Wizards & Warriors (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Acclaim's 1987 action-adventure game for the NES, Wizards & Warriors.
Wizards & Warriors was the second game that Rare developed for the NES (Slalom being the first), and it was their very first platformer. You'd never know it just by playing the game though - this does not come off as a sophomoric effort by a company with no experience on the platform. Especially by 1987 standards, Wizards & Warriors was a phenomenal effort that really pushed the boundaries for NES games at the time.
It's a platformer that casts you in the role of Kuros, a knight whose princess has been kidnapped. He has to save her from some bad guy magician named Malkil who is hiding out in Castle Ironspire. Of course there are a ton of obstacles between you and the big baddie, but there are a lot of options at hand - Kuros can be equipped with several different items that enhance his abilities, like potions that grant speed-ups, invincibility, and the power to levitate; throwable daggers and axes that extend and strengthen his attack range and power; boots that allow walking on fire or stomping enemies; as well as several others that are quite useful in specific situations.
The levels are fairly open, and most hide a set of keys that Kuros will have to collect to gain access to different parts of the level, as well as caches of gems that will need to be collected before reaching the area's boss. Most of them are straightforward once you get your bearings, and though there generally is an "optimal" path, there are several ways most of the stages can be completed. It's focused enough to prevent you from getting lost or frustrated, but the game provides just enough freedom to let you feel like you have some meaningful choices. I really liked that about Wizards & Warriors.
The graphics and sound are equally as excellent by 1987 standards. The backgrounds do feature some retina-searing color schemes, but there's little flicker and slowdown. Everything is generally distinct and clear (except for the red key's annoying tendency to hide against the background), and Kuros comes across as an actual character instead of a cardboard cutout protagonist thanks to his detailed sprite and some nifty animation work. The music is also good, and incredibly nostalgic for anyone that remembers it from back in the day. Seriously, how many of you that played this in the 80s can still remember at least a couple of the songs? That title theme will never leave my head. I'm 100% sure of that.
The gameplay is tuned well - the floaty controls take a bit of getting used to, but they're precise and reliable - an absolutely necessity with how much the game focuses on jumping between tiny platforms. You'll get completely bombed by enemies in a few of the late game stages, but the controls are more than good enough to keep up, as long as you are. For a Rare game, though, Wizards & Warriors is fairly easy: the platforming itself is fairly difficult, but the game gives you unlimited continues, and you always start right where you left off. Even if you aren't so hot at old platformers, you do actually stand a chance at finishing this one. In this playthrough I had a lot of close calls. I did make it through without continuing, but it seems like I was always scrambling toward the end of the boss fights. Either way, I think it came out pretty well.
I still really enjoy Wizards & Warriors. It was a good platformer that didn't clone Mario, and it garnered a lot of attention and praise when it came out for its sheer quality.
A lot of people have been asking for this one, so here you all go. I hope you enjoy it! I certainly enjoyed going through it again.
If you'd like to see the Game Boy game from the series, Wizards & Warriors X: Fortress of Fear (one of the most painfully hard games Rare ever made!), you can check it out here: • Wizards & Warriors X: ...
And here is my video of Wizard & Warriors' sequel, Ironsword: • Ironsword: Wizards & W...
_
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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[@mikecallaghan]

I don’t know what I’m feeling right now watching a game at 40 that I played when I was 5 and remembering it vividly.

[@mikedee7163]

Im 40 Born in 82 I played this game religiously for years One day we had a snow day and my sister and i after a year of never being able to best it finally did I never forgot that day we spent together finally beating it The music The enemies The icons for power ups All clear as day for me

[@Sheahova]

same dude 37 remember this like i was yesterday but can’t remember things people would normally remember

[@Sheahova]

one thing i do remember from it is being alot easier XD

[@lilwyvern4]

The cold weight of the unstoppable flow of time? I know I am.

[@Jeremy-ql1or]

I recently played Goonies 2 after 30+ years and I could remember what paths to take and where the secrets were.

[@spectrumfox]

Some of the most iconic music in NES history. An underrated classic.

[@nonnenhut]

Funny, the music was the reason to stop playing this game, it was so annoying to me.

