Years ago I saw this game reviewed in Nintendo Power. I had played its predecessor on the NES and had never made it past the first level… however I was in awe of the graphics and the enormous array of weapons and magic to make use of. I thought the game might be easier because of the graded armor system, in which you moved from lesser to better armor. Surely, I thought, the game had a Super Mario Bros. 3-like mechanic in which getting hit just degraded the quality of your armor, instead of returning you to your boxers. I was disappointed to learn this wasn’t the case. I enjoyed the game and played it anyway, but always felt it would be more enjoyable if it had the armor degradation.

GNG was one of those games, like the early Castlevanias, that were designed to be unbeatable by all but the fastest button pushers. This was an aspect of the marketing of the time, in that it promoted a sense of awe and exaltation in the kids who couldn’t beat the games of the kids who could. This increased the hype surrounding the games and the time playing them which naturally increased fixation on playing and sales. It was a holdover strategy from the arcades but Capcom apparently still believed in it even by the time of the game’s release for the GBA, which by my understanding is even tougher than the original. This patch makes the game play as it should have, with surmountable difficulty and a less jarring (and frustrating) power up curve. The game also has a strategic element now in that you can use the shield defensively. The timer still isn’t gone which still hampers the immersion, but can be easily neutralized via cheats. In summary, this patch is a great improvement on the original that gives it a sense of playability and staying power beyond the nostalgic.