Game of the Day 3/25/2016: Milon's Secret Castle

[celerystalker]

Milon's Secret Castle was a game I wanted for a long time before getting it for my birthday one year, as I'd spent many trips at the grocery staring at its box, thinking about a creepy castle with lightning all around... it looked awesome, and I'd read all about it in How to Win at Nintendo Games 2. It was hot off the heels of finishing Zelda II, and I couldn't wait for another adventure... and I summarily got stuck.

Most people by now know Milon's Secret Castle as an action/adventure game in which Milon must rescue the royal family by using the power of magic bubbles and music to recover the lost treasures and destroy the demon in charge. Half of those folks probably still call it "Milon's Shitty Asshole" thanks to the AVGN. However, the game actually has a lot going for it.

Yes, your movement is very momentum-based, and it takes some getting used to. Yes, you fire your bubbles at an angle... but that is typically how you are approached by enemies, rendering it moot. Some of the music is lacksidaisical, but some is intense, and yes, you have to use a code to continue if you die... but that code is included in the instruction manual, so it doesn't really require Nintendo Power as has been intimated.

What is there is a fairly lengthly, fun adventure loaded with puzzles, some of which require some obtuse thinking. My younger self got stuck not realizing that there were blocks I could push, but as an adult these once mind-boggling puzzles are simple enough. Finding all of the music boxes to hear additional instruments added to the elves' melody is rewarding, and finding hidden honeycombs to extend your life and bees for invincibility is a good time. The stages are never too large, so scouring them for secrets like these and hidden cash or shops is never too tasking as is often intimated. Milon's Secret Castle embodies that old NES secret hunt so well, but it does have a crippling flaw.

For a game of its length and scope, some sort of save system should have been a no brainer. Honestly, it is second only to SNES Jurassic Park as to how baffling it is to me that this feature was overlooked. Having to complete the game in one sitting isn't bad if you know what to do, but as a learner, it's nuts. Thankfully, the Game Boy release, which has exactly the same design and stages, rectifies this with a password system, making it the preferrable version, even if it is a tad slower. I chose to learn the lay of the land through that version, then return to the full-color NES game and lay down the law, and it was great fun.

Milon's Secret Castle is a fun, flawed game on the NES, but I'd dare to call it a forgotten classic on the Game Boy. Either way, Hudson put out an entertaining castle to explore and a good challenge.

Have you played it? Spent some time with its sequels/spinoffs?

[Emperor Megas]

I purchased this game just because the Hudson bee was on it (I like Hudson Soft) but I don't think I've ever player it yet.

[Dire 51]

Rented it way back when and couldn't make heads or tails out of it. When I started collecting NES games again in 2011, I picked it up. Got further than I did when I was a kid, but not by much. Dumped it a couple years back when I switched my focus to the Famicom, only to have my wife snag a CIB copy of the Fami version for my birthday that same year. That one I'm holding onto.

I have to say, I much prefer the Super Famicom sequel, DoReMi Fantasy. It's more of a straightforward platformer, which I prefer over the original's puzzle solving and exploring.

[goldenband]

I've played Milon's Secret Castle a couple times this year, getting past the first boss before losing interest (and, er, forgetting the continue code). I think the cryptic puzzle-solving in this is somewhat of a liability, though the gameplay isn't too unforgiving (in terms of hits, health, etc.). It'd be more forgivable in a computer game, somehow, but in a console game I think we expect some more substantial indicator of what needs to happen next.

I'll have to try the Game Boy version; passwords are certainly a fine idea.

[Steven]

I have to say, I much prefer the Super Famicom sequel, DoReMi Fantasy. It's more of a straightforward platformer, which I prefer over the original's puzzle solving and exploring.

I never played Milon's Secret Castle but I am a huge fan of DoReMi Fantasy. Fun fact: that game just celebrated its 20th birthday (DoReMi Fantasy was released on March 22, 1996). To honor that I converted over my old review of it from 10 years ago:

http://rvgfanatic.com/wordpress/?p=240

[bb_hood]

Ive beaten Milon's Secret Castle. Its not too difficult once you know what to do. Its a fun game I like alot.