[@KajuTheRudeMonke]

Iconic? It sounds like shit!

[@SebStagnant]

It is so catchy

[@bsjenssnjejejdjddj5329]

@@KajuTheRudeMonke jajajajja you are kidding right?

[@rabidunion6949]

It's kinda like the Safety Dance song. You either despise it, or you had to listen to it for so long that you actually learned to love it! LoL

[@NintendoComplete]

Wizards & Warriors might have only been Rare's second NES game, but it was way ahead of its time in 1987, and it's still an incredibly fun adventure today. For the many of you that have requested this one - here it is finally! Hope you enjoy the playthrough!

[@musicvevo3521]

NintendoComplete dame un 💗💗💗💗

[@starofjustice1]

Nice. A little surprised not to see this sooner, but whatevs :)

[@ExtremeWreck]

NintendoComplete If only this adventure happened in real life.

[@ancientone5903]

Wizards & Warriors deserves a comeback.

[@JohnnyOTGS]

I never got what the potions did.

[@maulekuul]

The music, the beauty of the scenes, the otherworldly atmosphere with no backstory whatsoever, the complete map shown at the beginning of every level, the fluid game play. This game belongs in the pantheon of NES classics, right up there with Metroid and The Legend of Zelda.

[@lh9591]

I’m mad this game doesn’t get recognized as much

[@rartu]

Don't forget Blaster Master...

[@77acacosta]

I spent an entire Saturday to beat this game. I'll never forget the day, it poured all morning and the sun came out as I was completing the game.

[@bigduke5902]

No password, man.

[@jaybeetdown]

You made it thru the storm 🌩

[@noshow22]

And everyone stood up and clapped.

[@rcblazer]

Loved this game both for how much fun it was and its soundtrack! An often forgotten NES classic!

[@haywoodjablome440]

@@issacharezechias2209 As most Classics are. Classic does not mean Perfect.

[@cjmfourk]

I spent countless hours playing this game and speed was never a factor. This music and sound effects are unforgettable for those of us who played this at a friend's house late at night when we weren't supposed to be only to realize when we finished the sun was already on its way up. And we would do it again the next night too

[@robintst]

To this day one of my favorite NES games. Absolutely love the atmosphere and music.

[@akxmedia0]

This game would've been BRUTAL without infinite continues!

[@DOFIXERR]

The song when you are about to die...my childhood right there.

[@argentorangeok6224]

I hummed that tune long after I could remember where it came from.

[@coolbluelights]

This game is sooooo classic. challenging but not unforgiving, great music and sound effects, colorful, satisfying and very replayable. Everything a good NES game should be.

[@GroovinWithAPict]

Legitimately my favorite NES game of all time. Something about this game made it completely different than all the rest.

[@gqloc6768]

I liked it because it was a thinking game and of course adventurous too.

[@GroovinWithAPict]

@@gqloc6768 and a kick-ass MIDI soundtrack.

[@gqloc6768]

@@GroovinWithAPict - Exactly.

[@dragon_dyce]

maybe this was the first step in arpg games like diablo

[@heatherpaige8897]

Because you could die and not lose everything.

[@mattiasmelin9312]

The power of nostalgia! I went back to the 1990s sitting in my childhood room playing this, feeling genuine happiness and excitement. The music and soundeffects! Also got my very first kiss playing this! Haha This game will always be in my heart. Thank you alx for sharing this

[@E180TEKNO]

So cute

[@NeoMullen]

Played this game so much in the late 90s!! Damn I miss my childhood so badly

[@chriswinkler284]

There are too many things to list and love about this game. Thanks for the upload and excellent playthrough.

[@detroitrob311]

I have some very fond memories playing this game as a kid. Every time I hear the music when I play the game, it takes me back to that time. I miss the 80s. 80s/90s kid here!

[@mycatisromeo]

I'm literally going to play this game soon. It's been 30 years.

[@ArgyleGroove]

I used to rage at this game so hard.

[@SA77888]

agreed and its in an easy nes games compilation video (John Riggs)

[@davidtallentrpo]

My favorite classic NES game. This definitely brings back happy memories, thank you for posting this.

