The act of making a game that is “retro” by design, or that closely resembles its earliest predecessors is no new phenomenon. Perhaps the biggest poster child for this trend is Mega Man 9. Games that are designed to pull at nostalgic heart strings, they try to be fresh by channeling what was once tired. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t. Another side of this coin is the rerelease or the collection. In my last blog post I talked about Shadow of the Colossus as I had picked up the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus Collection. A more drastic example would be the GameCube releases of Resident Evil and Twin Snakes. We could also call upon the sheer multitude of times Sonic the Hedgehog has been rereleased.
In all of these situations, the games rely largely on their respective legacy to create interest. Even titles that are retro by design are also designed to be evocative of a certain era or play style that will appeal to those of us who have been in the game for a long time. Nostalgia is a powerful motivator, but it is made better when these games are actually well done. Because truly enjoyable gameplay is timeless, and breaking the gaming generation boundaries doesn’t matter unless it’s done properly.
3D Dot Game Heroes sort of falls into this latter concept. It’s a game built to resemble the bygone. However, it’s not so cut and dry. 3D Dot is better classified as a ‘love letter,’ as loaded as that term can sometimes be. Yes, it resembles this and that but most importantly it does it in its own clever way and stands on its own two feet. It treats its source material in a completely tongue-in-cheek manner, yet is simultaneously reverent. But moreover it is the best kind of parody – one that can be judged on its own merits and not merely the merits of what it’s following.
Most immediately striking about 3D Dot Game Heroes is its graphical aesthetic. This is the visual parody that stands as the crux of much of the visual humour and the point of many dialog. Prior to playing this game, Dotnia was a 2D kingdom. The King only recently upgraded the world to 3D and the characters who fill this world remark and comment about the transition.
Visually, the very blocky and yes stout “NES proportioned” characters echo these old sprites. But it does more than just look like an NES game, it brings these sprites into the third dimension and makes it look like its own game. It does a terrific job of creating the same visual look but with an added axis. And although everything is blocky the game uses these constraints to present some terrific architecture and often beautiful (if often minimal) environments. The characters and enemies and even bosses move in a jilted manner, echoing the limited range of animations afforded by these old titles. All in all, we get an aesthetic that is often a mix between Dragon Warrior and the original Legend of Zelda but holds fast to its very own world and flavour. It’s fascinating to look at, really.
This is all brought together by an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack that, like many other things about this game, brings about feelings for the old while remaining something new and fresh. Many of the songs are mysterious and captivating. Many are dire and foreboding. There is a full range of emotion that makes you realize that yes – this is a parody – but it’s one that they loved and cared about and wanted to make their own. It’s a shame this doesn’t hold true with more so called satire.
Of course, the aesthetic is nothing if it isn’t tied together by a solid gameplay experience as well. 3D Dot Game Heroes is decidedly retro in its play style as well. So consider this your caveat, this means it can be unforgiving at times and vague others. It most resembles a blend of The Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past. It’s mostly an overhead view with enemies that sometimes look verbatim taken from the NES LoZ, but movement is closer to aLttP.
This mostly works, though sometimes the styles clash. There is a greater freedom of movement available here that actually makes precision movements difficult with the joystick. Particularly around pits. In these situations I find it best to switch to the D-Pad. The other thing is that depth of field for small switches (especially bullseye switches) is sometimes difficult to rationalize, and the HUD sometimes covers others. To compensate, every dungeon floor is super reflective so you can see wallbound elements in the refection on the floor if they are otherwise obscured. Really gotta give them props for figuring out a way of helping the player without sacrificing their aesthetic. But man, what villain keeps his floors this polished? Ha ha…
But it shouldn’t take you very long to get into the flow of things. It has that oldschool notion of picking up finesse as you play. And it definitely shines through, this game quickly becomes second nature.
The majority of your attacking will be done with a sword (of which there are many). Your sword is much longer than your player character, comically so. You can ‘spin’ certain swords, cleaving them to the side after your initial strike. This allows you to keep most enemies well out of reach. But they will come in hordes and attack you in many different ways. You are always on your toes, and your sword is not long enough to be fully dismissive of danger.
Unless, of course, your health bar is bull. Once you have full health, your sword becomes a screen filling monstrosity with special abilities and vastly increased strength. If you get a long sword with the “pierce” ability you can swing your sword through every obstacle in a dungeon room and strike every enemy. If it’s strong enough, maybe you will kill them all or put a serious hurt on them. It allows you to stay well out of the reach of bosses, collect far off items, and even “snipe” enemies appearing on the next screen on the Overworld. But again, you cannot dismiss the danger and get careless because even half a heart of damage will revert your big strong sword to it’s smaller state and you will suddenly feel naked and much more at risk. I love it!
The state of your giant sword can be upgraded at the blacksmith. Now, 3D Dot Game Heroes is not the first time you can upgrade your weapon’s width and length (see: Ginormo Sword) but it is just as dramatic here as anywhere else. It requires a huge investment of gold but your merely big sword will become a screen scraper in no time! I found it much more beneficial to focus on length than width, but I would encourage experimentation.
The world is a joy to explore in this game, and is full of rewards for your efforts. For instance, finding the “mini medals” guy of this game, King Block, who offers a ton of new swords to be bought with the small blocks you’ve collected elsewhere in the world. Not to mention the life upgrades, magic upgrades, potent equipment, and side quests. There’s so much to see and do.
