Ardy Lightfoot

Ardy Lightfoot (アルディライトフット) is a platform game released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993 in Japan and 1994 in the west. It was developed by ASCII and published by Titus France in North America and Europe.

Gameplay


Ardy Lightfoot is a side-scrolling platform game where you can control title character anthropomorphic fox Ardy and his best friend, a blue creature named Pec, who can be used as a weapon, or can take the role of various other helpful devices like a hot air balloon or rock wall destroyer. If Ardy is hit by an enemy, Pec will disappear, and can only be retrieved by finding a chest. If Ardy is without his best friend, he can still attack by bouncing on his tail. He can also protect himself temporarily by hiding behind a clear mirror.

Plot
The sacred rainbow has shattered into seven crystal pieces, and it is up to Ardy to obtain them all. Whoever collects all seven crystal pieces will receive a wish. The evil King Visconti has already gotten one crystal piece, and he is searching for the other pieces. To this end, he sends out his followers, including Beecroft, Catry and many others. Ardy is assisted by friends along the way, like the unnamed elder, Nina, and a mysterious adventurer named Don Jacoby.

Although the ending screen says "To be continued", no sequel was ever made.

Development and release
When Titus published Ardy Lightfoot for North American audiences, several changes were introduced. These included numerous sprites, such as Ardy's "waiting" pose, being removed; tied up and crying animals being removed from the background on the forest level; and in level 6, "Eaten!", Catry's gruesome death by acid was written out of the plot; instead of being reduced to a pile of bones, she is merely knocked unconscious.

Reception
Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game for its huge levels, numerous character abilities, and impressive bosses, but warned prospective buyers that a great deal of patience is required, due to the game's extremely high difficulty. They scored it a 7.2 out of 10. GamePro gave it a positive review, as well, citing the varied gameplay and cartoony and colorful graphics. Super Play gave the game an overall score of 83% praising the graphics, animation and sound.