Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Rygar: The Battle of Argus Preview for the Nintendo Wii

Rygar: The Battle of Argus Preview for the Nintendo Wii

Reinventing the Diskarmor

July 22, 2008 – Decades before Kratos made Greek mythology in video games cool again, Rygar was pioneering it in the arcade and on the Nintendo Entertainment System. With its mix of platforming and the unique diskarmor weapon, Rygar was an instant classic and managed to garner a dedicated fan base. Although it seemed like an incredibly long wait, Rygar resurfaced on the PS2 nearly six years ago. Rygar: The Legendary Adventure was an adequate title but had several glaring issues that kept it from completely rekindling fans love for the franchise.

Rygar: The Battle of Argus screenshot

This is where Rygar: The Battle of Argos for the Wii comes in. Unhappy with some of their previous design choices, Tecmo decided to give Rygar another shot. However, instead of making an all new title, The Battle of Argos will just be a reimagining of The Legendary Adventure. Before you write this one off as just another PS2 to Wii port, there is actually quite a bit that will be different this time around.

First of all, Rygar himself has been completely redesigned. Rygar is now incredibly buff, covered in tattoos, and edgy-looking with his new, spiky blonde hairstyle. His character model is also much larger and immeasurably more detailed than in his PS2 outing. With a drastic improvement in visual quality and his new look, Rygar is looking different than we might have expected, but different isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Rygar’s enemies have also gotten a dramatic overhaul. One of the biggest complaints about The Legendary Adventure came from its never-ending supply of terrible pill bug enemies. Sadly, this lead to monotonous gameplay that had you feeling more like an exterminator and less like the powerful adventurer that you were supposed to be. Fortunately, The Battle of Argos will support a much wider variety of enemies to be dispatched. Enemies will now range from small to large, with larger enemies taking much more thought and skill to take down. Rygar’s bosses are also getting the remake treatment and should be larger and more menacing this time around.

Rygar: The Battle of Argus screenshot

Although the basic level design should mostly remain intact, we can expect significantly more polish from The Battle of Argos’ surroundings. Thanks to the Wii’s more powerful hardware, we should get more varied and better looking textures as well as some other smaller touches that just couldn’t have been done on the PS2. Along with its many visual improvements, we will also be getting a much better camera as well. Unlike the previous zoomed out camera angles we were given, The Battle of Argos pulls the camera much closer to Rygar to help accentuate the game’s action and more impressive graphics. This will hopefully provide a much more involved and frantic experience.

Of course, as a Wii title, motion controls will most likely be implemented in full force. While Tecmo is still remaining silent as to how exactly they are incorporating gestures into The Battle of Argos, it is assumed that it will be well integrated into both the game’s fighting and platforming. The prospect of controlling the fabled diskarmor with controller movements is certainly an intriguing one. Because the motion controls seems to be the developer’s main focus for this remake, let’s hope they feel as natural and enjoyable as they should.

Rygar: The Battle of Argus screenshot

While this game may disappoint fans looking for a true sequel to The Legendary Adventure, it should satiate those who are looking for an improved version of the already good title. Either way, The Battle of Argos is set to deliver some great platforming and combat when it finally sees release this fall. Also, from the sounds of it, if this new title is a success, we may just get that true sequel that we’ve all been clamoring for. Here’s hoping Tecmo hits this one out of the park.

Game Features:

  • Grab your Diskarmor and swing into action on the Nintendo Wii as the legendary warrior, Rygar.
  • Immerse yourself in Greco-Roman mythology as you journey through the sundered Island of Argus.
  • Intuitive use of the Wii Remote allows you to deftly and effectively control the use of the powerful Diskarmor to destroy enemies and maneuver on, around, over, and under obstacles to save Princess Harmonia.

  • To top