Play Lagoon Online

Lagoon came out for the Super Nintendo in 1991, a time when the console was just starting to show what it could do. It was published by Kemco, and it fit right in with other early action RPGs that were trying to capture that top down adventure feel. You could tell developers were experimenting with how to build these worlds on the new hardware.

You control the hero Nasir, a knight armed with a sword that has a surprisingly short reach. Your main goal is to recover the four Essences of Spirit to save the world of Lakeland. The game is built on screen by screen exploration; each new screen loads as you cross the border, which makes the world feel segmented. Combat involves getting very close to enemies to land a hit, and you also find a bow for ranged attacks later on. You spend a lot of time delving into dungeons, solving simple block pushing puzzles, and fighting bosses to progress. The pacing can feel slow, and the difficulty comes from managing your health against groups of enemies in tight spaces. Playing it feels like a methodical trek through a brightly colored, sometimes unforgiving landscape.