Golvellius: Valley of Doom (SMS, 1988)
Graphics-8 Sound-9 Control-7 Challenge-7.5 Story-7
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
+
Nice assortment of equipment (air boots - let you walk on trees and water but not mountains, lifebar and wallet upgrades, herb that triggers when near death)
Memorable characters (with well translated dialogue - some NPCs mock you in old English!)
Large world for the time
Nice intro and ending cutscenes
Mixes Zelda 1-style overhead action adventure with sidescrolling action platforming and autoscrolling shoot 'em up segments
Mini-bosses
Good sound effects, a new music track starts playing in the overworld whenever you buy new equipment, each boss has its own theme, makes good use of the limited PSG sound (and the FM chip in the Mark 3 - JP ver. of the SMS), good art direction (80s anime style)
Can trade HP for money with a vampire NPC (though it's a pretty bad deal)
Can speed up dialogue on a per sentence basis
Good mid-air control in the sidescrolling segments
Some overworld shortcuts using the aqua or ascent boots
+/-
Password save (pretty long at 32 characters)
Can stand on enemy spawning points as they appear to cancel their spawning
Can't turn immediately on the spot in the overhead segments - Kelesis has to take a step first which is a few pixels in length
-
Grinding for gold - you have to buy even the crystals (expensive too; can fix this with GG codes though)
Mostly easy bosses
No second quest
You can't move backwards in the platforming and shooter segments (you can't even turn around!) and you get kicked out if you hit the left edge of the screen
A bit repetitive (color swaps later on)
Only one weapon
You have to pause/enter a shop to see how much gold you're carrying
Health is cheap while other items are very expensive
Most dungeons are very easy and have poor enemy variation
No alternate attacks or secondary weapons
Some bosses are just button mashers
Some enemies are way too maneuverable for Kelesis
Very slow sideways and backwards movement during autoscrolling sections
Not very satisfying to hit bosses/get hit (no flash or animation)
Comment:
Golvellius: Valley of Doom (SMS, 1988) is a hybrid game by Compile, blending top-down exploration with side-scrolling platforming and shoot 'em up action. And it actually works well! The game features a large and varied world to explore, with some memorable characters and surprisingly well-translated dialogue for the time.
Going into more detail, the game has a pretty nice assortment of equipment, including air boots that let you hover walk over water and trees, lifebar and wallet upgrades, as well as an herb that triggers when you're near death like some other similar games of the time (Hydlide and Xanadu for example). Using some of this equipment you can find shortcuts on the overworld, cutting down on repetitive backtracking. Combat is very similar to Zelda 1, however a couple of interesting quirks about its mechanics make it so that holding down the button does faster damage, and you can also stand on enemy spawn points to cancel their spawning if needed.
The game makes great use of the limited PSG sound as well as the FM chip in the the Japanese version of the SMS. Each boss has its own theme music, and a new track starts playing in the overworld whenever you buy new equipment. The game's art style, with its 80s anime flair, is a real treat as well and is shown off well in the game's lengthy intro and ending cutscenes.
Now, there are some downsides to Golvellius. Grinding for gold can be a pain, and some bosses are just too easy. There's no second quest like in Zelda 1, and hitting bosses or getting hit doesn't have as much impact as it could've. The platforming and shooter segments can be a bit frustrating, too, since you can't move backwards, can't turn around and you get kicked out of the current segment if you hit the left edge of the screen. But overall, Golvellius is still an 8-bit classic in my eyes and to be fair you can fix the grinding issue with GG codes. I'd recommend it to any fan of early Zelda, Ys or Guardian Legend.
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
+
Nice assortment of equipment (air boots - let you walk on trees and water but not mountains, lifebar and wallet upgrades, herb that triggers when near death)
Memorable characters (with well translated dialogue - some NPCs mock you in old English!)
Large world for the time
Nice intro and ending cutscenes
Mixes Zelda 1-style overhead action adventure with sidescrolling action platforming and autoscrolling shoot 'em up segments
Mini-bosses
Good sound effects, a new music track starts playing in the overworld whenever you buy new equipment, each boss has its own theme, makes good use of the limited PSG sound (and the FM chip in the Mark 3 - JP ver. of the SMS), good art direction (80s anime style)
Can trade HP for money with a vampire NPC (though it's a pretty bad deal)
Can speed up dialogue on a per sentence basis
Good mid-air control in the sidescrolling segments
Some overworld shortcuts using the aqua or ascent boots
+/-
Password save (pretty long at 32 characters)
Can stand on enemy spawning points as they appear to cancel their spawning
Can't turn immediately on the spot in the overhead segments - Kelesis has to take a step first which is a few pixels in length
-
Grinding for gold - you have to buy even the crystals (expensive too; can fix this with GG codes though)
Mostly easy bosses
No second quest
You can't move backwards in the platforming and shooter segments (you can't even turn around!) and you get kicked out if you hit the left edge of the screen
A bit repetitive (color swaps later on)
Only one weapon
You have to pause/enter a shop to see how much gold you're carrying
Health is cheap while other items are very expensive
Most dungeons are very easy and have poor enemy variation
No alternate attacks or secondary weapons
Some bosses are just button mashers
Some enemies are way too maneuverable for Kelesis
Very slow sideways and backwards movement during autoscrolling sections
Not very satisfying to hit bosses/get hit (no flash or animation)
Comment:
Golvellius: Valley of Doom (SMS, 1988) is a hybrid game by Compile, blending top-down exploration with side-scrolling platforming and shoot 'em up action. And it actually works well! The game features a large and varied world to explore, with some memorable characters and surprisingly well-translated dialogue for the time.
Going into more detail, the game has a pretty nice assortment of equipment, including air boots that let you hover walk over water and trees, lifebar and wallet upgrades, as well as an herb that triggers when you're near death like some other similar games of the time (Hydlide and Xanadu for example). Using some of this equipment you can find shortcuts on the overworld, cutting down on repetitive backtracking. Combat is very similar to Zelda 1, however a couple of interesting quirks about its mechanics make it so that holding down the button does faster damage, and you can also stand on enemy spawn points to cancel their spawning if needed.
The game makes great use of the limited PSG sound as well as the FM chip in the the Japanese version of the SMS. Each boss has its own theme music, and a new track starts playing in the overworld whenever you buy new equipment. The game's art style, with its 80s anime flair, is a real treat as well and is shown off well in the game's lengthy intro and ending cutscenes.
Now, there are some downsides to Golvellius. Grinding for gold can be a pain, and some bosses are just too easy. There's no second quest like in Zelda 1, and hitting bosses or getting hit doesn't have as much impact as it could've. The platforming and shooter segments can be a bit frustrating, too, since you can't move backwards, can't turn around and you get kicked out of the current segment if you hit the left edge of the screen. But overall, Golvellius is still an 8-bit classic in my eyes and to be fair you can fix the grinding issue with GG codes. I'd recommend it to any fan of early Zelda, Ys or Guardian Legend.