Abadox for NES

There was a time when the the market for video games was dwindling, and in fact the future of the industry looked rather grim. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that gaming virtually died out because of a repetitive streak in cartridge based gaming. After the E.T. fiasco many wondered if there was any point in gaming at all.

It gradually came back in the form of the cartridge based Famicom in Japan, and the Nintendo Entertainment System in America. This system offered a plethora of video games, games that included Donkey Kong, Super Mario Brothers, Defender, and one little known game that was called Abadox. Abadox was a game that many dismissed as a clone of Contra, but a closer look at this side scrolling shooter reveals that it is nothing like Contra.

For instance, the player has no control over the in-game character other than a few basic movements and the firing of the main weapon. To clarify, this is an automatic side scrolling shooter that does not slow down for anything. This presents a few issues that some will either see as major problems or as major challenges.

First of all, the enemies are presented in a similar fashion each time, meaning that you will need to memorize the level. The first time through you are going to fail miserably, which is to be expected. Once you get the levels down, you will be able to predict the path of the enemy and move your character into position accordingly.

You also have the lovely issue of being killed in one hit, though power ups collected throughout the game can help immensely with that. Some will help with armor, while others will help with the power of your weapons. There is one thing that makes this game interesting and unique however. Instead of fighting on the surface of a planet, you actually fight from within a creature that is threatening your own planet. Your mission is to go within the confines of it's stomach, circulatory systems, and even the walls of it's heart to defeat a number of bosses and eventually bring the creature down. This creates some interesting backgrounds, but touching the interior of the creature with your character will result in a loss.

There are few video games that can replicate an atmosphere like this today, save for some of the areas in Devil May Cry and a sequence in Disney's Kingdom Hearts. There may be a few others, though they probably aren't worth mentioning. This brings us to the graphics of this game. How are they exactly? Well, there are some monsters in the game that almost appear to be rendered in 16 bit color, which is amazing when you consider that the NES is a 16 bit console.

Unfortunately the control system, combined with the fact that this game looked like a clone of similar games made this somewhat unsuccessful; comparable to the time that Square Enix tried to step out of it's strict RPG mold and bring the RPG to all gamers. This is the impression that one would get if they did not spend much time with this game.

For those who did choose to get intimate with it however, they discovered that this was very different from other video games of it's type. It is a very pleasant experience, though some people might just want to see the end of the game. Because it is a difficult game to finish, and because it is normally played on emulators today, it is now possible to cheat; rendering your character invulnerable for the duration of the game. This will help many who just want to see the end and finish. In spite of this being an option however, the best way to experience the game is by finishing it the way it was intended.

This is one of those video games that should be in anyone's library. It is a wonderful side scrolling game, and very satisfying for those who want to just blow off some steam after a hard day at work. Indeed there are some games that will never be forgotten.