Is Rygar [NES] Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk 

Last week, after 32 years, I think I finally got the Rygar music out of my head. And now it's back in it.

Total length of video: 440 secs. Total length of "SNES Drunk": 3 secs. .68% of the video was spent listening to "SNES Drunk".

This music just plays in my head anytime I set out to go anywhere cool. I remember watching my older sister playing this in the early 90s, it was blowing my mind to see her get items and be able to zip line across stuff. Then I'd play and get killed by naked lizard men. This game is very special to me.

The commentary about drawing the map on a Denny's napkin with a bank's pen was the best you've ever said.

This was my first NES game. I actually got it at a flea market a few months before I even owned a NES.

If you asked me to name just one game from my childhood that was the definitive, formative experience for me, it would be Rygar. I still play it every year or so for that dose of soulmending nostalgia. The world seemed so huge, dangerous, and mysterious and I felt like I was really on this mythic adventure.

Rygar is probably a top 10 NES game for me. Its Conan-esque theme reminded me of Rastan as a kid, but its music and exploration hooked me. Its power-ups like the grappling hook, pulley, and crossbow were very different from what you saw in Zelda or Metroid, and the visual of Ligar's castle floating over the Tower or Lyle is one of the coolest on the NES.

My favorite thing about this game is the music. It's so good.

There's this really heartwarming RU-vid channel called Reactistan where people from rural Pakistan react to various foods and inventions from across the world. One episode introduced video games, and when asked if he'd ever played one before, the villager said he had, many years ago, and that it was about a man who threw his shield. Then, out of nowhere, it struck him: "RYGAR! I loved Rygar!" Seriously, the channel is amazing. Elderly Pakistani goat herders are surprisingly good with Zangief.

What I love about this channel is it presents me with games I'd probably never heard off and will never play, yet you usually introduce them with an anecdote from your chilhood or life in general that just builds a connection from the get go!

I still have my copy of Rygar because it was one of the few NES games that I had that I felt got better once you knew what was going on and you learned about the mechanics. The music for me is so memorable too. Probably would have helped back in the day if I had got a manual with my copy but people tended to lose them so easily back then or just throw them away might have made it so much easier to figure out what was going on.

I played Rygar a lot when I was a kid and its always been a personal favorite of mine. The game has some rough edges, trying to use the grapple in the overhead areas can be a real pain, but the developers were definitely ahead of the curve with some of their ideas and made what easily could've been a complete mess into something unique for the time.

I remember there was a trick / cheat. You could just have the character auto-fire to kill enemies on a screen, turn off your TV and walk away from the system then come back hours later to a character that had completely powered up from all the exp. This avoids the repetitive grinding at the beginning.

I still remember getting bored as a kid and jumping off the edge of the final castle only to discover another castle. Couldn’t really do anything but run around but it was still a cool discovery.

It was a fun and ambitious game. My neighbors had it, and I remember they left their NES on overnight so that they could beat it. Back when there was no internet, this game took 8-10 hours to complete.

Man, I love this game, and I feel like it still holds up. When you put this one up against other 1987 releases, it’s pretty well ahead of its time.

I play through rygar once a year. One of the best nes games. I always used to rent it and finally bought it at funcoland for 10$ around 1999.

This is one of those games that feels far better to replay after you solve it, than it does scraping through the first time, especially blind.

An absolute old school masterpiece

If I recall correctly this was a game that was featured in the Nintendo strategy guide that came with the NES I bought in 1988 (no pack-in game, just a book).

The Rygar cave theme has gotta be one of the best tracks on any nes game, possibly even better than Journey to Silius or Mega Man 3. Such a good (and catchy) little tune.

You were exceptionally funny in this video! Also the whole boss taking 10k hits and dying and starting all over I could hear Mike Matei "C'mon! How many hits does this he take!?" "Are you kidding me?!! You start from the beginning!?"

Heck yes it is! Such a unique game.

This was my first purchased game for NES, bought on the reputation Tecmo built with the Ninja Gaiden arcade game...Rygar has some of the beat tunes on the system, imaginative enemies, and nice level design...every person discovering NES for the first time should play this title...

