There we are! A nice succinct intro that gets across what this 1986 action-adventure by Sunsoft is all about. Sure, I probably could've mentioned that the name of the kingdom is Badham, the titular Wing of Madoola is a statue that had been coveted by warring nations for centuries, and some guy named Darutos used it to summon a demon-spewing fortress. I'm too lazy and uncaring to check if the prince has a name. Hell, I didn't even know one was part of the equation until the ending; which leads to an invasive thought I can't help but consider. Does the ruling power over Badham belong to the King or Queen? Seems like a raw deal to save someone only to be subservient to him. If I was Lucia, I would've held an emergency session with my advisors, worked out some provisions, and then rescued the prince. The way I see it, if he's going to spend however long it takes for Lucia to save the world lying face-first in the dirt, then he'd better be willing to accept all of his savior's terms. It may sound rude, but we don't know this guy's name! What if he turned out to be Henry the VIII?!?
Alright, that's enough with the pointless aside. Let's move on to the even more pointless review.
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| Get this nucleus thingie stuck on a wall for an easy win. |
As it was spelled out earlier, the goal of the game is to navigate several stages - both straightforward and maze-like - whilst hunting for permanent upgrades and an orb that allows passage to the next stage. Orbs are guarded by bosses, almost all of which will be demoted for failing to stop the princess. Don't be surprised by how often a once formidable boss becomes just another infinitely spawning goon. Actually, forgive me. I'm giving way too much credit to most of these fiendish fools (many of which are only capable of rushing into Lucia's blade). The Wing of Madoola is notorious for its high level of difficulty, but it's not the fair and balanced kind that leads players to blame themselves for losing. My opinion is that this game is several small tweaks away from being something that I can confidently recommend. It doesn't benefit from having monsters that can do anywhere from 30 to 800 points of damage. Being trapped in one spot and bombarded with baddies isn't quality entertainment. Oh, and there's certainly no satisfaction let alone enjoyment in trying to go without continues.
I'm sure it's a point of contention for some, but if continuing a game is as simple as holding one button and then hitting start, then I'll roll with the assumption that it's a feature intended for all players and not a cheat. Furthermore, its thoughtful implementation is kind of shocking for a 1986 game. After holding select and hitting start, the player is brought to a screen where they can select the stage they died at, or any of the other previously completed stages. Depending on where you go, items you might've forgotten, or some end-game glitch; soft-locks are very possible. This alleviates a ton of frustration, though there's still plenty to go around.
In a move that's quite surreal, the first thing The Wing of Madoola teaches its players is to avoid enemies. Lucia's level 1 sword is a joke, and the monsters never stop piling onto the screen. Even after the weak weapon situation is handled, avoiding unnecessary fights is still crucial to progress. The Nyuru, or Sue as I like to call them, are purple ghosts that home in on Lucia, unceasing in their assault and dealing a cruel 200 points of damage with every touch. An interesting aspect of these fiends is that they can be almost entirely avoided by crouching. They'll sit and hover over the princess, making it look as if she is heading to a Halloween party as a Ms. Pacman villainess, but they won't inflict pain until she stands up. Though you can - and obviously will - slice through the ghosts, their replacements tend to be less-than-a-second behind. The best strategy is usually leaving the immediate area and/or "herding" the ghasts so they aren't attacking from every possible direction. Most other small enemies don't require nearly as much effort to evade, which is good. If everything else was even half as aggressive as Sue, my tolerance for this game would've evaporated in an instant.
What kept me playing was the level-design. It's a surprisingly intriguing mix of labyrinthian paths, progress-hindering platforming, and outright "We put tough enemies in a dead-end corridor just to fuck with you." brutality. I had to retry stages, but the continue system being so generous that it tracks collected items and defeated bosses is a massive boon. There's still plenty of nastiness though. The Sue-laden towers of the final stages are irksome. One of the caverns features some falls that'll put cracks in your soul. I don't even want to picture what the game would be like if there weren't any healing fountains. Trying to keep Lucia healthy with potions that only seem to appear once for every 40 dead enemies isn't an efficient use of one's time. Maybe it's because they're both Sunsoft games, but I'm reminded of my ill-fated attempts to farm hearts before a boss battle in Batman. I'd finally get one heart after punching however many foes, only to screw up and undo it all.
Damn! Is that really all it takes? Am I so superficial that I'll forgive everything as long as the final boss is a pushover? Oh my god. All those poor Valis games. They tried so hard, and yet all I did was lambast them for their obnoxious ludicrous final bosses. I probably would've given Megaman 7 a pass if its Dr. Wily confrontation wasn't some bullshit. Or maybe, I'm not superficial and one of my few consistent traits as a critic is that I can't forgive a game when its final minutes leave a penetrating stench that clouds both the end as well as all subsequent thoughts of ever replaying it.
In short, I have a fondness for this game but can't give it a wholehearted recommendation. No harm in sating a little curiosity though...
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