Castlequest - for NES

Castlequest is a puzzle platformer for the Nintendo Entertainment System, developed by ASCII and published by Nexoft in 1986. The story is pure fairy tale. Princess Margarita, known throughout the land for her beauty and grace, has been seized by Mad Mizer, the Dark Lord of grim Groken Castle high in the Forbidden Mountains, who vowed to make her his queen and locked her away in one of the castle's hundred miserable rooms. Many brave young men tried the rescue and were lost in the maze, caught in traps or stopped by Mizer's servants. Prince Rafael, who has loved her from afar, sets out regardless.

Castlequest is a game for one player, and it is far more a thinking game than a running one. The castle is a maze of rooms, each a small problem of locked doors, keys, hazards and enemies, and the real difficulty is deciding what to use and where, since a key spent in the wrong doorway can close off the path you needed. Traps and the Dark Lord's helpers punish careless movement, so progress comes from patience and from remembering the layout. Legend holds that two magical fairies have been held captive in the castle for centuries, and if Prince Rafael can find and free them, their help may be what carries him through to the Princess.

Castlequest still has admirers because it respects the player's intelligence. Working through Groken Castle feels like solving a puzzle box, and plenty of players map it out on paper, which turns the hundred rooms into a long and satisfying project rather than an afternoon's play. Its plain, slightly eerie presentation only adds to the sense of a cold castle you are picking apart room by room. For collectors, Castlequest is a window into the earliest stretch of the NES library, when a game could be this stubborn and this clever at once. If you like puzzles with a fairy tale wrapped around them, Castlequest belongs in your collection.

• Genre: Puzzle Platformer
• Players: 1
• Region: NTSC
• Release Year: 1986
• Developer: ASCII

Cartridge Only: No Box or Manual
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Condition & Authenticity
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