection of sounds is a dead giveaway for David Wise. Great stuff in this trilogy. Other games, too, specifically Captain Skyhawk and Battletoads.
“Games No One Played” is a great premise. Carry On
Thanks, and you got it!
I just love the way the three princesses slowly walk off with their hands over their foreheads.
You don't often see that kind of characterization in NES games. It's those little details that add so much charm.
Totally agree, like they’re on the verge of fainting!
They were overcome with emotion after seeing Fabio. Duh.
I do a full playthrough of the original every few years. Love the atmosphere and general vibe. It's been a while since I've played through Ironsword, and I've never played part 3! Time to revisit the series...
It's really really different than the first one and way less forgiving. Still really interesting.
How did you like part 3? I personally love that one the most (Ironsword gets silver, part 1 bronze)
When I eventually get to Dark Souls, I'm gonna play as Kuros, start him as a knight with a thief's key and teach him pyromancy.
I love this game, but a lot of that love is that I admire the ambition and love the soundtrack. I've beaten it exactly once and I don't know if I could do it again without rewinding or save scumming.
I like it! And yeah I think once was enough for me too
Iron Sword is the best of the series IMO. Apparently, there is four games, though. From what I've heard the GameBoy one is garbage. Wizards & Warriors X: Fortress of Fear is its title.
I rented this game back in 92 and i remember that feeling. The air conditioner was on full blast, i can smell cornbread baking and i was on this game all day. i looove it. THank you aunt Sarah
Love it, such a specific memory!
@@BigOleWords i was 8 years old when i beat this game
I have this game. It’s a lot of fun and not that hard once you get used to it. My favorite song is the one that plays in the secret passage from the underground to the throne room. It just gets progressively faster.
Those is a good one!
The thing that always stood out to me about the Wizards & Warriors III cover was how the three pyramids form a W shape. With "Wizards" and "Warriors" both starting with a W, I found it very peculiar and interesting.
Ha! I did not notice that!
Wow!! Great observation and you're totally right!! I didn't notice that either!! And can't be a coincidence, definitely something the developers were going for!?!
This is often referred to as the Kuros trilogy. A fourth title was in production but ultimately scrapped as a result of poor sales of the third game (the first two games had better sales). As a previous commenter pointed out, the fourth game would explain the bizarre ending of the third
Should’ve but 3 on the Super Nintendo, that would’ve been huge
WAAAAY back in 1991 when I was in 3rd grade, there was an NES in our classroom that "good kids" could play for 15/20 minutes at a stretch. They had some weird ones like Rollergames and Rad Gravity, but Ironsword was the one that stuck with me. Loved the music and the whole vibe in general.
What?!? What kind of school were you attending, that’s wild!
My old church actually had an NES and a ton of games in the youth group room. Even though I grew up with the system it exposed me to a lot of great, obscure titles like Dragon Spirit and even bootleg titles such as Spiritual Warfare and Bible Adventures.
@@BigOleWords Miami Park Elementary. The late 80s and early 90s were a special time for incentivizing kids in school: I remember kids who had 100% homework completion throughout the week getting donuts on Friday 😄
Fabio on the label of Ironsword...perfect!
W&W II will always be my favorite title. The first game set the stage, and the second just blew it out of the water. Both had incredible music that got me hooked.
Graphically, I hated W&W III and couldn't get into it. A far removed game from the originals and while I get what they were going for, just wasn't my thing at the time.
I get it, it’s really different.
Agreed Ragesauce.
Great video. I appreciate all these video game reviews you make 👍
Hey thanks for saying that, it means a lot!
My dad used to be blown away by the graphics on the first game back when it was new. Yeah man I didn't know there was third game
It blew me away when I first saw it compared to Super Mario
I have very fond memories of playing all three of these games. Oddly, the only time I ever had the time and patience to beat them was when I was super sick, home from school and often running a high fever. Perhaps having my brain fried has made them all more memorable for me? The invisible boss in WaW 1 was such a pain in the backside!
Great review, you normally don't hear a lot of nice things said about this game. I think I may have rented it only once at a corner store at the time and wrote it off for being too complicated for me. It's more now that I can see it's positive qualities and what they were trying to do. The first Wizards & Warriors is still my favorite though, loved the darker look it had and the music is permanently engrained in my mind.
