Blossom Tales II The Minotaur Prince Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

Blossom Tales II The Minotaur Prince Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET In the first year of the Switch’s life, it was relatively common to see massive indie success stories from developers who managed to get their game on the eShop before the veritable torrent of new game releases — many of them excellent — flooded the store on a weekly basis. One of these titles was Blossom Tales, a cute action game that wasn’t even remotely shy about how heavily it was cribbing from the playbook of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. After the enormous and unexpected success of Blossom Tales saved the development team from having to shut down, work began on Blossom Tales 2, and we’re happy to report that this sophomore effort is every bit as enjoyable as the original — although it’s also just as derivative. Here the narrative once again takes place as a ‘story within a story’, as an elderly man tells his two eager grandchildren a tale that features both of them as characters, with Lily, a brave warrior, living with her obnoxious brother in a fantasy land. The two start out participating in all sorts of fun at a nearby fair, but a petty sibling squabble causes Lily to wish that the evil Minotaur King would come and take her brother somewhere far away. TOP/BEST ADULT VIDEO GAMES IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)

Blossom Tales II The Minotaur Prince Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

Somehow, this causes the real Minotaur King to show up and do just that, which kicks off her quest across the land to reclaim her brother and defeat the evil king. It’s not an incredibly deep narrative, but it plays well with the premise of being a story told by a campfire and echoes with elements of Labyrinth and The Princess Bride. At many points, the children will bicker over particular details of the plot, which eventually presents the player with a choice between two options that affect the outcome. For example, when you’re given the token ‘magical instrument’ item, the children bicker over what kind of instrument it actually is, and we opted for the accordion. We appreciated these moments, as they aren’t used excessively, but occur often enough that they keep you from forgetting that none of the events on screen are actually ‘real’. Gameplay is similar to the classic top-down Legend of Zelda games, and by “similar” we mean “almost indistinguishable”. Whereas the original release seemed to take more from A Link to the Past, this release feels like it’s more in line with Link’s Awakening, right down to the confusing owl who occasionally visits to point you in the right direction.

Compelling main story plus engaging side-quests.

You start out with three hearts and travel an expansive overworld littered with enemies, secrets, and obstacles that you overcome with a slowly growing inventory of useful items. Every now and then, you’ll find yourself in a dungeon filled with puzzles and enemies that are usually ‘solved’ by finding the dungeon’s item, and you eventually clear the dungeon by winning a boss fight which grants you an additional heart and advances the plot a little further. Much like its predecessor, the largest drawback to Blossom Tales 2 is that it isn’t very original in its gameplay design. Minit was clearly inspired by Link’s Awakening, but it was all built around a 60-second life for your character. Crosscode borrowed plenty from Zelda puzzle design while still blending in many elements of ’90s JRPGs. Swords of Ditto was a roguelike where the whole overworld would reset and randomize. The point being, there’s nothing wrong with borrowing from Nintendo’s legendary series—there’s a reason it’s so acclaimed—but most games simply pick and choose elements that serve a grander vision based on a more unique idea. Blossom Tales 2 is more content to copy 2D Zelda wholesale, but the execution isn’t as good. Call of Duty World at War

Blossom Tales II The Minotaur Prince Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

On the other hand, Blossom Tales 2 proves to be almost as good as the games it’s emulating and this isn’t something to be dismissed out of hand. Sure, it may be derivative, but this is a release that doubles down on what it’s trying to accomplish and doesn’t water anything down. Even if we sighed when the exciting ‘new’ item in a dungeon was just a legally distinct hookshot, the dungeon itself still proved to be a genuinely engaging and fun place to explore. Plus, the experience of slowly uncovering the overworld while getting all kinds of news toys to subtly change up combat and movement proves to be well-paced and addictive all the way through. Both puzzles and combat are simple enough that they aren’t necessarily hard, but they remain challenging enough that it feels satisfying when you overcome them. Modern homages to classic video games often go one of two ways: They either stick close to the gameplay conventions to which they are paying tribute, or they expand the original games’ styles in meaningful and innovative ways. Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince, like its 2017 predecessor, is more the former than the latter, adhering closely to the classic Legend of Zelda blueprint.

