Faxanadu

I'll hand you over to the game's manual: "The Elf town, Eolis, was once a town boasting peace and prosperity. Yet, now it is on the verge of destruction. Meteorites are raining down upon the World Tree and crazed monsters have taken the opportunity to run amuck. Wells are drying up and people are in the grips of fear. To restore peace again, someone has to penetrate the giant World Tree and overthrow the Evil One that lives in the Evil Place. Now it is your mission to set out on a journey bearing the hopes of the people of Eolis." Whilst being somewhat shaky in terms of today's elaborate storylines, back then it was all that was needed to set things up perfectly for your long and exciting journey...

 

After doing quite a few SNES reviews, going back to my trusty NES is quite a shock to the system. But a quick look at Super Mario Bros 3 and Metroid reminded me of just what could be achieved on the old 8-bit system. So how do Faxanadu's graphics compare to the Nintendo masterpieces? Well...not too badly I suppose. Whilst not as glamorous as the mentioned Nintendo titles, what is offered is very sturdy to say the least. Maybe the artists had some strange affinity to various shades of brown and tan, as the majority of the characters and surroundings are coloured so, but they do manage to use the tones to the best possible degree.

As for the character models themselves...hmm, they are not exactly going to win any awards for detail

 

What does let the side down are the sound effects. Perhaps an excuse would be that the sound chip found in the NES was not exactly revolutionary, but then again I don't recall all 8-Bit games having such excruciating noises funnelling their way into my ears...Annoying screeches and painful shuffling sounds accompany the use of magic and the attacking of enemies. It is a shame that the pleasure that is the soundtrack is offset by a weak effort by the sound effects department...

From afar, most people would assume that Faxanadu is a simple action adventure title due to its side-scrolling perspective and the linearity of the game. However, certain Role-Playing traits will eventually shine through once you start playing

 

This one tough game! And that's all I have to say on the matter. Oh, you want me to elaborate, do you? Well okay, since you asked so nicely...The World Tree that must be scaled is enormous in size, with many twisting and turning branches that house a multitude of villages, dungeons and taxing puzzles. There are several occasions where you will lose your concentration for a few minutes and then wonder where on Earth you are