Keith Courage in Alpha Zones

~ KEITH COURAGE IN ALPHA ZONES ~

Hudson Soft / NEC

HuCard

1989

Being that KC was my first Turbo game, I was pretty excited to give it a try back in '89. Ten minutes into my first session with it, I'd already determined that it was no good, and I started playing The Legendary Axe instead. I didn't get around to beating KC until a long time after that, simply because it was a game I never really felt like playing. But as middling as it is, it gradually made its way over to my good side as time passed.

KC's flaws have been discussed ad nauseam. I like to nauseate people, so I'll do a recap. It feels terribly repetitive, whether you're grinding for cash by fighting beanie-wearing midgets and flying cats during the overworld sections or wandering around in the every-path-looks-the-same underworld areas. Also annoying are the slow gameplay in said overworld sections and the inevitable blind leaps into spike pits in said underworld areas.

But enough about that stuff; let's do something different for a Keith Courage article and focus on the game's positive traits:

The "donning the suit" sequence. Everyone knows this rules.

The basic concept itself is awesome: a goofy guy bumbles around a wacky overworld until he puts on a mecha-like suit, pulls out a lightsaber, and battles his way through a dark, maze-like underworld.

The gun guy. One of the best enemies in Turbo history, without a doubt.

Actually, many of the enemies, particularly the bosses, look pretty darn cool, even though they fight like chumps.

There's also the flashing title screen, which got me all pumped up for 16-bit gaming the first time I'd witnessed it. The track that plays during that flashy opening is quite cool, as is the eerie boss-battle tune, and some of the sound effects are incredibly dynamic. And let's not forget the note at the end that advises us to watch for a NEXT KEITH COURAGE ADVENTURE. Man, I'm psyched for that.