Developer: Visco Publisher: Mentrix Software Released: 1991 Genre: Platformer
Ghosts ‘n Goblins was a massive hit in the arcade. At a time when companies were not afraid to copy any successful product surprisingly few games were made in that style. The Legend of Hero Tonma was one but I will freely admit I was never a fan of it. Taito’s Wardner is the more interesting of the two. It shares the same medieval fantasy setting as Capcom’s classic and the same deliberate platforming. The only thing it is missing is Capcom’s art direction. The Genesis version is a great port for those that like their platformers a little difficult.
Wardner was a pretty popular game in the arcade around the world. That popularity makes it all the more surprising that there were only two home ports. Not even for the various European PCs that seemed to have conversions of everything no matter how obscure. The Famicom Disk System version is decent considering the hardware constraints. There was a PC Engine port that sadly never saw the light of day. The Genesis version is faithful to the arcade for the most part. It adds a bunch of content that is good in some places but ruins the balance in others. But as a whole it remains a solid game.
You’ll have to come to grips with the fact that you are essentially controlling Eric Cartman in fantasy platformer. Pyros is squat and pudgy unlike the cool Arthur. He is a little more nimble and is controllable once airborne but drops like a rock after a second. Pyros can throw fireballs but that is his only weapon at first. At the end of every level you can use your gold to buy numerous items such as different spells, extra time, and a needle set that protects from one hit. This is important as Pyros is fragile and dies in one blow. In addition to the needle set you can also find the more common cape to absorb another blow.
I made the comparison to Ghosts ‘n Goblins for a reason. Wardner is similar to that game not just in its mechanics but its design. Its colorful façade hides a vicious platformer where every move needs to be considered. Most games use their first level to acclimate you to their controls and gameplay. Wardner throws you in the deep end immediately with cruel enemy placement and tight platforming sequences. It lightens up slightly after that as some of the following levels offer multiple routes. In fact you can even skip almost all of stage three with the right item! Most will have to play each level multiple times to find the quickest route to the end as you will die continuously.
Wardner is a hard game. Even though it allows you to buy items between levels it puts up a fight. Every move has to be considered and even then the game still finds ways to get you. There are multiple weapons but honestly the sun is the only one that is useful. The biggest one that will get you is the clock. I do not know if the timer is faster in the home version but what I can say is that the clock is aggressive to the point you have almost no time to dawdle. Even with extra time it never feels like enough. To the game’s credit you start a few feet from where you died but it still feels like every level is short by 30-40 seconds. That being said it never rises to the level of Capcom’s game and remains accessible thanks to infinite continues.
This version of the game has a number of exclusive features. There are a number of new bosses which is a huge bonus. The arcade game recycled that one dragon a few times too many. Some of these are genuinely creepy, like the stage two maiden who changes into a massive fire breathing spider. Stage four is now two levels with the new stage five containing all new traps and a new boss. Unfortunately the last level is double the size, featuring a boss rush and multiple platforming sections that repeat three times. It ruins the flow and more importantly does not give you enough time to complete in one run. It turns what was an otherwise cool final stage into a slog. Outside of this however the good outweighs the bad.
In Closing
Wardner is a good port and a solid game all around. There are better platformers I recommend first but it makes for an entertaining evening for a few bucks.
