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Adventure Island (video game)
Encyclopedia
Hudson's Adventure Island, also known simply as Adventure Island and released in Japan
as , is a side-scrolling platform game
produced by Hudson Soft
that was first released in Japan for the Family Computer and MSX
on September 12, 1986. It was later released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System
on September 1988 and in the PAL region
in 1992 under the title of Adventure Island Classic.
Adventure Island is an adaptation of the arcade game Wonder Boy, originally published by Sega
for developer Escape (now known as Westone Bit Entertainment). Adventure Island was followed by a series of sequels that were independently developed by Hudson Soft.
Master Higgins (the player character) loses a life whenever he touches an enemy, an enemy's attack or a fire roast, or when he falls into a pitfall or a body of water. Moreover, the player also has a health gauge that starts out with 11 points, which gradually depletes over time or whenever Higgins trips on a rock in his path. When Higgins' health gauge reaches zero, he will lose a life as well. If Higgins still has extra lives left, he will revive at the last checkpoint he passed through. The game ends when all of Higgins' lives runs out. To replenish his health, Higgins can pick up numerous fruits (or a milk bottle) on his path (his maximum health reaches up to 13 points). When the player's score reaches 50,000 points, 100,000 points, and every 200,000 points afterward, Higgins will receive an extra life.
Higgins starts off each life without the ability to attack and can only gain the ability to attack by picking up a stone, which can found in specific spots in each stage or hidden inside eggs. When Higgins is wielding the stone axe, he can trade it for magical fireballs that have longer range and are capable of destroying rolling stones (which are invulnerable to the stone axe).
To break an egg, the player must touch it or hit with a weapon twice. In addition to weapons, there are numerous bonus items and weapons stuck inside. There are also "hidden eggs" that are not immediately visible in plain sight. The locations of these "hidden eggs" are usually indicated when a weapon thrown by a player disappears before falling to the ground and are uncovered by jumping at the indicated spot. Some of these hidden spots don't contain hidden eggs, but instead a cloud that will warp the player to a bonus stage, which is instead uncovered by hitting the spot repeatedly with a weapon or by standing still for a short period of time. At the bonus stages, the player can collect a series of fruits (each worth 500 points regardless of the type) until Higgins falls into a pitfall. However, instead of losing a life, he will return to the regular stage at the next checkpoint.
At the fourth round of each area, Higgins will confront a different form of King Quiller, the game's boss character
. King Quiller has the ability to change his head by up to eight different types. Higgins must defeat King Quiller by striking his head a specific amount of times with his weapon. The number of hits required to defeat Quiller increases with each area (his first form requires eight hits and every subsequent form requires two additional hits until the eighth and final form, which requires 22 hits). When King Quiller is defeated, he will change his head and escape to the next area. King Quiller uses the same attack in each form, with the only thing that changes besides his durability are his mobility speed and the speed of his fireball attacks. When Higgins defeats King Quiller's final form, Quiller will fall off a cliff and Tina is rescued.
arcade game Wonder Boy
, which Hudson Soft obtained the rights from developer Escape (now known as Westone Bit Entertainment). During the development of the port, the decision was made to change the character design of the protagonist, modeling him and naming him after Hudson Soft's spokesman Takahashi Meijin
. In the western version of Adventure Island, the Takahashi Meijin character was renamed Master Higgins.
While the Wonder Boy series adapted an action RPG system for its sequels (beginning with Wonder Boy in Monster Land
), most of the Adventure Island sequels stuck to the game system of the original Wonder Boy. Moreoever, Hudson Soft also obtained the rights to port all of the Wonder Boy sequels to the TurboGrafx 16, changing the title and character designs of each game (with the exception of Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair). Incidentally, the Japanese version of Dracon's Curse (the TurboGrafx 16 adaptation of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
) was titled Adventure Island.
as a Famicom Mini title on May 21, 2004. It was later re-released internationally for the Wii
Virtual Console
service in 2008.
