El Viento

From Sega Retro

For the 2023 aftermarket re-release, see El Viento (Retro-Bit).

n/a

  • NTSC-U
  • NTSC-J

ElViento MDTitleScreen.png

El Viento MDTitleScreen.png

El Viento
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Wolf Team (Japan), Renovation Products (US)
Developer:
Sound driver: Wolf Team sound driver
Genre: Action[1]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥8,5008,500 T-32063
Sega Mega Drive
US
$69.9969.99[3] 49136
Sega Mega Drive
FR
49136

El Viento (エル・ヴィエント) is a 1991 action platformer developed by Wolf Team for the Sega Mega Drive and published exclusively in the US and Japan by Renovation Products. The title is Spanish for "The Wind." It is the first game to be released in a loose trilogy completed by Earnest Evans and Anetto Futatabi.

A UK release, set to be distributed by Ubisoft for £44.99 in November 1991, was planned[4] but cancelled for unknown reasons. However, the Genesis version was officially distributed in France with an extra translated manual.[5]

Story

The story takes place in New York City during the late 1920s. Mad religious leader Henry intends to awaken the ancient and malevolent god Hastur. He plans to use the sorceress Restiana, who is descended from Hastur, as a sacrifice. He has led Restiana to believe that, rather than be sacrificed as part of the summoning ritual, she will come to possess the power of Hastur.

The Hastur cult is constructing a shrine to the dark god inside the (as yet incomplete) Empire State Building. They have hired the gangster Al Capone (Vincente DeMarcoto in the American localization) to kill the young Peruvian sorceress Annet Myer. Annet is also a descendant of Hastur and the only human capable of defeating him. Annet attempts to stop the cult from resurrecting Hastur.

Gameplay

El Viento, Cutscene.png

Annet and Restiana

The game is an action platformer. Annet can move around with Left and Right and jump with B. She can crouch with Down. She can perform a crouching dash by pressing Down-left+B or Down-right+B, which lets her pass over gaps. She can jump on top of obstacles by holding forward against the obstacle and pressing B. Her primary attack is throwing boomerangs with A. She has unlimited boomerangs and have multiple out at once. She can throw boomerangs while crouching or jumping. Her boomerangs are thrown horizontally but seek out targets and travel in any direction. They damage enemies and other destructibles when returning to Annet as well.

Annet can use several offensive spells, which are charged by holding C and fired by releasing it. The spell is more powerful the longer it is charged. Spells do more damage than her boomerang attacks and have different areas of effect that make them more suited to destroying certain enemies or obstacles. Casting spells expends her magic bar, which rapidly replenishes as long as she is not casting another spell. Annet starts with one spell and acquires four more over the course of the game. Each successive spell consumes more magic points to cast. The player can select a spell by holding C; the game cycles through the spells in order as long as she has enough magic points remaining.

Annet has a health bar, which is diminished as she takes damage from enemies or hazards. It can be replenished by finding items; it is also replenished at the start of each stage. Enemies also have health bars. The game uses the score as an experience gauge for Annet and extends her health and magic bars at certain thresholds. If Annet loses all of her life, the game ends, but it can be continued from the title screen as long as the player has continues remaining.

Each stage has multiple sections, culminating in a boss fight. The story is advanced through cutscenes after each stage. Earnest Evans appears briefly in cutscenes to assist Annet.

Spells

El Viento, Spells.png
Fireball
Shoots a fireball horizontally. Stronger than a boomerang.
El Viento, Spells.png
Water Current
Creates a water snake that moves along the ground.
El Viento, Spells.png
Wind Cutter
Creates a wave with a tall area of effect that travels horizontally.
El Viento, Spells.png
Explosion
Shoots a fireball that explodes and damages enemies in a large area after impact.
El Viento, Spells.png
Seeker Charges
Emits charges from Annet that seek out and destroy enemies automatically.

Items

El Viento, Items.png
Health
Replenishes a partial amount of health.
El Viento, Items.png
Spell
Teaches Annet a new spell.

