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The third part of my Risky Woods run. Stages 7 through 9. Stage 7 Probably my favourite stage, most likely because back in the day this was the end of the line for me. Before I had the patience to mass armour shards, I used to run out of luck here almost every time. How about those crazy platform jumps towards the end of this stage? If I had died there, not even my precious armour would have saved me. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Stage 8 Like the way I dodged all the fire-breathing flowers and totems in this stage? Tricky sh.t~ <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Stage 9 [boss] This boss is kinda like the last one in that you don't really have a prayer for cleanly jumping all of its attacks. Actually, make that exactly like that the last one. The morning star wasn't the ideal weapon choice for this encounter either. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

This is the second part of my Risky Woods run. Stages 4 through 6. Stage 4 This part is a good example of how you can really abuse the gold armour. A monkey could have got through this stage with more style than I did, and yet I survived thanks to this extremely broken feature. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Stage 5 Another generic cave level. Notice how one of the keys can't be reached by normal means? Hmm. I hope a level designer got the sack for that one. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Stage 6 [boss] While the porting to the Mega Drive made the game easier in some ways *cough* gold armour *cough* it also screwed up the physics somewhat rendering other parts blisteringly difficult. Jumping over the eggs this boss drops is a joke- it is nowhere near as hard in the old DOS version. There is maybe a frame or so at the peak of a jump that will get you over the thing clear. Any less precise calculations will see you punished by this SOB time and again. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

Here are some videos I recorded recently of Sonic 2 & 3. I use the alias Ichorid4 on Youtube - visit my channel for more retro game videos. Hidden Palace Zone This Zone was ultimately axed from the the final version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, sometime late in development. An unfinished, buggy version of this Zone can be found in the infamous 'Sonic 2 Beta' rom dump, although this version used the same BGM track as Metropolis Zone and featured no apparent way to complete it. The following video was taken of Sonic 2 Long, one of the best rom hacks in existence. This completed Zone incorporates an unused track featured in the sound test menu of the retail Sonic 2 which was presumably for Hidden Palace before it was cut. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Death Egg Zone (Sonic 2) As the final stage of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Death Egg Zone was particularly daunting to the newcomer due to its 2 consecutive bosses and prominent lack of rings. in other words, everything was a 1-hit KO in this Zone. A few seconds could probably be shaved from this run in a few places. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Death Egg Zone (Sonic & Knuckles) This Zone is the de facto final stage of Sonic 3 & Knuckles in that it features Robotnik in his Egg-suit and is a conventional boss level, even though it is only the last stage for Sonic & Tails, and even then only if Sonic has not collected all Super Emeralds beforehand. As with its Sonic 2 counterpart this boss area of Death Egg Zone does not contain any rings. However this time rings will carry over from the previous area. Incidentally this stage is not as difficult as its predecessor. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Remember to visit my Youtube Channel for more videos.

Published by Electronic Arts back in the day, Risky Woods for the Mega Drive was a port of the previously released Amiga and DOS versions. Several elements were stripped away while new mechanics were introduced but the game was ultimately a fun side-scrolling action game, although a fiendishly difficult one. The story was the run of the mill fare likely conceived by the poor soul assigned to author the instruction manual. Essentially you were a warrior named Rohan who needed to cross the countryside and free monks imprisoned in stone. What was just a semblance of a real plot was likely due to names of places and enemies, amongst other things, being inexplicably removed from the Mega Drive version. Every third stage was a boss stage, but the monsters you came up against were really inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. All that the game really required was that you moved left to right, killing everything in sight. In that way it was like a hundred other platformers from the mid-nineties. What set Risky Woods apart was its upgradeable weapon and gatekeeper systems. Keys were picked up over the course of a level and occasionally used to get passed menacing-looking 'gatekeeper' demons. These ugly SOBs would knock out a sequence of up, down, left and right commands, tasking the player to repeat the order. If successful, they got out of the road and dropped a bunch of weapons that the player could choose from. Consecutively picking the same weapon would increase its effectiveness, and by far the smartest way to get through the game was to decide on a single weapon and stick with it. Most were extremely reminiscent of the Castlevania weapons- the knife and axe in particular were almost exact duplicates. Unusually, the method for getting weapons was vastly different in the original games - there were no gatekeepers at all and coins collected were used at shops to purchase things - they were not simply handed out. Risky Woods is a very hard game to be sure. However one stupid addition to the Mega Drive port makes it the easiest walk in the park you'll ever take. Since coins and shops were removed, the spoils dropped by enemies were changed to 'armour links'. Collect 33, and gain silver armour which cuts damage taken in half. Get 67 or more and gain gold armour, armour which - you guessed it - makes you nigh invulnerable. Hits at this point only make you drop 1 link at a time. The reality of the situation is that you can never realistically die. Pity. Stage 1 I decided to do a complete run through of the game. Here are the first 3 stages, culminating in the boss fight with Zabrus, the dragon, although since he is unnamed in the Mega Drive port, he might as well be any old monster. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Stage 2 Here you can see the effects of wearing the silver armour. As if it didn't make things easy enough, when I pick up the gold armour, there is really nothing to stop me. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Stage 3 [boss] Zabrus stands no chance against a gold armour-wearing opponent, but just to make things quick I made sure I used the boomerang through the first 3 stages. Really the boomerang is the best weapon against any boss, but I was just dumb enough to experiment against some of the later ones. As you'll see... <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Again, check my YouTube Channel for more videos and the rest of my Risky Woods run.