Hudson’s Adventure Island
Introduction
Hudson’s Adventure Island was developed and published by Hudson Soft, released on the NES in 1988 as a loose adaptation of Sega’s 1986 arcade game Wonder Boy, reworked with an original cast and story after Hudson lost the rights to use Sega’s characters directly. Players control Master Higgins, a shirtless island adventurer racing left to right on foot across tropical stages, hurling axes at enemies while collecting fruit to keep a constantly draining vitality meter topped up, since running out of fruit for too long causes Higgins to age rapidly and die. Skateboards found scattered through levels let players speed through stages at a much faster, riskier pace, while hidden eggs revealed helpful items or hostile creatures when cracked open. Its relentless side-scrolling pace, punishing vitality mechanic, and famously high difficulty made it one of the more demanding platformers on the NES, yet its colorful visuals and catchy soundtrack helped it become a commercial hit that launched Hudson Soft’s long-running Adventure Island series across multiple sequels and platforms.
