Gargoyles 1995 By: Buena Vista Interactive

Overview:

Being based on a great cartoon, having a cool Gothic look, smooth animation, and a decent sound all come together to make this game one of the coolest ones for Genesis. Don't expect the storyline of the game to be the same as the cartoon, but if you can get past that you'll likely find this game to be quite enjoyable. Plus most Genesis long-time gamers will appreciate the great controls and sheer amount of stuff you can get Goliath to do.
Anyone out there who feels there's a shortage of awesome dark, demon fighting games should try this one on for size. Run around as Goliath, an impressive winged, clawed, tail-sporting, and basically scary gargoyle, whilst smashing evil vikings to pieces. Really, what could be more fun than that? Don't be fooled by the easy start they give you. Enemies will become steadily more difficult, and some places will require a clever thinking through before you get it right.
All in all, this one of my favorite games.

Directions:

Goliath can do an impressive array of things. When Goliath moves it's at top speed. Getting him to stop where you want him can be a bit tricky and will take some practice. If you press down on the joystick Goliath will spread out on the ground and you can look down. Press and hold up and he'll strike a pose and you can look up. Press B after he's been running for a moment and he'll do a cool forward roll. Use this to dodge and to break walls! You can break a wall even if there is a huge gap in the floor! Goliath will shoot right over it! Walls that can be broken will look slightly different than normal walls.
Press B to swipe at your enemies with your powerful clawed arms! Press B three times quickly to perform a slashing combo, with each swipe hitting harder than the last. Or stalk down and then grab them and throw them through the air by pressing A. This is the best way to take out the axe throwing vikings, even though it is a bit touchy. You have to be just the right distance from someone to throw them, but it's worth learning how to do this well, seeing as how it will take many hits to destroy an axe thrower, but throw them once and they're done for.
Press C to jump into the air. Press C again while in the air and Goliath will flap his mighty wings and gain a bit more altitude before dropping back down. You can flap your wings again if you are injured by something. Useful if you are, for example, hit by, oh, I don't know, balls of flames shot out of machines that are in two towers that you have to climb, jumping from one to the next..... Ahem.... You can also attack while in the air by pressing B. Use a diving attack to break floors and things below you by pressing A in midair. Jump onto a wall (and ceilings, though you need to also flap and press up on the joystick to grab a ceiling) that Goliath can climb (which is most walls and ceilings really) and he will latch on. You can now climb it. Most ceilings can be reached easiest by climbing a wall and then simply climbing out from the wall onto the ceiling. Goliath can still swing at enemies while climbing. If you press down Goliath will slide down the wall and if you press C again he will jump or drop off.
Make your way through several screens and eventually you will come to a boss fight. Bosses are stronger and have more life than normal enemies. It will take more hits to bring them down. Also, they hit much harder so my recommendation is don't get hit. Strategy is required to get you through these fights, and no small amount of dodging as well.
In the game you will also run into some handy items. The most handy are the golden goblets. These restore some of Goliath's life. The bigger the goblet, the more life you will get back. Silver discs have the awesome function of making Goliath Invincible for a little while. Your life bar will flash as long as you are invincible. If you pick up a red eyed Goliath head it will give you an extra life. A spinning hammer-looking thing will give you the ability to kill enemies with one swipe. This only lasts as for a short time. The music will change when you pick this up and will stay changed until it wears off. Sundry other items can be found.
Goliath can interact with many objects in the game. The first thing you will encounter is a thing in the ceiling that looks like a giant meat tenderizer mallet. When you jump onto the side of it your weight will pull it down, simultaneously raising an iron gate that blocked your way. Also you will find things like catapults which are wooden structures that will fling you across a room after you jump on them. Mess with everything to see what you can get it to do!