Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril



""And here... we... go!""

Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril is an NES game by one-man operation Sivak Games. The gameplay is basically an honest version of I Wanna Be the Guy (i.e, all the Platform Hell challenge of the original, minus the infamous out-of-nowhere surprises and Trial and Error Gameplay) with heavy Metroidvania elements. It uses an eight-character password for continuing (unless you're on one of the difficulty levels that don't let you continue). It boasts "over 550 rooms, more than 30 enemy types, and 8 bosses" standing between you and victory.

The plot is as follows: You are Timmy, a One-Hit-Point Wonder Kid Hero tasked with infiltrating the Fortress of Il'Akab, also known as the eponymous Fortress of Peril (due to all the traps and defenses and such, naturally,) in order to prevent a Humongous Mecha from being built.

One of the more notable things about Battle Kid is that, while a demo version exists as a freely available ROM, the full game is currently available only in the form of an actual NES cartridge sold by RetroZone, complete with multi-region lockout chip, manual and dust sleeve (but no box). Sivak has stated that there would be no ROM, WiiWare release, or anything like that so long as he is under contract with RetroZone, though that hasn't stopped a few fans from openly wondering what will happen after the contract expires.

...Or dumping the rom and publishing it on emulation sites.

The product page is here, though it tends to sell out quickly and thus be "temporarily unavailable". A lot.

Also, a sequel is in the works.

This game provides examples of:
 * A Wizard Did It: Wizards constructed the Fortress of Peril and its defenses long ago.
 * Boss Rush: An extra, timed challenge accessed via a password given for beating the game on Hard difficulty.
 * Bonus Dungeon: There are two of them. Both are accessed using a password.
 * The first one is a very tough level for beating the game on Very Hard difficulty. It also has a Bonus Boss.
 * The other one, which is exclusive to version 1.100, is a shorter level that was meant to be a time attack for the Screw Attack Gaming Convention's tournament.
 * Black Bead Eyes: Timmy during gameplay.
 * Captain Ersatz: Amethyst Angel (the sixth boss) isn't just similar to Star Sapphire, she's identical.
 * Double Jump: This is a powerup collected later in the game.
 * Easy Mode Mockery: Easy mode starts you with an item that doubles your damage and turns your suit bright pink. Said item is also in the other difficulties, but you need to find the Bonus Dungeon and clear it to get it.
 * Expy: Timmy is The Kid, sans cape.
 * Everything Trying to Kill You
 * Fake Difficulty: Surprisingly averted, given its major sources of inspiration. It's stupidly hard, but honest.
 * Fanfare: Plays after beating any boss.
 * Flip Screen Scrolling
 * Hand Wave: Timmy's mentor, Dr. Byers, constructed the suit he uses as a prototype after reverse-engineering some of the technology the Wizards left behind in the Fortress of Peril. It can be upgraded, but she couldn't quite figure out the technology behind the upgrade cards to make any herself. However, it should still be compatible with any preexisting upgrade cards Timmy happens to find within the fortress. She never mass-produced the suits because the drawback to their being so lightweight is that they offer very little, if any actual protection. And that is why you are a One-Hit-Point Wonder who infiltrates the Fortress of Peril by himself, and why you start with nothing but can conveniently find upgrades in the very fortress you're trying to infiltrate. This is perhaps the closest you will find to a legitimate story explanation for the various Metroidvania gameplay mechanics in the entire genre, so just roll with it.
 * Harder Than Hard: "Normal" gives you one hit point, infinite continues and access to passwords (think I Wanna Be the Guy). Modes above that disable the password feature and give you a finite amount of continues, up to "Unfair", which only grants you a single life (much like IWBTG's "Impossible").
 * In Case of Boss Fight Break Glass: The Final Boss battle with the Supermech.
 * Kid Hero
 * Metroidvania: Definitely. It has everything, down to the large map, powerups, areas you can't enter without said powerups, teleporters to assist in the backtracking, and so on.
 * Multiple Endings
 * My Name Is Question Marks: The three figures at the beginning of the game.
 * Nintendo Hard: It's an honest I Wanna Be the Guy. Woe unto any player who confuses "rooms actually are what they appear to be at first glance" with "easy".
 * One-Hit-Point Wonder
 * Oxygen Meter: A 90 second timer used in water until an item is found that allows you to breathe underwater.
 * Point of No Return: After entering the teleporter to the final area.
 * Respawning Enemies: Enemies will always be reset when returning to a room.
 * Retraux: An NES game complied and released in February/March 2010. Good heavens.
 * Sequel Hook: The Big Bad is apprehended, but his cohorts remain at large.
 * Sound Test: An extra, accessed via a password for beating the game on Normal difficulty.
 * Spikes of Doom: Lots.
 * It tends to use spike balls more, though.
 * Spiritual Successor: To I Wanna Be the Guy.
 * Stationary Boss: Most of them.
 * Super-Deformed: All of the characters, even in cutscenes.
 * The sequel uses Graphics Induced Super Deformed instead.
 * Time Stands Still: The seventh boss can freeze time.
 * Truth Serums: In the good ending,.
 * Underwater Boss Battle: There are two of them.
 * Unique Enemy: Limes only appear on two screens in the whole game.
 * Walk, Don't Swim: Underwater physics simply involve higher jumping.