Release Date: January 1991
Developer: Vic Tokai Corporation
Publisher: Vic Tokai, Inc.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, The Krion Conquest is the most flattering game in the 8-bit world.
Known as Magical Kids Doropie in Japan, Vic Tokai’s The Krion Conquest is about as close to a rip-off of Mega Man as you can get. From the premise to the visuals to the controls, there is an eerie familiarity to everything. Just switch the blue helmet for a witch hat, his Mega Buster with a wand, and Rush with a broom. Voila! You have a “different” game.
Too bad the game doesn’t play as well as a Mega Man game.
The game begins with a Ninja Giaden-esque intro cinematic explaining the premise. The year is 1999, and Earth is besieged by the Krion Empire. The Krion’s robots are overpowering and immune to all attacks – except magic. Enter Francesca the witch, who is conscripted to do battle with Krion. Players control Francesca as she attempts to lay waste to the Krions.
Just like Mega Man, Francesca has different abilities at her disposal. Unlike Mega Man, she has all her abilities at the start. In addition to her normal shot, she has access to Bouncing Ball, Broom, Fire, Freeze, and Shield spells. She even changes color when she selects a spell, another nod to the Blue Bomber. Of all her spells, Broom is the one you will be using the most. It’s similar to the Rush Jet in that players can ride it to fly. In some areas, the only form of travel is the broom.
Her attacks do not all mimic the game it’s ripping off. Francesca can shoot upwards and duck to avoid enemy fire, abilities Mega Man never possessed. She also mastered the charge shot, which was introduced in Mega Man 4, well after this game’s release.
None of that helps this game much, though. Just like the original Mega Man, this game is difficult. Actually, it’s harder. Vic Tokai removed the continue option from the game during U.S. localization, and made it so your health bar doesn’t refill between stages. Lots of Japanese Famicom games were ramped up in difficulty like this when ported to the NES. A term was created to describe just how painful these games became: “Nintendo Hard.” Combine that with cheap hits, which the game has in abundance, and you have a game very few will want to see until the end.
It’s a shame, because The Krion Conquest could have been a great game, for a rip-off. In many ways, it has all the charm of the game it’s mimicking. Francesca’s additional abilities are fun to use, and having them all at the start is a bonus. The music, while not as great as the iconic Mega Man tracks, are still good in their own right. And the premise is interesting. Too bad the game couldn’t keep pace.
Does it still hold up? Only for masochists. The brutal difficulty makes this game un-fun for all but the most hardcore. After playing this game for ten minutes, I wanted to stop playing and pop in Mega Man 2.
Sadly, the only legal way to experience the pain that is The Krion Conquest is via the second-hand market. The only port of the game was for Japanese smartphones. Only those who love to collect retro games – or those who don’t mind swimming in greyer waters – will be able to give this game a try. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!
Good: Faithful Mega Man visuals and controls; good original music; new abilities
Bad: Harder than graduate-level calculus; lots of cheap hits; very little originality
Final score: 5/10
