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- The second biggest playable underwater world in the history of adventure games?

- What is Tale of a Hero?!


I don’t know if this game ever featured in the Jeopardy! TV show, but the developers deserve all the points for creating a vast underwater world! You know, in most games, you sink one screen beneath the water level, and if you’re lucky enough, you’re free to walk one, perhaps two screens until you’re back to the land. Sometimes, not even that (I’m looking at you, Monkey Island 1 Easter egg!). But not here - you’ll inspect caves, fish of all colors and shapes, crabs and… ghosts of a long-sunken ships! Wonder how our hero did it, without the air tank? Play to find out.

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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diego - 03 July 2015 07:53 PM

- The second biggest playable underwater world in the history of adventure games?

So what’s the biggest? A Freddi Fish or Spongebob Squarepants game? Tongue Grin

     

The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka

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Mirror of Kofun, I guess.

     

See you around, wolf. Nerissa

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TimovieMan - 04 July 2015 01:57 AM

A Freddi Fish or Spongebob Squarepants

Karlok - 04 July 2015 03:31 AM

Mirror of Kofun

Party poopers! Your examples are superior to anything I could think of, HOWEVER - in Karlok’s case, it’s scuba diving, and the 2 other games feature protagonists that are natural underwater inhabitants. Smile And I was thinking of human being underwater without any breathing equipment. Tongue

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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Both Amerzone and Cameron Files - Secret at Loch Ness had fairly long underwater sequences. In the case of the latter, it was timed which made it a particularly unpleasant experience.

     

For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.

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Ecoquest The Search for Cetus also had a lot of underwater sequences. It’s also a very underrated sierra game…

     
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There’s a first person Mac game called Nightfall in which the player can spend hours under water without any equipment.

     

Carpe chocolate.

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WOW, the protagonist of that game must be the freediving champion! Tongue

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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But, is it a good game diego? because it doesn’t immediately appeal somehow!

     
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chrissie - 04 July 2015 02:59 PM

But, is it a good game diego?

I wrote an extensive review when I finished it couple of years ago, so here’s the abridged version (in a quick and poor translation):


Once upon a time… Tale of a Hero is not really a cliche fantasy game, as it incorporates elements from various folklore, traditional stories and mythologies (Nordic mainly). Still, it’s most easier described as “King’s Quest clone”, and lack of such titles in recent years goes in its favor.

It should be noted that even though the name of Future Games (Black Mirror 1, Nibiru…) stands behind it, ToaH is actually done by a smaller company which was supported by Future Games, producing more of a “indie feel” compared to FG previous titles (which is not a bad thing per se).

Story is centered on Olaf, son of a fabled local hero. He’s soon-to-be-married, and living a peaceful life, spending his days as a fisherman. However, villagers succeed in talking Olaf into taking up on his father’s steps, serving as a “monster buster”. Bad news arrive for Olaf when he learns that the Ice Giant (once defeated by his old man) is looking for revenge.

The game is, story-wise, separated in 3 big sections - Olaf’s village (along with the swamp) where you need to make all the preparation for the big adventure, and gather the necessary magical artifacts for the trip; The Underwater World, where you need to acquire a certain weapon; and Ice World, for a final showdown with the giant. If this sounds linear - that’s because Tale of a Hero IS an epitome of linearity. Again, that was never a problem with adventures, but here you really get the sense that you’re walking through a “tunnel”, with a strict order of things. Paradoxically, the underwater world is quite reach with locations, but it’s smothered by linearity, because plenty of dialogues, actions you can take… are “unlocked” only after you’ve done something else, seemingly not connected to it. In other words, even the slightest omission can prevent you from forwarding. Compared to the water world, the other 2 sections are “narrower”, but have different problems: They’re too sterile, without the sense of “freedom” and decisions, that even the most linear adventures can give to players, with a smart design. For example, quite an interesting character named Smokey, a ghost-like creature you meet at the beginning, could have been potentially a wonderful sidekick, but after the prologue and first part we lose the track of him, and he sorta stays undeveloped and underused. It’s like that during the entire course of the game - characters just don’t have enough time to get stuck into your memory.

The script is quite ambitious, in “The Longest Journey” style, and authors made sure for players to feel the “lore” behind the story, like the myth of the underwater war. However, beside the already-mentioned problem with characters development - there’s also not many of them - only couple of characters per sections you can to talk to. Fortunately, dialogues are well-written and fun, even when they tend to drag a bit. The impression is strengthened with a more than solid English localization, especially the main character’s voice.

Puzzles are not bad - even though they’re in big part recycled inventory problems from various games, the difficulty is well balanced. You’ll hold no more than 10-15 objects at a time.
Right click is reserved for additional description, and you’ll also get the map of the Underworld for a quick travel. Solid interface is bugged only by general “slowness”, as you’ll constantly wait couple of seconds to reach the menu, save the game… but also wait for your character to drag himself from point A to point B.

Music is served sparingly, in the style of Broken Sword, but is pleasant enough, along with the sound effects. The graphics are sort of a mixed bag - there’s not much to complain about the quality of the backgrounds, but character models are in disproportion, both technically and stylistically - the “horrifying” titan, of whom you hear stories during the entire game, looks too ordinary once you meet him. Is this the GREAT Titan? Nope, that’s a bald old man, in a slippers (sort of like when you knock on a superstar’s door, only to be greeted by a slumped, unshaven man with a pouch). Olaf, too, is not like from the poster, with a slightly clumsy modeled polygons.


The final part brings couple of twists, although it’s still not convincing, just like as the team was meeting the deadline. All in all - Tale of a Hero is a game which is hard to recommend, but because of some undeniable qualities about it, mainly the script and strange, unique atmosphere that is the mix of fantasy, myth and humor, is not easily laid aside, too.

     

Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale

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