Thanks for showing this incredibly ambitious, underrated and forgotten title to your audience. And thanks so much for recommending it. I don't know why but, if I periodically revisit Super Metroid or SotN, I also revisit this game. Maybe It's wonky, maybe it's buggy, but man, for a 1987 NES game, it's an absolute blast of a (pre)metroidvania game. If this channel was my favourite videogame channel ever, it's even more now. THANKS.

Rygar IS my all time fav game! Got it for my birthday in 1988 and played it over and over. The music is PERFECT, the gameplay is tricky at times. The items are awesome. The leveling is NOT bad at all if you level a bit at the beginning, then level up on the robots to 9 bubbles, then PLOW your way to the snails and max your stats on them. This is one of a few games I can easily finish without dying once.

This is one of the defining NES games for me personally. Amazing creativity and boundary pushing for '87. Love that music too.

Always was one of my favorite NES games! I had that same experience as a child: I had no idea what I was doing, but there was just something about it that captured my imagination. Figured it out upon revisit a few years later, and my appreciation just deepened. "Ambitious" is right. And, yeah, it's a little janky; but for what it did so early in the NES's life, it's still a feat.

I'm 44 and when I owned Rygar as a kid I was elated by the expirience of playing it. I never got a chance to beat the whole thing as my NES would overheat and like you said, there's no saving the game. This minor irritation aside, it was definitely an adventure for me and it has one of the greatest soundtracks to boot. I'm glad that you covered this forgotten jewel of a game and I highly recommend it to anyone watching this episode of SNES drunk. Happy Rygaring fellow gamers!

I was introduced to the Rygar series through the PS2 game, and I can't help but think of you had also, you would feel differently about his shield weapon. Game was super fun I still think about to this day.

Definitely worth playing, music in one of the caves is possibly the best on NES.

Have to mention that the closed captioning took the SSSSNES Drunk opening to say “soon best drunk”. Alex, you are already the best drunk and soon I will be too 😂 still a big fan of your content after many years!

As weird as it is, I have always liked Rygar's music. The first two levels have a really '80's Saturday Morning cartoon quality to them. The very first area is a sort of build up. This is typically where the cartoon is introduced. Bravestarr is a classic example of an intro like this. Once you get to the very second area, the music changes. To me, it felt like part two of the same song, so this is where the theme of the cartoon is played, and shows action sequences like cartoons from that era did. Then, of course, there's the theme shift in that one area about halfway through the game. It's my favorite from the game.

This game has huge nostalgia for me. I don’t know how I beat it as a kid, but somehow I had the patience and tenacity to get through the whole game. I also have never played any of the other ones later. I should check them out.

I rented this a few times, and I was able to beat it in two hours... with the help of the Official Nintendo Player's Guide, that is. Great music on a unique sound engine. Never bought this, but I did get the PS2 sequel and enjoyed that one as well.

The game was called Rygar in arcades too...that's where I first played it. it was Warrior of Argus only in Japan.

I friggin love this game!! The music sure brings back a lot of awesome memories too!!! 😁😁🐀🐀

I really love the clip of the soundtrack you have at the end of the video. Sounds like this game has some great music.

dude, I love yor videos. Just know that i mega appreciate you, and that this keeps gaming strong

Brings back some great memories. Appreciate you covering this one.

So glad you seem to be expanding on your content mate. Legend

I bought this when it was new and loved it. It doesn't get remembered the way many games are but it easily made my top 10 of the NES

Thank you very much for the dose of throwback and nolstagia. You are the best!!

I loved Rygar, thanks for showcasing it!

Probably in my personal top 5 games of all time. This introduced me to my exploring in games without any clue or save mode or whatsoever. Magical atmosphere, great music and hard as nails. We had the PAL version over heren that’s extra difficult since you can’t level up as much as in the US version.

I played Rygar at a friend's house not long after it came out in 1987, and it's my #1 favorite game for the NES. I have alot of fond memories of playing this with friends and trying to beat the game in one sitting. One thing that came in handy was The Official Nintendo Player's Guide. It has maps for every level in the game and explains everything that the game manual doesn't.

The Tickets Please guy’s theme is the intro theme to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on NES

I remember having a bunch of old games that were my older brothers and I do remember playing Rygar. I really loved and still do love the PS2 game too.

I loved this game. I was in 10th grade when it came out. I had a NES Advantage controller and turned the turbo control on. Found a spot where enemies re spawn and put a weight on the button. Left to do some chores for a few hours and came back and had full cubes of health. : )

that music when you're in the top down area has never left my head

This was particularly funny - easily among the best SNESDrunk videos!

Great memories with this game. Leaving the power on all weekend long to finally beat it on Sunday night. At the time it was my biggest NES accomplishment.

“C’mon Rygar, have your mom take you to Walmart to get some water wings” Hahaha such a brutal roast lol!

This game brings back alot of my childhood. Especially the music. The music just stays with ya. Lol I love it

The music of this game always stuck with me, loved it as a kid, love it as an adult, even find myself humming the first area tune once in awhile

This is my favorite NES game and the music has been living rent free in my head since I was a little kid. I have even have made a demo of what I think Gameboy sequel would have been like.

I was one of those people who played this and never used the magic at all because the manual let me down. I think I might've enjoyed it a bit more than you did, but I'm also a sucker for sidescrolling action RPG games. Thanks for shining some light on this one!

I have wonderful memories of playing this game way back in the 80’S. The music alone brings back great memories.

Rygar was one of the first NES games I ever saw when my cousin got a NES for Christmas along with a large bundle of games. To this day I still consider that Rygar music Christmas music as it was constant in my house along with the Super Mario Bros theme and Pro Wrestling theme. I still have endless love for the game although I have never beaten it. I had no idea that the game was supposed to be set in ancient Greece and that Rygar was actually a dead warrior resurrected.

One thing you gotta remember is when we were playing this in 1988 or whatever, there was not a whole lot of things to do lol. So between getting one game for Xmas and one for your birthday, you had a lot of time to figure all this shit out with Rygar. I loved this game when I was a kid.

I grew up playing Rygar on NES. I have to say one of my favorite tied with Faxanadu. It really brought back memories when I played through and beat it multiple time on the Switch. I definitely recommend this one.

"unless you'd rather draw your own on a Denny's napkin with a pen you mistakenly took with you from a bank" I feel called out

This was a fun video. Still won't play Rygar, but do like learning about the game.

It took me a lot of time going through nes titles to finally find this one. I had it as a kid and I remember when he enters the area with the sitting man. That man and the music in there was so scary to me for some reason

I LOVE this game! Never beat it as a child, so I replayed it decades later and pulled it off. The same goes for Ninja Gaiden which was quite brutal. Oh, and also: I never knew about the power ups you mention, IIRC. I beat the game without them. No idea about the screen-clearing move.

This game was a classic back in the day and still is!!! Love it! I was first to beat it back in the day around my area. I remember someone returning it "an adult" and they complained it was too hard lol.

another good video with a good review....i always liked how you say at the end of every video ´´I hope you have a great rest of your day¨....i really needed that this time....thank....you snes drunk

Always loved NES games and how different some title can get. Sure it’s rough around the edges but Rygar shows how developers experimented with what games could be! Also I think the weapon was called a diskarmor. Suppose to be a shield that’s also a blade but it always made me think of the yo-yo from star tropics. Always loved when games tried to use the idea of a returning yo-yo like weapon!

My favorite NES game. Play through it on my Switch like once a month. So much nostalgia!

The old 8 bit Nintendo game, Rygar, from the late 80’s. Loved that game. Liked the end music.

A fun, overlooked gem. I heard there was a “reboot” on the PS2 worth trying

The NES version of Rygar is a lot of things. I'll admit to some nostalgia on it, but you gotta admit the music is really something else. Very evocative. Agree mostly on your take on it, its a shame it isn't as polished, but time/system limitations count for a bit there.

I loooved this game when i was a kid. my dad bought it for me pretty much on a whim when i rode along with him to work one day.

