Year released: 1987 (NES)

Number of Players: 1

Milon has to penetrate a castle and save the Princess. Along the way, a man will sell him much-needed items and tips.

Graphics: Not bad. The sprites (mostly creatures seeming to be from myths, save for Milon [the main character], a short guy in a blue sleeping cap) are detailed enough to send you in awe at at them, but the color palette used is still low.

Play control: Semi-coolness. You jump and shoot bubbles (which you can aim either up or down with the control pad) and walk left or right. There's a nice walking engine in which Milon gets faster as he walks farther (there are about three distinguishable speeds). While he might seem slow before he has enough room to get up some speed, you're dodging enemies so much that you won't worry about being bored from moving slow. Not to say that Milon is so slow that enemies will hit him easily.

Sound: Simplistic and almost soothing tunes accompanied by one or two different boops. Kind of reminds me of Sunday afternoon.

Challenge: Get out your vulgar oaths. You play through the entire game on one life and no continues. While you can take six hits before dying (health meter with seven notches), this game is so massive that beating the first level will be impossible at first. However, as Milon gameplay seeps into your brain for a couple of days of play, one can get far.

Gameplay: Almost Mario meeting Link. The bubbles you shoot open up passages and uncover keys from seemingly solid blocks, so you'll need to shoot bubbles everywhere. At last count, every single item shop needs to be found, whether to get a fireproof suit or to increase your jump's height. To this end, you also need to pick up plenty of money in your travels (also uncovered by bubbles) to buy things. After all this, you'll need all of your wits (figure out what the heck to do) and gameplaying skill (actually do what you need to do... sometimes seems impossible) to master this game.

Bottom line: I want more Milon! Although having only one life kinda stinks, the gameplay just grabs me in. Now that I think about it, Milon's Secret Castle is somewhat akin to Wario Land II and Wario Land 3.
If you plan on buying this, have a Game Genie ready. There is a code you can find on Game Genie.com for Milon's Secret Castle that prevents Milon from taking any damage. Even with this code, the gameplay's difficulty in jumping, aiming, etc. (and thus gameplay quality) is staggeringly high.

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