CLEAN FIGHT : The Guardian Legend/Legacy of the Wizard

I'm aware that most or all of you dear readers are not quite "gamers" in all respects - and thankfully so, as they're a cantankerous bunch. So if you're not familiar with today's death match, take this as a learning experience. I'll try to make it fun. 

In February of 1986 The Legend of Zelda was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was uncertain as to how well the game would be received due to its then-unique form of gameplay which involved a less linear structure and required the player to find clues and solve mysteries in order to advance towards an objective. Obviously the game was an immediate success and it (along with its ongoing franchise) is regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time, but initially it proved that Nintendo players of America were capable and excited to let themselves be immersed in what would be known as RPG (role-playing games).

And so, Nintendo ran with this new approach and quickly released two more similarly-themed games that were met with comparable popularity: Metroid in August of '86 and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest in '87. Both utilized Zelda's "open world" environment which is actually now referred to as "Metroidvania" style. Unlike most previous "platform" games where you had to move from Point A to Point B in order to save a princess or cross a finish line, these games allowed the player to explore a "world" and play the part as much as the plot. But to be honest Metroid and Castlevania didn't do it for me, mostly because I struggled to connect to these "worlds" (not even the attempted spookiness of a vampire hunting game could live up to its superior box art). What I did connect to were two other games that would go on to become mostly known as the black sheep of retro RPG.

Released in North America in April of 1989, The Guardian Legend was actually a sequel to a 1986 computer game called Guardic, but I didn't know anything about that when I was six years old, and I didn't care - I just liked the creatures and the music and the challenge and the box it came in. The game alternated between a fast paced flying mission and on-foot milling around and it was a bewitching balance. The enemies all looked like Ralph Steadman adaptations of David Cronenberg inventions before I even knew what any of that meant. The score was a mix of 8-bit Jazz and New Wave Synth. Advancing was and is a bitch, but the objective (however fantastical) was always clear and within reach: the player must "battle your way deep within Naju's labyrinths to destroy the alien world" that's "hurtling towards Earth, loaded with a cargo of mysterious lifeforms." Apart from having a pretty badass storyline, the goal was always present and intelligible, and however tough it was to play, I wanted to keep playing because I kinda had a sense of what was going on. Though I can't really say the same of Legacy of the Wizard. 

Released in '89 only one month after Guardian Legend, it was actually a "Part 4" of an ongoing Japanese series called Dragon Slayer and was extracted as a standalone adventure for U.S. markets. That convoluted journey in and of itself may be why the premise and the gameplay feel kinda stagnant and open ended: you can play as one of six members of the Drasle Family (each with different strengths and abilities) to navigate an underground labyrinth to find a magic sword and kill a dragon who's trapped inside a painting. It's such stereotypical fantasy crap but the biggest cliché is its frustrating simplicity; like most RPGs I've tried, the bulk of my gameplay is just me wondering, "Where do I go? What do I do? How do I get there?" What ends up happening is that it becomes more of a zen experience for me: the endless mosaic of neon squares and looping fairy music becomes a sorta abstract escapade - a visual and auditory lava lamp of ambient repetition, but with swords and creatures. 

MY CHOICE: All the attractive elements of Legacy of the Wizard - the music, the psychedelia, the creative context - is present but far more superior in Guardian Legend. 8-bit video games isn't just an era of technology, it's not even a genre of gaming -- it's an art form unto itself. This very specific world of shapes and sounds is indicative only of itself, and maybe real life space travel, and that's what keeps me coming back to think about it, talk about it, and sometimes even experience it. A surprising (to me) number of grownups play video games, presumably for the thrill of the gameplay, and when I was a child I'm sure I partially felt the same way. But those sensations fade from memory and can't be duplicated (again, for me). What does remain is the electro pop aesthetic that moved me then as much as it does today. 

- Paul