Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise

From Sega Retro

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  • NTSC-U/PAL
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AztecAdventure title.png

AztecAdventure JP title.png

Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise
System(s): Sega Master System
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (JP, EU), Sega of America (US)
Developer:
Distributor: Tonka (US), Tec Toy (BR)
Peripherals supported: FM Sound Unit
Genre: Action[1]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Master System
JP
¥5,0005,000 G-1335
Sega Master System
US
5100
Sega Master System
EU
MK-5100-50
Sega Master System
UK
£22.9522.95[4] MK-5100-50
Sega Master System
AU
5100
Sega Master System
MX
Sega Master System
BR
Sega Master System
KR
GB-1335

Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise, known as Nazca '88 (ナスカ'88) in Japan, is an action game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Master System. The setting of the game was changed from Nazca, which is in Peru, to Aztec, which is in Mexico, for the Western world. This may have been because people are more familiar with the Aztec civilisation than the Nazca. Elements of the original culture, including the Nazca Lines, can still be seen.

Story

The player assumes the role of El Niño, an adventurer in search of paradise.

Gameplay

Aztec Adventure, Adventurers.png

Adventurers

The game is an action game with an overhead perspective. Niño explores ten different lands, including desert, marshes, ruins, underground waterways, and forests. In each round, he must find and defeat special enemies called demons before finding the exit. The player is shown which demons to defeat and how many of them appear before the round starts. These demons are bigger and stronger than regular enemies. The exit door does not open until all demons have been defeated.

Niño moves in any direction with the D-Pad. He is armed with a sword, and extra weapons and items can be picked up from defeated enemies. He uses his weapon with 2. His sword can defeat enemies as well as their projectiles. He can cycle through his different weapons with 1. Niño uses his sword when no special weapon is selected. All of the weapons besides the swords are finite in supply. The last weapon varies depending on the round being played; it appears as a question mark in the inventory until the player finds one. Demons can be defeated with Niño's sword but also have vulnerabilities to particular special weapons.

Some enemies can hired with money to join Niño. He can collect money bags and throw them at these enemies to bribe them. They follow him and fight for him until they are killed. The more powerful the companion, the more money he requires to join the Niño.

Niño has a health meter that goes down as he takes damage from enemies and hazards (such as rivers). Niño loses a life if he runs out of health but starts over at the beginning of the round or at the location of the last demon defeated if he has extra lives left. The game ends if the player runs out of lives. Wishing Wells appear in rounds and heal Niño if he throws money bags into them, and the player can earn extra lives by defeating Ranbaike enemies.

Companions

These enemies can be bribed to join Niño. They are armed with swords but can also mirror one of Niño's special attacks when he uses them.

Aztec Adventure, Characters.png
Papi
A bird that has money bags. He can be bribed with 1 money bag.
Aztec Adventure, Characters.png
Pupe
A cat that has iron balls. He can be bribed with 2 money bags.
Aztec Adventure, Characters.png
Poh
A dog that has spears. He can be bribed with 4 money bags.
Aztec Adventure, Characters.png
Lady
A rabbit who cannot be recruited but tries to kidnap Pupe and freeze Poh when they are following Niño. She cannot be harmed by weapons but can be bribed to leave.

Objects

Aztec Adventure, Objects.png
Wishing Well
Throwing money into the well summons a goddess to heal Niño. Throwing any other item into the well makes the goddess angry and does not heal.
Aztec Adventure, Objects.png
Exit
Completes the round. The exit does not open until all of the demons have been defeated.

Items

Niño can carry up to 8 of each item. The item inventory is not carried over to the next round.

Aztec Adventure, Items.png
Money
Money can be used to bribe certain enemies into fighting alongside Niño. It can also be thrown into Wishing Wells to heal Niño.
Aztec Adventure, Items.png
Iron Ball
A projectile attack that flies in a straight line.
Aztec Adventure, Items.png
Spear
A projectile attack that flies in a straight line and pierces through multiple targets.
Aztec Adventure, Items.png
4-Directional Iron Balls
Shoots four iron balls in the four cardinal directions. It can hurt some enemies that cannot be harmed by regular iron balls.
Aztec Adventure, Items.png
Fireball
Burns down certain plants to open new paths. It can also burn flower enemies. Only found in Forest rounds.
Aztec Adventure, Items.png
Boots
Temporarily allows Niño and his companions to walk on water. Only found in Underground Waterway rounds.
Aztec Adventure, Items.png
Tornado
Whirls around and attacks enemies. It is the only weapon that can harm the ant hill enemies. Only found in Desert rounds.
Aztec Adventure, Items.png
Lightning
Temporarily makes Niño and his companions invincible. Only found in Marsh rounds.
Aztec Adventure, Items.png
Dynamite
Throws a bundle of dynamite, which destroys enemies in an area. It can be thrown over walls and other obstacles. Dynamite can be used to blow up moving walls. Only found in Ruins rounds.

Demons

Demons can be defeated by swords, but they are only vulnerable to one kind of special weapon. They must be defeated to advance to the next round.

Aztec Adventure, Demons.png
Monster Flower
Vulnerable to fireballs. Appears in the Forest rounds.
Aztec Adventure, Demons.png
Bat
Vulnerable to spears. Appears in the Underground Waterway rounds.
Aztec Adventure, Demons.png
Masked Rabbit
Vulnerable to tornadoes. Appears in the Desert rounds.
Aztec Adventure, Demons.png
Waterman
Vulnerable to spears. Appears in the Marsh rounds.
Aztec Adventure, Demons.png
Rock Lion
Vulnerable to dynamite. Appears in the Ruins rounds.
Aztec Adventure, Demons.png
Ranbaike
Vulnerable to spears. The player receives an extra life for defeating this enemy. They spawn soldiers that are vulnerable to any weapon (except money bags). Appear in rounds 3, 5, 7, and 10.

Rounds

Aztec Adventure, Stage 1.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 1 Boss.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 1.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 1 Boss.png

Forest 1
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 2.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 2 Boss.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 2.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 2 Boss.png

Underground Waterway 1
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 3.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 3 Boss 1.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 3 Boss 2.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 3.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 3 Boss 1.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 3 Boss 2.png

Desert 1
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 4.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 4 Boss.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 4.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 4 Boss.png

Marshes 1
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 5.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 5 Boss 1.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 5 Boss 2.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 5.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 5 Boss 1.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 5 Boss 2.png

Ruins 1
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 6.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 6 Boss.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 6.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 6 Boss.png

Desert 2
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 7.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 7 Boss 1.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 7 Boss 2.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 7.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 7 Boss 1.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 7 Boss 2.png

Underground Waterway 2
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 8.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 8 Boss.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 8.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 8 Boss.png

Ruins 2
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 9.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 9 Boss.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 9.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 9 Boss.png

Forest 2
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 10.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 10 Boss 1.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 10 Boss 2.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 10.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 10 Boss 1.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 10 Boss 2.png

Marshes 2
Map: 1️⃣ 

Aztec Adventure, Stage 11.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 1.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 2.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 3.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 4.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 5.png

Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 6.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 11.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 1.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 2.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 3.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 4.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 5.png

  • Aztec Adventure, Stage 11 Boss 6.png

Phantoms' Shadows
Map: 1️⃣ 

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise
English (US) Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise
Japanese ナスカ'88 Nazca '88

Production credits

Source:
Uncredited


Hints

Magazine articles

Main article: Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
39
[7]
Complete Guide to Consoles (UK)
38
[8]
The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) PAL
38
[9]
Console XS (UK) PAL
70
[10]
The Games Machine (UK)
41
[11]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
38
[12]
S: The Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
68
[13]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
50
[14]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
70
[15]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
70
[16]
Sega Master System
52
Based on
10 reviews

Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise

Master System, JP
AztecAdventure JP cover.jpg
Cover
Nazca88 SMS JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Nazca88SMSJPManual.pdf
Manual
Master System, US
AztecAdventure US cover.jpg
Cover
AztecAdventure sms us cart.jpg
Cart
Aztecadventure sms us manual.pdf
Manual
Master System, EU
AztecAdventure EU cover.jpg
Cover
Aztec Adventure SMS EU Manual.pdf
Manual
Master System, EU (Sega®)
AztecAdventure SMS EU Box R.jpg
Cover
Master System, EU ("No Limits")
AztecAdventure EU nolimits cover.jpg
Cover
Master System, AU
AztecAdventure AU cover.jpg
Cover
AztecAdventure SMS AU Cart.jpg
Cart
Master System, AU (Hotline sticker)
AztecAdventure AU alt cover.jpg
Cover
AztecAdventure SMS AU Cart.jpg
Cart
Master System, BR
AztecAdventure SMS BR cover.jpg
Cover
AztecAdventure SMS BR Cart.jpg
Cart
AztecAdventure SMS BR Manual.pdf
Manual
Master System, MX

AztecAdventure MX box back.jpg

Master System, KR

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Master System
 ?
CRC32 ff614eb3
MD5 12ce04ff557a96add46f04b12b0d47cc
SHA-1 317775a17867530a8fe3a5b17b681d5ada351432
128kB Cartridge

References


Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise

AztecAdventure title.png

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