Willow

RETRO NEWS

This week’s retro news brings back a few things we never expected to see again. Evercade’s upcoming Banjo Kazooie double pack is restoring Bottles’ Revenge, an unfinished multiplayer mode cut from Banjo Tooie more than 25 years ago.

Star Fox Adventures has also returned, joining the Nintendo Switch Online GameCube library for Switch 2 subscribers.

And for arcade fans, HORI revealed an officially licensed Nintendo controller with swappable sticks, paddles and even a trackball, giving classic control schemes some modern hardware to call home.

PRESS START

An Introduction To Today’s Game

Not every movie based video game earns the right to stand on its own, but Willow for the NES quietly manages it. Capcom took the 1988 Ron Howard fantasy film and built something almost entirely different underneath the familiar faces from the poster.

What players got instead was a top down action RPG that owes far more to The Legend of Zelda than to anything on the movie screen.

The fit is a little odd, and that oddness works in its favor. Willow trades his walking stick for a sword and shield, levels up through experience points, and slowly learns a handful of spells.

It turns out a reluctant farmer makes a pretty solid excuse for an RPG hero. Who knew?!

BEHIND THE PIXELS

Let’s Dive Into The Game

Picture a Zelda style adventure map dropped into a licensed movie game, except the licensing barely gets in the way.

Willow is an action RPG that follows Willow Ufgood after Bavmorda's soldiers fail to catch the infant Elora Danan, sending him on a journey across villages, forests, and castles to keep her safe.

It plays out mostly as a solo quest, with Willow talking his way through towns and fighting his way through everything else.

Combat starts out rough. Willow's sword swings so slowly at first that early enemies can feel like more of a math problem than a fight.

Stick with it, though, because leveling up steadily speeds up his attacks, unlocks a spinning sword strike that clears out groups of enemies, and adds new spells to his repertoire.

Progression follows familiar RPG logic. Winning battles builds experience and levels, which in turn raise health, magic, and swing speed, all tracked clearly on screen.

Along the way there are new swords to find, dialogue heavy stops in villages that fill in the story, and the occasional puzzle that asks for patience rather than reflexes.

The story kicks off from a clever twist on the film's opening, imagining what might have happened had the midwife Ethna evaded Bavmorda's hounds a little longer before sending the baby down the river.

It is a small change, but it lets Capcom carve out room for an entirely new adventure rather than retracing the movie beat for beat. All told, the quest runs close to ten hours, longer than most action RPGs on the system at the time.

The presentation holds up better than most 1989 licensed games have any right to. Character portraits lifted straight from the film show up during conversations, the color palette is more vibrant than a lot of its contemporaries, and battle music kicks in with a genuine sense of urgency whenever enemies appear on the overworld.

None of it is flashy by today's standards, but for an NES cartridge built around a Hollywood license, it is more competent than expected.

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GAME INFORMATION

WHERE TO PLAY

• The original copy or emulation will be your best bet in playing the original version.

• Original Copies of the Game (All prices in USD)

  • Loose: $20

  • Complete: $75

  • New/Sealed: $300

COVER ART

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GAME OVER

Why You Should Play This

Willow will not blow anyone away with jaw dropping mechanics, but it earns its spot in any conversation about surprisingly solid movie games. Capcom clearly cared more about making something fun than checking boxes for Lucasfilm, and that choice paid off more than anyone probably expected in 1989.

If you go in expecting a faithful retelling of the film, you will likely be disappointed, since the story wanders far from the source material almost immediately.

Go in expecting a scrappy little Zelda inspired RPG instead, and there is a decent chance you will come away impressed. The early grind takes patience, and Willow's starting sword speed is still a running joke among people who remember it.

Stick around past those first few screens, though, because the game opens up into something with real heart.

Copies of the original cartridge are not exactly rare, but pricing has crept up as collectors have taken notice. For anyone with a soft spot for underdog stories, Willow is worth tracking down.

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RETRO HARDWARE

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