A remake was also developed for the PlayStation 2
and Nintendo GameCube
titled Hudson Selection
Volume 4: Takahashi Meijin no Bōken Jima, which was released exclusively in Japan on December 18, 2003.
and Adventure Island III, as well as a fourth game for the Famicom that was released exclusively in Japan titled Takahashi Meijin no Bōken Jima IV. In addition to the stand-alone Famicom Mini re-release of the first game, all four games were re-released in a compilation for the Game Boy Advance titled Hudson Best Collection Vol 6: Bōken Jime Collection, released in Japan on January 19, 2006.
Sequels were also released on other platforms, such as Adventure Island and Adventure Island II for the Game Boy
(which were based on the second and third NES game respectively), Super Adventure Island
and Super Adventure Island II
for the Super NES
, New Adventure Island
for the TurboGrafx 16, and Adventure Island: The Beginning
for the Wii
.
, makes a cameo in episode two.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a side-scrolling platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
produced by Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
that was first released in Japan for the Family Computer and MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
on September 12, 1986. It was later released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
on September 1988 and in the PAL region
PAL region
The PAL region is a television publication territory which covers most of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe...
in 1992 under the title of Adventure Island Classic.
Adventure Island is an adaptation of the arcade game Wonder Boy, originally published by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
for developer Escape (now known as Westone Bit Entertainment). Adventure Island was followed by a series of sequels that were independently developed by Hudson Soft.
Plot
The player controls Master Higgins, a young man whose girlfriend Tina has been kidnapped by King Quiller. To rescue Tina, Higgins must traverse through a series of 32 stages. There are eight worlds called "areas", which are divided four stages or "rounds" each, which are further divided into four checkpoints. When the player reaches the fourth round of each area, he must confront a boss at the end to continue to the next area. The game is completed when the player rescues Tina after defeating the eighth and final boss.Game System
Higgins starts off each life without the ability to attack and can only gain the ability to attack by picking up a stone, which can found in specific spots in each stage or hidden inside eggs. When Higgins is wielding the stone axe, he can trade it for magical fireballs that have longer range and are capable of destroying rolling stones (which are invulnerable to the stone axe).
To break an egg, the player must touch it or hit with a weapon twice. In addition to weapons, there are numerous bonus items and weapons stuck inside. There are also "hidden eggs" that are not immediately visible in plain sight. The locations of these "hidden eggs" are usually indicated when a weapon thrown by a player disappears before falling to the ground and are uncovered by jumping at the indicated spot. Some of these hidden spots don't contain hidden eggs, but instead a cloud that will warp the player to a bonus stage, which is instead uncovered by hitting the spot repeatedly with a weapon or by standing still for a short period of time. At the bonus stages, the player can collect a series of fruits (each worth 500 points regardless of the type) until Higgins falls into a pitfall. However, instead of losing a life, he will return to the regular stage at the next checkpoint.
At the fourth round of each area, Higgins will confront a different form of King Quiller, the game's boss character
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
. King Quiller has the ability to change his head by up to eight different types. Higgins must defeat King Quiller by striking his head a specific amount of times with his weapon. The number of hits required to defeat Quiller increases with each area (his first form requires eight hits and every subsequent form requires two additional hits until the eighth and final form, which requires 22 hits). When King Quiller is defeated, he will change his head and escape to the next area. King Quiller uses the same attack in each form, with the only thing that changes besides his durability are his mobility speed and the speed of his fireball attacks. When Higgins defeats King Quiller's final form, Quiller will fall off a cliff and Tina is rescued.
Relation to Wonder Boy
Adventure Island began development as a port of the SegaSega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
arcade game Wonder Boy
Wonder Boy
is a series of video games published by SEGA and developed by Westone Bit Entertainment .The series itself consists of the main Wonder Boy series, and the Monster World sub-series. Games may be part of one, the other, or both. This has resulted in a sometimes confusing naming structure resulting in...
, which Hudson Soft obtained the rights from developer Escape (now known as Westone Bit Entertainment). During the development of the port, the decision was made to change the character design of the protagonist, modeling him and naming him after Hudson Soft's spokesman Takahashi Meijin
Takahashi Meijin
Takahashi Meijin , real name Toshiyuki Takahashi is a former executive of Hudson Soft.-16 shot per second:...
