Below the Cut: Spiritual Warfare (NES, Genesis, Game Boy)

(Source: GameFAQs)

Spiritual Warfare - Rating(7 RPP)
1) 1 - Character Advancement: practice/experience based advancement, stat or level increases, multiple classes or characters, customize characters
2) 1 - Combat: character stats used for combat, additional combat options, turn based
3) 1 - Items and Equipment: store to buy and sell, equipment decisions, item decisions
4) 2 - Story: main story at the forefront; world full of hints and lore; descriptions for objects, people, and places
5) 2 - Exploration: open world from the beginning, visited locations remain open
6) 1 - Quests and Puzzles: side quests not related to the main quest, puzzles and riddles to solve

What better way to engage the video game era children in the bible than slap some bible references on to poorly ripped off Nintendo games? That seemed the train of thought for Wisdom Tree. Spiritual Warfare puts the player into the shoes of the only citizen in town not corrupted by the evils of the world. As a soldier in the lord's army, it's up to the main character to convert the heathens back to the way of the lord by... throwing fruit at them.

(Source: Games Database)

Like the Zelda games, there's a single character with no experience or levels. The only stat increase is health, and from new equipment. There's no real customization. Combat is action based, and since there are no character stats that improve, you're locked into actively aligning and shooting at enemies (with fruit that represent virtuous traits, mind you). There are no stores to sell at, and equipment is merely upgraded. I think there are a variety of items, but I didn't play very far.

I'll give it credit for the story, which is rather unique and includes biblical as well as historical and social references. The game is broken up into scenarios, so there's no way back once a level is completed. There are bible verses to fill in, so I gave it credit for riddles. The ultimate goal is to find the Armor of God, and defeat Satan. I think I've been more than fair with the score, but if anyone has suggestions for adjusting it as always please let me know what I missed in my cursory glance. If you want to read about this and other Wisdom Tree games, then Encyclopedia Obscura is a good source.