Stages

El Viento, Stage 1-1.png

El Viento, Stage 1-2.png

El Viento, Stage 1-3.png

El Viento, Stage 1-4.png

  • El Viento, Stage 1-1.png

  • El Viento, Stage 1-2.png

  • El Viento, Stage 1-3.png

  • El Viento, Stage 1-4.png

Stage 1

El Viento, Stage 2-1.png

El Viento, Stage 2-2.png

El Viento, Stage 2-3.png

El Viento, Stage 2-4.png

  • El Viento, Stage 2-1.png

  • El Viento, Stage 2-2.png

  • El Viento, Stage 2-3.png

  • El Viento, Stage 2-4.png

Stage 2

El Viento, Stage 3-1.png

El Viento, Stage 3-2.png

El Viento, Stage 3-3.png

El Viento, Stage 3-4.png

  • El Viento, Stage 3-1.png

  • El Viento, Stage 3-2.png

  • El Viento, Stage 3-3.png

  • El Viento, Stage 3-4.png

Stage 3

El Viento, Stage 4-1.png

El Viento, Stage 4-2.png

El Viento, Stage 4-3.png

El Viento, Stage 4-4.png

  • El Viento, Stage 4-1.png

  • El Viento, Stage 4-2.png

  • El Viento, Stage 4-3.png

  • El Viento, Stage 4-4.png

Stage 4

El Viento, Stage 5-1.png

El Viento, Stage 5-2.png

El Viento, Stage 5-3.png

El Viento, Stage 5-4.png

  • El Viento, Stage 5-1.png

  • El Viento, Stage 5-2.png

  • El Viento, Stage 5-3.png

  • El Viento, Stage 5-4.png

Stage 5

El Viento, Stage 6-2.png

El Viento, Stage 6-4.png

  • El Viento, Stage 6-2.png

  • El Viento, Stage 6-4.png

Stage 6

El Viento, Stage 7-1.png

El Viento, Stage 7-2.png

  • El Viento, Stage 7-1.png

  • El Viento, Stage 7-2.png

Stage 7

El Viento, Stage 8-1.png

El Viento, Stage 8-2.png

El Viento, Stage 8-3.png

El Viento, Stage 8-4.png

  • El Viento, Stage 8-1.png

  • El Viento, Stage 8-2.png

  • El Viento, Stage 8-3.png

  • El Viento, Stage 8-4.png

Stage 8

Production credits

  • Produced by: Masaaki Uno
  • Directed by: Hiroyuki Kayano
  • Executive producer: Masahiro Akishino
  • Main programmer: Small Tarō
  • Story written by: Chishio Otsuyama
  • Main character designed by: Kazutoshi Yamane
  • Music composed by: Motoi Sakuraba
  • Graphic designed by: Masayuki Matsushima, Kiyoka Tajima, Yuji Ushijima, Tomonobu Kizuki
  • Music supported by: Ryota Furuya
  • Graphic supported by: Yama Chan
  • Cooperation by: Chikaaki Tokuhiro, Jun Hoyano
  • Assistant programmer: Hiroshi Izumino
  • Business works: Kimito Iijima, Taba Chan
  • Special thanks to: Kazuyuki Fukushima
  • All players and all characters
  • All produced by Wolf Team
Source:
In-game credits
El Viento MD credits.pdf
[6]


Magazine articles

Main article: El Viento/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (US) #30: "January 1992" (199x-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1991-07: "July 1991" (1991-06-08)
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Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1991-08: "August 1991" (1991-07-08)
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Print advert in (JP) #1991-09: "September 1991" (1991-08-08)
also published in:
  • (JP) #1991-10: "October 1991" (1991-09-07)[7]
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(RU)
60
[8]
(UK)
52
[9]
(JP) NTSC-J
65
[10]
(FR)
82
[11]
(UK) NTSC-J
90
[12]
(US) NTSC-U
78
[13]
(RU)
50
[14]
(JP) NTSC-J
55
[15]
(US) NTSC-U
92
[3]
(UK)
60
[16]
(JP) NTSC-J
60
[17]
(FR) NTSC-J
93
[18]
(FR) NTSC-J
93
[19]
(JP) NTSC-J
67
[20]
(UK)
80
[21]
(UK)
80
[22]
(DE)
67
[23]
(DE)
66
[24]
(UK) PAL
89
[4]
(UK)
89
[25]
(UK)
88
[26]
(JP) NTSC-J
74
[27]
(RU)
66
[28]
(DE)
67
[29]
Sega Mega Drive
73
Based on
24 reviews

El Viento

Mega Drive, JP
ElViento MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
ElViento MD JP CartTop.jpg
ElViento MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Elviento md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
ElViento MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Elviento md us cart.jpg
Cart
Elviento md us manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, FR
ElViento MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Elviento md us cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

Main article: El Viento/Technical information.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
  2. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "October 1991" (US; 1991-xx-xx), page 100
  3. 3.0 3.1 GamePro, "February 1992" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 58
  4. 4.0 4.1 Sega Pro, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-xx-xx), page 56
  5. http://www.guardiana.net/MDG-Database/Mega%20Drive/El%20Viento/
  6. File:El Viento MD credits.pdf
  7. Beep! MegaDrive, "October 1991" (JP; 1991-09-07), page 4
  8. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 71
  9. ACE, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-10-08), page 93
  10. Beep! MegaDrive, "October 1991" (JP; 1991-09-07), page 34
  11. Consoles +, "Novembre 1991" (FR; 1991-11-07), page 46
  12. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 129
  13. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "November 1991" (US; 1991-1x-xx), page 24
  14. Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 311
  15. Famitsu, "1991-09-27" (JP; 1991-09-13), page 39
  16. Games-X, "26th September-2nd October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-26), page 35
  17. Hippon Super, "October 1991" (JP; 1991-09-04), page 90
  18. Joypad, "Novembre 1991" (FR; 1991-10-1x), page 40
  19. Joystick, "Novembre 1991" (FR; 1991-1x-xx), page 144
  20. Mega Drive Fan, "December 1991" (JP; 1991-11-08), page 91
  21. MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 77
  22. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 138
  23. Play Time, "2/92" (DE; 1992-01-08), page 95
  24. Power Play, "1/92" (DE; 1991-12-11), page 178
  25. Sega Pro, "December 1991" (UK; 1991-11-21), page 55
  26. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 65
  27. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
  28. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 14
  29. Video Games, "4/91" (DE; 1991-12-06), page 29


El Viento

ElViento MDTitleScreen.png

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Annet Myer & Earnest Evans games for Sega systems
El Viento (1991) | Earnest Evans (1991) | Anetto Futatabi (1993)