. In the western version of Adventure Island, the Takahashi Meijin character was renamed Master Higgins.
While the Wonder Boy series adapted an action RPG system for its sequels (beginning with Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Wonder Boy in Monster Land is an action role-playing platform video game developed by Westone. It was released by Sega for the arcades in 1987 and for the Sega Master System in 1988; Activision released the game for the Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and Atari ST...
), most of the Adventure Island sequels stuck to the game system of the original Wonder Boy. Moreoever, Hudson Soft also obtained the rights to port all of the Wonder Boy sequels to the TurboGrafx 16, changing the title and character designs of each game (with the exception of Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair). Incidentally, the Japanese version of Dracon's Curse (the TurboGrafx 16 adaptation of Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is a platforming and action-adventure video game developed by Westone. It was published by Sega and released for the Sega Master System in 1989 and for the Game Gear in 1992 under the title Monster World II: Dragon no Wana...
) was titled Adventure Island.
Re-releases
The NES version of Adventure Island was re-released in Japan for the Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
as a Famicom Mini title on May 21, 2004. It was later re-released internationally for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service in 2008.
A remake was also developed for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
titled Hudson Selection
Hudson Selection
The Hudson Selection Vol. 1-4 are a collection of video games by Hudson Soft, released only in Japan. Each volume is an enhanced remake of the following games.These games were released for the Nintendo GameCube and the PlayStation 2 in 2003....
Volume 4: Takahashi Meijin no Bōken Jima, which was released exclusively in Japan on December 18, 2003.
Sequels
Two sequels were produced for the NES, Adventure Island IIAdventure Island II
is a side-scrolling platform game produced by Hudson Soft that was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in . It is the sequel to Adventure Island and the second game in the series for the NES. While the first game was an adaptation of Westone's Wonder Boy arcade game, Adventure Island II...
and Adventure Island III, as well as a fourth game for the Famicom that was released exclusively in Japan titled Takahashi Meijin no Bōken Jima IV. In addition to the stand-alone Famicom Mini re-release of the first game, all four games were re-released in a compilation for the Game Boy Advance titled Hudson Best Collection Vol 6: Bōken Jime Collection, released in Japan on January 19, 2006.
Sequels were also released on other platforms, such as Adventure Island and Adventure Island II for the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
(which were based on the second and third NES game respectively), Super Adventure Island
Super Adventure Island
is a side-scrolling platform game by Hudson Soft originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in and later re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console download service in . It was the first Adventure Island game released for the SNES and came out between the releases of the NES...
and Super Adventure Island II
Super Adventure Island II
is a Super NES video game by Hudson Soft and was the final entry in the series, until Hudson announced in 2009 a new game on WiiWare called Adventure Island: The Beginning...
for the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, New Adventure Island
New Adventure Island
is a side-scrolling platform game by Hudson Soft originally released for the TurboGrafx-16 in and later re-released for the Wii Virtual Console service in and the PlayStation Network in...
for the TurboGrafx 16, and Adventure Island: The Beginning
Adventure Island: The Beginning
Adventure Island: The Beginning is a platforming video game released for the Wii's WiiWare service. It was developed by Hudson Soft and is the latest installment in the Adventure Island series.-Gameplay:...
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
.
Anime
Adventure Island also inspired an animated television series titled , which was produced by TMS Entertainment and aired in Japan from October 3, 1986 to September 25, 1987, lasting 51 episodes and a theatrical film. The series also inspired its own Famicom game titled , released on June 5, 1987. The TV series' plot involved the kidnapping of Takahashi (Master Higgins) and his girlfriend Honey's mission to rescue him by enlisting the help of One-Up, Dal, and Midori, three children from the human world. The series featured Dragonball's Minoru Maeda as character designer, and featured storylines incorporating elements of various popular video games of the day. Another Hudson character, BombermanBomberman
Bomberman is a strategic, maze-based computer and video game franchise originally developed by Hudson Soft. The original game was published in 1983 and new games in the series are still being published to this day. Today, the commercially successful Bomberman is featured in over 70 different games...
, makes a cameo in episode two.