Below the Cut: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (NES)

(Source: GameFAQs)

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Rating(9 RPP)
1) 4 - Character Advancement: practice/experience based advancement, stat or level increases, multiple classes or characters, customize characters
2) 2 - Combat: character stats used for combat, additional combat options, turn based
3) 2 - Items and Equipment: store to buy and sell, equipment decisions, item decisions
4) 1 - Story: main story at the forefront; world full of hints and lore; descriptions for objects, people, and places
5) 0 - Exploration: open world from the beginning, visited locations remain open
6) 0 - Quests and Puzzles: side quests not related to the main quest, puzzles and riddles to solve


Once again I was taken in by cheap promises. At first glance I thought this had a more open world, and possibly side quests. At the very least I was expecting a bit more autonomy, but the game has carefully scripted levels and paths to follow. No riddles or puzzles, and a definite lack of descriptive lore. I suppose the player is expected to have some familiarity with the game through the movie, or possibly other Robin Hood related media.

Censors say that's close enough to be considered a kiss

Character advancement is limited. For every enemy defeated a small amount of experience is earned. Eventually Robin will level (the rest of the party shares his level), and his HP and carrying capacity rise. It's difficult to tell if attack and defense stats increase as well, but if nothing else Robin became more adept at using equipment with each level. A medallion that increased defense by 2 eventually raised it by 4. Given this, I'm not sure character stats really matter for combat, but I'm going to give the game the benefit of the doubt. Equipment was very limited though, only one piece of armor is useable at any given time (said medallion replaces leather armor), but weapons range from bows to ball and chains.

Multiple characters gained a point because they do join the party, but they're only controllable during the group battles. All other times they might as well be pack mules. If I were being truly spiteful this would easily score a 6 or lower. Honestly item decisions only cover healing items, but there is some variety there and they're quite limited by the end of the game. The combat is action based, and the duels are particularly reliant on the player's skill. The game is short , so by the time I realized this probably wasn't an RPG I was already completing it. Hopefully I don't fall into this trap too often. They're fun diversions, and not too long most of the time, but they do take up a night better spent on other games.

These are the best ending screens

(Time Taken: 3h06m)