Yeah that’s what I thought at first but it really grew on me
I couldn't get into Wizards and Warriors II back in the day because it seemed as if enemies could do random damage, and sometimes one hit could kill your character. Wizards and Warriors III was awesome, but so difficult. I couldn't really get anywhere as a kid, but in my early 20s, I finally made it to the last boss. However, I couldn't defeat him because I only had the 2nd Knight Guild. So, I wasn't powered up enough. That was my final attempt at this game - lol.
Damn dude that’s a crusher. I didn’t even think about fighting him level 2!
I had all 4 Wizards & Warriors games growing up (the NES trilogy and the Game Boy one). I don't recall ever beating any of them, but I remember trying the hardest with 3. Many weekends were spent trying to beat that game. I got as far as facing off with Malkil, but I couldn't seem to do any damage to him, so I think I probably missed something. This was years ago though, so heck if I know what I was doing wrong now. Anyway, great video! You've got my sub
I love how Fabio was on the cover of Iron Sword. 😆
Also this seems like one of the most confusing games of all-time, but I bet it was rewarding as shit to figure out back in the day
It aas rewarding af... but tough af
You kinda get the lay of the land after awhile
A level 2 thief broke into my shed last week. Broke in through the window, a level 4 or higher would have noticed that the door wasn't locked.
Hahaha
I played the ever-lovin' shit out of all three W&W's when I was a kid, fantastic series that only got better with each title
These games are truly like a vision of my 3-7 year old childhood. Like a vision of the past. Thanks for sharing.
You got it!
I recently came across your RUclips Channel and I love it! I'm a fellow lifelong NES fan and your videos do a great job of covering some of the more obscure games while dealing with fun topics as well! Please continue to keep them coming man. On a Wizards & Warriors 3 note, I bought this game from a local rental store a long, long time ago and I was pleasantly surprised when I played it! W&W3 isn't perfect by any means but I agree with you in that it's the best game in the trilogy. There's just something about the exploration and item hunting that I find enjoyable and the visuals and soundtrack really carry the game to be honest. I recommend it too!
Hey thanks! And glad I’m not the only one who thinks 3 is the best one :)
I play the Japanese rom of the first game. It's called "Elrond". You take way less damage in that version and don't have to hear the annoying low health music as much. I want to hear them tunes.
I used to go to this website for games like Wizards and Warriors 3 called Nintendo maps...or something like that. For games like that you just want to look at a map. The verbal walkthrough is really akward. I think the website got taken down but the maps are out there.
Ironsword is my favorite in the series. Best NES soundtrack imo. I got a playthrough on my channel. There are a lot of tricks to cheese the game that seem to be left there by the developers. I think they took pity on us after they saw how hard the game is. You can get infinite magic and also keep your spells from level to level with some simple tricks.
I wondered about the Lord of the Rings connection but didn’t realize it was straight up called Elrond!
@@BigOleWords 'Elrond' is the name of the kingdom in which the first game takes place (hence, 'Forest of Elrond', 'Princess of Elrond', &c.). Although of course developed by UK-based Rare, it was the only game in the series which saw a release in Japan, where it was published by Jaleco under the title _伝説の騎士エルロンド (Densetsu no Kishi Elrond),_ or _'Legendary Knight Elrond'._
they change the boss order for elrond as i recall and the final boss is super infuriating as it starts dropping rocks or acid rain or something when he dies and you have to run to the final door
Played this back in the day and LOVED it.
Gonna have to check it out and see if I still love it, or just enjoy it.
I was still on NES for quite a while after my peers had moved on to SNES, so I played many of the later titles like W&W3. That game rocks, it's like Lord of the Rings meets Metroid. I was always hoping for a part 4, scifi version.
Nice, glad there were other kids like me who were stuck in NES land
I was born in 86 so by time my parents got us an NES (when I was 5 or so), the SNES was already on the market. We didn't actually get an SNES until around the time the N64 came out in 96. So I played a ton of late-release NES games. It's still my all-time favorite console.
Ironsword was my favorite platforming game on the NES, and I owned the first and second games. The third I only ever found for rent at a Phar-Mor if anyone remembers that place, and I got to play it a few times before being able to play and beat it on an emulator years later.
Great video. I love to see this kind of break down of the games I never got to play when I was younger, but would daydream about in the school bus flipping thru game mags or the vague descriptions in the Game Genie code book. Well done.
