Monster Tale
SCORE: 85
It has been a long time since we have
heard much about Monster Tale. I saw this game at E3 in the year of our
Lord 2010. I hate to admit it, but I had almost forgotten about this
Nintendo DS game. So I am very thankful that Majesco Entertainment sent
Family Friendly Gaming a reviewable copy. I hope to relay that in this
hand held review.
Hardcore gamers know all about Castlevania Symphony of the Night. The
tight level design, the numerous skills, and leveling up. Why am I
mentioning that game in the review for Monster Tale? Because the level
design in Monster Tale reminds me of Castlevania SOTN. Players start
with a few skills,and gain more as they progress. Certain areas can not
be reached until specific skills have been found. Castlevania SOTN had a
lot of anti-family content, and baggage. Thankfully Monster Tale leaves
that content, and baggage behind.
Players find an egg, which hatches, and they earn a little monster
friend. Your friend can only stay on the top screen so long, and then
must got to the bottom screen to restore its health. The play mechanics
do not end there though. There are switches on the top and/or bottom
screens that only your monster friend Chomp can trigger. Items that help
level up Chomp can be found, and they show up on the bottom screen.
Chomp can help fighting the other monsters on the top screen. Players
find themselves swapping Chomp quite often.
The visuals in Monster Tale are bright and colorful.The artistic style
is friendly to families. I enjoyed this world, and the various
locations. With all that said, it is important to understand there is
violence in Monster Tale. Players start with just a shooting gun, and
then get a slash attack. Chomp learns various attacks as the game grows.
I noticed an interesting play mechanic in Monster Tale. Shooting drains
a bar, and slashing restores it. This means players can not become too
comfortable with one game play style.
The sounds are refreshingly fun and light. Certain monsters will bark,
or make other such sounds in Monster Tale. The storyline to this
Nintendo DS title reminds me of the Chronicles of Narnia in some sense.
This little girl gets transported to another world, and she comes across
other humans. They have enslaved the various creatures for their own
selfish purposes.She works on setting things right, and wants to get
back to her world.
If Monster Tale only contained the side scrolling exploration levels I
would feel it was worth the price of admission. But there is also an
entire monster raising sim. Chomp changes form as the player progresses.
Different trees are unlocked as the game progresses. Leveling up Chomp
is part of the fun of Monster Tale. He has thirty unique forms. They
each learn different skills, and have different power-ups. These
different forms grant the player diverse ways to play this DS game.
One of the cool things I found in Monster Tale is the leveling up. I had
problems with a few bosses. So I leveled up Chomp, saved up money to
purchase upgrades for Ellie, and went back to the boss. They were much
easier after I had spent the time upgrading. The hack and slash element
of Monster Tale can get old during extended game play. Thankfully save
rooms are spaced out to help the player.
The level design in Monster Tale is astounding. I can tell a lot of
effort went into the development and design of this hand held video
game. Majesco Entertainment made us wait for this game, but it was well
worth it. I hope there are sequels to Monster Tale in the near future.
To me Monster Tale pays homage to past video games, and puts it together
in a package that families can enjoy.
- Paul
Graphics: 83%
Sound: 87%
Replay/Extras: 89%
Gameplay: 90%
Family Friendly Factor: 77%
System: Nintendo DS
Publisher: Majesco Entertainment
Rating: 'E' for
Everyone
{Mild Cartoon Violence}
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