Willow
Overview
Willow is the story of Willow Ufgood, a tiny member of the Nelwyn tribe, and his
quest to stop the evil Bavmorda, the spirit of the sky, from conquering the
world. As in most adventure games, there are many nasty creatures that wish to
prevent Willow from accomplishing his task. Luckily, most villagers are eager to
provide safe resting places, weapons, and clues concerning what needs to be
done.
To complete the game, you must guide Willow through many lands and underground
caves, defeat or avoid hundreds of ene mies, find special objects, and
ultimately defeat Bavmorda. Only in this way can peace and harmony be restored.
Graphics 10/10
Willow is one of only a few games that offers 3-D graphics (the underground
caves are stunning). Strolling around the surface of Willow’s world is equally
exciting; you can almost count the leaves on the trees!
Gameplay/Controls 10/10
Throughout Willow, you must search for more powerful swords, shields with
greater protective powers, and special items—many of which are key to the game’s
completion. Willow’s experience level can be increased by defeating additional
powerful enemies and monsters. Other than requiring you to select individual
“special items” to solve specific riddles, I can’t think of any important
feature I’d have added to the game.
The password feature makes it possible to pick up a game where you left off.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to record the password incorrectly, since it’s made up
of 18 characters—including upper and lowercase letters, and punctuation marks.
Sound/Music 10/10
Willow’s sound and graphics are state of the art. The music, particularly the
eerie tunes played in the caves, heightens the game’s suspense, and changes
often enough to keep from being monotonous. And the sound effects—the little
explosions and the clang of swords against metal—are fantastic!
Replay Value 10/10
Willow has the makings of a super hit. Outstanding graphics, captivating music,
and difficult—but not impossible—tasks combine to make it a delightful game for
players of all ages.
Overall 10/10
There are plenty of clues given by the people and creatures Willow meets. But
if you pay attention and write them down, you’ll have little trouble figuring
out where to go and what to do next. It’s only at the end of the game—the
assault on Bavmorda’s castle—that you’ll really have to put on your thinking
cap.
Much of Willow’s challenge is in the process of building experience points,
learning how the various magic objects work, defeating key villains, and
finding your way about his world. Unless you have a superb memory, you should
plan to map your way around. If you don’t, you’ll find that it’s all too easy
to miss a critical object or an important clue. Since many areas look alike,
mapping your route will quickly show you which paths have been fully explored
and which ones haven’t.
- By Tora Kouhi
