This is not the greatest game in the world. This is just a tribute.
If you are older than 25, there is a chance that your “greatest game in the world” is an 8-bit classic from the days of the NES. Nowadays, the luster and magic of those games is something of a lost art, but developers From Software out of Japan are gamers like us, and they have created what may be the single biggest tribute video game ever made. Brought to North America by purveyors of the weird and wonderful, also known as Atlus, Icrontic today got an exclusive look at the game known as 3D Dot Game Heroes.
The hero fights the boss of the first dungeon
The game is an action-adventure which takes place in the mythical two-dimensional land of Dotnia. An epic hero has come along with a legendary sword and defeated the Dark King Onyx by imprisoning him in a mystical orb, and now everything is happy… OR IS IT?
It seems that the world had moved on from 2D and nobody came to visit Dotnia anymore. The King realized that 2D has lost its lustre. To remedy this, he turned the land of Dotnia into a glorious 3D (albeit blocky) landscape, full of color, rendered shadows, reflective surfaces, and all the latest hip 3D tech.
However, during the transition, someone stole the mystical orb that held the Dark King. Dotnia needs a new hero!
The hero traverses a dungeon
3D Dot Game Heroes allows you to create your own hero with 3D pixels, or use one of many pre-created ones, all of which are careful and loving tributes to characters from other games. There are no bounds to the absurdity with which you have at your disposal—the entire game is nothing but a tongue-in-cheek parody of classic gaming. While we watched, Aram Jabbari (head of PR for Atlus) made a Domo-kun lookalike (well, he attempted to, but it ended up looking like a cardboard box with a gigantic mouth). There are tributes to the classic hero from Dragon Quest, Santa Claus, a tank, Torneko, Link, Princess Peach—you name it, it’s probably in there.
Some outlets have been labeling 3D Dot Game Heroes as a rip-off of other games. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The game is nothing but fan service, parody, humor, and tribute. Throughout our entire demo, we noticed many minuscule details that showed the great level of affection the developers have for classic gaming. Everything from the music to cameos from “almost looks just like…” characters, to bits of poorly translated lines from old games—it’s all in there.
The tech is impressive, because it smoothly mixes a world made of 8-bit pixels into a polished 3D experience. The reflective surfaces, rendered shadows, and other effects all serve to highlight rather than detract from the 2D nature of the world.
Another interesting feature is the addition of surprisingly comprehensive mini-games. The mini-games are deep enough to make you actually want to invest time in mastering them. Completing a mini-game nets you in-game rewards, so for those completionists out there, you’re going to want to spend some time playing Tower Defense, Block Break, and Dash. The Tower Defense game was demoed for us, and it is on par with something like PixelJunk Monsters. There are multiple levels, many tower types, upgrades, and an interesting dynamic: you can use your sword to help your towers (you can beat up monsters on the trail), but you don’t gain experience while moving or attacking, so you must find a balance between upgrading your XP or making it easier on your towers by helping them out. That’s a surprisingly complex mechanic for a mini-game.
The dash game is a racing game, and the block break is … well, it’s breakout. With blocks. And a sword.
Block Breaking, sword-wielding hero style
Another neat feature is vignettes of classic box art from old games, used as load screens. In fact, while HDD install is going to be available for the North American release, it is worth it to watch load screens because you can “collect” them and put them in a gallery. During the demo, we saw screens that were tributes to Castlevania II, Clu Clu Land, Doom, Mega Man, and more.
With seven dungeons, dozens of swords and other items, a “New Game+” mode, and a constant string of laughs for gamers with a sense of nostalgia, 3D Dot Game Heroes is looking like a must-buy for those who appreciate quirky and unique games.
Put it this way: if you think this is funny, you’ll like this game:
3D Dot Game Heroes is a Playstation 3 exclusive, and it’s coming on May 11th, 2010 for $39.99
The "Dash" mini-game
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