The Immortal (NES)

Difficulty: ****
Controls: ***1/2
Sound: ***1/2
Graphics: ****1/2
Overall: 15 1/2 stars out of 20

In the ancient depths of the once fabled city of Erinoch lies and old labyrinth. Your teacher of the mystical arts Mordamir has been said to have been down in the dungeons. But he has not surfaced. Although you are growing old with age you still have your excellent training in fighting and magic. You decide to help find your former master. This is The Immortal from EA Games!

You are allowed three tries in each stage before the game boots you out to the password screen. You'll be seeing it often as the game hosts many instant death traps. Even when you begin in the first dungeon the place is littered with cannons, fire traps and poisoned darts! Talk about safety issues. Add in flesh eating worms, killer spores, spikes that shoot up from the floor...whew, you'll be having fits for sure! However, the game never seems totally unfair. When you get the hang of each dungeon you can maneuver around it easily.

Controlling the wizard will get some getting used to. The 'A' and 'B' button fires a fireball when your not in combat. When you are the 'B' button attacks while the 'A' button and a direction of the D-pad will dodge. Later on in the game you'll be given the task of controlling certain items around a dungeon level. These levels are very tricky as the items will bounce off of walls if you're not careful.

The mood is set for you epic journey as the opening theme is outstanding. The music overall is just great to listen to. The dungeon theme is very dark and spooky. Like death lingers just around the corner (and probably is!) The sound effects are also quite good. Using your various items, casting magic are all solid. You even get treated to a death groan when you kill your various opponents! (sweet!)

The Immortal has some of the best graphics in the entire NES library! All the sprites in general are excellently detailed. The combat screens have big detailed sprites too. Although the background is just a solid black colour. You'll especially come to appreciate the dragon at the end of the game! One of the most chilling and horrifying enemies in the game for sure. A tiny gripe though, the bats are a real pain to see in the already dark dungeons.

While this game is often overlooked, it is one of the best in the NES library. It is a challenging game with the various death traps. But it never seems unfair as countless replays will have you figuring out the levels. You'll need to adjust to the way things control in this game. But once you do it'll be too easy. The sounds are very dark, spooky and often times bone chilling! While the sound effects are good, there could have been some more variety. The graphics will have you saying "that's an NES game?" As the sprites are big, colourful and greatly detailed. If you can find yourself a copy, get it. Until you find Mordamir in the Labyrinth of Eternity...