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3D Dot Game Heroes Is the Best Zelda Game on PS3

This blatant Zelda clone eventually forges its own identity... but just barely.

April 21, 2010
You won't like this if...

you don't like old-school gaming, arcade games and mini-adventures.

3D Dot Game Heroes Review
Credit: Silicon Studio

When you think about it, The Legend of Zelda -- that is, the very first one, released almost a quarter-century ago on NES -- was really quite different from its sequels. Yes, you controlled a sword-wielding, elf kid named Link while collecting bits of the mystical Triforce from underground labyrinths in order to save the eponymous princess from the evil Ganon, but despite these general connections, the very first Zelda is almost as much a black sheep in the series as its controversial follow-up, Zelda II.

What set the first Zelda apart from its successors was its freewheeling design. Unlike A Link to the Past and every sequel that followed, Zelda was less a puzzle box of meticulously crafted dungeons than a giant sandbox that left players to their own devices as they pursued their quest. On one hand, the game had a tendency to be maddeningly opaque, with unreasonably unclear objectives and vital hidden secrets that could only be revealed through tedious effort, and that often sucked the fun right out of the experience. On the other, it was far less formulaic and linear than modern Zelda games, leaving fans free to approach the game however they liked; witness the popularity of self-imposed challenges like finishing the game without a sword. Furthermore, Zelda's design demonstrated a level of faith in the intelligence of players that's become distressingly rare in this era of forced walkthroughs and stilted linearity.

3D Dot Game Heroes. It is, unapologetically, a total ripoff of the original Zelda. Sure, it's been spruced up with contemporary 3D visual effects like light-sourcing and depth of field, but it wears its old-school allegiance proudly; despite the fancy graphical effects, the game is built entirely of pixels. (Well, voxels, anyway.) It looks pretty much like you'd expect a Lego Zelda game to look, except even flashier. The important difference between 3DDGH and any given Lego title is that this is nowhere near as toothless as anything produced by Traveler's Tales; there's no attempt to be family-friendly here, and -- perhaps not surprisingly, given that the game was developed by Demon's Souls creators From Soft -- the last few dungeons are utterly and completely merciless.

Still, strip away the 3D visuals and 3DDGH is basically Zelda II. I don't mean the Zelda II that Nintendo actually made and that we played, though. No, this is some theoretical other Zelda II from a parallel universe in which Nintendo decided that the second Zelda game should feel like a bridge between the first and third entries rather than some bewildering action platformer. It's a top-down, sword-stabbing, dungeon-seeking adventure that marries the form of the first Zelda with many of the mechanics of A Link to the Past. The kingdom of Dotnia is a carbon-copy of the original Hyrule, all the way down to its geography, its enemies, the cranky people who demand payment for door repairs, and of course, "It's a secret to everybody." On the other hand, you also wear dash boots, collect quarter-heart fragments in order to build your life meter, and need grappling hooks and other special tools to traverse certain areas throughout the land. It honestly feels like a bunch of people at From said, "Let's make a game that feels like a sequel to the original Zelda," then realized they'd need to spruce it up with fancy graphics in order to have a hope of getting it published.

Click the image above to check out all 3D Dot Game Heroes screens.

I'm glad they did, because I've wanted a game like the original Zelda for ages. The series' modern incarnations are all well and good, but I miss the way the NES game set me free in a huge, unexplored land and let me figure out my objectives on my own time. 3DDGH scratches that itch, and it neatly sidesteps the frustrating parts of the NES game in the process. There's plenty of space to roam and explore, but the likelihood of getting completely lost is pretty slim since the world is dotted with towns packed with helpful NPCs happy to offer pointers, albeit frequently with a dose of sarcasm. 3DDGH makes me feel almost exactly like I did as a 10-year-old kid trying to unravel the mysteries of Hyrule for the first time, and that's quite a feat.

Still, even though I'm fairly smitten with the game, or at least with the sense of nostalgic fondness it enkindles in my cynical heart, I also recognize the fact that 3DDGH won't be to everyone's tastes. In fact, your enjoyment of the game will be directly proportionate to the amount of time you spent playing NES games 20 years ago. If the NES experience is alien to you, you're going to find yourself wondering what the hell From was thinking when they put together 3DDGH. You see, once you scrape away the rosy film of nostalgia and the ironic juxtaposition of NES-style graphics in full high-def 3D, 3DDGH barely has any substance to call its own.

Click the image above to check out all 3D Dot Game Heroes screens.

The game seems generally content to stand at the intersection of satire, pastiche, and blatant rip-off, but it's only at the end that it finally sets off to define its own personality: A true kick-you-in-the-ass, From Software adventure. But you have to play for a while to see that aspect of the game; up until the fifth dungeon (out of seven), 3DDGH is content to wallow in slightly-too-familiar design elements and weak 8-bit RPG satire that would embarrass Mad Magazine in its transparency. Like when "Little Boss" calls to warn you about pit traps. Or you meet a hero who has to decide whether to marry his childhood friend or the richest girl in town. Or when you sleep in an inn and dream of a guy named "Pizarro" talking to his lover "Rosy" about wanting to destroy humanity. It's mildly amusing, but there's far better NES-era satire out there... and most of it can be read for free on the Internet. As a hook to hang an entire game on, it's pretty flimsy. And for the first half of the game, 3DDGH is barely a wisp of an idea beyond, "Ha ha, we sure do love old games!"

But those last dungeons, in all their cruel, unrelenting glory -- those are where the real meat of 3DDGH is hidden. There, at the end of the quest, you start to appreciate the game's hidden depth, its myriad hidden sidequests, its crazy array of goods and random bonus minigames, all of which add up to offer a refreshing amount of liberty in tackling the endgame. The parodic loading screens, throwaway in-jokes, and ridiculous visuals are an amusing novelty, but once that's worn away, you still have a pretty decent adventure to keep you going through to the end.

Crystalis. If you're not... well, maybe you'll still find something to like here, but don't be surprised if 3DDGH leaves you cold.

Originally published on 1UP.com.

See More: 3D Dot Game Heroes | Atlus | From Software