Rygar: The Battle of Argus

Out of the sepulchral remains of last generation game design comes Rygar: The Battle of Argus, Tecmo’s revival of the nearly seven-year-old PS2 game Rygar: The Legendary Adventure.

The game places you as the titular hero, Rygar, a gladiator with no memory of his past. In short order, Rygar is charged with the saving the princess of the Greek isle Argus.

To do so, he is given a unique weapon, the disk armor, which basically amounts to a bladed shield on a chain that Rygar can swing around like a yo-yo. Eventually Rygar gets other kinds of disk armors, upgraded move sets and new abilities that will allow him to reach previously inaccessible areas—all pretty standard for this sort of action-adventure game.

Although any game that dares take a stab at Greek or Roman mythology these days will inevitably be compared to the crimson crusades of Kratos, the Spartan anti-hero of the God of War series, Battle of Argus doesn’t really have the same feel as God of War’s action-heavy gameplay.

Instead, the game works more like a Greco-Roman 3D Castlevania, with a couple of nods to Devil May Cry. There’s a much larger emphasis on exploration, and even a bit of platforming.

Although Tecmo claims that Battle of Argus is a “Wii-make,” it’s actually more of a port of Legendary Adventure with a few additions. Sadly, the game is definitely showing its age. This isn’t a great-looking game by today’s standards, but the graphics hold up OK for their time, and textures have been given a higher-res lick of paint.

Speaking of aesthetics, there’s one that begs attention immediately: Rygar himself. For some ungodly reason, Tecmo decided to change Rygar from a respectable, if obviously Japanese-designed noble gladiator in Legendary Adventure, to an over-the-top Guilty Gear reject that would be more home at an Otaku convention than in battle with mythological beasties.

The game design is dated as well—whether or not you have the patience to play through depends on how much you like adventure-ish exploits. Call me biased, but I still enjoyed the game’s decidedly last-gen approach and aesthetic (not to mention one of the better orchestral soundtracks I’ve heard since Dragon Quest VIII.)

Combat, on the other hand, is basic and slow compared to today’s games, but the boss battles can be cool (if a bit cheap at times). Tecmo added a few waggle finishing moves to Rygar’s repertoire, which spice things up a little, as well as survival style “gladiator” mode with arm tiring, all-waggle controls.

Sadly, between the game’s age and lack of new features, Battle of Argus is fighting an uphill battle. It’s not a bad game for something so last-gen, but there’s a definite struggle for relevance against today’s flashier offerings.

As it stands now, the game will probably be lost in the endless sea of Carnival Games and Imagine Party Babyz that grace Nintendo’s lil’ white box. And that’s a damned shame.