fbpx
Wikipedia

Willow (NES video game)

January 01, 1970

Not to be confused with Willow (Capcom arcade game).

Willow[a] is a 1989 2D action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System.[1] It is loosely based on the 1988 film of the same name and is the second title Capcom released based on Willow that year, the first being an unrelated side scrolling arcade game.[1] The version of Willow released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Famicom is an adventure game in the vein of The Legend of Zelda.[2]

Willow
North American cover art
Developer(s)Capcom
Publisher(s)Capcom
Producer(s)Tokuro Fujiwara
Designer(s)Akira Kitamura
Artist(s)Hironori Matsumura
Masako Honma
Naoya Tomita
Composer(s)Harumi Fujita
SeriesWillow
Platform(s)Nintendo Entertainment System
Release
  • JP: July 18, 1989
  • NA: December 1989
  • EU: April 11, 1993
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay edit

 
Gameplay screenshot.

The player takes the role of Willow Ufgood, who wages a battle against evil, wielding swords, shields, magic spells, and items to defeat enemies. Unlike the film and arcade game, Willow generally travels alone, only briefly meeting several other characters. The game contains some role-playing video game elements, as Willow gains experience and levels up from defeating enemies in real time combat.[3][4][5] Rather than battery saving, it uses a password system to save the game.[6][1] The game has no money system, and all items are found in the game.[1]

Willow can enter houses and converse with inhabitants of the villages to receive advice as well as items such as magic and weapons.[7]

Development edit

Willow is a 1988 film produced by George Lucas, directed by Ron Howard, and starred Warwick Davis in the title role as Willow Ufgood.[8] Capcom developed two games based on Willow in 1989.[7] The arcade game plays similar to Capcom's previous fantasy action platformer Ghouls n' Ghosts.[9] The Willow game developed for the NES is a role playing game.[9][7]

Willow is part of a series of games released in the five years after the original The Legend of Zelda, which were described as "zelda clones". Other games like this include Neutopia by Hudson, Golden Axe Warrior by Sega and Crystalis by SNK.[10]

Capcom director Yoshiki Okamoto commented that the game was part of a broader strategy of Capcom at the time to appeal to a wider audience by using established characters from other media, as their original characters could be too niche.[11] He cited games based on Area 88 and Destiny of an Emperor as part of this strategy.[11]

The music was composed by Harumi Fujita. She said “I put a lot of energy into the music for Willow. The producer of Willow was the same producer who made Mega Man. He was an extremely talented individual and I was elated to have the chance to write music for his game, so I put my all into it. I’m not sure how well the game itself was received, but it was fun.”[12]

Shinji Mikami noted that when he joined Capcom in 1990, all of those who were accepted into the company got a free copy of the game.[13]

Release edit

The game was released for the Famicom in Japan on July 18, 1989.[1] It was released in North America in December 1989.[14] The game has never been re-released on any Nintendo Virtual Console, likely due to licensing issues.

Reception edit

Famitsu magazine gave it a score of 26 out of 40.[1] Family Computer Magazine gave it a score of 21.05/30.[15] Brazilian game magazine VideoGame gave it a score of 4 out of 5.[16] Howard H. Wen, writing in Video Games and Computer Entertainment magazine gave it a score of 7 out of 10, praising the graphics, but was critical of the music and the complex password system which required 18 characters in both upper and lower case.[6] Hobby Consolas magazine gave it a 75 out of 100 score.[17]

IGN named it as the 89th best game for the NES.[2] The final issue of Nintendo Power, which was released in December 2012, Willow was ranked 254 out of 285 for best games ever to appear on Nintendo consoles.[18][19] 1up.com called it a rather poor game inspired by The Legend of Zelda, and said Crystalis was a far better Zelda style game.[20]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Japanese: ウィロー, Hepburn: U~irō

