Developer: Electronic Arts Publisher: Electronic Arts Release: 1992 Genre: Action
My interest in the titles Electronic Arts releases waxes and wanes. I am not much of a sports game fan so most of their output does not interest me. Every now and then one will hook me like SSX or Def Jam Vendetta but sadly those series are no more. Their non-sports games, while not always great are at least interesting, going as far back as the Sega Genesis. Risky Woods is a forgotten title in the Genesis library. Honestly I do not know if I like it or hate it. It has many unique elements but just as many that sour the experience. These are often the hardest games to write about but I will try.
The evil Demon Draxos has invaded the realm and frozen the ancient monks that preserve the wisdom of the Lost Lands in stone. A young traveler named Rohan is the lone hero available to venture in to the Risky Woods, free the monks and defeat Draxos. In this version of the game Rohan was redesigned to look like the Monks he is freeing rather than the random adventurer of the computer original. This is one of many changes to the game, some for the better and worst.
Risky Woods is an action platformer along the lines of Jewel Master. The goal of every stage is to rescue all of the monks before reaching the exit. This is a simple task in itself as the monk statues stand out there. But getting in your way are hoards of enemies that respawn at the drop of a dime. Rohan is initially armed with weak daggers but will find a host of new weapons like hatchets, boomerangs, and flaming crescents. These can power up twice and it will behoove you to do so as soon as possible. There are a host of secondary items, both good and bad. Hourglasses award precious time, skulls (smart bomb), and even continues.
Not every power-up benefits you. Arrows will randomly award points or send you a set distance back. On its face this does not sound bad. But considering the aggressive clock retracing even twenty seconds is enough to fail the level. Even worse, the only way to regain health is with apples that cause you to fall asleep while draining the clock. Items drop in groups so it is not always easy to avoid some of these, especially when the keys needed for progress are on top of an item you are trying to avoid. This is only one of the ways the game hates you.
Risky Woods is not a fast paced action game and trying to play it as such will get you killed. Enemies spawn at set points and scrolling a few inches will cause them to respawn. The hordes are relentless and waiting to knock you in to a pit. Yet the clock forces you to stay on the move. The amount of time per level varies; sometimes you have a generous amount to play around with. Other levels are so tight I barely reach the exit with fifteen seconds to spare. This also applies to the bullet sponge bosses. If they had balanced the clock most of my issues with the game would go away.
On the Amiga Risky Woods was fairly straightforward. On the Genesis there are a few additions that make the journey annoying. There are fake monk statues that deal heavy damage instead of helping you complete the level. Unfortunately there is no way to identify them beforehand. The worst is the Simon says puzzles you must complete at least two or three times per stage. At set points the new keys you collect activate statues that play a random sequence must complete. These become more elaborate as you progress and will be the prime waste of your time. Honestly they add nothing to the game; I can respect the attempt to add depth to the game but in this case it falls flat.
Risky Woods is very difficult as you have probably ascertained from everything I have described. But it is not all bad. It starts to become easier over time thanks to the new armor system. The coins you collect will eventually upgrade your armor twice and each provides new effects. The silver armor reduces damage while the gold armor grants near invincibility. Instead of direct damage Rohan will drop coins when hit. By the midpoint you will have so many coins your main cause of death will be time outside of the brutal boss battles. While the difficulty is a bit steep at the start it is at least doable.
In Closing
Therein lies my problem when assessing Risky Woods. For every one element I dislike there is another I like. I hate the respawning enemies and the dumb matching mini game. But the game has a certain “flow” outside of that I like. The art certainly looks nice as well. So while I may like it with some reservations I don’t know if I would recommend it however.
