Milon’s Secret Castle Review

Milon’s Secret Castle is an adventure title from Hudson that strives to walk in The Legend of Zelda‘s footsteps. You play as Milon, who must explore Castle Garland and defeat the evil Warlord Maharito to rescue the Queen. Not exactly an original storyline, and quite honestly that’s just the beginning of this game’s problems. With obtuse level design, nearly impossible challenges, and a drab presentation, this is one you’ll want to avoid at all costs.

Milon is outfitted only with blue pajamas and a magic bubble, which serves as his weapon. The outer castle has doors you can enter and inside you’ll find rooms filled with enemies, money, items, and secrets. Once you’re done exploring a room, you must locate the hidden key and the hidden exit door to leave. Shooting bubbles at blocks will reveal the items that you need.

Despite appearing like a game for children, this is one of the most difficult and infuriating games I’ve ever played. You have a health bar, but it is fairly easy to be killed by the common enemies while trying to locate the hidden secrets. There are no continues or save points until you defeat the first boss. Worst of all, it took me several hours and the assistance of friends to even figure out how to get past the first floor of the four-story castle. Each subsequent room you explore the mazes, enemies, and secrets grow more impossible.

The music is terrible, despite it being the subject of the game’s story. The graphics are subpar and downright ugly in spots. The sprites are tiny and there’s little interesting to see inside the rooms. The lack of variety astonishes especially when you compare the game to the latest from other third-party licensees. The box art is misleading and it looks like it would be a brilliant game for younger gamers, but no child could figure this game out and would hate it after playing for five minutes. Finally, Milon has to be one of the lamest heroes in recent memory, and that’s saying something.

A big part of what makes Metroid, Rygar, and The Legend of Zelda so great are discovering the secrets and deciphering puzzles. Unfortunately all of Milon’s Secret Castle is one giant boring secret. It’s far too frustrating to generate any fun at all.

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Aaron Conwell

Aaron got his NES in 1991 and has loved and collected video games ever since. In addition to gaming, he enjoys Stephen King novels, Twins Baseball, and his cats.