ZX Spectrum Games - Robin Of The Wood - ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum Games Robin Of The Wood
Odin had already surprised everyone with their first game Nodes of Yesod and followed that one up with another quality ZX Spectrum release, Robin Of The Wood.

Released right at the end of 1985, Robin Of The Wood was a game that loads of us ZX Spectrum gamers asked to be in their Chistmas stocking.

Based on the legendary stories of English folk hero Robin Hood (I'm sure you all know how the story goes) Robin Of The Wood saw our hero battling with the evil sheriff of Nottingham and his Norman army.

The whole story to the game went along the lines of a special arrow which was made of solid silver and engraved with ancient characters and symbols - a shaft of power! The sheriff (boo!) had this arrow in his possesion, but didn't realise it was a magical arrow being the fool that he was. All he knew was that the peasant folk wanted it back.

In fact this arrow was the symbol of peaced and freedom to the Saxons - and more precious than any treasures or money.

It was with this special arrow that the sherriff wanted to draw our Robin (hooray!) out of the woods by offering it as the grand prize in an archery contest. The game was on.

You began the game on the day of the contest. The woods surrounding the sheriff's castle were teeming with his soldiers who were armed with crossbows and would shoot on site.

So - a couple of your merry men (Will Scarlett and 'Little John') had hidden some quivers of arrows around the forest for you to collect. Apart from the Norman soldiers, witches also inhabited the woods and would be grateful to you if you gave them certain flowers and plants for their potions.

You began the game armed only with a wooden staff (a quarterstaff) in the depths of sherwood forest. Before even thinking about gaining entrance to the sheriff's castle you had to seek out an ancient hermit who had in his posession your sword, your famous and trusty bow and three 'charmed' arrows. As Robin you had to give him bags of gold to trade for each item - and you needed the charmed arrows to enter the contest as they would prevent you from being recognised once inside the castle.

The game was split into three sections which were the forest, the castle dungeons and the castle courtyard. In the forest wild boars had to be avoided (as they caused injury) , the witches would help you (if you helped them by giving them the correct flowers) by whisking you to a new location, and the old hermit would heal you of any injuries as long as you dropped any weapons you were carrying.

If you were really unlucky you would run into the dreaded sheriff and he would send you straight to the dungeons. You could escape if you were holding the correct key....

Once you had obtained all the weapons and infiltrated your way into the castle you were able to enter the tournament and win the magic arrow. The three 'charmed' arrows safeguarded you against being recognised by the Sheriff, but once the last magic arrow had been fired you would quickly be spotted and had to escape before getting caught.

Throughout the game your status was displayed at the bottom of the screen, such as health (represented by a pair of antlers which changed colour according to your energy level) and any objects you were carrying. If Robin's wounds became too severe, he died and the game was over. This was the only life you had at the beginning of the game - extra lives had to be obtained.

On Release:
Spectrum gamers had been impressed with Nodes of Yesod and this new software house Odin delivered again. Robin of the Wood was an impressive ZX Spectrum game - the lush locations, use of colour and character animation were all top notch. Despite it being compared to Ultimate's Sabre Wulf (the forest locations did look a little similar) praise was high and Odin had another hit on their hands. Robin of the Wood was a good game that had the right mix of action and puzzle solving combined with overall style.

The test of time:
Well playing this one again really brought back some memories. The game is of course dated but if you look with your 'retro eyes' you can really see how good this game was back then. Once you begin gathering items like your bow and sword the game opens up a fair bit. Odin are another sofware house that perhaps don't get the recognition they deserve.

Here in ZX Spectrum Games we reckon you should give Robin of the Wood a go - it's a cool retro arcade adventure game.

Don a Michael Praed type wig and... Everything I do....

Please see our other ZX Spectrum game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.

GENRE: Arcade adventure
RELEASE DATE: End of 1985
RELEASED BY: Odin Software
DEVELOPER(S): Odin Software
PRICE: £9.95 - UK

Robin clonks a few heads in sherwood forest in Robin Of The Wood on ZX Spectrum Games: