Game of the Day 2/13/2016: Legendary Wings

[celerystalker]

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Legendary Wings on the NES may be the best bang for the buck shooter on the NES. Now that the Compile shooters like Zanac and Gunnac have become well known, Capcom's classic has slipped away from the limelight, and it really is great to play. It's a port of an arcade game, which itself was included on Capcom Classics vol. 1 for PS2 and Xbox.

In both games, you play as a winged warrior flying through an Egyptian mythology inspired world in a shooter that scrolls both vertically and horizontally at times. In the vertical stages, it employs an air and ground shooting/bombing mechanic that recalls Xevious, but with graphics closer to Phelios on Genesis in style. When sucked into a chasm, bonus stage, or on stages that are simply designed as such, the view becomes horizontal, and you fly through narrow corridors reminiscent of futuristic pyramids. At the end of each stage, you fight a boss, rinse, and repeat. It's the classic shooter formula, but from a time in which that wasn't well-worn territory.

Graphically, Legendary Wings has detailed, outlined sprites and good looking backgrounds, and the music fits the game pretty well. It throws a surprising amount of bullets on screen at once, but some flicker pops up when that happens. Still, I never found it unfair, and the levels have pretty nice difficulty progression. It also supports 2 player simultaneous play, although I admit I prefer to play shooters alone.

As part of Capcom's planned Gamecube lineup, a game called Dead Phoenix was supposed to come out, and rumor was that it might have been a followup to Legendary Wings. Unfortunately, the only real footage I've been able to find of it is included on the Japanese Ocarina of Time/Master Quest disc on Gamecube, which I admittedly got solely to watch.
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Have you played the NES game? Have memories of the arcade original? Have any tidbits about Dead Phoenix?

[Emperor Megas]

This is a title I'd be surprised if most Gen X gamers weren't familiar with. It's a classic title that I have to admit I never covered much ground in. I do enjoy the game though, especially the arcade version.

[celerystalker]

This is a title I'd be surprised if most Gen X gamers weren't familiar with. It's a classic title that I have to admit I never covered much ground in. I do enjoy the game though, especially the arcade version.

Yeah, if you were playing at the time, you knew this one. It's one that was once pretty popular, but it seems like it's been chucked out the window since people found Over Horizon, Recca, and the Compile stuff. I think it's aged a lot better than the NES 194X games myself. Really, I'm just in a shooter mood tonight because I've been playing a lot of Gondomania this week, and it was an excuse to watch the Dead Phoenix trailer again.

[Steven]

My uncle bought this game off a KayBee Toys game shelf in the late '80s. Great memories! I remember as a kid it was ever so slightly scary. Game was tough and those giant robotic faces trying to suck you in always created an uneasy feeling for me. Sort of a forgotten Capcom title sadly.

Oh and for some reason I vividly recall the first green dragon boss flashing like hell as you weaken it. That never got old!

[Dire 51]

One of my old favorites. I remember renting it for the first time shortly after getting my first NES, and I sucked at it - but I loved the music. That, I think, encouraged me to keep trying. Glad I did.

IIRC, concept art from the NES version was included in the art files for the arcade game on Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1.

[SuperCool]

I don't remember this one at all, but it looks pretty cool. Will have to fire it up sometime soon!

[lendelin]

Celerystalker, like always I liked your game description a lot and that you brought this game up, but this time I have to disagree with your evaluation. :)

I read about the game in 1990, found the set-up interesting because I love Greek and Egyptian mythology, but bought the game only ten years later when ebay was in its infancy and you could actually find great deals there. (Rygar and Legendary Wings were actually the first games I bought on ebay, both minty mint and for 1.50 each complete)

I was disappointed by the gameplay, I found the level design boring, no atmosphere, and the game was just too hard for me, I made it hardly past Level 1. (I'm not so bad at shmups, I finished Gradius, Life Force, Gradius 3, 4 and 5, MUSHA, Super R-Type and many other shmups)...and the big heads which sucked you in I found just annoying.

I tried again just a couple of months ago -- same thing, I put it back on the shelves as a mediocre shoot-em-up at best. I don't know where you guys find your enthusiasm for this game. :)

But thanks for reviewing it, I like your game of the day threads a lot!

[celerystalker]

Celerystalker, like always I liked your game description a lot and that you brought this game up, but this time I have to disagree with your evaluation. :)

I read about the game in 1990, found the set-up interesting because I love Greek and Egyptian mythology, but bought the game only ten years later when ebay was in its infancy and you could actually find great deals there. (Rygar and Legendary Wings were actually the first games I bought on ebay, both minty mint and for 1.50 each complete)

I was disappointed by the gameplay, I found the level design boring, no atmosphere, and the game was just too hard for me, I made it hardly past Level 1. (I'm not so bad at shmups, I finished Gradius, Life Force, Gradius 3, 4 and 5, MUSHA, Super R-Type and many other shmups)...and the big heads which sucked you in I found just annoying.

I tried again just a couple of months ago -- same thing, I put it back on the shelves as a mediocre shoot-em-up at best. I don't know where you guys find your enthusiasm for this game. :)

But thanks for reviewing it, I like your game of the day threads a lot!

No problem, we all have our own tastes!

I actually have a similar history to getting to know this one. As a kid, I read about it in Jeff Rovin's How to Win at Nintendo Hames (I think vol. 2?), and being super into greek mythology, the descrptions of the characters and levels filled my head with impossibly cool imagery... but I didn't own it until much, mach later when I got a used copy around 2000. I had recently gotten super into Giga Wing on Dreamcast, and got on a big shooter kick. I got really into Legendary Wings and Phelios, especially because Legendary Wings had that Capcom shooter feel, and it felt a lot more modern to me than mostof the NES shooters, and I tore through it.

Oddly enough, I truly suck at R-Type. I like it, and have pummeled the other shooters you've mentioned and more, but R-Type has my number, like some kind of weird blind spot.

[lendelin]

No problem, we all have our own tastes!

I actually have a similar history to getting to know this one. As a kid, I read about it in Jeff Rovin's How to Win at Nintendo Hames (I think vol. 2?), and being super into greek mythology, the descrptions of the characters and levels filled my head with impossibly cool imagery... but I didn't own it until much, mach later when I got a used copy around 2000. I had recently gotten super into Giga Wing on Dreamcast, and got on a big shooter kick. I got really into Legendary Wings and Phelios, especially because Legendary Wings had that Capcom shooter feel, and it felt a lot more modern to me than mostof the NES shooters, and I tore through it.

Oddly enough, I truly suck at R-Type. I like it, and have pummeled the other shooters you've mentioned and more, but R-Type has my number, like some kind of weird blind spot.

This is exactly what I did. I still have the two books by Jeff Rovin, I read them and made notes which games might be worthwhile buying and playing. You are right -- Legendary Wings is in volume 2. :) Nice memories. No Internet, only books and magazines, and the game industry seemed innocent (which wasn't the case, but it appeared so).

[Tanooki]

Appearances are good enough though, until it comes to bite you before the internet days. I got bit with Super Mario world 2 which really never existed but to take $50 from me to buy a screaming brat riding on Yoshi. I've never finished the game, and have held it against it all these years too as it ate up money I had to earn doing odd jobs/allowance and really never liked the franchise it spawned anyway much but I do have the game (snes) still.

This one I've owned used in the later half of the 90s before and did not like it. Not really sure why it never grabbed me as the atmosphere is my thing. Makes me amused to see Phelios mentioned, it's on my grab list of Genesis games to try out as it looks solid on there too.