Adventure Island IV for Famicom & NES - Review | hungrygoriya

[@NESFriend]

Your voice is so tranquil, your writing is compelling, and your topics are great. Loving your channel and streams!

[@hungrygoriya]

Hooray! Thanks again for popping into my stream last night. It was busier than usual in there but hopefully I'll see you back again sometime! And thanks about the writing too. It took a long while for me to find my voice but I think I'm onto something, finally!

[@azuzastreet9087]

@@hungrygoriya I have to agree with NES friend and I think you've found your voice. Btw...you do remind me of Daphne from Scooby Doo...which is great!

[@ggbetz]

@@azuzastreet9087 Daphne is so much more than that show lets on, she and shag and scoob are the real heavy hitters, and they're too gracious to tell the others.

[@packpock4369]

Great review but I disagree with the first being a step back considering it was the first it made the series. The skate board was a cool mechanic not as good as riding a dinosaur. Still fun!

[@WallyWallcakes]

Very well done, Ms.Goriya! I enjoyed watching you stream this and the passion that you have for this series fills my heart with such joy. I'm glad you had so much fun with this game, and I was happy to see that come through in this review.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad you could be there for the streams. This is one of the most underrated platformer series out there! It has everything, and then they go and twist it all around like this and make it brand new again... it was such a great experience :) Thanks for your continued support!

[@justavian]

The astonishing thing about you is how consistently good your content has been for years. I've been watching quite a bit after discovering your channel recently, and whether it's four years ago or two years ago or today, your content is all very well done. Often when i stumble upon a new creator, i see a drastic reduction in quality going back. I seriously hate seeing the cliche of "i can't believe you don't have more subscribers" all over smaller channels, but seriously - your work really does deserve more attention.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww this is very sweet! Thank you very much for saying so. I'd say the only thing I've really incorporated here throughout the years here is some smoother editing (I hope it comes across that way!)

[@NefariousWes]

This is your best review yet! I love watching you evolve, evidenced by the new visual "tricks" you implemented here. Showing your Adventure Island collection was a nice touch. Well done!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank youuuuu! It took me so long to write the script for this one and find a good flow, but I think it worked out just fine in the end! And yeah... I've been learning some stuff here and there. Thanks for noticing! It's the kind of thing I think you only notice when you've made videos yourself!

[@NefariousWes]

@@hungrygoriya Probably. I always notice stuff like that.

[@Myrope]

The Adventure Island sprites and artwork is all so cute! It feels like the series really is near and dear to your heart. Feels like I could watch a ton of videos of you talking about just Adventure Island.

[@hungrygoriya]

I am a huge fan of these games. I just finished Adventure Island 3 for the first time last week, so your wish might come true about a new review in the future!

[@polter5195]

Had no idea this existed. I've always loved the Adventure Island series, but the timer did stress me out at times! I like the look of the new heart system for sure.

[@hungrygoriya]

When I found this game initially, I couldn't believe my eyes to be honest. I was floored by the fact that Adventure Island 3 was a thing and seeing this one in Japanese on a modded XBox blew my mind. And the switch to the heart meter was perfect. I do enjoy the challenge of Adventure Island II but there's something so relaxing about wandering around in a little grass skirt looking for ways to solve some problems. Do you think you'll give this one a try sometime? It's fun!

[@polter5195]

@@hungrygoriya I certainly will. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Kind of sad to hear the dinos don't make a huge appearance like they did in part II, but it'll be nice to explore without worrying about gulping down fruit every second!

[@hungrygoriya]

@@polter5195 Nice! I hope you'll let me know what you think about it. And yeah, it's more of the dinos being what you make them in the game. You can take them along with you, but it's more that you don't know what you're in for until you're there, and by that point it's a pain to go all the way back for them. You'll see when you play! I hope you love it!

[@SNESdrunk]

I also did not know this existed. I really liked 2 so I'm looking forward to playing this

[@hungrygoriya]

@@SNESdrunk If you loved 2, this one's a no brainer. I hope to hear your thoughts on it. I wish there was more of this series out there, especially like this!