Also super nice you do art for subscribers. Hope you get too big for that to be practical.
Haha I hope so too but then that’s a good problem to have ;)
I bought this game new when it came out... I still have my complete copy. Also finished this game multiple times as a kid and this was in a time without getting info from the internet. I really enjoyed this game back then.
Lucky! I had Ironsword and would've much preferred this bad boy.
I remember being home from school with the flu and beating the original Wizards and Warriors. This was the second game besides the pack in Mario that I ever played for NES.
I played the second one first I dint enjoy it but when I played the first one i had hell of a lot of fun its a great "chill with a game" you can play
You and I have very different ideas about chill! ;)
No one?
I’m one of the few older gamers that played that and Ironsword. Feeling my 90’s nostalgic moment.
He flung him far into the future where his evil is law.
*Cue samurai jack music*
Oh yeah!
Love that someone is giving this game some love!!
I always really enjoyed the game growing up, I can get to the end boss but he is so damn hard
I played all 3, though granted I had no idea what I was doing in the third. The first was a favorite that I still remember the emotion of playing.
I loved the Wizards & Warriors series, the third one was a little rough though.
Found the cartridge in a thrift store or GameStop when PlayStation was getting big. I enjoyed how everything wasn't always trying to kill you all the time, and the great pause music
Best video intro ever. I'm not even kidding! It's the best one on RUclips.
Hey thanks!
0:09 my exact same history there older neighbors played and I would sit there and watch, actually got myself a copy last year and beat it 😅👍 with the help of RUclips
Nice!
I remember playing this game, i still got IRON SWORD for NES here at my house. I still got abit of games from the past.
The music is still some of my favorite. The Minibosses' cut of it from their first release is so good.
Oh yeah?! I’ll have to check that out
I had a very similar experience. I saw some older kids playing the first game, I got the sequel for Christmas one year, and my copy of the third game has a label that's been beaten up.
Someone once commented that every copy of 3 they saw was beat up. Must’ve been a rental thing
I used to play Wizards and Warriors on the NES all the time, I loved that game. I never owned it, but I remember renting it more than once and borrowing it from classmates. I never played any of the sequels.
2 & 3 are way better but much more complicated and difficult
What do you mean "no one played"? Wizards and Warriors... all three games... me and my brothers sat up endless nights in the dark playing. Soaking up the music, the ambiance, the magical wonder. Sitting in the glow of that 37 inch screen just transfixed determined to get to the next level. Thumbing through Nintendo Power... Man those were the days.
Nice! NP would really come in handy with these.
I had W&W1 as a kid and still love it to this day. Never had Ironsword but gave it a shot through emulation and enjoyed it despite not making it too far due to the difficulty. Same with W&W3 although it was due to its open world and not knowing where to go.
Wizards and Warriors is actually a tetralogy though - there is a Game Boy game as well. Haven't played it but I heard it wasn't good.
I think 3 is worth a longer look if you’ve got the time ;)
I got this game from a Nintendo power magazine when I was a kid . For years I've been trying to figure out what the name of it was . I could remember liking the game , just couldn't remember the damn name. Thank you
You got it!
I loved this trilogy, started with Ironsword (a christmas present) but had played part 1 at a friends house previously. Ive beat II so many times that now III has become my fav. Gotta love the Fabio graphic on II
neighbors always these!!! haha I loved playing Ironsword whenever i could when i went to their house to play
Ww3 was amazing game. I remember when it came out. I put a zillion hrs in and never beat it. Might have to try again! Wish theyd put this trilogy on nso
I had given 1 and 2 a go but never 3. Might have to check this shit out. I was reminded of Stanley for NES during the house hopping bit. Have you played that? You should do a vid on that game.
I may be working on it…
9:34 Those king throne screens are taken straight from Super Mario Brothers 3 it seems, including the checkerboard floor and pillars.
As I kid, once or twice I was lucky enough to rent Visions of Power. It had really stuck with me even tho I owned the first game and didn't come to enjoy the second one until decades later. But I *remember* so much about the third game despite having played it the least. I'd love to see Kuros come back, either in his own new Nintendo game or, hell, throw him in Smash.
