With Nintendo being, obviously, a big name, it's delightful to get one's hands on old games of theirs that had the chance to be obscure, usually by not coming out in the West. Obviously, I am using obscure in a pretty loose sense here since anyone in Japan could probably get them just fine, but Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru isn't one that gets a lot of nostalgic reverence from the company. No Wario Ware minigame for this one. The footprint it left was simply a really big cameo in a Zelda game, which is not at all small since Link's Awakening rules, but was small enough that I never would have even realized it was a cameo without being told. I had no idea going into Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru what it actually was.
Having beaten it, I still find it hard to desribe. Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru exists in a place close to some modern itch.io games but with certain technical limitations and a sense of humor that's still very 1992. I can point to a number of other games I was reminded of while playing, from the obvious Zelda comparisons to like, Prince of Persia platforming. There's some RPG in here in that combat is entirely a battle of attrition, but you don't have experience points. You do have stats, though, and you buy some equipment upgrades throughout the game. You solve a lot of puzzles by managing your ability to change between three forms with different abilities, but none of them are super complicated. I guess the way I'd describe Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru is that there are a lot of gameplay elements pulled from different genres, but all of them are pared down to the simplest form to keep things moving. Everything is in favor of a fun little romp of a story.
In other words, it's the things you're doing and reading that are the star attraction in Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru over any kind of puzzle or platforming challenge. Everything is a setpiece in a goofy little story about your little prince and his friend Richard (also a prince). I really like the dynamic between those two, as they are both good friends and extremely antagonistic towards each other. It's a dynamic that's very familiar to a lot of kids but isn't used as much in fiction, but I was always on board for any time they switch effortlessly between helping and hating each other. Your prince is a huge loser who is getting dunked on constantly, the source of the handful of jokes that I actually found funny enough to smile at. Most of it is just ambiently charming, you know? No segment or goof lasts long enough to annoy.
If I was to complain about Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru I would say that there are some rough segments where failing can cause you to have to repeat a chunk of platforming, and also that the english translators chose to name the northern snowy city with with a word that I would have absolutely avoided holy shit
Basically just use some save states. The games only a few hours long and very ahead of its time as far as narrative and setpiece-based games go. It's the version of Marvelous that I actually enjoy.
Ok one more time: Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
Having beaten it, I still find it hard to desribe. Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru exists in a place close to some modern itch.io games but with certain technical limitations and a sense of humor that's still very 1992. I can point to a number of other games I was reminded of while playing, from the obvious Zelda comparisons to like, Prince of Persia platforming. There's some RPG in here in that combat is entirely a battle of attrition, but you don't have experience points. You do have stats, though, and you buy some equipment upgrades throughout the game. You solve a lot of puzzles by managing your ability to change between three forms with different abilities, but none of them are super complicated. I guess the way I'd describe Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru is that there are a lot of gameplay elements pulled from different genres, but all of them are pared down to the simplest form to keep things moving. Everything is in favor of a fun little romp of a story.
In other words, it's the things you're doing and reading that are the star attraction in Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru over any kind of puzzle or platforming challenge. Everything is a setpiece in a goofy little story about your little prince and his friend Richard (also a prince). I really like the dynamic between those two, as they are both good friends and extremely antagonistic towards each other. It's a dynamic that's very familiar to a lot of kids but isn't used as much in fiction, but I was always on board for any time they switch effortlessly between helping and hating each other. Your prince is a huge loser who is getting dunked on constantly, the source of the handful of jokes that I actually found funny enough to smile at. Most of it is just ambiently charming, you know? No segment or goof lasts long enough to annoy.
If I was to complain about Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru I would say that there are some rough segments where failing can cause you to have to repeat a chunk of platforming, and also that the english translators chose to name the northern snowy city with with a word that I would have absolutely avoided holy shit
Basically just use some save states. The games only a few hours long and very ahead of its time as far as narrative and setpiece-based games go. It's the version of Marvelous that I actually enjoy.
Ok one more time: Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru