Play Super Troll Islands Online

Super Troll Islands came out in 1994 for the Super Nintendo, developed by Kemco. It was one of those mid-lifecycle platformers that tried to stand out with a gimmick, released when the SNES library was already full of heavy hitters and odd experiments. The game doesn't get talked about much, but it has a particular look and feel that makes it memorable in its own strange way.

You control a little troll named Q, navigating through a series of single-screen levels shrouded in a thick, obscuring fog. Your main goal is to find the exit in each stage, but to do that you must first uncover the entire playfield by jumping on platforms and enemies, which causes the fog to peel back in bright, sudden flashes of color. Along the way, you collect power-ups like a bow for ranged attacks or a sword for close combat, and you hunt for hidden fairies and magic items to increase your score. The pacing is methodical, almost puzzle-like, as you figure out the safest route to reveal the map without falling into pits or taking too many hits from the quirky enemies. It feels like slowly solving a visual riddle, one jump at a time.