Retro Arena: Willow (NES) vs Neutopia (TurboGrafx) · 11:27am Sep 29th, 2018
A new edition of Retro Arena is up and once again we have the battle of the Zelda clones. As you already know I am a avid fan of the adventure genre judging by my reviews from Zelda and others of its kind. That brings us to this face off between Capcom’s Willow for the NES and Hudson’s Neutopia for the TurboGrafx. As the saying goes imitation is a form flattery as Capcom and Hudson shows this in spades towards Nintendo. Both companies are never known for their Zelda clones but mostly for other established titles. Capcom has its Mega Mans, Street Fighters and Resident Evils that's based off the action genres. Hudson, on the other hand, had their Bombermans and Adventure Islands as part of their little niche they always targeted. However, the 80s were a time when Capcom produce many action platformers akin to Mega Man II and Bionic Commando. Willow was the sole exception from them during the 80s and the only license game they ever took part from Lucas Films.
Now some of you are wondering why I am comparing an 8-bit game to a “16-bit” adventure title. It's because one, both technically came out in 1989 and two, they represent part of the same genre. Of course, Willow pushed the NES’s graphics while Neutopia gave us Golden Age Gamers the 16-bit version of the Original Zelda. I think it makes sense to compare two games from different eras in this instant. The reason for such a thought is because Willow’s broad graphics nearly matched Neutopia's own due to Hudson’s clone having launch window visuals. We all know when a new console gets released on the market no game in the first two years never showcases what the system could do. So, which of these clones will stand tall when the dust settles?