Now, I’ll refrain from ranting too long but if there’s one thing I cannot stand in games like this is when things are completely missable. 3D Dot Game Heroes has a few such events so you had better be diligent if you’re wanting to 100% this. I played on the loose side because I was aware of the New Game+ and plan to 100% its resident hard mode. I think that as an old style game with modern conventions, this is a drawback. Yes – old games were unforgiving and arcane. But things should never become completely unobtainable just because you were excited to progress the game. Made more difficult sure, but never unobtainable. At the very least, it’s not like spending 60 hours on FFXII only to read about the easy method of getting a Zodiac Spear (what a kick in the face that one was). I guess there is solace in that 3D Dot Game Heroes is short and manageable enough that it’s easier to accept that there are a few events like this within the game.
However, the majority of events in 3D Dot Game Heroes are not as vague as they sound. Most NPCs are found in one of the towns, and you just need to remember who said “I need this” and who said “I can provide this.” The thing is that there is rarely misdirection, you just need to be attentive for the most part. While it is written with oldschool flavour , it doesn’t withhold or muddle information (which was never intentional in most old games either, by the way).
In a way, this is a game that gives back as much as you put into it.
But these events are worth doing. Some of the resulting scenes and dialog are truly bizarre. This game is written to resemble these older games, the staff really went all out and you can tell they loved the source material. There are so many references in here, from Dragon Quest to Demon’s Souls. Even the Loading Screen Art cycles through the boxart of many games including Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, and even Lemmings. It has a bestiary, where you “book” enemies by repeatedly hitting them with a giant text until you’ve captured their data. Some of the descriptions are pretty funny, including palette swap humour and booking monsters quickly became one of my favourite aspects of the game. It’s surprisingly cathartic to hit those boss monsters with a giant book, and adds a whole new perspective on these battles.
Speaking of bosses, they can be refought many times which makes the trophies related to them easier to obtain. This is something I give the game props for, personally, because I love when games give you an outlet to refight bosses. The bosses themselves are mostly archetypes, the kinds of bosses you would have seen, yes, “back in the day.” But though these bosses may have archetypical appearances their attack patterns often belie this and keep them very fresh. None of the bosses are overly difficult, but some will keep you on your toes. Ultimately, the gigantic swords can undo any challenge the bosses afford. If you can strike them from afar and dodge or block (with the right shield) the majority of their attacks they will fall quickly and you can remain unscathed. The converse, of course, is that you have to learn their patterns in the first place. And up until the very end I felt they kept pace with my available swords so I don’t have any complaints there. They are all big and beautiful, and were always a joy to uncover for the first time.
But it begs the question, who is this game for? It is fan service, and unabashedly so. But it’s a very positive category of fan service that appeals to folks who grew up with a certain kind of game.
It resembles Zelda, but old Zelda. Not a modern Zelda with a Rube Goldberg device in every room easily solved with a dungeon item. It’s a distillation. Dungeons may be confusing based on layout, how they intertwine, and the dexterity required to complete each room. If you’ve only liked the modern Zeldas of course you are not excluded from liking this, just be aware of what you’re getting yourself into first. This game does bring some modern considerations to the table, but it is completely unapologetic about what it is. And I love it for that.
Of course I asked myself the question, ‘would I like to see a Zelda game in this style?’ I don’t know. I’ve seen people postulate about remaking or ‘enhancing’ the very first Legend of Zelda and I’d rather good enough be left alone. If you need The Legend of Zelda completely redone and changed to enjoy it, then maybe it was never the game for you. Maybe a completely new game with some retro ideals could work. But you know, maybe 3D Dot Game Heroes is the best course of action. It’s not Zelda so I don’t have preconceptions of what it should be, yet it is referential of so many things that I can’t help but draw these comparisons and delight in them.
3D Dot Game Heroes is currently a very affordable title, and if it’s caught your interest at all I whole heartedly recommend it. It has a very particular type of audience in mind but everyone can enjoy it. Is this a step forward or a step backwards? Or is it even fair to consider it in these terms? “Retro” is a fad but 3D Dot Game Heroes doesn’t play this fad completely straight. Its greatest accomplishment is creating a wholly new experience while reminding us of what came before. No, maybe the greatest accomplishment is that this game does what games used to do – it makes you laugh and smile.
I’d like to try this, but I’m not sure if it’s something I’ll go for. What makes it harder to go for is when you can only get the games you want online. Though, I haven’t checked, but this could be on PSN now or in the future, so that’s a more appealing alternative to me.
I’m thinking I should try modding my PS3 soon. If not, it’ll be the only PS I haven’t. There’s always at least a few games on every console and handheld that interest me but not to the point where I want to buy them or take the risk.
Anyway, you wouldn’t have to know you very long to see that this game would appeal to you. Like you more or less said, the game may play off its retro aesthetic and gameplay but that doesn’t necessarily mean the audience is limited or should be.
Yeah, you know a lot of the games I talk about on this site are pretty esoteric. I’ve always found it hard to actually recommend a game to someone since my tastes are so eclectic. At the very least, 3D Dot is usually sold at budget prices now, so I’m not so apprehensive. Of course, I was probably destined to like this ha ha.
So no worries if you don’t want to take a risk on it, definitely understand. Monies are monies, honey, and you gotta use monies where you gotta use them :*!