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f "ウィロー [ファミコン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. from the original on 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  2. ^ a b "Top 100 NES Games - IGN.com". IGN. from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  3. ^ "Nintendo Power". Nintendo Power. Vol. 8. September–October 1989. p. 61.
  4. ^ "Nintendo Power". Nintendo Power. Vol. 10. January–February 1990. pp. 24–29.
  5. ^ "Nintendo Power". Nintendo Power. Vol. 9. November–December 1989. pp. 8–13.
  6. ^ a b "Willow". Video Games and Computer Entertainment. May 1990. pp. 30–31.
  7. ^ a b c "Sala de Maquinas". Superjuegos. No. 82. February 1999. p. 118.
  8. ^ Martinez, David (2017-04-06). "Willow - Los juegos basados en la película de Lucasfilm". HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). from the original on 2017-10-25. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  9. ^ a b "The Unconverted: Arcade Games that never made it Home". Retro Gamer. No. 123. Imagine Publishing. December 2013. p. 82.
  10. ^ "Zelda: A Link to the Past". OLD!GAMER (in Spanish). No. 13. Spain: Editora Europa. February 2013. p. 21.
  11. ^ a b "Developer Interview Capcom Developer: Yoshiaki Okamoto, Noritaka Funamizu". Gamest. Vol. 4, no. 11. Shinseisha Ltd. November 1989. pp. 10–21.
  12. ^ "Harumi Fujita – 2011 Composer Interview". from the original on 2020-09-20.
  13. ^ "Weirdness: Resident Evil Creator Shinji Mikami Got A Copy Of Willow On The NES When He Joined Capcom". Nintendo Life. 2014-02-06. from the original on 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  14. ^ (PDF). 2006-02-12. pp. 1–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-02-12. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  15. ^ "5月10日号特別付録 ファミコンロムカセット オールカタログ (Famicom Cassette All Catalog)". Family Computer Magazine. 7 (9). Tokuma Shoten: 151. 1991-05-10.
  16. ^ "Sistema Nintendo: Willow". VideoGame (in Portuguese). Vol. 1, no. 1. Sigla Editora. March 1991. p. 28.
  17. ^ "La Mas Nuevo: La era de la magia". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). No. 7. April 1992. pp. 46–49.
  18. ^ Nintendo Power. Nintendo Power. December 2012, page 12.
  19. ^ Essner, Sebastian (2013-01-02). "Nintendo". MANIAC.de (in German). from the original on 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  20. ^ . 1up.com. 2016-03-14. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved 2018-08-18.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
willow, video, game, confused, with, willow, capcom, arcade, game, willow, 1989, action, role, playing, game, developed, published, capcom, nintendo, entertainment, system, loosely, based, 1988, film, same, name, second, title, capcom, released, based, willow,. Not to be confused with Willow Capcom arcade game Willow a is a 1989 2D action role playing game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System 1 It is loosely based on the 1988 film of the same name and is the second title Capcom released based on Willow that year the first being an unrelated side scrolling arcade game 1 The version of Willow released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Famicom is an adventure game in the vein of The Legend of Zelda 2 WillowNorth American cover artDeveloper s CapcomPublisher s CapcomProducer s Tokuro FujiwaraDesigner s Akira KitamuraArtist s Hironori MatsumuraMasako HonmaNaoya TomitaComposer s Harumi FujitaSeriesWillowPlatform s Nintendo Entertainment SystemReleaseJP July 18 1989NA December 1989EU April 11 1993Genre s Action role playingMode s Single player Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Development 3 Release 4 Reception 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksGameplay edit nbsp Gameplay screenshot The player takes the role of Willow Ufgood who wages a battle against evil wielding swords shields magic spells and items to defeat enemies Unlike the film and arcade game Willow generally travels alone only briefly meeting several other characters The game contains some role playing video game elements as Willow gains experience and levels up from defeating enemies in real time combat 3 4 5 Rather than battery saving it uses a password system to save the game 6 1 The game has no money system and all items are found in the game 1 Willow can enter houses and converse with inhabitants of the villages to receive advice as well as items such as magic and weapons 7 Development editWillow is a 1988 film produced by George Lucas directed by Ron Howard and starred Warwick Davis in the title role as Willow Ufgood 8 Capcom developed two games based on Willow in 1989 7 