text: wizards & warriors wizards & warriors is a platforming video game developed by rare ltd. for the nintendo entertainment system ( nes ) . it was published by acclaim and released in north america in december 1987 and in europe on january 7 , 1990 . it was also released in japan by jaleco on july 15 , 1988 , under the title densetsu no kishi elrond ( ) . in the game , players control kuros , the " knight warrior of the books of excalibur " , as he sets out in the kingdom of elrond to defeat the evil wizard malkil , who holds the princess captive in castle ironspire , located deep within elrond 's forests . during the game , players make their way through forests , tunnels , and caves , battling hordes of enemies and collecting treasure , magical items , and additional weaponry to get past the obstacles and hazards that lie in their path . it was rare 's second game released for the nes , after slalom . wizards & warriors was featured in early video gaming magazines such as nintendo fun club news , nintendo power , and videogames & computer entertainment in 1988 and 1989 . the main characters kuros and malkil would make appearances in the animated series the power team ( part of the tv video game reviewing show video power ) and captain n : the game master . the game would also be novelized for the worlds of power series of nes game adaptations , created by seth godin . it received general praise for its graphics , sound , difficulty , and arcade - style gameplay . criticisms include the presence of unlimited continues , which allow players to restart the game right where they previously left off while retaining all items that were collected before . retro gamer called wizards & warriors " a unique experience for nes gamers in 1987 , and technically well ahead of other games for the console at the time " . the game also spawned three sequels : ironsword : wizards & warriors ii , wizards & warriors iii : kuros : visions of power and wizards & warriors x : the fortress of fear . plot wizards & warriors pits the story 's hero kuros , the " knight warrior of the books of excalibur " , against the main antagonist , the evil wizard malkil . he was considered one of the greatest wizards in the land , such that merlin was one of his students . however , the aging malkil has gone mad and has started using his magic for evil . as a result , malkil has captured the princess and holds her prisoner in castle ironspire , deep within the forests of elrond . the game 's protagonist , the brave knight kuros , is summoned to venture through the forests of elrond . he is armed with the legendary brightsword , a sword that is powerful enough to beat demons , insects , undead , and the other creatures which have fallen under malkil 's spell . with the sword , he ventures out through the forests of elrond and the various caves and underground tunnels and to castle ironspire , where he must defeat malkil and rescue the princess . gameplay wizards & warriors is a platformer in which players control kuros as he makes his way through the forests of elrond to castle ironspire , where he must defeat malkil and rescue the princess . after starting the game , the map is briefly shown for players to look at ; afterwards , gameplay starts . starting in the elrond forest , players must explore the trees – both on top and inside – to find items and to make it into the caves and tunnels . there , players start collecting the various magical items and treasure ; they must make their way through caves filled with ice as well as lava . afterwards , players fight through a second set of forests before arriving at castle ironspire , in which the player must go over the castle in order to enter it . the castle consists of a series of mazes in which players must use keys to open doors and possibly find other damsels which can be rescued . at the end lies the final confrontation with the wizard malkil . players use the control pad to move horizontally and to crouch . kuros can attack enemies by using his brightsword or with other weapons and magic . he can also attack enemies while in the air or while standing by simply holding the sword in position . the objective of the game is to collect the various weapons and magic as well as the gems and treasure along the way ; players use these items to make it past the enemies and other obstacles and hazards . players collect gems in order to " bribe " the creature who guards the entrance to the next level ; if players do not have enough gems , they cannot progress to the next level . at the end of each level is a boss creature which has been empowered by malkil 's black magic . bosses have an " enemy 's black magic power " meter which shows how difficult the boss is , how many hits are required to defeat it , and what type of weaponry needs to be used . kuros has a life meter which decreases as time passes and when he sustains damage from enemies . players loses a life when kuros ' life meter runs out , but upon restarting they keep all the items they have obtained up to that point . the game ends when all three lives have been lost , but players have the choice to continue and restart at the level in which they lost their last life ; upon continuing , players keep all their items obtained up to that point , but their score goes back to zero . along the way , players can replenish kuros ' life meter by collecting pieces of meat scattered throughout the levels . along the way , players pick up many items which will help kuros along his way . acorns , torches , and treasure chests contain objects for players to collect . chests are color - coded and require a key of that matching color to open the chest ; the same color - coded keys are used to open doors of matching colors . some weapons and magic items are replaced once the player collects a new item , but others remain throughout the course of the game . items include the following : " boots of force " which can kick open chests and doors ; magical potions which temporarily grant kuros invulnerability , extra speed , or extra jumping ability ; gems to help bribe the end - of - level guardian ; a shield to protect from enemy attacks ; the " potion of levitation " which allows kuros to float upwards ; the " dagger of throwing " and the " battle axe of " which are thrown at enemies and return like a boomerang ; the " feather of feather fall " which slows kuros ' falling speed ; the " wand of wonder " and " staff of power " which shoot out balls of ice and fire , respectively ; the " cloak of darkness " which makes kuros invisible to enemies ; the " boots of lava walk " which allows kuros to walk on the lava ; " exploding eggs " which destroys all on - screen enemies ; " alarm clocks " which stops all enemies for a brief period ; knife and axe