Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
Reviewed by TRI-Link
"You've got a problem. You're Cucumber. But you're also a Knight of the Realm,
which helps make up for the fact that you go through life long, green, and
with seeds. And now to make matters worse, your beloved Princess
Tomato has been kidnapped by the wicked Minister Pumpkin, who then
boots King Broccoli off the throne and proceeds to abolish all truth,
justice, sweetness and light from the Salad Kingdom. So why are you
just laying around waiting to ripen? As Sir Cucumber, you've got to
rescue you Princess and save her domain from the power-mad Pumpkin.
Otherwise, the entire Salad Kingdom will be tossed into a frenzy--or
even into a bowl with a dash of oil and vinegar. Sir Cucumber, your
Princess awaits!" Back of the box.
"Many growing seasons ago there was a place where vegetables lived
happily and in harmony. One day, Minister Pumpkin betrayed King
Broccoli. He kidnapped Princess Tomato and stole the Turnip Emblem.
He took them to his castle in the Zucchini Mountains. He sent his cruel
Fairies out to terrorize all the vegetables in the Salad Kingdom. Shortly
thereafter, the poor King died from the loss of his beautiful daughter. But
he promised you, brave, Sir Cucumber, the Princess' hand and the Kingdom
if you bring them back safely. God Speed Sir Cucumber!" The game opening.
This game is a very simple RPG, where you as sir Cucumber travel through
many food theme levels. By selecting: move (go somewhere), look (look
around, or at something), check (similar to look), talk (talk to some one,
what you say is up to the game), take (take something), use (use an item),
give (give an item away), buy (buy something), hit (hit something), fight
(Challenge an enemy to a game of rock, paper, scissors), praise (praise
someone or something), dump (get rid of an item), item (look at what
items you have), and Percy (ask Percy for his opinion). You use the
control pad to choose an action, then press A to select it, then use
the control pad to select what it is you want to do with that action,
then press A to execute, or B to cancel (i.e. move A forward A).
In level 1 you come across Percy, an orphaned persimmon. You revive him
with water, and after that he give you advice, and calls you boss. You
also find prince Endive, consult a shrine, and get a fake ID from friendly melons.
In level 2 you stroll around town learning about the resistance, and the
police, which are under the control of minister pumpkin. You buy things
in stores, talk to a hearing impaired ear of corn that doesn't like the city,
and go to the local cabaret and listen to the tutti-frutti trio, the salad
kingdoms hottest new band.
I won't go into any further detail as to what happens in each level.
Graphics 7.5 out of 10
What can I say. This game has very unique graphics. There is little
movement outside of the fight screen. But the quality of the graphics
themselves aren't make up for it. with the possible exception of the fig
that sells FDA un-approved medicine, which look very unappetizing, to
put it mildly.
Music and Sound 6.8 out of 10
The music in this game is very well suited to the rest of the game. And
a bit peppy, to say the least.
Game Challenge 5 out of 10
This game is relatively easy, although it takes some patience, and
persistence to get through it. Despite the fact that you can't die, or
get sent back, unless you set off the alarm in the police station, in
which case they send you back to the water torture room.
Game Play-Fun 9.9 out of 10
With it's fun places, silly problems, and charming characters. What's
not to like about this game!
Frustration
Most of the game is unusually low in frustration. However the default
responses get a bit tiring, such as: Praise: Your such a sweet talker!
Hit: Knock knock... nothing happened Talk: But no one's around! etc.
And you can get frustrated while fighting enemies, but the more frustrated
you get, the more you loose, and the more frustrated you get; so it's
best to just stay cool. The amount of time you have to spend repeating
actions can be frustrating; such as when sargent Pepper locks you in
the water torture room, you have to try the same things many times
until he goes away, then try every thing several more times, until
you get out. Then there's the mazes (There are three of them), they can
be very hard to navigate, especially the first time, or without a compass.
But the most frustrating thing has got to be getting the key from Raddish
Ron. The tipsters in the same level can be frustrating, but they're still
necessary. Also the music doesn't help your frustration much, it's so peppy!
The places where music is at it's worst is in the water torture room, and
mazes, simply because of distraction. And getting the gofer to come out
of his hole can be hard, if you don't have the umbrella. The pass words
are long, but that's not unusual, And because the password don't contain
any information about the state of the game, so if you start a new game
it won't recognize your old password; for the same reason, you can't use
other people's passwords.
Replayability 9.9 out of 10
Overall it's a highly replayable game, if you're in the right mood. If your not
in the mood, it can be a bit to repetitive, since you already know what to do.
Game Value 9 out of 10
If you like this type of low stress game, it is defiantly worth almost
any price. And if your a collector, it's a must have.
Oddities 7.7 out of 10
This game is overflowing with strange, grammar, punctuation, and
spelling, probably from being translated from Japanese. It also has
other hints at it's Japanese origins, such as the occasional vegetable
not usually found in American culture, or the peanut chieftains house.
Also the "people", aside from the fact that they are vegetables in the
first place, there is the strangness that princess Tomato's father is a
broccoli, and her sister is human! Not to mention that percy can talk to
statues, and they talk back. And the biggest oddity is the abundance of
cannibalism! There's a spinach field, and juice bars, not to mention the
asparagus doughnut! In fact, just after talking to a sour-sop Percy get
a craving for sour-sop soda! And the old peanut that runs the shop in the
peanut village sells peanut butter! They also use vegetables to build things
like houses, and furniture. In fact if check Lisa's foot stool it turns out
to be a baby onion! But as odd as that is the oddest oddity is the chameleon
grass that grows at the base of the big tree, at the far end of the plateau,
it turns you into whatever it is your thinking of! That may not seem so odd at
first, but just see what happens when you and Percy first try it!
Violence 0.1 out of 10
The only even close to violence, is the cannibalism, by which I mean the fact
that they eat vegetables, drink vegetable juice. They also have vegetable
houses, and furniture. And that the fairies become carnivores in the end.
And when prince Endive gets baried up to his neck, or when the melons get
picked. Other than that the time you get locked in the water torture room. In
fact the only times you inflict violence are, the when you hit percy, when
you push him into the pond (you have to do this to get the pumpkin ornament),
and when you blow up Bananza to rescue Nutty. Other than that the only
disreputable activity is when the princess' servant accuses you of being gross,
for interrupting her shower (also necessary, the interruption I mean); or when
you scare off Pumpkin Jr. with a catterpillar.
Overall 9.9 out of 10
All in all, this is a wonderful game. Sure to please almost any player, with
it's delightful places, cheerful characters, and down right silly problems!