Argos No Senshi, better know in the west as Rygar has always represented for me a very cool and interesting game. I fed the arcade machine many coins in trying to master seemingly endless stages, some of which (in all truth) tended to look a bit the same...Some sadistic game design choices were also implemented such as the inability to continue after reaching stage 20 or stage 26. The last stage was to be conquered on 1 credit :)

Right from the amazing intro that narrates about the downfall of all powerful dominators, events that take place into a remote past, it is impossible not to get sucked in by Rygar's magical universe. The naive story, coupled with the amazing graphics, the cool music and the addictive and fast-paced gameplay all contributed to create a memorable classic that defied time, and came out victorious!

Graphically, the 1st level was particularly atmospheric as it provided a great frame for the story: great warlords who had been dominating the world were seeing their power gradually vanish, and the orange sunset of level 1 just symbolizes the decline of their weakened reigns. This is just what springs to mind when I fire up the arcade board and for that feeling alone, Rygar will always hold a special place in my collection.

Gameplay proved to be compelling because controls were tight and responsive and because the weird looking weapon (called Diskarmor) was a neat idea.The yoyo-like weapon, that looks like a shield hooked up to a chain became the symbol of the game.

Also, the hectic gameplay felt almost like an hybrid between a platformer and a shooter and this factor alone proved to be an interesting concept, which was also enhanced by the character's ability to jump onto enemies, Mario-style.

Anyway, as a tribute to this great series, I decided to gather some of the cooler-looking ports that sprang throughout the years. Some of the art is certainly worth a look!

It might be worth saying that there have been only 2 games in the series sofar (without counting the ports): the 1st one appeared in the Arcades and was then ported to several formats, while the second game is a 3D sequel that showed up on PS2. The Famicom port of Rygar is the only one that isn't a straight port and could be considered a semi-sequel because of the many differences with the original game.