Rygar

Rygar is a video game created by Tecmo in 1986 and originally released for arcades in Japan as Warrior of Argus. It is a scrolling platform game where the player assumes the role as the 'Legendary Warrior', battling through a hostile landscape. The main feature of gameplay is using a weapon called the 'Diskarmor', a shield with a long chain attached to it.

The arcade game begins with the following introduction:

4.5 billion years have passed since Earth's creation. Many dominators have ruled in all their glory, but time was their greatest enemy and it defeated their reign. And now a new dominator's reign begins...

Information gleaned from console manuals reveals that the evil being Ligar has taken over the land of Argool, and Rygar, a dead warrior who has risen from his grave, must use his Diskarmor, along with a variety of other weapons, to stop him. In console versions clues and limited dialogue are given in the form of large, sage-like men encountered in stone green temples throughout the game.

In the Japanese original, references to 'Ligar' and 'Rygar' are one and the same because the Roman syllables 'Li' and 'Ry' come from the same Japanese character. In this version, the hero is only referred to as 'The Legendary Warrior', while both 'Rygar' and 'Ligar' refer to the main villain.

The player sends the title character (who did not have a proper name in the Japanese version) through a number of fantastic settings with the ultimate goal of defeating the evil King Ligar in order to restore peace to the realm of Argool (Argus in the Japanese version). To accomplish this goal, Rygar/the Warrior must visit five Indora gods who present him with essential items needed for completion of the game. Each of the Indora gods is located in a different realm, and is almost always guarded by a boss. The player can choose the order in which some stages are played, but since certain items are required to reach new areas, choices are somewhat limited. After playing through the five major realms of the game, he must journey to King Ligar's flying castle for the final confrontation.

'Ligar' (the final boss) can also be romanized as Rygar because in Japanese there is no distinction between 'l' and 'r,' but the name is written with the syllable ra in katakana. The central player character is only known as senshi (the Warrior) in the Japanese version.