Following a long tradition of great games hiding in bland, nondescript boxes, you’d be forgiven for deciding that Monster Tale didn’t warrant a second look. Featuring a picture of a little girl and a big, goofy looking monster with its tongue hanging out and holding a half eaten chocolate chip cookie, it’s likely you’d only pick up the box if you were shopping for a child. As it turns out, young kids may find this one to be more frustrating than fun. Also, you’d be passing up a wildly creative title.
Monster Tale is the first release from DreamRift, a company founded by the key leads on the brilliant DS game Henry Hatsworth and the Puzzling Adventure. Continuing from the genre mash-up style of that title, they once again take two different game types and fuse them together seamlessly.
Ellie is a young girl who, upon donning a strange bracelet, is transported to Monster World. She soon discovers the land is being menaced by the bratty Queen Pricilla and her equally obnoxious Kid Kings. You’ll be guiding Ellie across Monster World on a mission to free its denizens from Pricilla’s reign and return home. Fortunately, you’ll have help from Chomp, a young monster who bonds with Ellie after hatching from an egg.
The structure of the game world is similar to Metroid or the post-Symphony of the Night Castlevania titles. Your path is somewhat open, leaving you the freedom to explore as you choose. Of course, like those other games, you can expect to hit a few roadblocks that can only be overcome by acquiring a new ability. Each new location has a fun theme that perfectly fits the adventurous atmosphere of the environment. It’s a shame there aren’t very many areas, as with each new discovery I was eager to see what was waiting ahead. On the other hand, it also means that backtracking, which you’ll be doing a lot of, isn’t too much of a chore.
Ellie’s battle against the kids and their monster companions takes place on the upper screen. At the start you’ll just be running, jumping, and shooting, but in no time at all you’ll discover a wealth of new abilities and upgrades, allowing for wall jumps, rolling, rapid-fire energy bursts, and some fancy melee powered monster juggling.
While Ellie is busy getting her combat-infused workout, Chomp gets to do quite a bit on his own. You aren’t in direct control of your companion, but there are plenty of available commands to give, providing a wide range of options that best suit your play style. Chomp earns experience for his actions, which increases his level, raises his stats, and earns him new traits and skills. Raising his level high enough will unlock a new form, bringing with it new abilities and unique stats. Some of these forms have an Element Affinity of fire, water, or earth. This can help in defeating monsters which have element affinities of their own. It’s a rock-paper-scissors design, where each element is strong against one, while being weak to the other.
The lower screen is the pet sanctuary, where Chomp heals his wounds and can use various pet items for additional experience and stat increases. You’ll be sending him down there quite a bit, as his health slowly ticks away while he remains on the upper screen. There are also times where monsters drop below and aren’t attackable with Ellie, so it’ll be up to Chomp to handle the situation. There’s a fair bit of strategy involved in deciding when to keep him below or even which pet items you’ll want him to use, since each one will affect specific stats.
The boss battles are challenging without the brutality contained in some of the latter portions of Henry Hatsworth. If you’re having trouble winning a fight, it’s usually solvable by switching Chomp to a new form or rotating new skills into his set. Whereas I’ve grown used to slogging through tough fights by way of meticulous repetition, I was impressed with the versatility of Chomp’s options. Leveling his many forms kept my interest high, as I wanted to see both his new looks and abilities.
Monster Tale is one of those games that will make us sing its praises to everyone who‘ll listen. Which is precisely what I’m going to do now. Pick up the game box, take it to the sales clerk, and buy it. Don’t let this one pass you by.
—–
Things We Liked: The whimsical tone the story revels in is fun with a captial “F.” The vast amount of options your monster companion has can fit any play style. It provides a challenge without ever getting too monotonous.
Things We Disliked: There could have been more unique areas to explore. Excessive backtracking might wear on some players.
Target Audience: Fans of Metroid and more recent Castlevania titles. Anyone looking for a unique action platform game.
(Monster Tale – Developer: DreamRift. Publisher: Majesco. Available for Nintendo DS. Unfamiliar with CFD!’s review system? Read our newly revised explanation here.)
