is a 1986 platform game developed and published by Tecmo for arcades. The player assumes the role of a "Legendary Warrior" who must navigate numerous levels and defeat enemies with a weapon called the "Diskarmor", a razor-sharp shield with a long chain attached to it that operates like a yo-yo. The warrior intends to defeat Ligar, an evil "dominator". Later ports, particularly the NES and Lynx versions, expanded on the near non-existent story from the original.
The game was subsequently ported to the NES (1987), Commodore 64 (1987), ZX Spectrum (1987), Amstrad CPC (1987), Master System (1988), Atari Lynx (1990), and X68000 (1994); Nintendo released the NES version in arcades in 1987. Emulated re-releases of different versions have also been released for Xbox (2005), Sprint mobile phones (2005), Wii (2009), PlayStation 4 (2014), Nintendo Switch (2018) and Android (2023). A remake, Rygar: The Legendary Adventure, was released for PlayStation 2 in 2002. The Legendary Adventure was remastered for the Wii in 2008 as Rygar: The Battle of Argus.
Rygar received mixed reviews across its various platforms. The most lauded version of the game was the NES version, which was praised for incorporating RPG elements into an otherwise standard platformer, and which has since been recognised as an important early example of the Metroidvania sub-genre. On the other hand, the Commodore, Spectrum, and Amstrad ports were poorly received, particularly their graphics. A common criticism across all platforms was the game's high difficulty. Financially, the games have been successful; the original arcade version proved profitable worldwide, and as of June 2007, the various ports, emulations, and remakes of Rygar have sold 1.5 million units across all platforms.
Gameplay Rygar is a side-scrolling platformer in which the basic gameplay sees the player character move left to right, with the player able to jump, duck, attack, and climb ropes. Rygar's only weapon is his Diskarmor, a razor-sharp spinning shield that can be thrown some distance whilst staying attached to him, similar to a yo-yo. Available attacks are a standard front-facing attack that can be used when Rygar is either standing up or ducking down, a curved overhead swing, and an airborne attack. It is also possible for Rygar to briefly stun enemies by jumping on them. There is no health in the game, and Rygar is immediately killed upon contact with an enemy (unless jumping on their head) or an enemy's projectile, or by falling from a platform.
There are five categories of items that the player can collect; bonus points, power-ups, extra lives, additional time, and screen bombs (destroys every enemy on the screen). These items can be found in stones that spawn from the earth and are occasionally dropped by defeated enemies. Power-ups boost the player's abilities, but they are not permanent and are lost when Rygar is killed. There are five different types of power-ups; Sun Power (a straight overhead attack to replace the standard circular attack), Crown Power (the ability to kill multiple enemies with one hit), Cross Power (temporary invincibility), Tiger Power (the ability to kill enemies by jumping on them), and Star Power (extension of the Diskarmor's range). Additionally, on rare occasions, a player may find an item with a question mark on it. Every time the player hits the item with the Diskarmor, the item changes into one of the above power-ups.
Each level has a time limit and if the player goes over this limit, a powerful fire monster appears and aggressively tries to kill the player. The longer the player evades him, the faster the monster gets. At the end of each of the 27 levels, there is a safe zone where the player's score is tallied.
The original arcade game also featured what Tecmo referred to as a "Buy-In" feature. When the player has lost all their lives (of which they begin with three), a countdown appears onscreen but if they insert more coins before it reaches zero, they can continue playing from the point of their furthest progression rather than restarting the game from the beginning. However, this option is only available in levels 1-20; during levels 21-27, if the player loses all their lives, they must restart the entire game. The reason for this was to prevent players paying their way to the end of the game by continually dying and resurrecting. Instead, Tecmo wanted to force players to develop the skills necessary to beat the last six levels. The game also utilised a hotseat mechanic whereby two players can play in turn, with each player's progression independent of the other's.
Plot The original arcade version of the game has no real plot beyond the opening text, which reads,
This "new dominator" is Ligar, a monster with the body of a large human male and the head of a lion, who is capable of jumping great distances. At the end of the game, Rygar fights Ligar in a large throne room, and after defeating him, a group of people arrive to celebrate with Rygar. Text then appears onscreen; "
In the original Japanese arcade game, the player character was unnamed and referred to only as "Legendary Warrior." The game's final boss was named ライガー, which can be Romanized as both "Rygar" and "Ligar". This is because the Roman syllables "Ry" and "Li" both come from the same Japanese character, meaning there is no differentiation between "L" and "R" sounds. Due to this ambiguity, when the game was translated into English, the villain retained the name Ligar, but the hero was mistakenly called Rygar.
The Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC versions keep the opening text from the arcade version, but change the closing text to "Congratulations. You have defeated the evil tyranny." The Master System version of the game doesn't expand on the plot, but the text that appears upon completing the game is notably different from the arcade version:
Aside from the NES version, the Atari Lynx version provides the most backstory to the events of the game. In this version, the opening text reads,
The manual goes into further detail, explaining that millions of years earlier, a wizard banished the "minions of darkness" to the underworld, ushering in an era of peace and prosperity. Before he died, the wizard prophesied that the forces of darkness would rise again and humanity's only hope would be a hero recognisable by a birthmark — the Mark of the Wizard. At a later date, the darkness returned and began to conquer and subjugate humanity. 10,000 years passed, with humanity forced into tiny pockets of infertile land. Throughout that time, however, they never ceased hoping for the arrival of the prophesied hero. Rygar is that hero. The closing text in this version reads, "all hail the mighty warrior Rygar. Due to your bravery and skills, you have saved our people and returned peace to our land. Bravo Rygar, hero of Argool."
The X68000 version keeps both the opening and closing text from the arcade original.
NES port The 1987 NES port, released in Japan as and in North America and Europe simply as Rygar, expanded considerably on the gameplay basics of the arcade original, incorporating action RPG elements into the platformer framework. The player character, his weapon, mode of attack, and many of the enemies remain the same, but the broader game mechanics are different. Whereas the arcade game is a standard side-scrolling platformer, the NES's Rygar is semi-open-ended, allowing the player to play nonlinearly and get stronger over time, gaining permanent traits such as increased health or strength via experience points rather than by collecting power-ups. In this sense, the game has gone on to be acknowledged as an important and very early example of the Metroidvania subgenre.
There are two types of experience point in the game; "Tone" and "Lasting". Tone increases Rygar's strength and how much damage he inflicts per hit, whereas lasting increases his health. Each time the player kills an enemy, both tone and lasting points are granted to the player. With tone, every kill adds a fraction of additional strength to the player's attack. With lasting, the player must reach a certain number of points, at which time they will be awarded with an additional health point. At the start of the game, the player has three health points but can earn up to twelve.
The game also features a rudimentary spellcasting mechanic. Rygar has access to three spells for the duration of the game; "Power-Up", "Attack & Assail", and "Recover". To use these spells, a certain amount of "Mind Points" are necessary. These Mind Points are in the form of stars which enemies randomly drop throughout the game. Power-Up requires three Mind Points and increases the speed, range, and damage of the Diskarmor until the player dies, at which time, it must be reactivated. Attack & Assail costs five points and after being cast, the next ten attacks will cause a flash that damages every on-screen enemy. Recover costs seven Mind Points, which is the maximum the player can have. This spell refills all of Rygar's health points.
Unlike all other versions of Rygar, the NES version is not exclusively side-scrolling. At the beginning of the game, Rygar has access to much of the game's map, via a hub-like central area, which is played from a top-down perspective. As the game progresses, new areas open up as a result of finding items such as the grappling hook, crossbow, and pulley, which allow Rygar to get past previously impassable obstacles. Rygar can also collect a coat of arms, which allows him to replenish his health in safe rooms. These safe rooms are occupied by NPCs who will give advice to the player.
Despite being considerably longer than all other versions of Rygar, the NES version did not have a password feature, nor did the cartridge contain a battery to facilitate saved games. This meant it had to be completed in a single playthrough. It did, however, have unlimited continues.
To accompany and promote the NES release of the game, three manga comics were published. recounts the plot of the game. Written by Rikio Harada, it was published by Keibunsha as #20 of their Adventure Hero's Books series. is a "choose your own adventure" story set in 1987. Ligar has once again returned, and the reader must summon Rygar to defend humanity. is a dramatised guide book in narrative form. Written by Minazuki Yuu, it was published by Tokuma Shoten.
Plot In this version of the game, Argool was once a utopian paradise run by the five Indora gods, until the evil Ligar attacked and corrupted everything that was sacred:
In addition, Ligar took the "Door of Peace", an important symbol of the peace that the Indora gods had created. Unable to find a hero amongst them capable of defeating Ligar, the people turned to an ancient prophecy, which states,
The people fervently prayed for this soldier, and after some time, Rygar returned from the dead, setting out to defeat Ligar and restore peace and prosperity to the land. Rygar must visit the five Indora gods, each of whom will present him with an item necessary for defeating Ligar. After gaining the five items, Rygar must then travel to Ligar's floating castle for the final confrontation.
Upon defeating Ligar, Rygar enters the Door of Peace, restoring prosperity to the land and saving humanity. The closing text reads,
Other ports