[@sirhcman]

SO MUCH GUSH! I loved the review! You did an excellent job as per usual... on point and concise with so much great info! Also, that game drawer totally gave me the island of misfit toys vibes! xD

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you :) I loved this game, so it was easy to pour my heart out about it! And I was thinking about all of you when I put that drawer together... especially Lord of the Sword and Road Runner. Illusion of Gaiarrhea was all mine and mine alone!

[@azuzastreet9087]

I used to love the adventure Island games on nes. Sadly, I own none but now I'm going to find them! I do, however, own Adventure Island for SNES and it's just as fun! The soundtrack for the snes is fantastic as well! Thank you for this! Your taste is impeccable. I'd love to see a live chat/ game play through post soon!

[@hungrygoriya]

Super Adventure Island is tons of fun! And if you want to see me playing games live, I stream three nights a week over on Twitch. I'm currently playing through the Sailor Moon RPG and there's a link in the description to the page. I'm partnered over there so I can't do live gameplay content on KZbin.

[@RedAuxPDX]

So much fun! I enjoyed your livestream of this game just as much as the review. And plus, it was great to see Terry the Tetradactyl again 💜.

[@hungrygoriya]

My sweet Terry... always swooping in to save the day! I'm so glad you could be there during the livestreams. There's nothing better than having people to chat with while playing through a game!

[@maximpact24]

Well done Goriya. I too love the Adventure Island series on the NES/SNES/Gameboy. I wished the fourth installment came over here back in the day, would have been a great send off for the NES (apparently, Adventure Island IV was the last Famicom game released). Keep up the good work! :)

[@hungrygoriya]

I knew Adventure Island IV was a late release but not quite that late... wow! That really explains it then! I desperately need to play some of the Game Boy games one of these days. I've never had it straight in my head whether or not they're ports of the NES/SNES titles or if they're their own thing. And thanks :) I've been enjoying making these videos!

[@TheReNesance]

Anytime this game gets some love, I'm thrilled.. and it getting attention in a well-done review by you is doubly exciting. Great work. This game really does feel so polished, especially when compared to the first of the series. Also, are those meatstick palm trees?! :)

[@hungrygoriya]

If only meatsticks grew on trees... haha! Thanks as always for your kind words. It was an easy task to sit down and talk about this game in a positive way because it's just so much fun. And thanks again for your help during the streams... I couldn't have done it without you!

[@TheReNesance]

@@hungrygoriya Those trees would be plentiful in your yard, I'm sure :) Was my pleasure.. I love watching you play games that I cherish!

[@robertbarker5802]

It hurts how sometimes going back in a series only shows how much better the series got instead of finding missed fun. : /

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah, I wish I had more love for the original game, but it was a great foundation to build upon. I'm all about playing games at the foot of a series and seeing how things change and move in what follows. If I had started there instead of at Adventure Island II, I think I'd love it way more. I actually prefer Wonder Boy on the Master System over Adventure Island... it controls much better to me.

[@NOTOUTGAMERSWORLD]

Great review. Played it in 2008. This was the biggest game for me at that time and more complex.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's such a great game! I was hoping Super Adventure Island II would be more like this one.

[@dieinfire920]

Just found this channel through KZbin suggestions while I was looking for some AI3 videos, as 3 is my fave. I played 4 around 2005, advanced quite a bit but honestly I can’t remember if I finished it or not. Although I absolutely love part 3, the format of part 4 is a good change to give the franchise some fresh turn. I think it would have been great if you had the ability to “summon” your dinosaurs after you rescue them, as going back to your house just to be able to ride them is too much... Loved the review mainly because of the calm voice. I hope you do a AI part 3 review also. Part 1 is a total disappointment but I still like due to nostalgia, as I discovered the franchise during the 80’s through the arcade Sega game ‘Wonder Boy’, which I would find years later to that game being ported to nes with a different -but mostly the same- character and different game name, this time called Adventure Island. Cheers!!

[@hungrygoriya]

Great to meet another Adventure Island fan! I didn't discover AI3 until I was almost 30 and was blown away when I saw that it was just more of AI2... I still haven't beaten either of them at this point! But agreed... Adventure Island IV is a fantastic shift in the usual fare for the series and gave us a really fun and unique little adventure. I'm glad I got to play it.

