Norse by Norse West: The Return of the Lost Vikings

The Good
The Lost Vikings was an ultimate hit. The newly born Blizzard Entertainment (Silicon & Synapse back then) really showed them all! Showed it's taste for serious, original and highly ambitious projects. Well, up until it became stuck with its established licenses. But at least we got Blackthorne, Rock 'N Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings.

A simple formula worked like clockwork: three vikings - each with his own abilities - had to act as a team in order to reach the end of a level. Erik could run and jump, Baleog - shoot and smash, Olaf - block attacks and fly on his shield. That's it! Simple genius. It is still a mystery to me why the second part never got the same love. Maybe the sudden success of Warcraft and Diablo overshadowed it, or maybe it was the horrible PC/PS port that ruined the fun. Either way, the original SNES game has everything to be called a perfect sequel. Why's that?

Simply because it doesn't ruin anything, while upgrading everything, including the plot. Be sure to read the manual for a hilarious prologue that connects two parts and sets the mood. The game starts with the return of the evil Tomator, who kidnaps the three vikings once again. This time he teleports them straight into the hands of his armed forces. Of course, our friends find a way to kick some armored butts and even rob them of their stuff. After that the vikings become lost in time once again. "Will Olaf be reunited with his wife and daughters? Will Baleog ever get a date with Freya, that Valkyrie babe on the "Resume Game" screen? Stay tuned...".

Well, you know what to expect. And you don't! For this time the choice of epochs is even more epic. How about a pirate ship? A high tech world? Or a graveyard in Transylvania? Every new location comes with a number of new enemies, obstacles and little surprises to have fun with. All in all, I found the design even more imaginative. But the major surprises are, of course, the new abilities of the main characters.

Remember the stuff they stole from Tomator's henchmen? In case of Erik those were turbo boots that increased his speed and power, as well as a helmet that suddenly allowed him to swim. Baleog got a cool bionic arm useful for long-distance hits, grabs (when it comes to items) and Batman-like swings on pegs. Olaf got what was left: just another shield for gliding and... shrinking? That's right: now he can easily squeeze through mouse holes! And thanks to his new digestion abilities he picked up after some meal, he can now fart, propelling into the sky like an eagle.

And like that wasn't enough, the developers added a couple of unusual characters to the company: a werewolf and a dragon. What a shock! Luckily both of them are friendly guys, always ready to replace any missing viking or two. Which happens often enough to try every possible combination. And, of course, they have their own abilities, like wall climbing and fire breathing. Imagine the possibilities...

The Bad
...And new difficulties. Personally I loved that the game increased both in length and puzzles difficulty. But I know some people will go straight mad, since the game is really tricky at times, especially with the old password system at the start of levels. And especially near the end. You'll probably need a lot of patience, but, alas, there's nothing more to complaint about, except for the ports.

You see, the original SNES version I'm writing about has the same colorful 2D graphics as the first part, only more detailed. The perfect cartoon style, most suitable for the series. Yet Blizzard decided to 'enhance' it for PC and PlayStation by handing the license to Beam Software. What they did was rendering the levels into a blurry mess, turning all characters and objects into ugly 3D models and replacing the cut-scenes with a 3D nightmare. Also the music in the PC version was replaced by sick techno tunes, and even the added voice-overs felt completely out of place. In other words, Beam turned an eye candy into an amateur port. Too bad.

The Bottom Line
But here we have a perfect sequel to an excellent game. A very smart, funny and highly addictive combination of puzzles and platform gaming that didn't get the fame it deserved. Of course, don't hesitate to play the game even if you don't own the perfect SNES version: it is still a unique experience you rarely meet. Just beware of the differences. And yet another proof that Blizzard always means quality, quality and more quality.