Adventure Island 1987 By: Hudson Soft

Overview:

Adventure Island is one of the first games that comes to mind when I think back to video games of my childhood. The graphics were not that great, but the color palette was well chosen. The sprites looked cartoony, but the backgrounds were nice. The gameplay is pure platformer enjoyment. The only variation is the part where you find a skateboard and ride it. Be careful though, because you can't stop, you can only slow down or speed up while riding it. The music is upbeat and pleasant, and the sounds are cute.
Adventure Island was the start of a great series, and this game was one of the hardest. I would say that anyone who has not played Adventure Island should give it a try, as well as its later installments.

Directions:

The moment the level starts MOVE IT! You constantly lose health, so you have to keep picking up fruit to restore your life. Of course, enemies are all over the place, so you have to watch your step. Find hidden eggs by jumping around in random spots, and sometimes they'll just appear. Inside eggs are items that can help you, like the hatchet, fireballs, or a skateboard for faster movement. While on the skateboard, you can't stop, but you can slow down or speed up, and if you hit an enemy you'll just fall off the board rather than lose life. The hatchet is your weapon that you can throw at enemies. The fireballs are also thrown at your enemies, but they will go farther and cause more damage. Both the hatchet and the fireballs come with infinite ammo.
There is a vase you can find in each level that will double your bonus points awarded. Milk will refill your life bar. A ring will give you 2000 points. A baby Higgins doll will give you an extra life; these are rare and hard to find, so be sure to grab them up as soon as you see them. Honey Girl the fairy is trapped in some eggs, and when released will fly above your head for a short time making you invincible. The more enemies you kill by running into them while you are invincible, the more points you will get. Eggplant is Master Higgins' most hated food, if you open an egg with one inside, it will hover over you, draining your life till you have only two or three hits left, or you finish the stage.
A key will make a platform appear that you can catch, and it will take you to a bonus stage where each fruit is worth 500 points. A flower will double the point value of all food, except for the bonus stage fruit. A NES controller can only be obtained by killing a coyote from behind, and is worth 2000 points.