[@alejandrofrancetich4607]

Your channel is amazing! As I said in a previous comment, I'm a new subscriber, so I'm slowly but surely going over your past videos. Didn't really get to play this game much, but I love it.

[@hungrygoriya]

Too kind, seriously :) And I would honestly recommend this until I was blue in the face. It's such a charming and fun little game. I need to replay it again soon.

[@warrioroflight3489]

Ok I finally decided you deserve my subscribe thank you for the review plz more nes review we are grown with those games

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks so much!

[@jamessnedeker4799]

The KZbin Algorithm is a strange beast and has been suggesting Adventure Island videos for me recently alongside Polka(?) and Scholastic Book Fair(?) videos. You're the second video I've seen that called this game 'Open-World'. I always felt like it was a Metroidvania moreso than Open-World and am now really wondering about the nuances between the two terms. Semantics aside, it's a fun game and a fantastic video you made. We've had a number of spiritual sequels recently and hopefully Adventure Island will get one in the near future.

[@hungrygoriya]

Glad you landed here, and hopefully you enjoyed the video! Scholastic Book Fair stuff must be a real trip. I should look that up sometime because I went to an awful lot of those as a kid. I don't personally use the term "Metroidvania". It doesn't really mean much to people who haven't played those games, and I'd rather call them games with gated exploration. To me, Adventure Island 4 is open world because you can reach everywhere from anywhere once you have the tools to do so. Certain parts might be closed off for part of the game, but eventually you can walk from one end to the other without any problems.

[@MrPanda2002]

Awesome review! I love the Adventure Island series and you captured it well with this review. :) My favorites are the SNES ones.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you :) I really need to get around to playing Super Adventure Island II one of these days. I don't mind the first one on SNES but it's a little too slow for my tastes! The soundtrack is really something else though!

[@VicVein]

Love your channel .. one of the few true retro gaming accounts left. 👍

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thank you! That's very high praise :)

[@zachreddy]

Excellent review! I’d love to see this kind of in-depth look at other games in the Adventure Island/Wonder Boy multiverse, in particular the SNES Adventure Island games, Dragon’s Trap/Curse and Monster World 4.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. It was hard to control my love for the series in this one! I'm hoping to do the same for at least Super Adventure Island II when I get there. I have Dragon's Trap and Monster World 4 hanging around here too. I need more hours in a day to play games through these games.

[@philmason9653]

If you enjoyed Adventure Island IV, Sunsoft's Ufouria was another late NES release in a similar platformy-exploratory vein that might be right up your alley. I believe it was only released in PAL territories in the West, but it is more readily available in English on the Wii U virtual console (while that remains).

[@hungrygoriya]

I've heard of Ufouria! I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but it definitely feels like something in the same vein that I'd really enjoy.

[@Insane-Howl-Cowl]

I did not realize there was an Adventure Island game in this style. I need to check it out.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's amazing! Definitely my favourite from the NES/Famicom generation.

[@BioPhoenixReviews]

the 2nd game was my favorite in the series but the 4th game is indeed pretty great but in a unique way.

[@hungrygoriya]

I agree! I have yet to play much of Adventure Island III, but I imagine it'll be really good too.

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

There is a similar game on the Famicom which is kinda part of the Wonder Boy series, Saiyuki World. The sequel actual got released in the West as Thromp'Em but it didn't carry on the exploration.

[@hungrygoriya]

I hadn't seen this until now... it's definitely very Wonder Boy!

[@XboxerBriefs]

I really liked this review. I had no idea there was a fourth game in the series - very impressed by your work and I can’t wait for your next one!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks so much for watching and for your very kind words. I throw a lot of effort into these things and am happy people take the time out of their days to watch. Maybe you can stream this game sometime if it grabbed your attention. It's a blast!