Smash Kuros would be great :)
thats why playing on emulators is refreshing, u can save state:)
It does make hard games much more palatable
One of my favorite NES games was Mission Impossible. It was based off of the 80's TV show. It was really fun to play.
That game is really cool. I talk about it a little bit here: ruclips.net/video/TTEIL6mDNVc/видео.html
3 wives, one first each of the 3 characters is what I'm thinking but it's probably not programmed to differentiate between character since you wouldn't see them again. Love your stuff man keep up the good work!
Yeah that does make sense honestly!
I love this series. I own all of them from when i was a kid. 1 and 3 were my favorites. I still even have the manual for the first game.
I like this game. Played it a ton as a kid and still replay it once in a while. It's imo a better game than its predecessors which were a confusing nightmare. The little secondary intro with the tavernkeepers and co is unique, definitely a bonus to the game.
Nice, glad I’m not the only one!
I know this is an NES channel, but I thought it might be worth mentioning that there was actually one more _Wizards & Warriors_ game in addition to the NES trilogy. _Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear_ was released on the Game Boy just after _Ironsword_ came out in North America. It's a much more simple, stripped-down, left-to-right platformer than its console cousins, and a short (if fairly challenging) one at that. Still, it's a decent little diversion, and I thought I'd mention it, as it doesn't seem to be nearly as well-known as the NES titles.
i had that one but never beat it
Yah! I don’t usually stray from the NES in these reviews but I have heard of the GB version but never played it.
I've played and beat the first and third many times as a kid. Great memories playing with my dad, RIP.
I had the first game. No idea there was others. Me and my brother loved that game. I was super young when I played it and was not very good at it but it didn’t stop me from enjoying it. This is one of those games you think you were the only one who played because it was never popular and non of my friends had it. It’s cool to see that others played it.
My brother and I played this since 92 as one of our first games ever. Was soo amazing when we finally beat It.
I had this game, and in fact got it as a replacement for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves which was so cryptic I couldn't even make it out of the intro dungeon. Going from that to W&W3 definitely felt way more approachable by comparison so that helped me appreciate it for what it is. Getting shackled and enslaved by the Burger King definitely changed my impression of him forever.
Revisiting Robin Hood much later, it's actually a really interesting NES game with an ambitious scope combining CRPG elements (complete with paper doll inventory) with action and strategy. Definitely not a good fit for a young child though.
Man I feel like you replaced one confuso my game with another there! Might as well add Legacy of the Wizard in the mix ;)
I did miss this one back in the day. played it fairly recently through emulation but yeah, had no idea what the heck I was doing! Seems like there's some neat ideas if you're willing to put in the time, but doesn't seem to quite come together in the end. And yeah that ending is so bizarre! you would think they're setting up for a fourth game... would have been interesting to see what they would've come up with for part 4 probably on SNES. But I suppose there's always going back to the predecessors, both of which I kinda liked. Ironsword is definitely the tougher one, at least the one saving grace is the password so you're not entirely screwed when you run out of continues.
Y’know I don’t think I ever realized Ironsword had a password system!
Loved W&W 1 and 2. Never did get to play 3, even though I did recall seeing it in Nintendo Power. The Gameboy W&W X is extremely hard and I never got far in that one. A shame a SNES W&W game was never made.
Wish there’s been a 16bit sequel!
David Wise was an absolute master when it came to NES soundtracks. Right up there with Rob Hubbard and Tim Follin
Agreed! Although I’m not familiar with Rob Hubbard…
@@BigOleWords I thought he had more of a role in NES games but I was wrong - he only did The Immortal and Skate or Die 2 (which were both pretty solid). He was way more prolific in the C64 scene.
The moment you showed the second game's box art, I thought, "Oh yeah, I remember that one; I had that?". I did not recognize the game play one bit... It may just be an example of the box art making an indelible impression on me.
Fabio someplace other than the cover of my grandmother's smutty romance novels.
That Fabio ad was in every magazine for a while there!
I never played any of those post SNES release era NES games until many, many years later.
They were hiding from most everybody at the time.
Never a bad time to checkkkkk thissss shitttttt outttt
Only game I played under the wizard and warriors label was the gameboy game Fortress of Fear, Wizards and Warriors X
Now THIS is a good find! I tried to beat these games back in 2000 and even with save states with was a slog. Never heard of part 3 which is how you got my click
I had the first two games as a kid and loved them. I didn't know a third game existed until I was an adult and saw it on RUclips.