upgrades and an item simply called a " horn " ( trumpet ) which had many players confused as it appeared to be useless , its purpose was to reveal hidden doors to gem caves in some places . other valuable treasures increase the player 's score and include coins , orbs , chalices , and entire hoards of treasure . rescuing the damsels in the levels also increase the player 's score . development and reception wizards & warriors was developed by uk - based video game company rare for the nintendo entertainment system . it was released by acclaim in north american in december 1987 ; it would later be released by the same company in europe on january 7 , 1990 . it was released in japan by jaleco under the title densetsu no kishi elrond on july 15 , 1988 . the game would be rare 's second nes release , after slalom . the game 's soundtrack was composed by video game composer david wise . wizards & warriors was reviewed in nintendo fun club news – the precursor to nintendo power – in which a brief overview of the gameplay was given . the game would be featured again in nintendo power 's november – december 1989 issue , where it was chosen as the best game to use with the nes advantage controller , saying that the joystick would allow players to concentrate on other strategic gameplay elements . in 1989 , wizards & warriors was nominated by the magazine for " best graphics & sound " and " best character " ( kuros ) for its " nintendo power awards ' 88 " , but it did not win in either category . it also received coverage in a 1989 issue of videogames & computer entertainment . the reviewer lauded the game 's challenge and need for problem solving – more particular the need to use different items aside from the brightsword in order to defeat some enemies and progress in the game , and the need to find hidden rooms where required items are located . however , he noted that the high level of difficulty is offset by the ability to continue at exactly the same spot in which the player left off . overall , the reviewer praised wizards & warriors for its " excellent graphics and sound " , arcade - style gameplay , and overall challenge . german magazine power play praised the game 's good graphics , sound and extras , but criticized its " stale gameplay " . in a retrospective of the entire wizards & warriors series , uk - based magazine retro gamer gave a positive review of the first title , saying that " kuros 's first adventure was a unique experience for nes gamers in 1987 , and technically well ahead of other games for the console at the time . " the review said that the game , while a platformer , placed much emphasis on finding treasure and items . the review said that most gamers found fault in relatively easy difficulty level , most symbolized by its unlimited continues in which players can continue at the point right where they left off . according to the retrospective , in 1988 , rare showed wizards & warriors to zippo games , who was touring rare and their nes library . rare asked them to develop a sequel to the game , which would become ironsword : wizards & warriors ii . in another retrospective of rare as part of the company 's 25th anniversary , gamepro looked back on the game , calling it " unique at the time " due to the unlimited amount of continues players received . wizards & warriors has received scant coverage from modern video gaming websites . video gaming website gamesradar named the opening theme for the game as " game music of the day " , noting that the theme " suggests , from the moment you turn on the game , that knights , wizards , goblins and who knows what else are about to collide in a battle so epic it 's destined for a frazetta painting . " jc fletcher from joystiq called the game " a simple action - platformer about a guy in thick armor who kicks open treasure chests in order to bribe knights " . he also notes the variety of good and bad items such as the " staff of power " which inflicts much damage to enemies and conversely the " cloak of darkness " , which he says " makes kuros invisible to you but not to enemies " . he said that the game has an arcade feel , with unlimited continues , a high - score list , name entry for high scores , and good music . houston press ' jef rouner lauded the game 's music and animation , and noted its high difficulty level , especially during boss battles . ign listed wizards & warriors at # 56 on its " top 100 nes games " list , reviewer sam claiborn said that the game was inspired by dungeons & dragons - type rpgs , but it went further in incorporating action platforming elements along with more traditional rpg elements . columnist and comedy writer humorously criticized the game for items that did not work as intended , including the " cloak of darkness " and the " boots of lava walk " . other media wizards & warriors was ported as a standalone handheld game by acclaim in september 1989 , as part of a series of handheld ports by the company which also included wwf wrestlemania challenge , knight rider , 1943 : the battle of midway , and rocky . kuros and his nemesis malkil were featured – along with the title characters from and , tyrone from arch rivals , and characters from – in the 1990 animated series the power team , part of the video game reviewing show video power . malkil appeared in an episode of captain n : the game master called " nightmare on mother brain 's street " where the world of the game was referred to as " excalibur " and not elrond . wizards & warriors was one of the eight games that were novelized for the worlds of power series of nes game adaptations , published by scholastic corporation ; the novelization was written by the series ' creator seth godin , under the pseudonym " f. x. nine " . the book was the only one in the series in which no effort was made to edit out the protagonist 's weapons on the cover . however , on the cover , kuros ' loincloth was airbrushed on both sides in order to more completely conceal his underside – which is more visible on the cover of the game itself . the novelization is about a boy named matthew who is having trouble using his imagination for a creative writing class , when he accidentally brings his father 's knight figurine to life . he is then spirited away to the land of elrond to help kuros defeat malkil . as with the other books in the series in which nobody actually " died " , all of the creatures that they killed were made from the lives of the people of elrond , and whenever a creature was slain , a person was returned to their normal state . further in the novel , the two save kuros sister in the pink caves . while matthew was invulnerable at the start of the mission , as the two drew closer to the evil wizard , he becomes more vulnerable to the attacks of malkil 's villains .