The Immortal was a classic game that has a strong reputation on consoles and computers, albeit not as much on the NES. QUBye Games released a collection of the game’s versions under the name QUByte Classics – The Immortal by PIKO, and while that name is a handful, the games have much to offer. The collection contains two versions of the game The Immortal, labelled as 8-bit and 16-bit, or to be more specific, the NES and Mega Drive/Genesis versions.
The Immortal sees you take control of a wizard who is journeying into a dungeon to rescue their mentor. What is to be found within the dungeon is death in many ways, specifically traps that you may trigger and enemies that can overwhelm you very quickly. This game originally by William Harvey, is notorious for its difficulty and that is preserved in this collection, and it is important to remember that this is not a story-driven game but rather an isometric action-adventure title with RPG mechanics.
The Immortal is full of traps everywhere and it will have you feeling paranoid at times as you try to survive, but there is also a surprising amount of humour to be found within. Some of the deaths are actually kind of hilarious, but this is a trial-and-error game and you will gradually learn the process and overcome the frustration.
There is a bit of exploration to do, along with finding new items and equipment to use, and it does help give the game some more weight. The NPCs you can come across can give some help and good advice, but these are not the major points of the game. Where the RPG elements come into play is the combat and that is where the game truly struggles.
The Immortal uses a pseudo-turn-based RPG approach as you mostly fight goblins and other enemies, but the pacing of battles is off. Yes, you can attack and dodge, and use spells and occasionally a fatal strike, but it never feels polished. It never feels fun and ends up detracting from the main game more than anything else.
As for the different versions, the 8-bit NES version is incredibly dated even for the time it was released and pushed the NES as far as it could. It struggles with battle animations and the difficulty feels harder than it needs to be. The 16-bit Genesis/Mega Drive version has a much better flow and gameplay and manages to feel far more playable, but still has the same problem with combat being poorly paced and a poorly thought-out system.
QUByte Classics – The Immortal by PIKO is an interesting re-release of a retro title with a mixed reputation. The game had a mixed reputation even at the time of release but there is something interesting here. This is a good game for a spooky occasion and does manage to replicate the original console versions very well, but the issue is that The Immortal is just not a must-play title but a niche game that is more for hardcore players. If you fall into the latter category, then this is perfect for you, but if you just want to play classics, maybe look elsewhere.
