Adventure reimagined. If you are an Adventure fan, like me, this is a must for your collection. It's familiar enough to feel just like Adventure, but different enough to bring new intrigue. I had a blast playing this one. I loved the graphics - especially the torches on each side of the screen. That gave a really nice touch. Video review and gameplay: https://youtu.be/4802IjCI_VY
Well done. Another top-notch homebrew. I am spending way more time on a 40 year old console than any of my newer advanced systems.
The Adventure Continues!
On your first Adventure, you slayed the Evil Magician's three dragons and rescued the Enchanted Chalice, bringing peace to your Kingdom. Enraged, the Evil Magician has reclaimed the chalice and vowed to avenge the loss of his beloved dragons. Joining the pursuit is his vile apprentice, and it’s also rumored that he has created an even more hideous creature to guard the chalice this time around.
As in your last Adventure, the object of the game is to recapture the Enchanted Chalice and return it to the Gold Castle walls. Once again, this will not be an easy quest. The Evil Magician (red wizard) and his apprentice (grey wizard) can cast spells that weaken and slow you. Their touch is deadly, but all hope is not lost. They are vulnerable to attack by the Fire Staff— swords will not help you in this Adventure. The Evil Magician will succumb to two hits from the staff and his apprentice needs only one well-placed fireball. They may not stay deceased for long however— the wizards can use their resurrection spells to revive each other.
There are four castles in your Kingdom: the Gold Castle, the White Castle, the Red Castle, and the Grey Castle. Your home castle, the Gold Castle, is already open, but the other castles need to be opened with the proper Key. Inside the castles are multiple rooms, some of which are dark and can only be explored by torchlight. The castles are separated by the familiar labyrinths, but the Evil Magician has made sure that your old pathways will just lead to dead-ends.
Scattered throughout the kingdom are certain items to help you in your search for the Enchanted Chalice. To pick up an item, simply touch it, but remember that you can only carry one item at a time. To open any castle, touch the castle gate while in possession of the proper key. The white castle key will open up the White Castle, the red dragon key will open up the Red Castle, and the grey skull key will open up the Grey Castle.
Along your journeys you will find various items to assist in your quest (such as various keys, the Fire Staff and Enchanted Chalice), as well as enemies who will attempt to thwart your quest (the Bat, Apprentice, Evil Magician and Chalice Guardian). Good luck!
Gameplay Video
Game Options
There are three skill levels in Evil Magician Returns II:
- Level 1: This Kingdom is the easiest skill level. There is no bat to steal your items and no creature guarding the Golden Chalice. The Fire Staff is conveniently located directly above you in the Gold Castle. Use this level to familiarize yourself with the mazes.
- Level 2: This Kingdom has items that are in fixed positions but more difficult to find. The great thief, the bat, is ever-present, and the Evil Magician’s latest hideous invention guards the Golden Chalice.
- Level 3: This Kingdom is the hardest and has items in random positions. It is otherwise similar to Level 2.
The left difficulty switch can be used to choose between five lives or unlimited lives.
Screenshots
Additional Information
Evil Magician Returns II is a Melody-enhanced game, allowing for more advanced graphics and gameplay.
Evil Magician Returns II includes game cartridge and a full-color, 8-page manual. Evil Magician Returns II is NTSC only.
| Number of Players | 1 |
| Controller | Joystick |
| Cartridge Size | 32K + SARA RAM |
| Programming and Sound | Todd Holcomb |
| Technical Assistance | Mike Saarna |
| Graphics | Illya Wilson |
| Music | P. Salathé |
| Label and Manual | Vladimir Zúñiga |
40 years after the release of the masterpiece Adventure, a suitable heir has been released on the 2600 in the form of Evil Magician Returns II. EMR II gives you more castles, more mazes, secret passages, new foes with new abilities, and the return of that stinking thief bat.
The dark catacomb mazes are more difficult to navigate. The correct path is counter intuitive to the direction you feel you should be moving. You can no longer keep progressing in the direction you want to end as in Adventure to find the correct path. If you breeze through the water maze in Adventure on autopilot you're going to be fighting the urge to go the direction you think you should go in EMR II.
Enemies - The Red Wizard and his apprentice the Grey Wizard present greater challenges than you've experienced before. Any contact leads to the death touch. You can't bump off of these villains as you could the dragons of Adventure. Avoiding them becomes even more difficult as they cast spells to slow your ability to flee or maneuver for attack with your fire staff. Once you think you have one magician vanquished beware as they can be regenerated by their accomplice if you have not vanquished them both. Of course the most hated villain of any game in history the thieving bat will inevitably steal your fire staff before you can kill the second magician insuring a vanquished magician will return to pursue you again. Even if you manage to destroy both magicians you have to steal the chalice from its invincible guardian that the magicians have conjured up.
If are successful in your quest to return the chalice to your castle after being tormented by the regenerating wizards, the end scene will provide you the vengeance you desire! If you like Adventure you're going to love this game.
The dark catacomb mazes are more difficult to navigate. The correct path is counter intuitive to the direction you feel you should be moving. You can no longer keep progressing in the direction you want to end as in Adventure to find the correct path. If you breeze through the water maze in Adventure on autopilot you're going to be fighting the urge to go the direction you think you should go in EMR II.
Enemies - The Red Wizard and his apprentice the Grey Wizard present greater challenges than you've experienced before. Any contact leads to the death touch. You can't bump off of these villains as you could the dragons of Adventure. Avoiding them becomes even more difficult as they cast spells to slow your ability to flee or maneuver for attack with your fire staff. Once you think you have one magician vanquished beware as they can be regenerated by their accomplice if you have not vanquished them both. Of course the most hated villain of any game in history the thieving bat will inevitably steal your fire staff before you can kill the second magician insuring a vanquished magician will return to pursue you again. Even if you manage to destroy both magicians you have to steal the chalice from its invincible guardian that the magicians have conjured up.
If are successful in your quest to return the chalice to your castle after being tormented by the regenerating wizards, the end scene will provide you the vengeance you desire! If you like Adventure you're going to love this game.
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