Trying to think of what makes this game original and fresh is very hard as it is basically a homage to 2D adventure games of the past. It's true if you are a Zelda fan you will see similarity after similarity while you are playing 3D Dot Game Heroes, but what makes it stand out as a great game today?
3D Dot Games Heroes is a 2D adventure game brought into a 3D world without losing it's core. There isn't much to the story here as it's the basic the world is in parallel from a dark lord trying to take over the kingdom and you being the decedent of a great hero from time before, must go on an epic journey to save the land and restore peace. After the basic background story there isn't much after that, but that doesn't necessarily make it a bad or boring game even if the story is an overused one. The whole game is a satire of previous games, most closely related to the Legend of Zelda series. Much wit and jokes are placed into this game.
The game plays itself out again like 2D adventure games of the past. You come across enemies pretty much everywhere except for towns where you will rest, restock on supplies and talk to the locals who will set you off on side quests or give you an important bit of information to help you on your way as well as a bit of humor. You will come across dungeons filled with enemies and puzzles as you work your way to treasures and eventually the boss guarding a powerful orb that will help you gain new magical powers and the strength to beat the main antagonist. The puzzles and exploration is where this game really shines. With a little know how and luck you can find just the right items to make a boss battle quick and painless. Exploration can also lead to an alternate ending and a different trophy if you find all the pieces.
The sound in this game really set you back to the 8 bit world of gaming. They did a wonderful job of creating new old pieces of music. The last dungeon piece is epic, while the world music reminds me of Zelda's theme while coming into it's own. The sound effects of monster getting destroyed and your character taking damage also seems very familiar, but instead of hurting the game for lack of originality it really helps set the mood that you are back in 1987.
The title pretty much sums up the graphics in this game. Most everything is built with dots (or blocks) to create a 3D world. The game does polish some of this off by adding reflective floors that almost look out of place with the rest of the world.
3D Dot Game Heroes also has great replay value short of you using a walkthrough, there is no way that you can find all this games hidden secrets in one go. After defeating the game you also get the option of playing in New Game + mode, which keeps some of the progress you made from your last save, such as small blocks used to trade towards new swords as well as all the monsters you have managed to categorize. With New Game + you also get the option of playing on a harder setting. As I've mentioned before getting the right equipment before a boss can make them quite easy to defeat so this will give you an added challenge.
This game also has a great character editor, which can have you playing around for hours or just a few minutes to make custom characters that you can use to play in your game. You can also upload them to your computer and share them with the online community to download themselves and use in their games. The editor is quite simple, but leaves room to really let your creativity fly. You build your character out of the small blocks that make up the this world. They do limit you to six colors, but you have a slightly larger color pallet to choose those colors from.
This may not be a Zelda title, but some have even gone so far as to saying that From Software knows how to make a better game then Nintendo does referring to Zelda games in recent years.
3D Dot Game Heroes gets a 9/10 from me for those of you who like to look at numbers. It really is a fun game full of explorations, dungeons and nostalgia. If you are a fan of 2D style Zelda games or a fan of adventure games, 3D Dot Game Heroes is a must have. Not only is the game only $40 and in some cases you can find it even cheaper, but it's a $40 game with more than 20 hours of gameplay. Well worth your money. For those who aren't fans of 2D style adventure games you will lose some of what makes this game so great, but there is still some humor to be found that anyone should get. And if you are looking for a good adventure game that gives you hours of gameplay for a great price this is your game.
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