Nerdicus NES Review #16 : Adventure Island III

 

Title : Adventure Island III

Publisher : Hudson Soft

Release Date : 1992

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $18-$25

You would think by the third game I would be getting tired of rescuing Higgins' girlfriend over and over again. Seriously, this guy needs to put a tracking device on her. Better yet, he needs to move to a more populated area and stop Island Hopping. OBVIOUSLY it's a bad trend. Like hipsters moving into Brooklyn, aliens always abduct girlfriends on islands.

Not much has changed since we last left Higgins. You've still got the Super Mario Brothers 3 feel, while the occasional game mechanic twist is thrown in for good measure. The world map is treated the same way as the second game, and while you can't move around from section to section, you can go on different routes depending on how you complete a stage. I don't believe this was in the second game, and if it was I must have totally brushed over it.

You still have the item selection screen before each level where you can swap out weapons and dinos, but in my own opinion avoid the boomerang. I seriously thought it was one of the worst weapons in the game. I don't care about it's ability to blow up rocks or other obstacles, it was almost impossible to toss properly. When you're jumping and dodging enemies and projectile sat the same time, I don't have time to aim a boomerang. I was much better off spamming axes.

Dude, you are a freak! What's with your eyes!? And why can't I ride you!?

You would think GPS and Satellites would have noticed a giant skeleton the size of an island.

Compared to the second game, the levels seem to have been designed with a little bit more thought, but the difficulty is just the same. Each map gets progressively harder, whether it's by adding more obstacles, more enemies, or just plain lack of fruit to keep your health meter up. I died a lot more times in this game from lack of fruit than the previous games. You need to hustle each stage or you'll find yourself dead. And don't get me started on the water levels again. Dear GOD, they're torture.

Dinos are once again used as fodder, but even more so now. You'll need them to easily get by certain areas, because just running and tossing axes doesn't always cut it. Sure you can beat the game without ever using them, but it makes your life a hell of a lot easier. Cassie for those water levels is a life saver, and using a pterodactyl to fly over most of a stage calls for a sigh of relief.

Even better though in this game than its predecessor are the bosses. I was surprised in Adventure Island 2 at how simple yet effective the new bosses were, but they added just a tad more "oomph" in Adventure Island 3. Bosses are progressively harder, but there's always a simple pattern to discover. They follow the same path, never alternating except when they turn "red" at which point they just fire more projectiles. Still, the boss design was entertaining and it was definitely an improvement from game one. 

Tell me those aren't awesome boss designs?

Thus concludes our Adventure Island NES review series. It was a nice change of pace from the D&D games I trudged through in previous weeks, but it came to close at the right time. I was getting a little bit irritated at rescuing his girlfriend. If I had to trek my way through another Island, I was going to go a little schizo.

Regardless, a fantastic series and one that should be a part of any NES collectors shelf.

Final Score (out of 5) :

Until next time. Keep on gaming!

Joy - now I'm on to Mickey Mouse.