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This is another great game design from Trevor Storey, drawing on Rastan Saga and Barbarian II. Achim Volkers was on coding duty, while Saul Cross provided music and sound effects. Jason Mackenzie at Psytronik helped design the packaging and put together the amazing Collector's Edition.

A wraith from times long past is sending forth its legions of the damned to every corner of our world to end all life. As one of two descendants of the Warriors of Light you must seek out and defeat this ancient threat. The game is split into horizontally-scrolling levels, with the chosen character climbing ropes, jumping over spike-filled pits and fighting monsters. Breaking marker stones reveals a magic emblem, and collecting enough will give the player a single magic smart bomb (by holding down the fire button).

Magic will not work against the large bosses, giant heads that shoot magic beams. The player must work out how to defeat them. Beating a boss can leave behind a stronger weapon.

As the player defeats enemies, they gain experience. After a set number of kills the player will level up, increasing and refilling their energy bar. The levels fit together in a map, and barriers prevent progress. The player must find gems to unlock each barrier.

The player can also re-visit open levels to gain extra experience. Completing the game opens up a Challenge Mode, in which you must beat all fifteen levels in order and conquer the final boss to receive the second ending.

This is a good-looking game, with impressive hero (and heroine) sprites and plenty of variety in the backgrounds. Each level feels distinctive and immersive. The boss encounters add a lot more to the gameplay and are fun to beat.

Levelling up is a neat idea, as is the way magic is gathered. I did enjoy working out how to beat the game – and Challenge Mode gives even more gameplay. Saul Cross provides a winning soundtrack, with several impressive medieval-sounding tunes and decent sound FX.

The levels are quite short, with some nasty places where attacking enemies make jumping even trickier. Defeating bosses relies so much on timing that it can be galling to miss again and again.

Once Challenge Mode has been conquered there is no great incentive to return.

A muscle-bound adventure that gives you a real good, old-fashioned retro gaming hack 'n slash challenge