Unappreciated: Spiritual Warfare for NES - A Review | hungrygoriya 

Apparantly, the main reason Color Dreams turned into Wisdom Tree was because Nintendo blackmailed stores from stocking unnoficial Nintendo games, so they skirted around it by going for a religious angle and selling their games in bookstores. Nintendo had no power there and would look bad if they went after a religious publisher.

This is so great! Thank you for reviewing this one. When I was young, my family was pretty religious. But I had a friend who's family were *very* religious. He couldn't have games that involved shooting or any other violence, so pretty much everything was off limits. When we hung out we were restricted to Tetris and other such games. But, they did allow the Wisdom Tree games... So, I legit played all their terrible games back in the day for many hours. When Spiritual Warfare came along it was like magic! "You mean we can blow people up with the WRATH OF GOD, and your parents don't care?! Absolutely we are gonna play this game!" And it was sooo good! It wasn't Zelda, exactly, but close enough. We played it enough that we had to start mixing it up to keep things interesting. Try the 'banana only challenge' sometime!

I got to take this game home for a week for getting questions right back when I was a kid going to church. The game punished me for merely walking into a bar. In retrospect, that should have been my first sign.

Still have my copy of this game and a NES to play it on, I revisit it now and then. This game's "fruits of the spirit" representation did result in an embarrassing Sunday School moment for me, though. The teacher asked us to name some fruits of the spirit, and I said "banana." She thought I was smarting off, and berated me in front of the whole class for it. 😆

Luckily for me, I took Monty Python's Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit course, so no conversion for me. Anyway, great job highlighting a mostly overlooked NES game.

Honestly a super campy very literal adaptation of this into a movie would be really funny. Straight up pelting people with fruit to convert them, an angel scolding you for going into a bar even with a seemingly good reason, a chase scene with invulnerable soulless animals. It offers a lot to work with!

I never thought that there could actually be a "good" wisdom tree game, but this one seems legit.

I just finally purchased this game after going 20 years since playing it as a kid, I'm 31 now! My parents were church goers aswell so my dad bought us these games to play as kids. After deciding to build back my childhood gaming collection I had to start by getting this game, even before getting zelda! The gameplay is so gratifying and fluid to play and progresses just lovely! Just as you said tho some bosses can take a bit of guesswork but once u grasp the tricks and puzzles involved it actually makes the game as a whole seem pretty thought out. They all have some sort of easy way to beat them, it's just a matter of figuring it out. Every section of the game is connected beautifully. One last thing I can not remember tho is how to unlock the first secret path under the pond to the right of where you start the game! You will see a blocked off entrance/pathway right of the entrance to the first boss room. I thought it would become available after the final boss but I remembered wrong. If anyone knows what I am talking about please let me know! Great review!

This was my favorite game when I was growing up. Whenever my brothers or I would get grounded, we were only allowed to play the "religious" games. So many good memories watching this.

I played this game on stream before and I must say it was super creative to have the devil's lair hidden beneath a rioting prison. That was just genius.

Clobbering people with fruit, going to sinful casinos, what more could you want in a game? Thank you for sharing this unique gaming experience with us!

CORE MEMORY UNLOCKED!!! Wow, I had no idea this was originally an NES game. I played this a long time ago on one of those cheap direct to tv game systems. I thought this game in particular was the best of all the ones included. I played it for hours. Then the game system crapped out. But I remember the Bar, and I was SO confused for being punished for just entering. I was like 12, I didn't want to drink, I wanted to share the Gospel with all the drunks and get more dove points! Man, I'll have to find a rom for this or something. Wow, what a nostalgia trip. Thanks for sharing!

Post apocalyptic Zelda bible game XD It was fun watching your stream of this game!

Preach, Sister, preach! I'm sure thousands of non-believers will be converted by your profound message. You're the Mahalia Jackson of the RU-vid retro-gaming community.

It’s been soooo long!! I love your content.

Very good review. I played this a lot as a kid and loved it. I'll be watching more of your yt vids!

Shoutout for the amazing review. Recently became a devout Catholic so it’s awesome hearing it from you. Also a life longer gamer.

I wholeheartedly agree. I had the NES version as a kid. A friend of mine have given me the SEGA Genesis version recently, which I beat. The graphics are a slight upgrade from its NES counterpart, and some things were fixed on it.

