Retro Gamer Ryan: RGR Game #011: Gargoyle's Quest II

Firebrand: always creepier in the logo.

That's one menacing-looking tree.

Welcome to game #11 here at Retro Gamer Ryan! Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness is, of course, the next game in the Gargoyle's Quest series, starring Firebrand the not-gargoyle-but-actually-Red-Arremer. The story begins in the town of Etruria, where Firebrand is still training to become a warrior. One day, he departs for the training grounds, and when he finally completes the training necessary to be recognized as a true warrior by the king, an evil force called the Black Light descends on the Ghoul Realm, raining destruction down on everything and everyone. Armed only with the newly-acquired Fingernail of the Spectre (which, like in the previous game, gives him a jump height upgrade), Firebrand must set out to find the source of the Black Light and free the Ghoul Realm from its grasp.

You might remember someone in the first game shouting "Black Light!" when spoken to, and I suppose this is what he was talking about.

WHAT HAPPEN ?

A true warrior wouldn't need that fingernail.

Maybe they're just tourists.

They probably find nicer towns to live in.

Gee, thanks, Mr. Motivation!

Are you coming on to me?

Hi,ZombieGuy!

Yep, that's basically what the king said.

Then this town needs a mall
or something.

You don't sound too glad...

The first stage takes place on the training grounds, where the goal is to obtain Argob's Pot. The stage really is just training, where tall trees and platforms give plenty of chances to get used to flying. But coming off the first game, everything is very familiar, and I was easily able to reach the pot, which is suspended high above the training ground, ending my training.

Once I exited the training ground with Argob's Pot, a dying ghoul begged me to hurry to the king's side immediately, and when I did, I found him also nearing death. The king gave me the Fingernail of the Spectre, and told me to head west to the town of Gibea to see King Barr there. Then, with a groan of some sort, he died, leaving me alone in the town. I started to feel lonely right away, so I left town to begin my quest, only to be greeted by another action stage, this one with more obstacles and actual enemies. I had some trouble with the enemies at first, since they pop up as you approach, and some give you little chance to react. I spent a couple of lives getting used to dealing with them, and just short of running out of lives, I made it to the end.

First Boss: Nagus

The battle with Nagus takes place in a smallish room with a couple of platforms that he jumps to occasionally, shooting little fireball things whenever he lands. His patterns are pretty simple, but I misjudged his movements a few times early on, and it cost me my last life. After continuing, I made my way through the stage and defeated Nagus with little trouble.