Wow, what an excellent C64 style action-adventure. It was so hard to drop this one, but with Super Mario Bros and other NES games coming out at the same time as this, it's just really hard for the Speccy and C64 style action-adventures to stand out. The jumping was, of course, clunky. And I wish you could move mid-jump. At first I thought you couldn't grab the ropes/ladders mid-jump but they did, fortunately, have that feature (pro-tip: you have to press up to grab the rope/ladder, no matter if you were trying to go down ha).

I'm tempted to give this a 3 star because this was the first of the passable C64/Speccy action-adventures, since the advent of the NES, that I've wanted to push through and explore the giant map of (there's a map available here). It was cool how different spells dealt with different enemies, and despite being non-linear/open world ostensibly (well, open dungeon), it was typically the type of Zelda/Metroidvania situation I like where you get a spell and realize you now, say, can pass the King enemy to get your next item. I also like that they actually gave a decent amount of Stamina Potions, so this was actually doable without cheats etc.

However, I got to my first Scroll fragment on this screen and decided it was type to call it quits. (I had just used a Stamina Potion after getting rocked by an enemy on the prior screen that I didn't have the Spell to defeat, which only reaffirms that I might try this some time later and have a plan for making sure I have the necessary spells before venturing to these areas... really shows that if this was the main game I owned, I would have played again and again and mapped out the dungeon... gahhh ) Maybe I will return to it at some point. The music is very repetitive and an overused song for videogames from this era (Hall of Kings w/e) and the Look is mediocre (tho I lovvvve the UI), so it probly wouldn't have garnered a 3 star anyway. Maybe if I return to it some day, I'll bump it up.

Anyway definitely worth trying for fans of C64. To me, it's the standout of 1985's C64 action-adventures. I find it better than the early Rare/Ultimate Play the Game isometric action-adventures most people rave about. If you do try it, make sure to consult C64-Wiki about controls, like you use spells by pressing Down + joystick button then hold the button down to move the spell over enemies (I actually really liked the straightforward controls, control of spells, and clever use of joystick instead of convoluted keyboard controls) and that you select items in the UI by pressing F1 then use the selected item with F7. But yes, definitely worth a try despite my 2 star rating! Recommended!

Oh and one other pro-tip: if you notice/think your spells aren't working right cuz they keep stopping, it's likely running into an obstacle like Torch or the Flames, I guess you gotta maneuver around them