Playing with blocks usually feels more original.

There's nothing quite like the sense of nostalgia games bring with them.  It's a remembrance of when times were seemingly simple and everything you encountered formed your opinion of things today.  Classic gaming is an immediate and immense source of nostalgia for many gamers, myself included, so just seeing 3D Dot Game Heroes in action is enough to put a smile on my face.  Here is a brand new game developed by From Software, creators of last year's surprise hit, Demon's Souls, that looks reminiscent of all those old Nintendo titles and celebrates that classic time.  Not only that but they've set their goals high in choosing to specifically emulate The Legend of Zelda.  By targeting that game, one so beloved by gamers, 3D Dot Game Heroes runs the risk of being labeled a rip-off rather than an homage.  In truth, the game is harder to pigeonhole than it would first appear.

Long ago, in the kingdom of Dotnia, a great evil arose and threatened the safety of the people.  It was only through the efforts of the six sages and an unknown hero that the evil was able to be sealed away.  News of the hero's adventures spread all over the world and Dotnia was flooded with tourists.  As time passed, the hero grew to legend and the amount of visitors dwindled thanks to new 3D lands.  In response, the king of Dotnia declared a new era of 3D, but soon after, the great evil escaped from its seal due to the efforts of a dark bishop.  It is now up to a new hero to gather the power of the six sages and defeat the evil once again.

From the outset, 3D Dot Game Heroes wears its affection for Zelda openly.  The plot is pulled almost directly from A Link to the Past, but it never takes itself seriously.  There isn't much story after the opening and most of the plot afterward consists of either jokes on 8-bit era tropes or just enough dialog to point you toward the next section.  This lack of story actually works to the game's benefit since the player can change their hero whenever a save file is loaded.  Over twenty pre-made characters can be selected with designs ranging from traditional heroes to dragons and submerged sharks to a military tank.  A character creator allows players to build as many heroes as they can think of since the creation tools are relatively simple to understand.  The only real hurdle is the imagination, but even that isn't a problem with a community online where players can upload or download heroes.

The first thing anyone will notice about 3D Dot Game Heroes is the graphical style.  The game imagines what the current generation would have looked like had 3D consisted of cubical pixels rather than polygons.  Everything in the world is made up of cubes with houses and characters reused in an obvious nod to its nostalgic roots.  It's a style that lends a lot of personality and humor to the story while also giving it a unique look.  And while that style isn't designed to impress on a technical level, there are some modern flourishes used.  Defeated enemies burst into individual cubes, water shimmers realistically, and light flares when stepping out of a dungeon.  Not everyone will appreciate the look, but it's difficult to imagine the game without it.  The same could be said about the sound design.  Every effect and piece of music is distinctly old school, making it immediately familiar even though it's all new.  This charm comes at the expense of variety as there are only about ten songs in the entire game, ranging from catchy to downright annoying.  It all matches the classic flair, but there were many times I found myself wishing for something beyond what was offered.

If you've ever played a Zelda before, you know exactly what to expect from 3D Dot Game Heroes.  Exploration takes place on a similar overworld with certain sections inaccessible until the appropriate item is obtained.  The overworld is actually quite large and packed with secrets, item upgrades, heart containers, magic potions, and quests.  It will easily take upwards of thirty hours to do everything between beating the main game and finding all the secrets.  The problem is the game doesn't help you in this regard.  The map screen is pulled so far back that it's difficult to determine the exact route to travel.  There is no way to zoom in and some sections are so labyrinthine in nature that it's easy to get lost.  The lack of a quest log is also troublesome due to the fact that so many quests get thrown at you by similar looking villagers that it becomes near impossible to keep track of where you need to go or what you need to do.

Dungeons are handled the same as Zelda as well, right down to the use of small keys and a boss key.  Each dungeon provides a new item to help make it through and every one of them is ripped right from the game's inspiration.  The boomerang, bombs, bow and arrows, and even the hookshot all make an appearance and are used in the exact same way.  Magic spells are gained after speaking to each sage and are actually unique, from a reflector spell to a freezing one.  Unfortunately, they are barely used outside of dungeons.  Worse yet is that despite gaining all the items and magic, they are rarely necessary to defeat a boss.  Sure they're big and well designed but every one of them consists of memorizing attack patterns and attack ingwith your sword.  It may seem odd that I'm harping on it for not copying Zelda, but omitting this design makes each successive battle a little dull.  The decision behind this was likely made to emphasize the sword mechanics, the game's only completely new gameplay feature.

The swords in 3D Dot Game Heroes are big, and you'll want them that way.  As long as your hero's health is full, the equipped sword will reach its maximum length which can cross the entirety of the screen at times.  It becomes easy to take out any enemy in your way at this point, especially after visiting a blacksmith and increasing the length, width, power, and special abilities of a sword.  If even the smallest increment of health is lost though, your sword shrivels to a pitiful size and halves its strength, making the game much more difficult.  A lot of times I found myself scrambling for any health in order to take out the overwhelming enemies.  There are more than twenty swords to find and collect with each one having its own properties and upgrade possibilities.  It's well worth hunting down the best and sometimes wacky swords (fish sword anyone?) that help make the game less difficult.  Without your sword at maximum power, you will die.

3D Dot Game Heroes emulates the classic Zelda formula extremely well.  Almost too well.  The game is undoubtedly fun, but it is struggling for a gameplay identity.  The sword mechanics offer something different, but it's not enough when everything else is so entrenched in the Nintendo powerhouse.  As for the debate between whether it's an homage or rip-off, I would declare it an homage.  While not the best, it can certainly hold you over until the release of Skyward Sword (or at least until you decide to replay Link to the Past again).