[@HybridAngelZero]

This looks awesome! Definitely gonna be a must own on NES for me :D

[@hungrygoriya]

It was so much fun, honestly. I was never bored even for a minute playing this game! Frustrated by a few tougher bosses sure, but pushing through was worth it :)

[@MotherKojiro]

This is one of my favorite NES games; I tend to prefer these types of Adventure Island games over the straight Platformers, mostly because I don't like the timer. It's interesting, though, that this and its sister series, Wonder Boy, went to a lot of the same places throughout their lifespans.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm definitely a fan of this game as well. And I know, right? It's rare to see two game series that are so directly in competition with one another in terms of their gameplay style.

[@w.qualls7930]

The line about the dynamic between the two of them was both funny and very sweet. Your audio sounds even better here somehow. Very clear, especially your voice. Wonder if this is available on the Virtual Console. Looks fun, and the language barrier might not be too bad here.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you! I hear that a lot about this particular video, and I'm not sure what magic was at work that day :) And yeah, if you have an idea of what's going on, the language barrier isn't bad at all. I enjoyed the English for a first-time playthrough, but I'd definitely tackle the Japanese game at this point. Thanks for watching :)

[@jwrush]

Oh man, I completely forgot about the Adventure Island games. I rented 2 probably a half dozen times. I never knew about 4!

[@hungrygoriya]

I truly hope you'll give 4 a try sometime... it's such a treat! I still love 2 with every fibre of my being, but 4 is definitely a step in a direction I really loved!

[@mmo4754]

I loved Adventure Island 2 (I played it on game boy) #4 looks pretty cool and I'd love to try it out sometime.

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you give it a go some day. It's so much fun and has definitely become my favourite of the four on NES/Famicom.

[@chutton988]

I enjoyed this review! Thanks and good job!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you very much! This game was so fun. I wish they had done more like this.

[@ecmyersvids]

Lovely review! You have a great sense of humor and sardonic wit. I saw Ren play some of this before, but looks like I need to move it up in my queue.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks very much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Despite my bubbly exterior, I definitely have a bit of cynicism hiding just under the surface... who doesn't :D? I think you should definitely move this game up your list because it's a very casual adventure that you can put down for a while and not lose too much if you're wanting to intersperse other things between playthroughs. I watched ReNesance play through it almost entirely but had a copy sitting on my shelf waiting to be played. I put it of for a long time because I needed to forget lots of his playthrough so I could experience it fresh for myself. I'd love to see you enjoy this one.

[@NishantSengar]

This is very well planned and strategic game of its time, infact the best NES game ever. I wish it somehow gets a remake on current gen consoles.

[@hungrygoriya]

I honestly love it... I've started to think games like this are some of my favourite kinds. Legacy of the Wizard is another game in a similar vein that I really enjoyed as well.

[@weeblespleen]

Even though I watched you play it, your review totally sold me on playing this game. And shout outs to Saad for those gifs!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks so much! I hope you'll stream it so I can cheer you on. It's just the right level of difficulty I think!

[@weeblespleen]

@@hungrygoriya As long as I got you to guide me through it, I'll give it a shot

[@hungrygoriya]

@@weeblespleen It'd be my pleasure :)

[@ArkThePieKing]

Holy crap, thank you for covering this! I'd never heard of it until now, disliking the first 3 (I just don't enjoy 1 hit death quarter muncher type games) but I checked this out and I can't put it down. It's been a blast. Keep doing great work!

[@hungrygoriya]

You're very welcome :) I'm happy to hear you've fallen in love with this one. It's pretty amazing and I can't wait to play Super Adventure Island II, which has some great RPG elements in it. Good luck getting to the end!

[@MasterRoshi8974]

Chuck mangione is a beautiful touch.

[@hungrygoriya]

His music's awesome. I find myself listening to it often!

[@PragmatikReviews]

First Nefarious Wes now you! I guess I'm really going to have to check out this series. This looks so cute to me, dont know how I missed it. I agree with preferring to slow down. Rushing can sometimes turn me off to a game. Great review dear!

[@hungrygoriya]

You won't regret taking a look at these games, especially II and IV. I haven't played 3 yet, but it looks amazing too!

[@variedadretroactual4630]

Excelente review, un super clasico, sigue asi eres genial, un gran abrazo desde colombia .

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm very glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching, and thanks for the hugs :)

[@philipvalenzuela4969]

this my 1st metroidvania experience in NES

[@hungrygoriya]

Right on! What a great game to start with!

[@totemlordreviews7242]

So sad that the dinos are captured! But it is nice that they're a part of the story and not just a power up 😁

[@hungrygoriya]

That's true! I hadn't thought of it that way!

[@skeletorment]

It's funny, but the mini game reminds me, my friend Aaron invented the whack-a-mole game. He was also the one responsible for the animatronic band Rockafire Explosion at Showbiz Pizza, before the company sold him out and switched over to that obnoxiously boring rat known as 'Chuck-E-Cheese.' The documentary on his company is rather fascinating.

[@dezm101]

very nice review, I like your style! Quite informative

[@hungrygoriya]

Well thank you :) I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@packpock4369]

I love 3 because it added alien's 😂, I actually didn't know 4 stayed in Jpn. But listen it's beloved the whole series. One thing we can all agree on the games are seriously fun..

[@hungrygoriya]

I love 2-4 very much. I'm not a fan of the first game on NES at all though. I prefer Wonder Boy on the Master System! It seems to control a lot better even though the games are more or less the same in most other ways.

[@Arlacent]

Super Adventure Island 2 mastered this format and has a lot of cool item and armor upgrades.

[@hungrygoriya]

I liked this one a lot better than Super Adventure Island 2, but it was still fun!

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

I always wondered if they tried the adventure style before Super Adventure Island 2 on SNES. I’ve made a comment on how similar the original was akin to Wonder Boy original, but I always wondered if Hudson tried a less linear style with Higgins before the SNES version. Definitely will have to try it out as I love the Wonder Boy series!

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you enjoy this game as much as I do!

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

@@hungrygoriya just for clarification, yes! I’ve enjoyed what I’ve played of both series 😸 other being Wonder Boy lol just easier to post this here rather then jump around 😅

[@Njuregen]

Wow this is kinda like Wonderboy 2/3 (without time) for the NES, in some sense. Looks nice and fun! thanks.

[@hungrygoriya]

This is an amazing game. I hope you play it sometime!

[@phonotical]

aha, that little ghosty at the end :) can always tell by how you speak about things if you made a connection with it or not

[@hungrygoriya]

The ghost was a menace! I loved this game so much though

[@phonotical]

@@hungrygoriya maybe a new revisited series, parts maybe you missed, or giving away those mysterious endings 😂 or just to have some fun 😊 Do you really reply to all your comments? That's cool! I try avoid leaving so many 😂

[@hungrygoriya]

@@phonotical I don't reply to all of them, but if they're meaningful and foster some good discussion about a game, I do my best to reply for sure! And that might be fun too! I'll think about that when I get the rest of what I have on the backburner finished over here.

[@phonotical]

@@hungrygoriya ooh, any hints as to what it might be?

[@hungrygoriya]

@@phonotical Oh sure... I'm working on a review of Faria: A World of Mystery and Danger for NES. I hope to have it out by the weekend if I'm lucky!

[@barry-allenthe-flash8396]

I only found out about _Adventure Island IV_ recently, when I got a Multi-cart for my Retron. I thought it was a pirated title - a really good hack of something else maybe, with Master Higgins inserted into it -, so I looked into it and was shocked to find out that it was not only legit, but being the final commercial release(?) for the Famicom definitely helped explain the real high-quality production! Because I played the first _Adventure Island,_ I was never the biggest fan of the series (that game *sucks;* you're right to feel disappointed. It's so old that it's just an awkward/confused in-between for score-based arcade proto-platformers and actual console platformers and paled in comparison to games like _Super Mario Bros._ even back in the day), but _AI4_ is really pretty neat. When you look at how it was evolving during the 8 and 16-bit days, it's such a shame Hudson/Konami handled & ended the whole series after that... up to that final game that was just a friggin' ugly Wiiware entry - iirc just a remake of that original game at that. Though I still prefer it's "big brother" franchise - _Wonder Boy/Monster World/Monster Boy_ - to _Adventure Island_ overall, certain entries are really cool and definitely deserve more attention from retro fans nowadays. Great review; awesome job highlighting this little-known gem! And if you haven't played any of those, but like _Adventure Island 4,_ you definitely should check out _Monster World IV, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom_ or the LizardCube remake of _Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap_ - you'd probably enjoy the heck out of 'em (^-^)

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for checking out the video! I'm glad you also found out about this game and were also delighted by its existence. I do have a love for the Wonder Boy games... I actually much prefer Wonder Boy over Adventure Island. The control is much better in that one, to me anyway. I do have those other games hanging around too... I'm a huge SMS fan so it's a must for me to play those sooner than later. Thanks for the suggestions!

[@barry-allenthe-flash8396]

Always great to see an SMS fan of a KZbinr, and happy to hear you already have those other games "on your radar". I'm just happy I learned about your channel from DariaPlaysRPGs so I can catch your equally-wonderful videos :D

[@hungrygoriya]

I find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn't like the SMS if they knew more about it! It's crazy how many people still don't really know it exists, and I'm only a fairly new fan myself. And I'm glad you appreciate the videos... it's nice when people stop in and watch :) It's a true compliment to be compared as on the same level as Daria! Her stuff is awesome. I still have a ton of her older videos to catch up on too... I need more time in my days!

[@johnpettigrew3056]

Master Higgins, also known as "The GOAT" 😎💯

[@hungrygoriya]

Master Higgins is definitely a favourite of mine!

[@kainemaxwell]

Love it!

[@DrCasey]

Ughhh I was stuck on that penguin minigame for years because I didn't know about the Fruit Meter thing. The time between me playing Adventure Island IV for the first time and finishing that part of the game was longer than the time between you posting this video and now. Wonderful game though, the very last game for the Famicom was certainly a good finale.

[@hungrygoriya]

It was a revelation that blew me away. So exciting to figure that part out! And I agree: what a way to go out! This one's really special and I hope more people give it a try sometime.

[@romanjackson5503]

I bought this game based on your suggestion and after playing it for 10 minutes I realized 2 things… 1. This game is not voice to text accessible. And to. And this is the most important, there are no plumbers in read anywhere!!!!!!

[@hungrygoriya]

Hahaha I'm very sorry for the inconvenience. Hopefully you can forgive me!

[@shanecoffey8314]

So rare to see a game reviewed that hasn't been endlessly done elsewhere before (or since, it seems), much less one I hadn't heard of at all. Props for that! So, was the AI4 NES cart in your visuals a repro cart, or was there some kind of double-secret, limited release outside Japan? (Sorry if this was asked and answered; I skimmed the comments but couldn't read them all.)

[@hungrygoriya]

I couldn't help but talk about this one. It's an amazing game that I hope more people play. Oh no worries... I don't mind answering! It is a repro. I've stopped buying them since, mostly because of how they're made (I didn't realize they cannibalized other games at the time :( ) but I picked it and a few other games up a few years ago in the interest in playing games on the original system. This was probably back in 2015/2016?

[@packpock4369]

2 and 3 you ride dinosaur's a lot, 3 utilizes it the best. I'm glad they didn't use it as much in the fourth because they had to change some thing's.

[@ggbetz]

I only played the origonal & found it way too difficult at a friends house. I come to video games for the cartoony stuff more than the realistic stuff, so I usually like Hudson(& why I'm confused I didn't love sega more as a kid). I'm glad there's more of them, so I'll give them a shot. Thanks HG!

[@hungrygoriya]

My pleasure! The second and third games are still really tough but much more approachable than the first game. They're all very repetitive, but the dinos at least bring some good variety to the gameplay. IV totally blows them all out of the water though. I hope you enjoy the others you try some day!

[@Protoman00]

0:41 Lol Adventure Island is in a drawer along with Illusion of Gaia, Lord of the Sword, and- 0:43 Sees Road Runner *profusely sweats* Another cool video HG!

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeeeeep... the profuse sweating is a regular symptom of playing Road Runner :D

[@Joker-qr5se]

You sound like untamed to me but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy your work don't feel your work isn't it's own thing. Long story is I am subscribing

[@jasonmuller1199]

I love all 4 adventure island games but I have played the first game the most, as a kid I thought it was better than SMB

[@hungrygoriya]

I really wanted to like Adventure Island 1, but I just couldn't get into it. I gave up in world 8 forever and never looked back!

