Rygar: The Battle of Argus – WII – Review

When Rygar came out for the Nintendo
Entertainment System back in 1987 it was one of the best open-ended action games
of its time. The 2002 sequel, Rygar: The Legendary Adventure for the
PlayStation 2, didn’t quite reach the success of the original Rygar but it was
definitely a solid game for the PS2. Unfortunately, the series seems to have
hit a dead-end seven years later after churning out a virtual PlayStation 2 remake
for the Nintendo Wii.

Those who played Rygar: The
Legendary Adventure will be very familiar with Rygar: The Battle of Argus since
it is basically the same game. The only thing that’s really changed is Rygar
since he now has a cookie-cutter anime look rather than the gladiator image he
carried back in 2002. Those who played the PS2 version will find no originality
whatsoever in the Temco’s newest Rygar for the Wii.

In fact, those who’ve played any 3D
action game within the last eight or nine years will find no originality in Rygar
whatsoever. The storyline is as simple as it gets with you trying to save a
Brittany Spears look-a-like princess from the clutches of the evil Titans during
Greek Mythology days. The bosses are just as predictable as the storyline since
they only have one or two moves a player needs watch out for. And the challenge
of each level is really just running around and trying to defeat enough enemies
or move the right blocks to open doors.

On the positive side, Rygar is
surprisingly easy to control for a Wii action game considering how most of them
feature frustrating control schemes. Players will use the A and B button on the Wii
remote to swing their ball and chain while they’ll use the nunchuk to
control Rygar’s movement along with his blocking and jumping abilities. One
major downside to the control scheme is that it’s almost too simple since there
are no real attack combos to speak of. Another thing is that the camera angles
make it difficult to see what you’re doing too since you have to move to a
certain spot just to get a different view.

The graphics will definitely make
you feel like you’re playing a PS2 game, but this isn’t such a bad thing since
the Wii doesn’t exactly feature stellar graphics anyways. However, it can be
tough to distinguish background settings and this is a real problem when you’re
trying to find where to go next.

Those who never got the chance to
play the PS2 Rygar might enjoy The Battle of Argus since it can be fun in short
bursts, but those who have already played it or are very critical of their 3D
action games should stay away from this one.

Gameplay: 7.8
Features an easy control scheme for a Wii action game, but it’s almost too
easy since there are only a few different actions Rygar can perform.

Graphics: 5.8
Good for a 2002 PlayStation 2 game, though not so great for the era of
gaming we’re in today.

Sound: 6.3
The boss music is a pleasant reminder of older action games and the overall
sound doesn’t do anything to detract from Rygar.

Difficulty: Medium
Playing through the stages isn’t nerve-racking and the simple controls
definitely lower the difficulty in a good way. Bosses will provide players with
some resistance until they learn their repetitive patterns.

Concept: 4.5
A very unoriginal remake with Rygar: The Battle of Argus following Rygar:
The Legendary Adventure nearly to a T.

Overall: 5.8
The main saving grace for Rygar: The Battle of Argus is that it’s one of the
easier Wii action games to play. Unfortunately, it suffers from a total lack of
originality for those who are familiar with the 3D action game genre.