Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King Review (Rinyuu)
In three words: Close but awkward.
I'm a big 2D Zelda fan, and am always looking out for similar games. This game instantly feels familiar to anyone who has ever played any of the 2d top-down Zelda games (Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Minish Cap etc.). It's close to being a clone, though I guess that's not really a secret to anyone. There are some easter-eggs, and some BGM tracks are clear nods to other Zelda tracks.
Unfortunately this game kind of meets a terrible fate. It has everything you'd expect: dungeons, light puzzles, bosses, some quirky sidequests, jars, some items and health upgrades to collect... but I feel this game wasn't able to be creative enough with the limits it set for itself.
Then we have a few glaring problems:
- Some puzzles don't make logical sense (the glyphs) and sometimes you need to find the solution by trial and ERROR. (Or maybe it goes by assumption that most people go from left to right, but that doesn't make a robust puzzle.)
- The map functionality is just bad. No clear info or labels, current location barely visible.
- Enemies are spammed around way too much, and some game rooms are too long or repetitive.
- To 100% the game there's a quest which can only be done within a specific (system-clock) timeframe, WITHOUT telling the player... Now granted I could shift my PC's clock, but come on mah boi...
- I didn't buy Zelda to play Simon says >_>
It will satisfy that 2d Zelda-itch for a little while, but you'll have to adjust your expectations a little bit for this one. Many design choices and gameplay elements are just super awkward.
Here's a quote from King Zora from Ocarina of Time:
"HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNIP, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI, HWNI. "