This was a game I rented many times, got to the final battle, but never finished. Definitely a game of exploration with a lot of trial by fire. Not sure why it never had a password system like the previous games. Still, I wonder just how much I’ll remember when I manage to get a hold of a copy again
It definitely needed Faxanadu length passwords
I played the first 2 WW games but don't think I ever passed them. Always wanted the 3rd game but didn't have money at the time for it. Funny thing was I got this game in an eBay NES game lot around 2000 and never played it still. Maybe one day will try but looking at your video I need to make sure I have like 30+ hours of free time for this game.
I bet that was a super cheap lot in 2000!
there was also a fourth game, titled: "Wizards & Warriors X: The Fortress of Fear", for the Gameboy.
This was one of the 3 games I had on my NES as a kid (Mario 3 and Probotector were the others - Probotector was a re-skinned Contra with robots for some reason??) I played the absolute shit out of this game, and reached the final boss multiple times - but could never beat him. I always loved the soundtrack, and the graphics are great. The character upgrading/swapping system is awesome as well. I definitely agree that this is an extremely confusing game in terms of knowing where to go, but that's just the way it was back then, haha. I still the remember the immense satisfaction I felt whenever I found another statue or beat a mini-boss that had been giving me trouble. Great game and great video!
Nice! I would’ve been way into this as a kid.
I love LOVE the first game! It's a fun romp, and nostalgic masterpiece. It is, in fact, a go-to I like to revisit every once in a while. The second game, Ironsword, doesn't quite measure up to the first, but still fun to play. The third game... Ugh! It's a completely different feel than the previous two, jarringly so. The gameplay is vague and confusing; just altogether an inferior sequel to two otherwise amazing games. Thanks for a great video! I go back to the third game once in a blue moon, to see if I can get further than the first stage. Your video showed me some great tips I wasn't aware of, so thanks again! (Not that I'm likely to go back to it; this game seems way too involved for no payoff.)
Once you know where to go I think it’s pretty fun, but it is very confusing at first.
Nice, I didn't realize how deep the 3rd game was. Now I'm tempted to complete my W&W collection.😮
It's a tough one to get into, but I kinda like it more than the others!
The wizards and warriors games are classics. They were impressive back in the day. 🙂
Everyone I knew played all of these. :) I still play them now.
LOVED this game and the series when I was a kid. I rented them all the time. The Wizards & Warriors series needs a reboot and it better not be a Dark Souls clone.
Iron Sword 2 was the one I grew up on. I think it's the best and also the best music of the 3.
Definitely the best music!
I love these videos!!! I continue to enjoy your content bandbox commentary!! 😊
Hey thanks so much!
Kinda cool how the entire vid is shot in 4:3 to suit the gameplay footage. You don't see that too often anymore!
I was debating it for a while but now I really like it :)
My thoughts on Wizards & Warriors:
I only ever played Ironsword as a kid. I saw that it was W&WII, but never played W&W until I was an adult.
1 is the only one in the series I found actually beatable, thanks to the infinite continues and starting where you left off.
2 will always be my favorite.
I love the setting, atmosphere and music. It feels darker than the other two.
I feel like David Wise's music for 2 is the best in the series.
And the giant eagle! I've never seen a cooler sprite animation on the NES!
I didn't even know that there was a 3rd or 4th (Gameboy) game until much later.
Only ever played emulators of them.
Neither were as cool as 2 or as beatable as 1.
2 will always be my favorite, even though I suck at it.
Because of the atmosphere. The incredible music. That mind-blowing Eagle! And Fabio as a wannabe Conan on the cover.
I will agree with you that 2 has the best music. It gets stuck in my head all the time
I remember liking Kuros in The Power Team, which was basically Captain N but only for Acclaim characters. If he could transform from a warrior into a thief and a wizard that'd have been even cooler, but this game might not have been finished by the time the cartoon was in production.
That sounds like the greatest cartoon EVER!
Strangely, I owned Wizards and Warriors II growing up... I have no idea how it came into my possession, but I too put sooooo many hours into it without getting anywhere good.
"The thief moves faster, but has a tiny knife." Doth quote the lady.
Heyo!
Glenn Cove FTW since Acclaim's HQ
I am from Bellmore which is on the south shore of long island