Return of the Warriors Is An Effective, If Unambitious Resurrection of a Classic Indeed, as you finally unravel the attack patterns of a boss, exposing their weakness, the feeling of gratification is both palpable and moresome – the reliable replication of such thrills proving to be an compelling hook to ensure you see Return of the Warriors through to its end. Picking up objects in the environment and holding them aloft before you throw them at your enemies provides a second or so of temporary invulnerability, just one more element that can be folded into your offensive arsenal.Īrguably though, nowhere is the feeling of satisfaction more distilled, more pure, than when you down one of the game’s challenging bosses. Likewise, more nuances of Return of the Warriors deceptively deep combat system become apparent later on in the game.
Sure enough, you have your single hit grunts that can be defeated easily, but soon enough more capable enemies come onto scene, boasting different attack patterns which must be reckoned with in addition to their combination with other enemy types. Speaking of challenging encounters, Return of the Warriors cast of enemies prove to be a varied lot, each requiring their own bespoke strategy. The bosses in Return of the Warriors are hugely challenging affairs that reward patience and skill in equal measure The kicker here though is that the battery meter, though constantly recharging, can be interrupted if the player suffers damage – enforcing a surprisingly nuanced level of strategy as you seek to maintain a battery charge for a challenging encounter at some point later on. Where things gets a little more sophisticated is when we take into account how the batteries which power these murderous robots figure into things.Ĭonstantly recharging, the batteries fastened within the mechanical shell of each of these robots allows them to unleash a screen clearing explosion, or, a quick press up on the directional pad makes our resident murder bot unleash a ranged attack which only needs the bar to be partially charged to be accomplished. There is further nuance to Return of the Warrior’s sideways retro violence too, as items in the environment can be tossed at enemy foes (as can you also throw your adversaries at one another), while explosive elements, such as gas canisters and so on, can be used to inflict huge damage on a group of foes. Combat is pleasingly simple – you can attack, link up offensive combos, throw enemies if you’re close enough and perform flying kicks and the like.