I picked up this game because of your review. This game really is very good. Thank you!

Had never heard of this title before this review! Thanks for featuring it! :-)

I miss these sorts of crazy things we used to get on the NES, even better when it's actually quite playable and somehow with depth. Impressive. With mega-quirky games having gone to the wayside after the PS2 I believe the best bet is Dreams on PlayStation, surely someone's had my idea of making a game where you clear out the temple as J.

Oh my... I have never heard of this one, although I have heard of a few other Wisdom Tree titles. The levels you featured with the ladders, look pretty active and difficult. Like you would have to lose a few times and think of how you're going to solve that puzzle and get across the screen. From what I seen those levels or sections of the game appeared like very Advanced Donkey Kong scenarios, a lot going on. Despite how others speak of anything produced by Wisdom Tree, you did a very healthy and proper review of this for what it is "a game".. looks like a pretty interesting one, thank you for sharing

HG it was a lot of fun seeing this on stream. I remember the bad password issue and that could’ve been a deal breaker but you kept on going. Is looked like a fun game and the morality system reminds me of some other games you played (Ultima).

Yesssss, New video. Yet again thank you for the upload. Also good to see a more neutral approach to others I've seen on these vids. Like Bible Games series from AVGN (which yes I know he plays on hyperbole for laughs and a caricature) or other similar content creators.

Who knew pears were so powerful! xD Excellent review! A game I would never give a try without wonderful videos like this!!

WoW! excellent review . I started going to church and reading the bible a year ago . I also can't unlock my mind from remembering how much fun I had in the early 90s playing NES. Your review is truly a blast! 🌎🚀

I remember getting this game when kid. I can say is the only RPG game I ever loved playing cuz I not an RPG lover. Like you say it wasn't a problem for me to enjoy it since I grow up in a Christian house and the mix between christianity and gaming

Thanks now im picturing the protagonist wandering through a busy city with 250 doves in his pockets

I can't believe how many backgrounds and levels there are to this and how much it's made to resemble the modern world while being a zelda tileset, and it's something that was on the nes and not a modern joke romhack

The plot about finding the pieces of the Armor of God always made me feel like this game was the prequel to the Christian TV series Bibleman. Which is a riot, BTW. If you've never seen it I strongly recommend the episode "The Fiendish Works of Dr. Fear"

I was raised Lutheran, so this definitely cracked me up seeing this again. The church we went to had bible games like this for rental.

This... actually looks like a pretty interesting game! I might have to check it out sometime. Thanks for taking the time to review it! Incidentally, what's with the pitch-shifted Crystalis music you used in the background? Were you specifically going for a slightly off-kilter mood with it, or is that how Crystalis' field theme sounds on your cursed NES? ;)

I love a good comedy. It actually looks like a solid game. It's gotten good reviews before. I was raised Catholic too (Italian), so whilst watching playthrough it surely cracked me up.

I never thought I'd heard the phrase "Christian-themed platforming", but today is the day. Thanks for playing the games I never want to, and for putting all your time into these reviews.

What an incredible find! Had me cracking up when you lost the belt.

8:45 Is the song here from the game ost? It sounds really nice

@6:16 ah, so that's how you *DRINK OF WINE OF THE WRATH OF GOD* in SMT Nocturne. Didn't know this was secretly another Megami Tensei game. Cool.

My friend had somebody wisdom tree games when we were kids. I like the wiseman game on the king of kings cart. You got to ride a camel and spit a banana at enemies like a boomerang. It was funny back then

i remember playing this like a forever ago, when every other kid my age was playing on their xbox 360s i had a beaten up nes way obsolete by the standard at the time, and a silly game about christianity. this game was rad as fuck. i remember playing it for long nights after school trying to figure out all the puzzles and progress, and i was never able to beat it but i got pretty damn far and i remember this game through mostly hazy dream, but i finally got reminded of it now, and it was just as good as i remember.

Amazing

An interesting game to say the least! Well done as always Hungry. :)

I was baffled at how this made it past Nintendo's restrictions until I saw it was unlicensed. But honestly this is a pretty well thought out game. At least it seems to have a lot of effort put into it. Always nice to see religious influence enforced by tasty fruit!

