Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Developer: Sculptured Software, Bits Studios
Publisher: Virgin Interactive
Release: 1991
Platform: NES (played), Game Boy
Genre: RPG

Learning that Sculptured Software actually had to strip down Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in order to release it was a shock. There are so many ideas thrown into it already, and they are so decently realized that the game should be praised at least for its technical achievements.

Kicking off as a top-view action-RPG with PC-like menus and inventory management (weird on a console per se), it soon starts to bare its teeth. Bumping into specific enemies transmutes the game into a 1-on-1 sidescroll action duel, and not a barebones one: huge sprites do regular and somersault jumps, crouch and roll dodging enemy attacks and stance defensively as something that could have been sold as a standalone game by a greedier publisher.

Still, it goes on. Being ambushed brings up a wide team battle perspective, in a quasi-RTS mini-game; scavenging bodies for goods, wearing a disguise to enter a certain location… even a horse escapade was put together for a small bridge segment.

RPG, fighting, RTS... you name it

It’s almost like it’s too ambitious for its own good since it walks the line between being varied and lacking personality, but in fact everything works fine enough: combat is weighty and satisfying, the soundtrack kicks ass, etc. What’s missing then?

Well, mainly a better “save” system, since it hasn’t a proper one. Passwords are only available through code, so chances are a player must beat the somewhat meaty RPG in a single sit. Using digitized art for portraits and story segments didn’t help either since there’s no resemblance to the movie’s actors to begin with—yes, tie-ins often produced good pieces of gaming back then.

What is left is to imagine what it could have been with more development time or a console generation ahead.