Brian was a happy-go-lucky sort of Viking child living in a typical Viking village. When his master said "Go and get some herbs from the forest" he did it with a whistle in his throat and a smile on his face.

Little did he know that, whilst he was away watching bunny rabbits gambol and frolic, his whole village was razed to the ground by a wandering whirlwind. His family and friends were all whipped off to Valhalla where Loki (Mr Bad Guy) was feeding them prison food.

In tears, he saw a vision of Odin, who reassured him that all was not lost. An oracle prophesised that Brian would rescue his chums and give that terrible trickster, Loki, a good biffing.

First, though, he's got to rid the land of all evil. There are shops and secret passages and hidden gems to help him, but the one thing Brian's relying on most is you.

There are only a couple of things wrong with Prophecy 1: the main character's movement is a tad too slow and there's a bit too much disk-swapping. It plays like a hybrid of Wonderboy and Super Mario Bros. without quite achieving the playability of either.

Despite these drawbacks it's a very enjoyable game - the graphics are colourful with some great cutesy touches and the sound is jolly enough. There's plenty of variety in the gameplay to keep you hooked: it's very much an old-style arcade adventure, with the emphasis squarely on fun. The difficulty level is about right, too - the first stage is a pretty simple affair with some annoying enemies; but after that things get really tough - and there's a handy password system to fend off boredom.

The best part, though, is that you can play the same level again and again and still discover secrets you missed the last time. What that kind of hidden depth and plenty of lands to tackle, it'll be a long time before you get bored.