Graphically and audio-wise the game does the job you'd expect with the Spectrum, the 128k version has a nice tune that plays all the way through. The problem lies with 1) its controls (the keyboard mappings without the benefit of redefining are ludicrous) and 2) the bug at the end of level 3-2, rendering the game impassable without poking its memory. I can only imagine the reviewers at the time didn't get too far into it, otherwise it might not have received the high scores it did.

Status: 19,750 points. Poked at the end to progress to the boss.

On today’s episode of “Whatever Random Arcade Game I Can Find”, we have Rastan, a small little game series that I know almost nothing about and have never heard of until recently. I had seen the name of this game floating around on the internet from time to time, and I had been kinda curious to try it out, but from just taking a look at the poster of the game, it didn’t look like anything all too exciting. Really, it just looked like it would be on the same level as other similar games like Rygar and Golden Axe, at least, in terms of the theme and settings. But again, I can’t really judge something until I have given it a try for myself, so I went ahead and loaded it up, gave it a shot, and I was given a game that was kinda like what I expected, but a little different as well. At the end of it though, I could only really say that the game is alright, but nothing more. It is mostly what you would expect from a mid-to-late 80s arcade platformer, but it isn’t the worst thing that you could’ve played at the time.

The story is typical of a medieval arcade game, but it is presented in an interesting way, through a story that the now-ruler Rastan is telling, with more detail given to the backstory, which does make it more engaging, but again, nothing we haven’t seen before, the graphics are pretty much what you would expect from a late 80s arcade game, especially one of this style, but they still look good, and there are plenty of detailed animations and monsters to see throughout, the music is……. not that good, in all honesty, as most of it is pretty twangy and high-pitched, which did not settle well with my ears upon first hearing, the control is basic for an arcade platformer, although at points, the jumping did feel pretty restrictive and wonky, so that took some time to get used to, and the gameplay is, once again, pretty basic to compliment the basic setting that we have here, but at the very least, it isn’t too boring, and the momentum doesn’t feel terrible like in Golden Axe.

The game is your typical 2D action platformer, where you take control of Rastan, go through a set of six different rounds through various different “locations”, defeat the many different medieval, disgusting and threatening monsters that you will encounter on your journey, gather plenty of different health items and powerups to help you out on your way in numerous ways rather than just helping to increase your attack, and take on plenty of appropriately themed bosses, who will either provide quite a challenge and force you to be really careful about approaching them, or they will go down pretty quickly with little to no effort on your end. Most of it is exactly what you would expect from one of these kinds of games, and after seeing many other games like this, you can’t help but think it may be a little bit stale, but hey, to its credit, it does do other things that other arcade platformers don’t.

First and foremost, unlike most other arcade platformers, this game actually has some platforming challenges that can be seen throughout. I briefly mentioned this when I reviewed Magician Lord, but a lot of arcade platformers around this time, I notice, don’t really take advantage of the platforming that they have access to, and don’t really make any kinds of challenges around it to test the player, and are just there as a means to proceed forward. Here, there is some kind of challenge here, as there are slopes to slide down, ropes to swing on, and some certain points where you need to time higher jumps to reach taller platforms. It isn’t much, but it is something, and unlike with Magician Lord, it actually isn’t themed around pure bullshit… most of the time. And secondly, unlike other arcade platformer powerups, these ones actually do differ from others. Of course, you have your typical powerups, like a stronger attack and ones that let you shoot projectiles, but then there are powerups that will increase the range of your weapon, as well as various types of armor that will lower the damage you take. Once again, it isn’t too much, but it is nice to see, and it does help out in the long run. It just sucks that a lot of these powerups are temporary, and there are some that straight up hurt you rather then helping you, which is a big load of bullshit.

And speaking of bullshit, this game managed to bring its batch of arcade syndrome to the party, much to the dismay of all players. Once again, we have an arcade game that thinks the term “difficulty” means to just “throw a bunch of enemies at you at once to drain your health faster than a vampire sucks blood”. Of course, it gets worse the further you go along, but even in the first half of the game, you can easily die from enemies and hazards if you aren’t too careful with what you do. This isn’t helped by the fact that if Rastan even just touches any liquid surface, he will sink down straight to the bottom. Aside from that though, there isn’t too much holding the game back, but at the same time, there is nothing helping it out either. Like I have already stated, it is your typical medieval arcade platformer through and through, so if the gameplay of this title doesn’t capture you immediately, then there really is nothing else that will in comparison to other titles on the market.

Overall, despite the arcade syndrome present and the lack of anything too original, the original Rastan is still a decent enough game that can give you a good enough time if you decide to give it a shot, but not enough to the point where you feel like you have to see what else the game has in store after the first three levels or so. I would recommend it for those who like these kinds of arcade games, but for everyone else, there are definitely much better options out there, not just in terms of arcade platformers, but in terms of medieval-based arcade games as well. Maybe the sequels will do something to innovate on this initial installment, but I’ll have to wait until I eventually decide to play those titles. You know, when I am not busy trying to find other random arcade games you have never heard of.

Game #417