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

It sure is a very unique (and refreshing) twist to the franchise. But for my money, I'd still go with the *2nd installment.*

[@hungrygoriya]

Adventure Island II's incredibly charming. I love it best as well out of the 3 platformers for NES.

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

Despite route memorization along with rigid trial & error, I do dig the *metroidvania-ish* style of this game, TBH. It reminds me so much of *Castlevania: Symphony of the Night* in some elements.

[@hungrygoriya]

@@nipulkradmsinatagras8293 I agree... I loved it for that reason too. It was nice and direct, and a compact enough place that you didn't wander for too long trying to figure things out.

[@john_mccarthy_hi]

Adventure is a funny word when you think about it.

[@SaadAzim]

Great video. I'm probably focusing on the wrong thing here, but I laughed way too hard at the Road Runner cart. :P The thing with the first Adventure Island game was that they followed the arcade mindset of trying to get a quarter every 3-5 minutes. Even though that design choice didn't make a lot of sense in the context of a home console. AI 2 was the first game to be made with a home console in mind, and NES sequels built on that. Plus, the cartridge hardware got better & cheaper, too. The original AI was a 64Kb ROM using the CNROM memory mapper. AI2 & AI3 were 256Kb and Takahashi Meijin No Bouken Shima IV clocked in at 384Kb. Where the first game used the CNROM memory mapper to the NES hardware's inability to access more than 40Kb of data, the latter 3 games used the MMC3 memory mapper (the same mapper used by Batman, and Super Mario Bros. 3) to do some fancy under-the-hood stuff. :D

[@hungrygoriya]

Haha that Road Runner cartridge was thrown in with intention, so I'm glad it gave you a chuckle. I spent a long while trying to think of other examples to include but came up empty. Adventure Island is by no means bad, but I definitely don't find it good. Wonder Boy is much better in my opinion since it controls much better, although the music in that game makes me want to poke out my ear drums. Adventure Island II will always be the start of the series to me, and I feel like the series as a whole is incredibly underrated. It has as much going for it as many of the other more popular platformers out there. I'll have to trust you on the technical points there, but the later Adventure Island games certainly look and feel very nice compared to the first!

[@SaadAzim]

Oh ... er ... the TL:DR version is, the NES was impressive hardware for 1983. By the time the Master System came out in 1986, the NES was starting to show its age. Nintendo's solution was to put chips on the game carts to circumvent some (though not all) of the hardware limitations of the NES. It's an approach Nintendo would use with the Super NES as well.

[@filthiman]

I realize I'm watching this after the IoG series let's play, but seeing these two in the same drawer of abandoned games hurts my soul.

[@hungrygoriya]

If it'll make you feel better, they don't actually live in the drawer of shame.

[@filthiman]

@@hungrygoriya i can understand you not being crazy about Adventure Island 1 when you played number 2 first. I only ever got to play 2 & 3 a few times when I would rent it from Blockbuster. And dinosaurs do tend to make games better.

[@hungrygoriya]

@@filthiman I suppose my expectations were not met in the slightest with Adventure Island 1. Some of the stages in that game feel like pure trolling compared to requiring actual skill to make it through.

[@filthiman]

@@hungrygoriya I wouldn't call it trolling, but it's definitely not a game that can be beaten on one play through. It takes a good few runs to remember where things are. It was a really hard game IMO, but it will keep a warm place in my heart. Mostly for the music.

[@mikedl1105]

+1 for the Chuck Mangioni reference

[@hungrygoriya]

That's one of my favourite records. So smooth!

[@packpock4369]

You're correct about 2 but 1 is not a step back because it started it. Without 1 the weird wouldn't evolved, you should have said the series evolved from the first one. It's good but not as good as the third one, it was a step forward. 2 was 5 year's after the first one. So the graphics were just ok considering 4or 5 year's went by.

