Maou Golvellius / Golvellius: Valley of Doom (MSX, Mark III) (1988)
Developer: Compile

Review by Faididi and Co.

Hyrule remains the more exciting place

Story: Above Average

Seeking a rare magical herb to save her dad, the brave Princess Rena journeys into a dangerous valley that's inhabited by monsters, the most fearsome of whom is the mythical reptilian beast called Golvellius. She fails to return, but, luckily for her, an adventurer named Kelesis wanders into her kingdom, learns of the situation, and immediately sets out to save her.

Although the story seems like another straightforward fairytale, it contains a curious backstory for Golvellius and a twist that makes the happy ending extra special. The text dialogue is written well, and the humorous blend of old and modern vernacular really helps bring out the characters' quirky personalities.

Gameplay: Average

Compile's Maou Golvellius (Golvellius: Valley of Doom) is an action adventure that is clearly inspired by Nintendo's Zelda no Densetsu (The Legend of Zelda). In the main overhead mode, Kelesis explores a vast overworld screen-by-screen, fighting off enemies and grabbing items. He can meet friendly characters hiding in safe underground rooms, with some offering clues or valuable items, some restoring his stamina, and others just giving him useless (yet amusing) comments. Our hero must figure out where to go next primarily through trial and error, and as he obtains more magic crystals from the bosses lurking in the dungeons, he'll gain more access to the valley, ultimately facing Golvellius and discovering the fate of Princess Rena. Kelesis' progress is recorded by passwords, which are granted whenever he gets wasted or whenever he meets a certain friendly character.

Where this game differs from Zelda no Densetsu, however, is also where it doesn't play as well. The dungeons are far more linear than the overworld, and they come in multiple types. In one, Kelesis can take his time fighting through side-scrolling corridors, jumping over pits and hitting hidden switches that remove barriers blocking the path. The second kind of dungeon is more annoying, because it makes Kelesis walk nonstop through vertically scrolling corridors, and if he enters a dead end, he is forced to restart the entire scene. Why he can't partially backtrack in the dungeons is stupid. In any case, the main bosses are all encountered in a variant of the overhead mode, where the arena space is limited and the combat is quick and deadly. One may ask why the entire game isn't simply played in the same overhead format, doing away with the arbitrary and unnecessary mode variations.

Maou Golvellius compares less favorably to Zelda no Densetsu in terms of the item system, too. By meeting the right people at the right places, Kelesis can buy or receive better swords, bigger shields, protective jewels, boots that let him travel over water or other obstructive terrain, and so forth. Unfortunately, all of the weaponry is limited to swords, so he can never attack enemies from a distance. Worse still, the prices for the items that must be purchased are almost always astronomical, forcing our hero to spend half of the game slaughtering bad guys just to collect enough gold.

Controls: Below Average

The controls need more polish. Kelesis can move diagonally during the boss scenes but not in the main overworld mode, and he can't turn to face backward in the dungeons. The subscreen is accessed via the Pause Button on the console, and reaching over for that is awkward as hell. Alas, the subscreen matters little, because Kelesis always consumes any life-restoring item when his stamina drops to zero, even if you don't want him to do so (for reasons of preserving supplies in the passwords).

Graphics: Above Average

On a positive note, the visuals are full of cute, colorful characters and nicely textured backgrounds. The minibosses and the bosses are drawn large, each taking up to a quarter of the screen, and there is little slowdown. However, the low number of animation frames results in stiff-looking motions. Kelesis' attacks look as though he's poking enemies to death rather than hacking and slashing away at them.

Audio: Above Average

The sound effects are too quiet. Kelesis' sword clinks out like a dainty little magic wand, while the bad guys are often silent. Thankfully, the bold, adventurous music is a pleasure to hear. The way the inspired tunes change in tone as Kelesis progresses in his quest is also a very cool touch.

Overall: Average

Maou Golvellius is an inferior imitation of Zelda no Densetsu. The vertically scrolling dungeons force the hero to restart the scenes for the stupidest reasons, and the inconsistent, unfriendly controls don't allow the stamina-restoring supplies to be preserved as desired. The uncreative item system also requires the hero to waste time earning gold to overcome high price hurdles for simplistic upgrades, instead of encouraging real exploration to discover unique items that actually grant special abilities. The story may be nicer, and the music may be wonderful, but this valley is definitely less fun than Princess Zelda's Kingdom of Hyrule.