My cousin had this game. I remember getting halfway through and then turning off the TV and leaving the Nintendo on to come back later on to progress more in the game. This game is a blast for the past and actually very fun, it's out on the Nintendo switch Nintendo library with save and everything.

This was actually my first NES game. At first, I hated that it wasn't like the arcade version, but I quickly learned to love it.

Before I even got a Nintendo Entertainment System, I played this at a cousin’s house in New York City. It was the first NES game I EVER played. I even own this game. The arcade version was straightforward and the NES version eschewed the arcade gameplay and went the Metroidvania route.

The great great grand daddy of metroid-vanias. And just like a great great grand daddy, it doesn't look much like its more famous family members. This game is way more important than it ever gets credit for, and I salute you for taking the time to cover it.

This is a game I played quite often as a kid and I enjoyed it but it did feel like I was wandering around aimlessly fairly often. I was glad to play this again as an adult and use some online maps to make navigation easier and outside of a few very annoying boss fights I found Rygar to be pretty fun.

Absolutely! I’ve played this game more than most of them from back in the day. So much fun to beat

Oh man, I loved Rygar when I was a kid (still do). This was one that I felt kind of flew under the radar for most people. It definitely has its faults, but it’s always been one of my favorite NES titles.

Waiting to watch this before work so I can have a great rest of my day.

I've played a beat this game when I was young (in the 90s) on a summer break. It was worth the effort. Then I played it again and again until I got the finish time down to unde 2 hours. I will always love this game.

One of my favorite games of all times!! Some of the best music too!!

Last year was when I really got into playing NES games, and out of all I played, Rygar was easily one of my favorites. It took time for me to really understand it, and there are definitely cryptic parts that I just looked up what to do on lol, but I love the ambition and, though limited, the combat is really addicting to me. It's an easy recommendation from me, you just gotta be prepared for some jank.

I love this game so much. One of the rare NES games that I could beat in a few hours reliably as a little kid... and it was soooo ahead of its time, and was always so much pure fun to play through... the continue system as long as you didn't turn off the NES was very forgiving and fair for the time, making it feel pleasant rather than stressful to sit down and complete (whereas I would describe most Mega Man games, Castlevania games (besides 2 and 4), even Mario games as usually stressful to beat...etc.)

I didn't have this one growing up but it's definitely something I would have played a lot of had I owned it. I keep meaning to blast through and add it to the check list but it's super easy to just keep playing Mario 3 every time I hook up the NES

I never played it, but the game's visuals and fantastical names really captured my attention. The PS2 game didn't feel particularly related, but I remember having a *lot* of fun with it.

Yeah, the main thing I remember from this as a kid was the music and the main weapon. I absolutely sucked at it tho so seeing this really helps out

One the 1st games I beat as kid. Just build your life containers and power up your weapon in the begining. Doesnt take long if you know where your going. Its a bit glitchy but lots of games in those days were. Music is great. Controls are odd but you get used to it. Still one of my favorites.

That music is burned into my brain. Used to borrow this from a friend and was one of my early favorites.

The PS2 game is genuinely badass. You swing this giant disc shield around smashing everything in sight and it's totally awesome

Rygar also has some really great music, with the exception of one track that's like a 2½-second loop.

I still love this game to this day. It has a certain charm that a lot of other games don’t.

Drawing a game map on a denny's napkin with pen you took from a bank hit me right in the childhood lol

Hell yes it is! Played through it again a year ago on Switch.

rygar was always one of my favorites on NES! definitely agree some of the complaints here though, especially the lack of any kind of save feature. at least it exists on the Nintendo Switch online service so you can just drop a savestate when you're done playing and want to come back to it, so not for nothing but there's that option.

Completing this game as a child may be my proudest gaming achievement. Either that or beating Zelda II. Definitely ahead of its time.

That beginning story about how you didn't have a NES growing up has all of the air of somebody who's had to explain this a million times. Don't know if it's just your deadpan delivery or not, but it's still pretty funny.

My Dad (who didn't live with us anymore) got my brother and i this game xmas in 1987 and to this day i absolutely love some of the music

Always remember going to the video store and seeing this for rent, but never did. It's a classic box art cover for sure.