[@hungrygoriya]

It was a step back from what I was used to and expected... I'm not a fan of the first game, haha

[@knkn5049]

i have downloaded 4th part of the series and translation.ips, but havent time to try, at least i know that i ll be pleased when will start)

[@hungrygoriya]

It's so charming! I hope you have a blast with it.

[@smievil]

think super adventure island 2 for snes was fun

[@hungrygoriya]

It's a fun little platformer! It's a tricky one though... the final level's really tough!

[@JoLiKMC]

00:39 - That poor, discarded Super NES game. ),: (But seriously, I chuckled.)

[@hungrygoriya]

The drawer of shame always brings out a good hearty chortle on the right day.

[@meta2006]

Just like you my first experience with the series was with A.I. 2, a game which makes it to my top ten list, but boy was it hard, mainly after the 5th island, good memories. I couldn't get my mind round to the controls of the first game, it felt slippery and too difficult for the style of game. A.I. 3 should be called A. I. 2.5 or whatever because that is basically teh second game with some minor modifications, nothing bad but for me it really didn't bring anything new to the table (although the boomerang and the ability to duck were nice features along with the triceratops). A.I. 4 is one of the best examples of exploration without getting lost and balanced difficulty for me, and again like you, save from the board items, the other ones seem pretty neat and well thought, I was watching Jeremy Parish's review of Castlevania Circle of the Moon and saw how bad the items are, just a poor excuse to prevent the player from roaming the castle freely, here the items fit the environment and it is really fun to experiment with them.

[@hungrygoriya]

Nice to meet another AI2 fan! I grew up playing that game and have still never quite managed to get through that final boss without a game genie. It's on my list of things to do, but the last time I played, I continued without conserving my inventory and Dinosaur Island without anything is a real grind. I'll try again soon. I remember the day I found out about AI3. I was ecstatic because I'd loved the second game so much. More of that with a few quality of life changes was a dream come true for me. I'll have to revisit that one again some day. And yeah, the fourth game is a true masterpiece. It's lighthearted and really makes you think about how to move forward but doesn't shoehorn you into a fixed progression. There's still exploration to be had. I'm sorry to hear that the items in Circle of the Moon are not well thought out. That's a real bummer. And don't even get me started on the first Adventure Island. I made it to world 8 and had to stop playing. I much prefer Wonderboy for the Master System. The controls feel much better in that game somehow.

[@meta2006]

@@hungrygoriya I remember having problems crusing the last stage, the game is very stingy in giving fruits away, somthing I notice is that earlier Hudson Soft games' bosses quite had the same pattern (appear, shot, disappearm rinse and repeat the process) it was quite easy (at least for me) to get the pattern down.

[@hungrygoriya]

@@meta2006 AI2's final level was what tripped me up more than the boss itself I think... those rocks with the two frogs at the end and the ceiling drips were so hard to maneuver with no hammer if I lost it.

[@meta2006]

@@hungrygoriya ah memories, the thing with AI 3 has also to do with the music, I really love the mountain theme in AI2 and it was replaced in teh next game, though they scattered the swamp theme which is also one of my favorites.

[@Dongled]

I really like how you're saving the animals this time around and NOT Tina, as that plot mechanic is so overused in the AI series. Really enjoyed this review, I only own AI 1, and 3 on NES so I suppose I'll need to check out 2 and 4 now.

[@hungrygoriya]

You should try to play this one for suuuure! Saving those dinos made my heart so happy. It's such a great series! There are probably lots of options to play a translated copy... I went with a repro because I wanted to own physical copies of all the games.

[@RetroPerspective]

This game looks great. Shame the series vanished with the early Super Nintendo era.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's a real shame, honestly. I'm still very excited to try Super Adventure Island II though... I haven't quite gotten around to that yet.

[@MIchaelArlowe]

So it’s a lot more like Super Adventure Island 2

[@hungrygoriya]

Yes! I hadn't played Super Adventure Island 2 when I played this for the first time, so I didn't draw the comparison back then.

[@theflyingninja1]

I bought Adventure Island and felt very ripped off as I already had Wonder Boy on the Master System, and it was pretty much identical.

[@hungrygoriya]

See I went from Adventure Island II to the first game expecting more of the same and that made me upset! But yeah, I would be mad too if I were you!