Adventure Island 3 (NES review)

Developer: Now Production
Publisher: Hudson Soft
Released: 1992

Adventure Island 3 is an action-platformer and the sequel to 1991's NES title Adventure Island II.

+ Controls and gameplay feel as good as ever, and the level design features some fiendish layouts to test your skills.

+ Some fun boss battles, and the option to choose a playable dinosaur before each stage gives you a ton of flexibility.

+ Addition of triceratops character is a blast and being able to spin in mid-air is helpful for getting out of tricky situations.

- Minor graphical spruce-up with more background texture detail, and the overworld map makes the adventure seem grand.

- Very little in the way of series innovation and everything feels like Adventure Island 2.5 than a real sequel.

- New boomerang weapon is vastly inferior to the axe, as it leaves you in jeopardy and unable to fire until it returns.

- Difficulty spikes much quicker than the previous game, and many of the same jingles have been ported over.