[@jennb1768]

It never really hit me about why I love The Elder Scrolls online so much, and then I thought back to my favorite childhood game. I'll forever love the soundtrack to this!!

[@m.a.packer5450]

Love the music and sound effects in this game. The door effect is still my notification chime on my phone

[@311kellymarie]

I spent hours playing this as a kid! Omg thank you. Such fun memories ❤

[@oliverioinoa2806]

finally after 23 years I found the nes game that I have been desperately looking for, thanks to KZbin I found it. I am happy to the extreme 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😁😁😁

[@thefonzkiss]

Asking on any NES forum what was the game with a knight would have got you an answer in 2.3 minutes, you didn’t need to waste 23 years.

[@mikev.4037]

I could listen to the low health music all day

[@84blizzle]

Mike V. Lol literally the most annoying sound in all Nintendo games, because it gives me that flash back anxiety that about to die if I don't find a chicken lol. It's like PDST for gamers...

[@Sion_Ash]

Mike V. Yes. And put it with the magic potion. :)

[@starofjustice1]

And when you play this game, you usually do.

[@rain2472]

When I'm on my deathbed with only moments to live I won't this song to be played. When I'm gone someone dangle my leg off the bed.

[@mainlymusicman]

@@rain2472 LOL

[@mikejsretroarcade4612]

This was my fav NES game of all time, I have beat this games a ton of times as a kid, and had hours of fun 🤩

[@joset8074]

Awesome game!! Brought back lots of memories. I still own it to this day.

[@aliciageez1]

me too!! got it right here!

[@bretbarefoot1097]

One of my favorite childhood games...I learned to read the word "Pause" playing g this game...I remember getting to the castle maybe that was as far as I got. This game taught us how to jump lol. J remember being so let down when I got wizards and warriors 2 at a flea market, it just wasn't as good as the first to me.

[@shinobirocker]

I'm in love with the opening theme

[@thecowboy2]

Thou Hath Discovered The NintendoComplete Channel

[@JadenMoon1475]

🤣❣🌙

[@DefinitiveDubs]

This was one of the games I remember playing when I was 5-6 and had an NES. I remember jumping around the trees having no idea what I was supposed to do.

[@mttsgrandfather2812]

Same. I was awful at this game.

[@fahriakalin5936]

the wizards & warriors soundtrack is so good. the gameboy track (X) is equally excellent also

[@danalong1237]

It was also fitting that it was the second Rare NES game composed by David Wise.

[@michaelcastillo3231]

I love the shit out of this game. Nostalgia overload. Forty minutes of my life not wasted.

[@Malachor01]

Played this age 7 when it first came out. Never did beat it. Way too hard for someone that young. Massive nostalgia looking back.

[@Jetwolf]

Thou hath discovered gems...

[@RojerLockless]

I don’t know what I’m feeling right now watching a game at 40 that I played when I was 5 and remembering it vividly.

[@2PeteShakur]

"My first job was in a music shop, selling drums, until a Yamaha CX5 music computer came into stock. I learned how to use it, and using MIDI I was able to hook it up to several drum machines and synthesisers. It helped me to sell a lot of music computers, but the best deal was when demoing the unit to two brothers: Tim and Chris Stamper. They asked me who had written the demo music and, upon explaining that they were listening to my compositions, they offered me a job at Rare. The music for Wizards & Warriors was inspired by the classical composer Bach, and was actually based on a tune I wrote when I was just 15. When the brief came along for Wizards & Warriors, we felt that it would suit the medieval style of the game - with it being written on the piano and harpsichord it seemed to fit. I was working at home at the time and this was my second job for Rare after Slalom. I always thought Wizards & Warriors was really interesting and the main character, Kuros the knight, was pretty cool." -- David Wise (musician)

[@r.i.promance7467]

1st game I ever beat at 7yrs old with my dad it will always be a part of me

[@ivanorozco9673]

fun fact the music of wizzards and warriors including its two nes sequels and gameboy entry was composed by david wise of dkc snes ost fame

[@icewolf1974]

I had this game as a teenager in the 80s. God, the music to Wizards & Warriors was so grating to my ears. Even as I watch this now, it brings back those memories of how annoyed with the music I used to get. I did manage to beat the game multiple times though.

