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Adventure Island Classic for Nintendo NES
Adventure Island Classic for Nintendo NES is a platform game in which Master Higgins sets out to rescue his kidnapped sweetheart. You run through forests, caves and mountain areas filled with animals, fire and chasms. One button makes you jump; the other throws a weapon or makes you run faster. Meanwhile, the energy bar at the top slowly drains. Fruit and milk keep Higgins going, so you watch for the next food item as well as the next jump.
Eggs contain useful items such as a stone axe and a skateboard. The axe hits enemies at a distance; the skateboard increases your speed but prevents you from simply stopping. Honeygirl makes you temporarily invulnerable, while an unhelpful item drains your energy faster. The route consists of eight areas with bosses. Enemies and obstacles always occupy fixed positions, so each attempt teaches you when to jump, throw or slow down.
You play this first Adventure Island alone with a standard NES controller. There are no rideable dinosaurs from the sequels. A hidden bee in the first area unlocks the ability to continue after Game Over using a button combination. This is not a save function: the cartridge does not retain your progress or provide passwords for continuing after switching off.
Region and language
Our Nintendo NES games are PAL editions, unless stated otherwise. This product contains a loose cartridge for the European market. A box is only included if explicitly stated in the product details. We note any different region in the product details. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
The label on this copy of Adventure Island Classic is damaged.
Manual
With Adventure Island Classic for Nintendo NES, you receive a loose cartridge. A box and manual are not included unless we explicitly state otherwise in the product details. This is the standard way we supply this copy.
The history of Adventure Island Classic
Hudson released the original Adventure Island in Japan in 1986 as Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima. The Japanese hero was based on Hudson employee and gaming presenter Takahashi Meijin, known for pressing buttons rapidly. Outside Japan he became Master Higgins. The European NES release arrived in 1992, including under the name Adventure Island Classic. Here Classic therefore denotes the first adventure, not a collection of different games or a later sequel.
The foundation came from the arcade game Wonder Boy by Escape, the company later known as Westone. Hudson made the console adaptation with the rights holder's permission and replaced the main character and name. Wonder Boy designer Ryuichi Nishizawa has explained that Westone did not develop those console versions itself. The distinctive combination of draining energy, food, a throwing axe and a skateboard remained. The skateboard was connected to an early Wonder Boy design in which the player would move forward constantly.
Adventure Island and Wonder Boy subsequently became different series. Adventure Island II on NES added dinosaurs that Higgins could ride, fly or swim with, among other things. The first Adventure Island Classic keeps the focus on running, jumping, weapons and food across a fixed sequence of areas. That simpler equipment means you must tackle each enemy and jump with fewer tools, especially after a mistake costs you your weapon.
Similar games for Nintendo NES
Adventure Island II retains Higgins, fruit and the throwing axe, but gives you dinosaurs that help you travel in different ways. You therefore alternate between running, swimming and flying with a companion. Adventure Island Classic limits you to Higgins himself, with the skateboard among the temporary means of transport. Both demand accurate jumps, but the first game makes the challenge depend more heavily on enemy placement and your own speed.
Super Mario Bros. shares the side-scrolling levels, chasms and rescue of a kidnapped character. Mario can defeat many opponents by landing on their heads and gains power from mushrooms and flowers. Higgins relies on his throwing weapon and must collect fruit because his energy drains by itself. A safe pause in Mario can therefore still consume precious energy in Adventure Island while you wait for an opening.
Kirby's Adventure, like Adventure Island, uses changing environments and powers found along the way. Kirby can fly and copy enemies' abilities, however, so a missed jump can often still be corrected. Higgins has a much more limited jump and no collection of copied powers. In Adventure Island you must therefore choose your take-off point earlier and protect your weapon, while Kirby offers more ways to tackle the same enemy or obstacle.
DuckTales also has you jump through caves and other dangerous landscapes and discover hidden items. Scrooge's pogo cane provides both movement and attack, while Higgins combines running and jumping with a throwing weapon he has found. DuckTales also lets you choose between different treasure areas. Adventure Island takes you through a fixed sequence of areas, so another attempt mainly involves executing a familiar route better and collecting enough fruit to avoid exhaustion.
A Boy and His Blob shares the idea of an item helping you reach an otherwise inaccessible place. Sweets there turn an alien friend into tools including a ladder or trampoline. The pace centres more on searching and experimenting than on an uninterrupted sequence of jumps. Adventure Island pressures you with draining energy and rapidly approaching enemies, so you usually decide what to do with a newly found tool while moving.
