Welcome to my Retro Nintendo Series, where I look at old Nintendo games and try to review them. Starting of course with the Nintendo Entertainment System(NES).
It's a Devil World After All
The first game and one of the earliest NES titles is Devil World. Originally released in 1984 for Famicom in Japan, Devil World was Shigeru Miyamoto's first console-only game and did not see a release in North America for quite some time. This is because Nintendo of America had a policy against releasing games with religious symbols. It did make another appearance on Wii’s Virtual Console in Japan in 2008 and in PAL regions later in the year. The game finally became playable in the states via Nintendo Switch’s Online service which gives access to NES games and was added to that library on October 31, 2023.
Devil World is a Pac-Man clone where the player controls the green Tamagon as he navigates a constantly moving maze with the goal of attacking the Devil's world. The first stage of the maze has Tamagon collecting pellets, which requires one of the crosses found around the maze. These crosses not only let Tamagon eat pellets, but also shoot small fireballs that incapacitate the minions for a time. After eating all the pellets, it moves to stage 2, where Tamagon has to collect 4 bibles at the corners of the map. Once the bibles are collected and returned, the Devil is driven away and it goes into a bonus round where players can find extra points and extra lives. It’s pretty simple and straightforward once you get the hang of it, and it's a unique spin on the classic Pac-Man gameplay. There’s even a two player mode where player two controls a red Tamagon.
That said, the constant movement of the stage can make things tricky as it’s very possible to get squished if
players aren’t careful. Progressive rounds see this movement get faster and faster as a sign of increasing difficulty. While this is happening, the Devil at the top of the screen dances and usually gives an indicator of which direction the maze is going, while minions at the bottom of the screen are the ones moving the maze which is a neat detail. Its honestly kinda cute and looks pretty colorful for its time, which I can definitely appreciate. Not so much the music though, like Pac-Man, it lacks music during the actual gameplay. And in between that, we get 8-bit renditions of familiar sounding tunes. It's nothing spectacular, but at least the gameplay is simple and easy to learn.
It's worth a look if you like retro games and have a switch with an online membership.
GF Retro Review Scores:
Gameplay: 4/5 - Its fun and a fairly decent time sink. Not much else to it and it doesn’t pretend otherwise
Visuals: 3/5 - I like the small details of the Devil and minions and can appreciate the color palettes changing between rounds. Sadly the map always looks the same
Sound: 3/5 - Passable. The sound design is nothing special though
Final "Retro" Score: 4/5
