Project Rygar First Impressions

TOKYO--Who's got the biggest, baddest, swingiest shield of them all? Why, Rygar, of course. The burly hero who tore up enemies with his weird chain/discus/shield weapon on the original NES back in the late 1980s (and the PlayStation 2 in 2002's Rygar: The Legendary Adventure) is looking to make a comeback of sorts with Project Rygar, the working title for Tecmo's just-announced action adventure game.

Details on the game are few at this point, and the only peek we have into the game came from a few slides of concept art showing the main character (denoted as a "new hero" in the video) and various enemies. From the art, it's easy to see that the game's hero will look bigger and more menacing than the Rygar of old--he was sporting multiple tattoos, white spiky hair, and a goatee. In addition, the concept art showed the hero wielding a familiar shield weapon. New details on how you'll actually use that weapon weren't discussed, but the brief video shown about the game promised "new swing action" (which makes sense, considering the game is on the Wii). We'll have to wait and see how that works into the game as we learn more about it in the coming months.

As for the other characters shown, one included a malevolent-looking warrior adorned in red armor and carrying a large spear, and another who was even bigger than the first, with more intricate armor and an armored mask that gave no hint as to the face underneath. Obviously there's much more to learn about Project Rygar's new hero, the foes he will face, and how the game will play, and we'll be keeping you informed of the game's progress in the coming months.