Game 4: Willow (NES) - Finished!

In case you didn't know

I'm fairly sure I could have finished the night before, but I was feeling the fatigue building to intolerable levels. My reflexes were definitely taking a hit, and my thoughts sluggish. Last night though, I beat Kael the first try. That's it, first try, done. I felt foolish for having died three times before. My strategy was "stand away from his sword and hit him."

Why didn't I think of this last time?

Having just beat Kael--and gained quite a bit of experience (8,000)--I decided it'd be best to take advantage of that and gain another level. Ten minutes later, I gained 1 level, and checked my stats. They didn't raise much at all. In fact, I second guessed that they had changed at all.

That was so not worth it

New level achieved I head back to face off with Bavmorda. One thing I noticed was how empty the way up was. There are some enemies, but at this point they're a joke; most of my the time I was walking through empty rooms, and climbing stair cases. Three levels up I unceremoniously stumble upon the room where the final battle takes place. It looks like any other.

Compared to Kael, Bavmorda is a piece of cake. The only problem I had was I ran out of magic the first attempt, so I had to kill Willow off and try again. During Bavmorda's first form, she only takes damage from the magical cane infused by the power of Fin Raziel. If you run out of MP, tough luck. Her second form falls to the sword easily. 'Form' is probably the wrong word since she looks the same, but it'll suffice.

This fight is really easy. They should have sped her up or something.

Overall, I enjoyed going back through a game I remember enjoying as a kid; however, I don't think I'd really recommend this game to anyone that enjoys playing games without walkthroughs. There are three or four pain points that I'd suggest looking up at the very least if you do plan to play: finding the Wakka Seed, crossing the cursed bridge, getting the key to Nockmaar, and not looking for the crest at the end. Cut all those out, and the seven hours I spent on the game becomes four.

On to the final rating, and then on to Dragon Warrior to once again crush my childhood memories with ideals of good design.