Adventure Island

[Manga4life]

So, I've always been aware if the Adventure Island games ever since I was a kid but recently I picked up the first one on a whim while visiting a local mom n' pop video game store and I am so very glad that I did. Everything from the music to the fun side scrolling gameplay has been totally enjoyable and this game has really got me hooked right now, in a very similar fashion to how I was hooked on the Mario games as a kid. Anyone here a fan?

I really wish I would have rented this game as a kid or played it at a friends house or something because I would have totally asked for this for a birthday or something back in the day, at least I have it to enjoy now. Awesome stuff!

[turboswimbz]

Yes it is a great game, you should look into all the wonder boy series games (as well as the adventure Islands clones) There are some great games on the PC engine/turbografx-16 as well as some the other systems. My favorite in the series I've played so far are adventure island, New adventure Island and Dragon's Curse. Check out alll the games here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fom-TkLgS0I

[Manga4life]

Yes it is a great game, you should look into all the wonder boy series games (as well as the adventure Islands clones) There are some great games on the PC engine/turbografx-16 as well as some the other systems. My favorite in the series I've played so far are adventure island, New adventure Island and Dragon's Curse. Check out alll the games here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fom-TkLgS0I

Well, once I beat Adventure Island I will most likely hunt down 2 and 3 for the NES and see if I can beat those, unfortunately I don't have much interest in hunting down a TG-16 at this time. I'm thinking I'm going to be spending quite a bit of time on Adventure Island as I can't seem to make it past the 4th stage in the 8 or so times I've played the game, but I'm up for the challenge......or at least my Game Genie may be if I can't do it alone.

[turboswimbz]

no worries, the NES has some great variations on the wonder boy series. can't go wrong with Hudson. the SNES has a few too if I recall correctly as did the SMS.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

It was only just recently that I discovered that Adventure Island is a Wonder Boy clone.

All those memories

And to top it all off, this great classic NES game was essentially made by SEGA.

[Edmond Dantes]

Adventure Island is good, but hard.

Fun fact: The original Adventure Island is actually just a graphics hack of the original Wonder Boy. The "Adventure Island" series mostly kept to the WB1 formula (except for the occasional divergence into Metroid-esque or RPG) while the Wonder Boy series became more like sidescrolling RPGs.

"Dragon's Curse" is actually Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap. But for some reason, the Japanese PC-Engine version is called... Adventure Island. Confusing, no?

[treismac]

I've got much love for Master Higgins/Takahashi Meijin being the Hudson fanboy that I am. The first one in the series in both brilliant and difficult and is one of my favorite platformers of all time along with the amazing Turbographx-16 version, which takes the series to an amazing height of awesomeness. Two and Three on the NES are fun, but they are almost identical to each other and lose something of the feel of the first one's sense of panic which makes the game so special. The WiiWare edition is decent enough, but I hate the graphics deeply. Retro gamers like pixels- not a hard concept to grasp. The SNES versions feel the most off to me, and I have consequently not spent much time with them. The first Wonderboy rocks too, but I don't care for the sequels that totally desert the run and eat fruit or die formula.

And to top it all off, this great classic NES game was essentially made by SEGA.

It [Wonderboy] was published by SEGA, but it was developed by Westone Bit Entertainment. In my book Hudson had as much right the game as SEGA, plus the fact that Master Higgins is the North American localized name of the flesh and blood, non-bee mascot of Hudson, Takahashi Meijin, authenticates Adventure Island beyond the SEGA series that strayed from the formula in later sequels. Speaking of Adventure Island and Wonderboy, enjoy this comparative video of the two games by the delightful Rinry, who breaks down the history of the split series:

[Kiddo]

Adventure Island fans may also enjoy looking up the anime seires Bug-tte Honey

[kedawa]

Wonder Boy in Monster Lair is also really good.
It's basically an Adventure Island run&gun, with flying levels and boss fights.
It also retains the 'eat fruit or die' gameplay mechanic.

[buzz_n64]

If you want to play a true "adventure" Adventure Island game, you must play Adventure Island IV for the Famicom. It's the best Adventure Island game in my opinion.

[Jorpho]

Super Adventure Island 2 for the SNES is also rather similar to Adventure Island 4 in that they are both completely unlike the rest of the series, and quite possibly better off for it.

[Rickstilwell1]

Good luck beating the level where you have to jump from moving platform to moving platform very quickly. I died so many times there even using savestates. If I were you I wouldn't make being able to beat Adventure Island 1 or not hold you back from buying the sequels. The sequels have a chance that they could be easier.

[Manga4life]

Oh I plan on getting 2 and 3 for the NES regardless of whether or not I finish the first game, I'm pretty sure the store I bought the game at had the sequels for like $10 each so I'll grab them once I've had my fill of the first game. Its funny, as an adult I'm discovering certain NES games for the first time despite having known of their existance for the past 20+ years or so but I'm just now getting around to play them. The NES is and will always be the kind of system where you can find new gems decades after their release and I love that about the nes so much.

I played quite a bit of Adventire Island last night and made it to the 6th stage before dying, that's further than I've ever made it previously.

[kedawa]

I only discovered Air Fortress a few years ago, so I know the feeling.

[bigbacon]

wish I had stores that just sold lots of old games..

only place I can use is ebay or some local flea markets where the old people selling them just want crazy prices because they can't let go of anything...

[Nz17]

Anyone have any experience with the GameCube's Adventure Island?

[Greg2600]

I have always preferred the straight run and jump platforming of Adventure Island. That said, Wonder Boy on SMS is far better than the Hudson NES Adventure Island 1. The Wonder Boy RPG's are fine, but I wish SEGA had kept making the platformer. AI 2 and 3 are decent on NES, and I like Super AI on SNES.

The Gamecube and PS2 got a game called Hudson Selection Volume 4, but only in Japan.

[bigbacon]

least on the NES side, I like AI2 WAY more than #1. funny thing it as kid I could tromp through AI2 no problem. Tried playing again like 2 days ago, and sucked it up big time.

[SpaceHarrier]

Adventure Island is a bit vanilla for me, but I love 2 and 3. Super Adventure Island is my favorite, but I just can't get into the second one at all.

[notoriusvig]

I really liked the PS2 version and would recommend it to AI fans. It feels like the TG16 game.