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Armed with his spinning razor disk, Rygar is on an endless journey of violence and destruction across a horizontally scrolling landscape. The disc is swung in any direction to kill attackers, whose deadly touch eliminates one of Rygar's five lives. Occasionally bottomless pits are encountered, and are jumped over.

The action is split into levels, and Rygar has a fixed time limit to reach the end of each. If the timer expires, an indestructible monster appears and pursues Rygar at speed. Extra time is gained by picking up bonuses throughout the level, and bonus points, 'smart bombs' and extra lives are collected in similar fashion.

Sometimes, one of five magical icons appears, and is collected to improve Rygar's destructive powers and increase his bonus score at the end of a level.

Having seen Rygar in the arcades, it made me wonder just what had happened during the 'conversion' process. Gone are the startling backdrops and the animation, leaving us with a simple and totally forgettable Ghosts 'N Goblins variant.

The action is hectic, but repetitive, while the graphics are unimpressive, with ill-defined sprites, badly detailed backdrops and gaudy use of colour. On the gameplay side, it's merely a question of stamina before the game is completed - a task that hardly sets the pulses racing. It's not that the game is rubbish, but what does Rygar offer that we haven't seen many times before?

The latest conversion from US Gold isn't disastrously bad, it's just totally bland. It doesn't look impressive, and both the background graphics and sprites lack definition and clarity.

The gameplay is enjoyable at first, and offers quite a challenge, but after a while, it all gets a bit tedious - there's very little variety in the action, and consequently the appeal wears off quite quickly.

Mind you, the same can be said about the arcade game - which is no great shakes. Rygar fans will probably find the conversion enjoyable, but on the whole it can't be called an essential purchase.

Presentation 78%
Plenty of useful options, but a long-winded message has to be endured at the start of every game.

Graphics 52%
Gaudy backdrops, and the sprites lack definition.

Sound 68%
A lively, if unimaginative tune, with some good sound effects during the game.

Hookability 63%
Very straightforward, but not overly exciting action.

Lastability 48%
Although the game is tough, it doesn't really proffer much fun.

Overall 57%
Not the greatest of conversions, but it does hold a challenge.