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Hercules Game Review

Hercules is a 1997 platform video game published by Disney Interactive for the PC. It is one of the better Disney game adaptations out there.

This game received and continues to get mediocre critical reception. Critics accuse it of being too derivative of 2D platformers from the previous generation with not enough new additions to make it seem fresh. While I can certainly get where they are coming from, I still mostly disagree and I find this game to be an true delight.

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“What are you doin’? Get your sword!“

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First off, this is one of my absolute childhood favorites, a game that I played countless times as a kid and a rare one that I beat due to that password system. Basically, you collect these vases in each level and if you collect enough, you get a password for the next level. It was a terrific system that wasn’t done a whole lot often in other games, but it makes sense to combine the passwords with the collecting items elements into one satisfactory package.

Going back to the game as an adult, I could certainly see some flaws that I hadn’t been realized before, but I still find it to be a joy to play. I blasted through each of the ten levels and I wanted more as the game is way too short with half of the levels being too brisk while the remaining half were satisfyingly large and littered with stuff to do.

Although released in the 32-bit era, Hercules plays out as your standard Sega Genesis game from the 16-bit era. This is the main contention between reviewers, but because I adore the aforementioned games, I found that choice a fantastic one. This is a rare game from the era that actually incorporated both of those elements. For instance, there are numerous pathways and/or stairs to take that will take you basically to the third dimension.

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These 3D elements not only worked, but they were seamlessly integrated into the overall graphics of the game, making it look both polished and timeless. Because the sprites and the polygons were so effortlessly combined, Hercules ended up being one of the games that aged best coming from this period.

The characters also looked just as they did in the movie itself and the voice acting is taken directly from the film. Listening to so many iconic lines of dialogue while you play this platformer made me smile with joy. Couple that with terrific sound and a fabulous soundtrack lifted from the source material and you’ve got one phenomenal adaptation that was wonderfully complimentary to that underrated flick. The story is also repeated as every cutscene is taken from the picture. Just the fact that you get to play all of the most famous plot points and scenes from this Disney classic made this a must play for any Disney fan out there.

There are ten levels in this game, of which three are rush levels, meaning that you have to run forward without being able to stop until the very end. Those added some needed variety to the whole experience. Health items come in the form of action figures and drinks bearing the titular name, which was again a phenomenal reference to one funny scene in the movie. It is so wonderful to see so many things from the movie recreated so beautifully here.

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You can punch enemies, but that is actually a very weak attack that requires you to come too close to an enemy, leaving you vulnerable. Punching is much better used in the form of kicking rocks etc. The main weapon is actually the sword and it’s very cool to use and a lot of fun. There are three power-ups in the game (Sonic, Lightning and Fireball Sword), but those are too difficult to juggle and control for me, so I mostly ended up using just the same old regular sword. The helmet granting you limited invincibility was a nice touch.

My favorite part of replaying Hercules as an adult was finally embarking on a quest to 100 percent complete it and get every single letter in all levels. You see, there are hidden letters scattered around most levels that, when collected, will spell the word Hercules. As somebody who loves to collect things in games, this was a very fun aspect to this platformer that gave it a huge replay value. I even had to go back to some levels again after missing some letters as they were so cleverly hidden. The highlights for me were the letters hidden on tree trunks and those hidden inside huge rocks that you have to break first before plunging in for those letters.

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Let’s talk about the levels. Your Basic D.I.D. is the most nostalgic level of the bunch for me as I remember playing it as a kid multiple times. This is where Phil is shouting at you, giving you instructions, and he worked great as a tutorial guide. This level is quite easy with only those pesky birds being an annoyance, but the letters themselves were so well hidden here.

The Hero’s Gauntlet is a rush level that was so enjoyable to play through. It’s a wonderfully nostalgic late 90s 3D platforming level that is still so much fun to play. Centaur’s Forest is definitely the most visually gorgeous level in the game. The forest landscapes were stunning and fighting the centaurs was quite interesting as they required a special mechanic to beat them as do most of the bosses in the game. The letters were cleverly hidden inside the trees here.

The Big Olive is another wonderful level and these two are by far the biggest levels in the game. This one is absolutely huge. It’s so grandiose, in fact, that it fittingly enough felt as if I went to the city of Thebes myself. Climbing the stairs and finding the letters was so fun here and the enemies were solid too. Next were Hydra Canyon and Medusa’s Lair. My issue with boss levels in this game is that they were way too easy to beat, and thus anti-climactic. Bosses should be the hardest levels, not the other way around. These two featured interesting mechanics for sure and they were well conceived visually, but I beat them way too fast.

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Cyclops Attack is another thrilling rush level that is so well designed and well executed from the graphics to the hidden levels to the enemies spread in dangerous positions. Titan Flight is by far the hardest level of the entire game. It’s difficult enough to finish it off without the letters, but with those cleverly hidden letters it was even more imposing. How well they incorporated the elements into this level with each titan being different was wonderful. Passageway of Eternal Torment is a pretty good, though least memorable rush level here. As for Vortex of Souls, it’s by far the worst level in the game as Hades was ridiculously easy to beat. This was a throwaway boss fight unfortunately.