[@mainlymusicman]

i think its because it reminded you of how hard it was.

[@catapillargirl2021]

I LOVE this game & just happily watched this entire video!! Thanks for posting you made it look easy.

[@FleetStreetBarber765]

This was a good game back in the day on Nes 😊

[@sanguinesoulful]

This is the sound of my adolescence right here.

[@ErikvonS]

Probably the best intro soundtrack ever made. Period

[@Totally-Not-A-Robot]

Beating this game when I was a kid is so one of my crowning gaming achievements. This was among the first games we got that Christmas with the console, and it was just too hard when I was only 5 or 6. 😅 It wasn't until I was 11 or so that I finally got determined to beat it. I don't remember how long it took me, but it sure wasn't 45 minutes. Took me multiple hours both times (I beat it once just to beat it, and then a second time to prove it to my cousin,) so this is impressive to watch. Makes me want to get into speedrunning it now that I'm in my 40s, just to see how quickly I can do it.

[@YChromosome99]

I remember renting this game. Quite fun to play.

[@amandaoutlaw1349]

999,999 points, lost two lives and no Game Overs. Excellent! 👍

[@lennieprintz2144]

"Outside Castle Ironspire" is the best song in the whole game, maby the best song in NES history

[@GaryBeltz]

If you listen closely the first part of it is the same thing that plays each time you beat a boss in levels leading up to it they just only play the first part of it.

[@JSTRM4N]

Loved watching my older cousin squash this game, and in record time.

[@hdn4nd]

Music brings you right back.

[@helioselexandros]

Probably my fav nes game. I played this so much as a kid and pretty sure i never beat it

[@PickBit]

I remember as a kid I used to turn the sound off when playing NES. This game was a pretty big reason why I started doing that...

[@hyrulecommander]

Was obsessed with this as a kid

[@terribleitch9526]

I'm an old time champion of this game a bit without dying and racked up some 3 million points some ridiculously high amount

[@eternall808]

Hell yes, #1973 I was a kid playing this and still *love* it !

[@unsaneone3638]

I used to rock out to that intro music as a kid

[@pseudonymBOB]

I credit this game for starting my obsession with prog rock

[@Dman3827]

Ok I did not know you can shot those blue knome heads. Thank you. I could not find the red key in the second forest part. You've done it again and covered another great game for nes! I didn't know there was a special shield either.

[@ashashley3121able]

Months...to finish this damn game. No KZbin. Just that magazine we ordered with a few cheat codes...lawd what was that magazine.

[@madderbob100]

Nintendo Power

[@84blizzle]

I forgot all about this game.... This was one of the first games we had.... We got both the sequels too... Though they weren't as good.

[@jessem.9527]

That was a great!!! So many memories in that game!

[@aburninglandfillofbadmovie2930]

Fun fact: a short lived TV series that was based on this game's storyline exists.

[@Link2edition]

Picked up a copy of this today. Never played it. Eager to try it out!

[@wojciechdercz9734]

Cery hard i try but college like Ninja gajden 2 hard , its not for ,,,,,, You try You lose he he he i know becouse Finish this, u la la la Try Then You Know why try he he he

[@timothypierce5303]

Surprisingly good vertical for someone with no knees.

[@johnywoof5007]

I played this game nonstop till I beat it. Definitely a classic.

[@MrRedEsRojo]

The first level mission music I hum everyday at work and had to come find it to hear now and I was off all as it was just a lil faster than I thought lol…..found it and hummed it to my students, they said hum it again 😂Love This Game

[@tonyyan3127]

Man one of my favorite games

[@Hol-mes]

i still play this game off and on...beaten it probably 50 or so times

[@alexgomez-rc5nt]

I would wake up every day early in the morning before going to school to play this game

[@overmetalspeaks]

the soundtrack was top tier

[@simondawe8774]

The song that plays when you're almost dead, I would sing the words, "YOU'RE DYING NOW!"

[@hippiechick73]

Simon Dawe my brother and I would sing words to that too! It was always, “I am so dead, my name is Fred, my brother’s Ned...” Well, maybe not so creative, but it has stuck in my head all these years.

[@Zaxares]

I've never played this game before, but I had to laugh at how cheery the low-health music is. XD

[@papabird4425]

Opening track so good

[@NeotheOne1981]

That music is so Nostalgic.

[@TheInternetIsDeadToMe]

This was Dark Souls for me as a kid. Great times.

[@thefonzkiss]

If you time getting the 100th gem on the last castle level you can see the red night walk (more like slide) away from the door. Ironically the red knights don’t take the gems, it’s not a tax to pass the door.

[@turbotj]

@31:47 just used this sound for for a tiktok. I remember back when I was a kid playing this over and over again and the low health sound meaning I had to move or starting over.

[@yukikoishiharao4885]

Wow, I actually can see more details now compared to my past 80's Sony Trinitron CRT screen! this game you HAVE to finish in 1 sitting because there is NO SAVE option.

[@thefonzkiss]

There’s a glitch to travel back to the first forest/tree stage from the second. So you can replay the whole game with all the pickups like the axe and the feather.

[@michaelsinnreich6626]

This game was one that i was amazing at. Would beat it every weekend in less than an hour.bthr difficulty spike to thr first sequel was brutal. I beat that once ever.

[@RoadtoNowhere73]

The soundtrack of my youth.

[@frusciantesplectrum7980]

Remember when you had to leave the computer on overnight as you couldn’t save games?!😂

[@russwaddel08]

Those were the days, amirite?

[@atalleywak]

I distinctly remember not being able to reach a ledge that had a key on one of the lava levels, and having to kill a thousand enemies waiting for a blue potion to ramdomly appear that would allow a bigger jump to reach it. Aside from that, it was a relatively easy game due to the unlimited continues, but fantastic nonetheless.

[@tomservo5347]

I always wondered if the grass strip part of the map at the top between the starting forest and castle was a hidden level. Got this game for Christmas 1988 along with my new NES system featuring the dual Super Mario Brothers/Duckhunt cartridge with Zapper. My first rental was Jackal for New Years Eve and I remember having a blast playing co-op with half-lit family friends. The 80's were a great decade to be a kid.

[@bryymiller2475]

This was the most visually and mechanically interesting NES game.

[@theedspage]

I would love to see a remake with enhanced graphics. Wizards & Warriors is one my all time favorite games.

[@hippiechick73]

I remembered how hard it was to ascend the castle with the sliding blocks, but I’d forgotten the horrible arrows! I never would have completed this without GameGenie!

[@wendyc8549]

Core memory unlocked!

[@00769jamesm]

This game is just as deep as Zelda if not more

[@bechtholdillustrator9378]

The Nice Coverart it had with the Mighty Warrior always brought my imagination so high,immediately followed by a total let down when facing the Knight Figure in the actual Game.

[@Mccaid]

I hate that this franchise died. It was my favorite game as a kid. I even kinda liked the sequels.

[@pandemic7]

It’s like I’m 7 years old all over again.

[@Marco-xt1qg]

Beautiful this game ! I Remember! ❤️

[@thefonzkiss]

13:40 other way to do that awkward jump without spawning a jump potion is to ride a bubble all the way up.

[@Realdanschaal]

First NES game I owned

[@andyhight9441]

It's too bad this will probably never come to Switch. I love this game.

[@gdub616]

that intro music is killer

[@recon_jon6151]

Great game. Great name to revamp into an open world franchise.

[@thefonzkiss]

That would be like turning Ms PacMan into a FPS

[@Seiko180]

this was the second videogame composed by David Wise

[@bizznick444joe7]

This is probably what the platformer games of knights jumping around is probably parodying like Shovel Knight and Jump King.

[@SonicFanChris4]

That final boss is evil. I had to cheese it by levitating in a corner and using my Tomahawk Chop.

[@thefonzkiss]

Battle Axe of Agor.

[@brendanmaher2002]

Remember playing this game it was a trip