The arcade game plays similar to Capcom s previous fantasy action platformer Ghouls n Ghosts 9 The Willow game developed for the NES is a role playing game 9 7 Willow is part of a series of games released in the five years after the original The Legend of Zelda which were described as zelda clones Other games like this include Neutopia by Hudson Golden Axe Warrior by Sega and Crystalis by SNK 10 Capcom director Yoshiki Okamoto commented that the game was part of a broader strategy of Capcom at the time to appeal to a wider audience by using established characters from other media as their original characters could be too niche 11 He cited games based on Area 88 and Destiny of an Emperor as part of this strategy 11 The music was composed by Harumi Fujita She said I put a lot of energy into the music for Willow The producer of Willow was the same producer who made Mega Man He was an extremely talented individual and I was elated to have the chance to write music for his game so I put my all into it I m not sure how well the game itself was received but it was fun 12 Shinji Mikami noted that when he joined Capcom in 1990 all of those who were accepted into the company got a free copy of the game 13 Release editThe game was released for the Famicom in Japan on July 18 1989 1 It was released in North America in December 1989 14 The game has never been re released on any Nintendo Virtual Console likely due to licensing issues Reception editReceptionReview scoresPublicationScoreFamitsu26 40VG amp CE7 10Hobby Consolas75 100VideoGame4 5 Famitsu magazine gave it a score of 26 out of 40 1 Family Computer Magazine gave it a score of 21 05 30 15 Brazilian game magazine VideoGame gave it a score of 4 out of 5 16 Howard H Wen writing in Video Games and Computer Entertainment magazine gave it a score of 7 out of 10 praising the graphics but was critical of the music and the complex password system which required 18 characters in both upper and lower case 6 Hobby Consolas magazine gave it a 75 out of 100 score 17 IGN named it as the 89th best game for the NES 2 The final issue of Nintendo Power which was released in December 2012 Willow was ranked 254 out of 285 for best games ever to appear on Nintendo consoles 18 19 1up com called it a rather poor game inspired by The Legend of Zelda and said Crystalis was a far better Zelda style game 20 Notes edit Japanese ウィロー Hepburn U irōReferences edit a b c d e f ウィロー ファミコン ファミ通 com www famitsu com Archived from the original on 2017 08 01 Retrieved 2017 07 20 a b Top 100 NES Games IGN com IGN Archived from the original on 2020 10 27 Retrieved 2017 07 20 Nintendo Power Nintendo Power Vol 8 September October 1989 p 61 Nintendo Power Nintendo Power Vol 10 January February 1990 pp 24 29 Nintendo Power Nintendo Power Vol 9 November December 1989 pp 8 13 a b Willow Video Games and Computer Entertainment May 1990 pp 30 31 a b c Sala de Maquinas Superjuegos No 82 February 1999 p 118 Martinez David 2017 04 06 Willow Los juegos basados en la pelicula de Lucasfilm HobbyConsolas in Spanish Archived from the original on 2017 10 25 Retrieved 2018 12 09 a b The Unconverted Arcade Games that never made it Home Retro Gamer No 123 Imagine Publishing December 2013 p 82 Zelda A Link to the Past OLD GAMER in Spanish No 13 Spain Editora Europa February 2013 p 21 a b Developer Interview Capcom Developer Yoshiaki Okamoto Noritaka Funamizu Gamest Vol 4 no 11 Shinseisha Ltd November 1989 pp 10 21 Harumi Fujita 2011 Composer Interview Archived from the original on 2020 09 20 Weirdness Resident Evil Creator Shinji Mikami Got A Copy Of Willow On The NES When He Joined Capcom Nintendo Life 2014 02 06 Archived from the original on 2017 09 26 Retrieved 2018 12 08 NES Games PDF 2006 02 12 pp 1 14 Archived from the original PDF on 2006 02 12 Retrieved 2023 03 19 5月10日号特別付録 ファミコンロムカセット オールカタログ Famicom Cassette All Catalog Family Computer Magazine 7 9 Tokuma Shoten 151 1991 05 10 Sistema Nintendo Willow VideoGame in Portuguese Vol 1 no 1 Sigla Editora March 1991 p 28 La Mas Nuevo La era de la magia Hobby Consolas in Spanish No 7 April 1992 pp 46 49 Nintendo Power Nintendo Power December 2012 page 12 Essner Sebastian 2013 01 02 Nintendo MANIAC de in German Archived from the original on 2019 06 27 Retrieved 2019 06 27 Hidden Gems The Rest of the NES 1up com 2016 03 14 Archived from the original on March 14 2016 Retrieved 2018 08 18 External links editWillow at GameFAQs Willow at Giant Bomb Willow at MobyGames Portals nbsp 1980s nbsp Japan nbsp Video games Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Willow NES video game amp oldid 1181653755, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.