3D Dot Game Heroes Review

3D Dot game Heroes

Publisher: atlus

Developer: Silicon Studio

Platform: PS3

Genre: Adventure, RPG

Release Date: May 11, 2010

Price: $39.99

     3D Dot Game Heroes is a new title brought to us by the folks over at From Software and Atlus. Their last big release for the PS3, Demon's Souls, was an amazing experience, which brought some very unique ideas to the Action RPG genre, while being both extremely unforgiving and downright painful in its degree of difficulty. 3D Dot Game Heroes follows the later to a certain degree but not the former; instead focusing on nostalgia and paying homage to some of the greatest games ever created in order to craft its own experience.

     One of the most unique aspects of 3D Dot Game Heroes is its visuals. 3D Dot Game Heroes’ visuals are essentially 2D sprites blown up and expanded into 3D space. The entire world is built out of hundreds of 3D cubes; from the environments, right down to the characters themselves. You may think that building an entire world out of 3D cubes would lead to a lack of detail but this is simply not the case. The entire world is meticulously detailed; with a large variety of enemy types, fantastic character design, beautiful glistening water, great animations, tons of different environments and excellent lighting.

     3D Dot Game Heroes is definitely no slouch when it comes to visuals, in fact one could say that it is one of the better looking games of this generation.; incorporating a vast color palette and an eye catching art style to great effect. The visual style of the game really makes you believe that you are living in a true 3D version of the old gaming classics like the Legend of Zelda. One specific animation/visual effect, which needs mentioning are the pixel explosion effects. When enemies are defeated they explode into hundreds of pixels. It is an amazing effect, which never gets old.

     While the visuals of 3D Dot Game Heroes are what stand out initially, it’s the games humor, which really gives it legs. 3D Dot Game Heroes is hands down, one of the funniest video games I have ever played. Whether it’s the fantastic dialog, hilarious characters, the numerous parodies, or even the loading screens, you will always have a smile on your face while playing this game. I won’t spoil any specific parts of the game but I will say make sure to check out every cave in the game. You’ll often stumble upon the standard fairy ones but you won’t want to miss a specific one, which I guarantee you won’t regret tracking down.

     3D Dot Game Heroes is the type of game that revels in the fact that it is itself a parody and an homage of almost every retro game ever created. One moment you’ll witness homage to Final Fantasy and the next to Street Fighter; no game is off limits. There are so many references, that it would probably be impossible to list them all; nor would I want to list them, because it would take away from what makes the game so special. I can definitely say that you should not opt to install the game on your harddrive. Yes, it does speed up loading but you won’t want to miss any of the loading screens in the game. Loading screens become the bread and butter for most of the references in the game and they really become a sort of mini-game in and of themselves.

     The sound design of 3D Dot Game Heroes is well done, if a bit repetitious. Your basic sound effects, such as sword swipes and enemy attacks are all standard fare for this type of game, which is fine because the music is what is most important. The music in the game is clearly a retooling of the classic Zelda theme. You may think that it is a cheap move on the developers part but I can say wholeheartedly that it never really bothered me; maybe it’s because I love the Zelda theme or maybe it’s because the music just suits the world so perfectly, who knows. The one slight I do have against the main theme song of the game, is that it does begin to grate on you after 10 or so hours with the game. The music does change up when you go into dungeons or explore different environments but for the most part it is your typical 8 bit/16 bit classic music retooled for the PS3.

     3D Dot Game Heroes is a game many people have not heard of but I guarantee that you've played games like it before. Its main influence is retro gaming, more specifically The Legend of Zelda titles. The game focuses on a fairly long adventure, clocking in at about 20 or so hours depending on how much time you spend exploring and gathering all the collectibles throughout the land. The premise of the game is quite simple; you are an adventurer who is chosen to help save the land of Dotnia from an evil bishop who is trying to destroy everything. While it is a clichéd story, it serves its purpose, which is to help you focus on the real meat of the game; the gameplay.

     Like the old school Legend of Zelda games, 3D Dot Game Heroes is an action adventure game, with the perfect balance of difficulty and fun. It features 7 well crafted dungeons with their fair share of enemies, traps, puzzles and great boss battles. Each dungeon has its own unique feel and boss, which helps to make them a treat to explore. You’ll start off the game with a basic sword and shield and move forward from there; exploring the lands, killing a variety of monsters, finding treasure and gaining new equipment, such as a boomerang, bow and arrow, bombs and so on. It really does follow the tried and true formula of the old Legend of Zelda games, which can either good or bad based on your perspective.

     One great aspect to the gameplay, which is a comical advancement on an old gameplay technique from the Legend of Zelda, involves your sword. When you are at full health, your sword becomes comically huge and can eventually span the entire size of the screen; making quick work of any foe in your path. Your sword is eventually able to get this big via upgrades, which you can purchase from the blacksmith in town. There are a variety of different upgrade options and all of them yield useful results. Sword combat is at its greatest when you are at full health and it rightfully should be.

You just have to laugh…

     For the most parts the controls are responsive and using the different types of equipment is intuitive and gratifying. I did have some slight issues with the sword attacks not being as responsive as I would like; especially when it came to attacking in a 180/360 motion. The button and joystick movements would sometimes not register and while this may seem like a major problem, in hind sight it wasn’t. The other issue I had with the game involves choosing a method of control for your character. Since the game is rooted in old school game mechanics, one is naturally inclined to play the game with the D-pad; however, you are also able to play with the joystick. While I believe the joystick is the best alternative for the game, I never really felt comfortable with either control method. Both control methods just didn’t feel right and I was left switching back and forth between the two consistently.

     Besides the lengthy adventure, 3D Dot Game Heroes also offers one of the best character creations tools I have ever seen. The editor allows you to create any type of character you want from the ground up; pixel by pixel. It is an amazing creation tool, which in the right hands can yield some amazing results. I dabbled with the creation tool a bit but was unable to get anything really amazing out of it, but not for lack of trying. It is a lot harder to create a 3D pixel character than you might think, however, I highly recommend everyone who plays the game, give it a try.

You can make some amazing creatures/characters.

     When it comes down to it, 3D Dot Game Heroes is a great game. It has a lengthy adventure, beautiful visuals, classic gameplay and an amazing sense of humor. While these points alone are enough for me to wholeheartedly recommend playing the game, there is one more point that should be noted above all else and that is that 3D Dot Game Heroes is a love letter to old school gamers, who grew up playing all of the classics and it definitely should not be missed if you fall into that category.

FINAL VERDICT

4 out 5

[embed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlWsZXGJahg&feature=player_embedded ]

---

Find this article and more like it at PixelJumpers.com.