 Ever since I started doing these arcade game videos, most of the games I've featured so far have been beat'em ups, and hey I love me a good beat'em up, but this time let's take a look at an arcade platformer in Willow. No, not that Willow. I never ever played arcade games like this as a kid because it's like, I can get this sort of thing at home. I wanted to play fast exciting games that peeled my eyeballs apart like Afterburner or Terminator 2 or something like that. But as it turns out, Willow is a really fantastic game that has a lot going for it. And by the way, the arcade game Willow is not to be confused with the PC game that came out in 1988, or the Capcom NES game that came out a little bit later. The arcade game is also made by Capcom, but it's its own thing entirely, it's a similar deal to how they treated the Strider arcade and NES games. Now, for those unfamiliar, Willow is a fantasy film made in 1988, directed by Harron Howard, but written by George Lucas, with the title character being played by Warwick Davis, when one day he finds a baby floating in a river. The baby is, uh, some kind of magic baby, I guess, because all of a sudden beasts start attacking Willow's village, so now Willow finds himself having to haul this baby back to where it came from, lest there be any more attacks. And of course along the way he runs into all sorts of wacky characters, including Mad Martigan, played by Bal Kilmer. Willow. What the heck was that, is that Pat Summerall? Anyway, One Token gives you a substantial life bar to get through 6 levels, where your playable character switches back and forth between Willow and Mad Martigan. You start out as Willow, who shoots a magic projectile with the ability to charge for a stronger attack. Yeah, it's pretty weak at first, but what's cool here is that there are shops you can stop by to buy stronger spells, which increase your magic meter at the bottom of the screen, and there's all sorts of stuff you can buy, from clear screen attacks to being able to stop time. What really stands out about this one, though, is how well your character controls. The platforming here is nearly perfect, and it helps that the jump is extremely forgiving, allowing you to climb up on ledges, as well as avoid enemy attacks. It's one of those things that boils down to feel, and that's always tough to describe, but Willow just has a great feel to it. So the first stage comes to a close after you've defeated this giant rat thing, and you free Mad Martigan and he's your new playable character. Unfortunately you can't switch between the two, at least not until stage five, but that's fine. Mad Martigan is obviously more of a melee character, with his charged attack, adding more range and power to his sword, and instead of buying spells at the shop you buy sword upgrades. From there you make your way up the level, jump out of the building, and we fall down onto this wagon, as you slash at enemies behind you. Hey, just like the movie, that's pretty cool. The third level has you back playing as Willow, and the platforming is even tougher here, but like I said, the controls are spot on, so if you mess up, it's your fault. I appreciate these platforming levels, because while they're difficult, I never felt it crossed into the realm of typical arcade quarter-munching BS. The balance of speed between your character, your attacks, and your enemies and their attacks always feels like how it's supposed to, it's a very fair challenge. And yeah, I guess I'm just surprised that I'm using the word fair when it comes to an arcade game. Having said that, however, the last level inside the castle is really hard, so be prepared. My only qualm with the level design is that there's some blind jumps here and there that are kind of annoying, but that's definitely not a deal breaker or anything. But yeah, you're in a boat fending off enemies, you're climbing a mountain, you're traversing a cave and fighting a dragon, it's a good time. One thing I should point out is that Willow the Arcade game does a great job following the source material. I know most people don't care about that sort of thing when it comes to movie games, but Willow is a bit of a cult favorite, so I thought it was worth mentioning. Okay, so the main characters look like cutesy anime dudes, but still, the settings, enemies, and bosses are all faithful to the film, and that's kind of cool considering the NES game, while it's pretty good in its own right, and it didn't follow the movie at all. So yeah, just a quick video today on a really strong arcade platformer. Willow the Arcade game is an amalgamation of all the great Capcom titles up to this point in 1989. It's part Mega Man, part Strider, and part Forgotten Worlds with the shops where you can buy spells and upgrades. The difficulty balancing here is really well done, the controls are fantastic, the game has a great look to it, and it's faithful to the film. Unfortunately, this one never got a home console release, I really feel like this would have fit in really well with the Sega Genesis library, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. So this is another one you've got to play any way you can. Alright, I want to thank you for watching, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.