Back to NES library
Astyanax cover art
NES · OWNED · CART

Astyanax

Also known as The Lord of King (Japanese title - romanization)
Developer
Aicom
Publisher
Jaleco
Year
1990
Genre
Platform, Hack and slash/Beat 'em up
Modes
Single player

About this game

The Astyanax, known in Japan as The Lord of King, is a 1989 platform video game developed by Aicom and released for arcades by Jaleco. A port to the Nintendo Entertainment System, simply titled Astyanax, was released in 1989 in Japan and in Western regions in 1990, shortly after the arcade version, but is decidedly different from its arcade predecessor in terms of story. Hamster Corporation released the game as part of their Arcade Archives series for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in May 2021.

It is a 2D action platform game focused on hack and slash and spell casting. The game consists of six linear levels of which each has two sub-levels meaning the game consists of 12 level in total. After every level there is a cut-scene pushing the story forward. There are three weapons - an axe, a spear and a big sword. An axe is a basic weapon the hero holds at the beginning of the game. The player can upgrade the axe using a power-up which has the shape of a small axe. The spear is the second stage of the weapon upgrade system and the big sword is the final stage. The big sword is the most powerful melee weapon in the game. The player can cast three magic spells which using is limited by the magic meter. The first is "Bind", which stops the time altogether with the enemies in the level. The second is "Blast", which casts fire balls destroying all enemies visible on the screen at the time of the casting. The third is "Bolt", which has the form of a lightning strike and acts similarly to "Blast".

Storyline

The story follows a young 16 years old boy who is suddenly transported into a different reality (dimension) while walking to school. He appears in the kingdom of Remlia and meets a fairy named Cutie. She tells him that Rosebud, the princess of the kingdom, has been abducted by an evil wizard called Blackhorn and asks him for a help. He agrees and together they set off for the castle where Rosebud is being held.

Screenshots