Classic top-down action-adventure in a retro 2d environment.

most notably that of A Link to the Past. Despite this lack of innovation, Blossom Tales II still manages to capture many of the acclaimed elements of what many consider to be one of the greatest video games of all time, and in the process, delivers a fun, retro-facing adventure worth embarking on. After player-character Lily accidentally unleashes the Minotaur King, who swiftly kidnaps her brother, a new dark age looms unless she can put a stop to the monstrous mythological monarch. To do so, she must leave the comfort of Blossomdale to trek through pirate-infested swamplands, ghost-haunted mansions, and a monster-filled desert. I love how each biome presents different challenges and enemies to overcome, and the exploration often feels natural and intuitive, leading you from one screen to the next. I rarely felt lost during my playthrough, which is a testament to the design of the open world and the dungeons therein. Unfortunately, despite my enjoyment of the exploration, I rarely felt adequately rewarded for poking around each nook and cranny. Treasure offered for completing even the most difficult caverns is often gold coins, of which I already had more than I could spend. Savior of the Abyss Switch NSP

Blossom Tales II The Minotaur Prince Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

On rare occasions, I received a heart piece to help me earn more health, but those were so rare (and you need four of them to add to your max health) that it was minimally exciting. Still, that didn’t stop me from bombing every cracked wall, collecting every item, and fishing every pond. Blossom Tales II carries on the series’ hallmark of well-crafted dungeon experiences. Much like the world, the game’s dungeons flow well from room to room, and give you the right number of clues to progress without much frustration. While a late labyrinth is perhaps my favorite thanks to its strong mix of challenging combat and head-scratching puzzles, the dungeons feature terrific design involving minecart tracks, changing water levels, and more. Blossom Tales II’s simple combat lacks the sophistication and smoothness of other top-down action games, but it makes up for it by giving you a wealth of items and powerups. Genre mainstays like a bow, boomerang, and bombs appear in your inventory early on, while a yo-yo that acts like a hookshot and a guitar on which you play spell-inducing songs do more than nod at the Zelda series. These items are used in interesting and satisfying ways, though I was less excited about how often I needed to pause the action and map a different item to the face buttons.

Dozens of mini-dungeons, caves, and locations to discover.

Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince takes place hundreds of years after the events of Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King. The original game is often referenced, but it’s not necessary to play it, in order to play Blossom Tales II. Like the Legend of Zelda franchise, the narrative is fine, but not as important as the world-building or gameplay. Blossom Tales doesn’t try to mask its Legend of Zelda inspiration, rather, it tries to perfect the Zelda formula. That’s an important distinction from a 2D adventure title trying to be its own unique game. The Blossom Tales games don’t exist in a vacuum without The Legend of Zelda series. There are Zelda references peppered throughout Blossom Tales II. There are heart containers, a spin attack, matching house interiors, grass cutting, jar smashing, etc. In Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King, the grandpa telling the game’s story even asks his grandchild audience if he’s already told them the story about “the brave elf boy who lived in a magical land called H –”. The Blossom world map is grid-based, just like 2D Legend of Zelda titles. Even though the entire map is completely connected, Blossom Tales has transitions between areas, to further accentuate its inspirations.

There are two item slots, just like the updated version of Link’s Awakening. One of my only complaints about Blossom Tales II is that it doesn’t have any control over customization. For whatever reason, it drove me nuts that the interact button was the same button as cancel, and not the same button as confirm. Gameplay-wise, Blossom Tales II starts slow. The beginning moments are a Chrono Trigger-like village festival, with some simple minigames to play. This is a good jumping-off point for the story! But the game introduces mechanics very simply, before ramping them up. It takes a few hours before Blossom Tales II’s genius really reveals itself. The challenging combat and puzzles in the latter half of the game are where it shines brightest. And it’s not apparent at first that Blossom Tales II will be anything more than baby’s first Zelda. I get that the initial presentation of Blossom Tales II is designed to be deceptive. The game has a satisfying challenge, but it comes off as overly simple to start. There’s also a girly aesthetic that is guaranteed to turn some potential players away. I’m all for female protagonists, and games aimed at young female audiences, but the initial presentation will definitely not attract a portion of the hardcore retro game audience.

Blossom Tales II The Minotaur Prince Switch NSP Free Download GAMESPACK.NET

Blossom Tales II will need to reach to be successful. The pixel graphics are also quite simple. I prefer more complex sprite-work, and I think Blossom Tales would attract a larger SNES-loving crowd with characters that looked less like Lego figures. Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince looks, sounds, and feels exactly like Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King. It really is more of the same game, but with a new story, and some fun new abilities. The Blossom Tales series is all about perfecting The Legend of Zelda’s groundwork. So it makes sense that the second game is about adding to the already perfect formula, rather than innovating anything totally new. This isn’t a critique, but its worth noting for fans of the original game. My only major gripes with Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince are highly subjective. It’s a game that needs to reach the kind of people who play mods of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which provide the player with more challenging combat and puzzles. Blossom Tales II has a very good world map to explore, and its dungeon puzzles and combat are perfect. It starts like a game a parent would want to get their young daughter but becomes one that will impress any old-school Zelda fan who gives it some time. So give Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince your time. Blade of Darkness Switch NSP

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