Originally posted November 28th 2014 on the Seafoam Gaming forums

Title: Adventure Time: Secret of the Nameless Kingdom

System: 3DS (Reviewed), PS3, XB360, Steam PC.

Price: $29.99

Release date: 11/18/2014

The main game/story

Based off of the hit TV show, this game stars our heroes Finn and Jake, as they enter a mysterious kingdom in order to find three princesses, even though the duo isn’t sure exactly why they are even there in the first place! WayForward decided that after the mediocre Zelda II inspired original Adventure time game, and the poorly reviewed Mystery Dungeon inspired second game, they would take inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, one of the best games ever made. Does this game hold up well? Let’s find out!

Graphics

This game has a top-down perspective, similar to the previous Adventure Time game last year, but a lot more appealing to the eyes. While it unfortunately doesn’t seem that the 3DS version has a 3D effect to help make the art style pop out, it still gets the job done, and looks MUCH better than the previous games, with smooth animations, nice sprites and much more vibrant areas to explore.

Music and sound effects:

Very cheery and memorable. Each song fits the area it plays in quite well, from the dungeon theme having a mysterious sense to it, to the overworld theme getting you pumped up for the next adventure. It even has voice clips from the TV show’s actors, and while a bit compressed on the 3DS, still sounds pretty good and keeps the humor of the show going strong the entire adventure.

Gameplay

As you begin on this epic adventure, you’ll notice the similarities to Zelda I mentioned earlier in the review. The first scene of the game is very reminiscent of the first scene of A Link to the Past, for example, so you know what Wayforward has in mind for this game. You move around the big kingdom with Finn, using numerous items, including his friend Jake, while solving puzzles in order to open a path to new areas. It’s pretty simple, but it also allows for some exploration as well. For example, you may go on minor sidequests, or explore different areas to gain money or other items on your journey. It’s pretty much the same as Zelda, which makes this game kinda hard to review properly.

In terms of content, there seems to be quite a bit to do. Besides the dungeons you’ll explore in order to find the princesses, you can also go on the sidequests I mentioned earlier, collect items, and find more secrets to collect! While not as long as a normal Zelda game, Adventure time SOTNK still has plenty to keep you busy, and the combat and action are quite solid.

Conclusion

Overall, Adventure Time SOTNK is pretty hard to describe. It’s pretty much a carbon copy of Zelda ALTTP with an Adventure Time twist, but much shorter and more linear than your typical zelda game. Still, it ended up being the best licensed game I’ve played since Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on the Nintendo Gamecube, staying true to the source material. If you just want another excuse to go and collect stuff, or to go out on another adventure while waiting for the next Zelda title, Adventure time SOTNK is for you! I give Adventure Time SOTNK a 7 out of 10, and I strongly recommend it to fans of the TV series.

Thanks to Little Orbit for the review code.