Adventure Time is one of Cartoon Network’s most popular shows, and I’ve reviewed many games based on the franchise, both on tablets and consoles.  Their newest console adventure was recently released, and in the game, Princess Bubblegum has sent Finn and his stretchy magical dog pal Jake to the Nameless Kingdom to investigate some trouble.  The three princesses of the Nameless Kingdom have gone missing, presumably trapped in maze-like dungeons, and so it’s up to Finn and Jake to set out and rescue them.  Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom is a top-down viewed action adventure game very similar to classic Zelda titles, and it is available on PS3, Xbox 360, and 3DS (reviewed on PS3 here).

All the console Adventure Time games were developed by WayForward, including this one, and they have a good eye for classic styled games.  This new game is so much like A Link to the Past that it almost pays homage to it.  You even start the game out in the rain and must enter the castle through a side entrance under a bush!  The rest of the game plays like a Zelda title, too.  You’ll tromp around a large outside overworld defeating enemies and collecting items, while finding the maze-like puzzle dungeons that house a captured princess, a boss, and even more secrets!  There are fewer dungeons in this game that in an average Zelda title, but the dungeons here are more difficult and intricate.

Jake can swing his sword to defeat enemies, and use other items like a banana-rang to stun enemies, and a fire creature to help light the way.  Finn can also collect baggies to put stuff in, like healing items, bombs, and more!  Even though Jake the dog stays in Finn’s backpack nearly the whole time, he helps out too by turning into a shield, grabbing and swatting objects, smashing down barriers, and more.  You’ll learn more skills for Jake to help Finn as you progress through the game.

While this new Adventure Time game is a lot like Zelda, that doesn’t mean it’s as good, though.  One unique thing about this game is that it doesn’t hold your hand through the adventure, telling you where to go next.  If you’re facing really tough enemies or roadblocks, it probably means you need to go somewhere else first.  But that can be a double edged sword, too.  It also makes goals and objectives very unclear, so you’ll do a lot of needless wandering.  I don’t know if the retail version of the game comes with instructions, but the downloadable one doesn’t.  I had no idea you can put bomb creatures in a bag by having Jake grab them.  All I can say is thank goodness for YouTube walkthrough videos.  Plus, the overworld looks all the same, so backtracking and remembering where things were for later can be harder, and the game is a little buggy, too.  And it also helps to be familiar with the Adventure Time characters, too.  But if you enjoy the show and are craving a challenging classic Zelda-style game, you should enjoy this one.

Kid Factor:

Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Comic Mischief and Cartoon Violence.  You’ll swing your sword and hit enemies, but they just disappear in a puff of smoke when defeated.  There are some fart jokes and other bits of crude humor, too.  If you’re OK with your kids watching the TV show, they’ll be OK with the game, too.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text and menus, but most of the dialogue has spoken lines from the cartoon voice cast.  Younger gamers may get frustrated at the unclear goals and high difficulty level, too.

Tags: Game Reviews, Television