I used to own this game back in the 1990s. I loved how it was based on the Zelda 1 formula of gameplay. My great aunt, who used to often take me to church as a kid, gifted me this game along with a gameboy port of Joshua. My only gripe with the game was the password system. At the time, the tv I had during the 90s had horrible sharpness for small print. It was an older, pre 90's tv that could only connect with a RF switch, so it had the worst sharpness and clarity possible for reading small text. I often found myself getting far into the game and trying to read and write he password down when I had to stop, but having alot if problems writing down the characters correctly due to my tv sharpness problems. I would later find out that I couldn't return to the progress that I had made, because I got the password wrong. Some of that frustration turned me off from playing the game again after spending hours and hours with it. I had this same problem with other games like Faxanadu. I otherwise loved the game and regret I never finished it.

Where did you stream this? I looked on your Twitch channel but couldn't find it in the archive.

I still think the most epic Wisdom Tree moment is the last level of David and Goliath on Bible Adventures, where you finally get to take down the Philistines with your trusty sling. But I also played this one as a kid. I got stuck eventually, but I’m sure it would be fun and easy to return to.

"And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, begin pelting unbelievers with apples."

nice touch faria music :)

Great review!

Great review. I wonder which version of the armor of God is canon though. The box art features the pants-less version, which I'm guessing allows for *maximum* mobility. But the manual DOES feature a more modest armor of God that covers the whole body. :D

Wow, props to you for sticking this one out, I barely gave it half a chance. Not that the biblical stuff bothers me, I just thought it was a stinker. I really appreciate how you bring the appreciation to some of these games that I always thought were crap and seem to have a unanimously bad rap (like Friday the 13th). --btw, the occupations involving those most far-gone spiritually, acc. scripture: Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers, Politicians, Priests. --Any surprise?

Never heard of this one. This is quite interesting especially considering how religious games were at that time. That part about answering Bible questions and them getting really obscure reminds me of a really bad joke that I'll share and already feel bad about it as I should. Three Nuns die and goes to Heaven. They're greeted by Saint Peter at the Gates of Heaven. They ask if they may enter Heaven? Saint Peter tells them no one enters Heaven without answering a question. The Nuns look at each other nervously. Peter then says that given their devotion to the faith they should have no need to worry. He asks the first Nun to step forward. He asks her: "How many days did it take God to create the Earth?" The first Nun answers: "Six days with one more to rest." Bells ring, horns blare, and the Gates of Heaven open for the first Nun. Second Nun approaches. Peter asks her "Tell me the names of the first Man and Woman." She answers: "Adam and Eve." Bells ring, horns blare, and the Gates of Heaven open for the second Nun. Saint Peter thinks for a moment and says: "You know... those were questions I'd ask an ordinary person. You're all Nuns who have devoted your lives to all this. I'm going to ask you a better question than I have." The third Nun nods in understanding. Saint Peter says: "What was the first thing Eve said to Adam?" The third Nun nearly faints! She feels fear in her gut and heart. She asks Peter "Is there a time limit for my response?" "No." He replies. "But you may not ask anyone for help." The third Nun repeats the question over and over again to herself. Thinking about everything she's ever read or heard about the creation story and the Garden of Eden. After a good long time she gives up and says: "My God! That is a hard one!" Bells ring, horns blare, and the Gates of Heaven open for the third Nun.

I was raised heathen, so I didn't have the familiarity with Christianity coming into this. I did grow up in Rural Pennsylvania, a time and place where it was just sort of a fact of life, so I got all of the basics, but that was about it; given that his was also not a time and place that was any kind of tolerant to anyone or anything outside the norm, I didn't exactly grow up with a high opinion of it. I say that only to say that I was still able to enjoy this as a solid game; I was able to see all of the Christian elements as just a kind of lore, no different from what you'd find in any other game, though I didn't play this during my younger, angrier days. It's so easy to overlook, but I think it's a worthy adventure for any fans of the genre, regardless of faith. Also, the final battle against Satan is one of the most metal things I've ever seen in an NES game.

I thought about playing this. I went to Christian school and Wisdom Tree had a video game fair sort of thing and this game looked awesome to me, but i had no money.

That background music... oh my.

10:29 Nes Gauntlet can also give you a password that doesn't work. And boy was I more than flustered, after plugging a few hours into it.

