Arkista's Ring

Arkista's Ring is a video game developed and published by American Sammy for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. A prime example of the action-adventure genre, the game is set in a fantasy world, and you play as a female elf named Christine, in her quest to find the Elven ring of Arkista.

Story
The Elven ring of Arkista has been stolen by the villainous Shogun, which has cast the entire Elven Kingdom into darkness. The only hope for the Elves is that the strong warrior Christine, equipped with only a bow, can travel throughout the Kingdom, and retrieve the ring.

Gameplay
Much like The Legend of Zelda, the game is played from a top-down perspective pitting the player against a multitude of various enemies. Different, however, is that the game is played out in a very linear fashion, as the player will progress through a total of 125 stages. Each stage starts with the player in control of the hero Christine, and you must progress by killing a certain number of enemies to gain access to a hidden key. Once the key for the stage is obtained the player must travel through the stage in search of the exit. There are 32 different stages, after which, the game loops over, each time progressing in difficulty. It is not an endless loop, as the game is completed after the player successfully finishes the 125th stage.

At random enemies will leave behind item pouches when they are killed. The items obtained through these pouches are also random. Players can collect several upgrades to their bow and arrows, which increase shot distance, and damaging strength respectively. Players may also find other beneficial items such as armor and health potions.