Risky Woods
Risky Woods is a fantasy-themed, side-scrolling platform game developed by Dinamic Software and Zeus Software and published by Electronic Arts in 1992.[1][2] It was released as Jashin Draxos (邪神ドラクソス, Evil God Draxos) in Japan.
 | |
| Developer(s) | Dinamic Software Zeus Software |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Composer(s) | José Antonio Martin Tello |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Genesis |
| Release | 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Plot
The ancient monks who preserve the wisdom of the Lost Lands have been frozen in stone by Draxos and his minions.[3] Young Rohan must plunge into the Risky Woods to release them. Only then can wisdom triumph once again.
Gameplay
Most of Risky Woods involves Rohan running, jumping between ledges and fighting monsters while freeing the monks from stone. There are 4 worlds, each with two levels and at the end of each world the player must face a guardian/boss. The world's are Mountain Pass, Hanging Gardens, Catacombs and Hidden World.[4] Rohan is initially armed with an infinite amount of throwing knives.[3] Both the standard monsters such as skeletons and flying demons drop coins once defeated.[5]
At the end of each level, coins can be spent at "Ye Olde Shoppe". Rohan can trade in his knives for fire, an axe, a chain or a boomerang. The same weapon can be bought up to 3 times, increasing its power with each purchase. The player can also choose to pay to top up their energy.[3]
In order to complete a level, all good monks must be freed from stone. Bad monks are also trapped in stone and are indistinguishable from the good ones. Once freed, the bad monks will attack Rohan. The only way to avoid bad monks is to remember their locations for your next play through.
The secondary objective of each level is to pass through "Eye toll gates". The player has to find two halves of an Eye-Key, then use the completed Eye-Key to pass through the door.[5]
Chests drop from the sky randomly during gameplay and contain items that can either help or hinder. Bombs, shields, extra time and lives make up the good offerings, while the bad offerings can send you back a few screens, send you to sleep and waste your time or can even flip the screen upside down.[3]
Continues may be found during the game, but only two are given in the entirety of the game. Once those continues are used up, that's game over and the player has to restart the game. The final level leads to a castle in which Draxos must be defeated, after which a short animation plays followed by the game over sequence.
The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version has some differences from the other versions. The player being able to collect armour links which can be used to improve armour. Also the "Eye toll gates" require the player to repeat the melodies that the gatekeepers play using their control pad.[6] Lastly, Rohan is wearing a tunic or toga rather than the tank top and pants that he wears in the other version, and he holds a staff. The "eye key" and coins are also visually different.
Reception
In 2017, HobbyConsolas named Risky Woods one of the greatest Spanish games ever released.[7]
References
- https://archive.org/stream/micromania-segunda-epoca-52/Micromania_SE_52#page/n7/mode/2up
- "An interview with Ricardo Puerto". Codetapper's Amiga Site. Mythic-Beasts. October 8, 2014. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved 2020-11-05.
- The_One_Issue_46_Jul_92.
- Zero_Issue_33_Jul_92.
- Amiga Power - Issue 15 (1992-07)(Future Publishing)(GB). July 1992.
- GamePro Issue 046 May 1993.
- Alonso, Álvaro (April 24, 2017). "Los mejores juegos españoles de todos los tiempos". HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 23, 2019.