I loved this game and its world! I always looked forward to obtaining the Sword of the Spirit.

Fair warning: Super Adventure Island 2 has a casino, and chat WILL urge you to go inside it!

All your faith are belong to us!

A game based on Ephesians Chapter 6. Pretty cool, haha. Funny presentation, thanks for the review. I never had this one, but I did have Bible Adventures. Believe it or not we used to play that one with some regularity.

Clobber them with holy fruit!! LOL Holy crap I laughed my ass off. This was fantastic. :D

I just started collecting for the NES. I'm very interested in this game. I'd like to find a copy to buy.

Is it me or does that first instance of background music sound like a heavily modified version of the Legend of Zelda theme? That closing music too. And I wonder if Nintendo is as aggressive in taking down ROMs of Wisdom Tree games?

You should try Noah's Ark (NES) by Konami one of these days. It's... bizarre, to say the least, but in their style more or less. I also remember quite distinctly this one FPS game from the early 2000s, Catechumen... it wasn't that bad of a game, but it sure was family-friendly. :P

I grew up in a religious household and about half of our total NES games were from Wisdom Tree. I tried to make myself like the others but Sporitual Warfare was by far the best. A solid game that almost no one ever tries

Amen! Of all the Wisdom Tree games for the NES, this is one is by far the best and most fun. The game also has a surprising amount of secrets and hidden areas. You can find 4 of each fruit but good luck actually finding them all. I appreciate that the game is overall lighthearted and not overly preachy. Well, except for punishing you for going into the bar & casino, which is more hilarious than anything else. As for enemies, the Hare Krishnas at the airport crack me up. This game is definitely NOT politically correct and that only makes it funnier. One thing that annoys me is that the trivia questions reset every time you start the game, even with a password. So you'll end up getting the same easy questions over and over again. On the plus side, that makes it easy to get tons of Spirit Points, but it also makes it very dull. You have to play non-stop if you want to see the harder questions, and there's something like 250 total.

Is that back ground music crystalis?

really enjoyed this when i was a kid. i played it on pc because my dad had it on a bootleg diskette lmfao

I saw this at a gaming store and was debating to get it. Wish I did now.

I actually beat this game as a kid. Completely loved it. I also grew up in a very religious family so none of this stuff struck me as odd back then haha. I am very interested in experiencing it again some day now that I am no longer religious. I'm sure a lot of it will strike me very differently. I still bet it is a pretty great game though if you can look past its religious heavy-handedness and look at it like the lore of any other fantasy rpg type setting. A total underappreciated gem imo. Definitely a favorite from childhood. I also wound up coupling up the grapes with the sword as my primary weapon combo for late game. I remember only the apples made the final boss (Satan himself) vulnerable though

What is the background music starting at 8:45 ?

I had this on gameboy when I was a child, the connection pins were totally exposed and I was afraid if I touched them it would destroy the cartridge.

What a great and fair review of a well-built and clearly agenda-motivated game. I literally lolled at the bar scene. Keep up the good work!

My dad brought this home one day, but it was for the Sega Genesis. Seems to be the exact same game though. I remember taking it over to a friend's house as a laugh, but then we played it and ended up finishing it. Kind of a weird surprise. Definitely would have been a better game without the religious context and a bit more polish.

I borrowed this game from a friend when I was young unaware that it was a Christian game and after awhile had a lot of fun with it in spite of its' dogmatic nature.

This game looks insane! As someone who loves to study different religious forms of expressions, I need to play this! Its so bonkers I keep thinking that some of the devs are maybe being ironic without letting their christian bosses notice? Idk the bible is also pretty bonkers so maybe not, but someone on that team definitely had a sense of humor lol Great video, thank you for your work!

You didn't get the banana? Best fruit of the spirit out there. You get it on the screen shown at 3:43. The NPC says something about being patient and if you wait a few seconds without moving one of the cars will drive away revealing a room where you can get the banana.

6:15 The Holy Hand Grenades of Antioch?

I think it's biggest problem, besides religious symbols that Nintendo doesn't like, is it seems to be a hack of The Legend of Zelda. I'm going to give it a shot though, looks like a fun playthough.

1:44 Is that guy coming at you with a Switch Blade or an AIDS Needle?! But good review. I only hear people slagging on Bible Games but most are just Bible Colored version of popular games so it can't be all bad. Funny thing about the company though: The Wisdom Tree was the Tree of the Knowledge of God and Evil, which is the one thing The Lord told Adam and Eve to have nothing to do with. So naming a Bible Games company after it is kinda Ironic. I had an idea for a game based on David that's Contra but with Slinging Stones instead of a Pea Shooter and you face Lions and Bears. The Screen Nuke can be an Angel Blast and Goliath can be the Final Boss like the Super C End Guy with aiming at the head. Also could be a Beat em up with Samson busting Philistines like Altered Beast or Last Battle.

Always had a soft spot for this game. Wasn't much of a church-going kid growing up, but something about this game charmed the heck out of me. I never played the first LoZ as a kid, but I beat this game multiple times and loved it. Oh, and screw the password system!

Also as Jew I love old Christian media. Remember walking in downtown Toronto and seeing a TV playing the little drummer boy. I was 8 and I said to my dad, "look, that little boy in the move is wearing a kippa (yarmulke), this must be a Jewish movie". Apparently it was not. 😂

I only now clicked on this review. What an awesome game! It has a Protestant approach but my inner Catholic adores it! Haha! So much more you could add, like throwing needles at rich people. Mustard seed caltrops. Anime version could summon Daniel's lions and Job's whale, har har har

I had this as a kid. I never understood why a bar was a dumb place to go on a quest to convert sinners .

The game play of this game is actually not bad. It's cheesy as can be in terms of content, but that also arguably adds to its charm.

I remember this cart at my Sunday School, never got to play it. But have to give it to them to make "The Legend of Jesus".

People dismiss it because of the Biblical ties, but it's far more playable than most of the Color Dreams/Wisdom Tree library!

True Christian heroes do not wear pants is the motto here. Though this game feels like it was originally a Zelda clone that was christianized.

I also grew up Catholic and I would see these games in Christian bookstores or shops when I was younger. Going to parochial schools for most of my life and then studying the Bible in college - games like this eluded me as either being called "blasphemous" when I was younger and would pick up a box to show my parents, to laughable/ridicule comments when I was a bit older and now are in the realm of hidden/rare Retro. Nice to have a light shone on them to see what they actually are and this one seems like as you said a fun Zelda like. Some of those Biblical references in the game you showed made me either roll my eyes in disdain or laughter. I don't think I could play this 🤣 Great review though, I especially appreciate you adding the bit with the corruption/glitch - I always look forward to those parts.

holy shit, it looks like a combination of final fantasy and faxanadu

Ruthlessly pelted with fruit lol Great video made me laugh a lot and want to play the game.

I love this game! It’s unbelievable how solid it is.

Love this BASED content! Always hated when games took out crosses and references to Christianity in order to not annoy some imaginary person. I want crosses, angels, Bible verses, churches, demons getting BTFO, I want it all! I lol'd when Satan had to glitch your game to keep you from destroying him.

So cool..

For a game called "Spiritual Warfare", I expected you to be a paladin fighting off demons with a mystical sword, not running around slums throwing apples at plumbers.

This game tries to be so serious about its religious references that it becomes (unintentionally?) hilarious instead. I laughed at several spots watching your video. Unfortunately this game wasn't released in Europe, but I might give it a try with my everdrive.

As a person who grew up with and loathed the heavy-handed religious theming, this was an oddly compelling game to chip at. Its like someone took the original Zelda, and made a linear game with surprisingly good pacing from it. This set a bar no other 'divine' product could see let alone reach, besides 'maybe' Captain Bible and the Dome of Darkness.

I was introduced to this game when my mom decided that final fantasy would lead to the devil, so she got this game. Thinking now I’m like I don’t think I can do anything in real life that is in final fantasy. But I can get various fruits to throw at people, go into airports and prisons- and still go into strangers home and take whatever is in a random box. All stuff I could do in real life. Hmmm….🤔

When I read "fruits of the spirit" I didn't quite think it'd be so literal

As a kid I genuinely loved Noah's Ark. Baby Moses and D&G left a bit to be desired. Never had the chance to own this but figure Bible Adventures was a much more common title.

By the Five Bunnies this game doesn't look half bad