3D Dot Game Heroes

This game was fun. And frustrating.

The first thing to note about this game is if you are not a fan of The Legend of Zelda, you really probably will not like this game. Its pretty much a carbon copy of those games and makes no attempt to pretend to be anything else, so take that for what its worth.


The basic plot of this game is that a kingdom is under fear of a bad guy trying to control the world with these various magic orbs. Its your job to stop him. And that's really all there is to it. Which is fine by me. There is the goal, go for it. I like simplicity.

The bulk of the time in this game is spent exploring dungeons. They have your standard set pieces of pits, traps, and puzzles, but none of them are ever difficult to tackle. The hardest part about this game is making sure you keep full life at all times, because if you don't the game gets much more difficult than it should be.

The reason for this is the weapon system in the game. All the weapons you get have 2 versions: full health, and not full health. When you do not have full health, the weapons are just standard, run of the mill I hit you, you take damage. When you do have full health, they lay waste to anything you see. This is especially important to remember for boss battles, because if you go in with your little limp noodle sword, you are probably going to die, multiple times, and you might even break a controller or two. I almost did.

There are 4 swords you get as part of the plot, and the rest are won through challenges, awarded for side quests, or bought from a certain NPC. I recommend buying the Katana and maxing out its length and power as soon as you can. Doing so will make the game that much easier.

The graphics style of the game I didn't really care for. Its retro, I get it, cool. What was cool about the game though was the dialog some of the NPCs in the world had. Some of them were really dirty, like the one dude who told you he had something long and thick for you. Whoa buddy, easy there. There is definitely some crude humor in there, and there were a lot of NPCs who had random things to say referencing games from ages past.

After you beat the game, there is not much reason to keep it around. The story is basic, the gameplay is basic, and the rest is forgettable. One playthrough and you will have had all you can get out of it.

There is a character editor worth mentioning, but unless you are looking to spend a whole lot of time and get really connected to your character, its not worth messing with. Unless you want to run around as a giant cock. That's always fun.

When I bought this game, it was 40 bucks new. I think that is worth it. Strange, I know, but I felt like I got my money's worth out of this one. No reason to keep it after you beat it though.