A large winged guy clues the existence of a bonus life in the upcoming stage, which isn’t much of a surprise as small winged men are the icon for 1-ups! For example, the muscleman in a speedo and holding a large shiny object clues into the appearance of explosion items. During each intermission between stages, Rygar finds himself in a room with what seems to be a statue of some sort of deity, which denotes what to expect in the forthcoming level. They extend the Diskarmor range, allow it to kill several enemies in one shot, have Rygar kill enemies by jumping on them instead of merely stunning them, and make the Diskarmor easier to control in mid-air. There are also four special items that can be held onto as long as Rygar doesn’t die.
![nes rygar nes rygar](https://twentiethcenturygamer.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/dsc_1180001.png)
But there are others that cause all enemies on-screen to explode, add more time to the clock, make you invincible, and of course, give you a bonus life. There’s actually a super secret item hidden in round 13 that will grant you a million points (hint: look for the Big Dipper). There will be items to help our hero, but most of them are just worth points. Just stay alive, killing enemies if necessary, and get to the end of the stage. As for the music… well, it’s really only one tune, and it’s not very loud or imposing. Rygar makes shouts as he jumps and attacks, and let’s out a nice “AAAAHHHHH” when he dies. The sound effects are fairly audible, even though there aren’t a lot of them. It’s definitely not outstanding in any sense of the word. The sound is in the exact same boat as the graphics are. There are 27 levels in total, and as one might guess, they get repetitive, both visually and structurally, as the game wears on. There’s this little map screen in the lower-right corner of the screen, which is pretty much worthless as the stages are entirely linear anyway. The backgrounds and foregrounds are pretty detailed, and there aren’t many parallax layers, but the background does move independently as the rest of the screen scrolls, which is nice. The colors are a bit drab, but they’re used well, and are never unpleasant. The graphics are okay nothing highly spectacular for the time, but they’re certainly adequate. Rygar‘s legacy has spanned three completely different games, the first one being an okay arcade platformer with lots of levels, the next one regarded as one of the better NES games of its time for combining action and adventure with RPG elements, and the third one as a breathtaking masterpiece that gives Devil May Cry a run for its money as one of the best modern action-adventure titles of the early PlayStation 2 era. He doesn’t really have any other offensive tools in his inventory, but with a weapon as cool as the Diskarmor, what else would you need? The hero is able to throw his weapon out on a rope and swing it around, effortlessly shredding any and all baddies in his way.
![nes rygar nes rygar](https://www.neostore.com/v/vspfiles/photos/1466-2.jpg)
The Diskarmor is certainly a unique weapon with an appropriate name, as it is a bladed disk that can also be used to defend attacks like a piece of armor, hence the name. It has been invaded by mysterious beasts and vile creatures made of pure hatred and darkness, so our hero clutches his patented Diskarmor in his hand and sets out for much action and adventure. The young warrior fights for the safety and prevalence of Argool, his admittedly beautiful land. It’s hard to tell exactly who or what Rygar is named after, but it is a pretty cool name regardless.