[General Topics] Menneisyys:
The Pocket PC has very few Zelda clones (Zelda is probably the most famous “Japanese RPG” titles on computer platforms and is a must if you're into games - you will most likely like it). Most Zelda fans need to use emulators (for example, PocketGBA or the various SNES emulators) to play Zelda on their Pocket PC’s. Now, the situation may change.

Gameplay

It’s traditional Zelda: you hash enemies, pick up items, meet other creatures and are given quests.

Availability, compatibility

The official homepage of the game is here; the Handango page here. The game costs $16.99 and there is a trial version available.

I encountered no problems on any of my devices, including even my 6-year-old Casio E-125 and 5-year-old iPAQ 3660.

Control

It’s entirely hardware button-based. Buttons can’t be redefined, which is a big problem.

Sounds, music

The game has pretty good (albeit short) music, different for most kinds of enemies / maps and there are 18 of them. They are all tracked PSTTracker modules and can be found under \Program Files\Knight Tales - Land Of Bitterness -\Res\M* on your PDA, should you want to listen to them outside the game.

Pros

The game uses the portrait orientation, which is very good news for players with devices that may have polarization problems in Landscape (for example, the Dell Axim x50v/ x51v)

The storyline is pretty good, albeit not so good as with original Zeldas

Different music tracks for different maps. They’re a bit on the short side though

Compatible with all Pocket PC platforms – it even has a MIPS version, and it’s running great on my Casio E-125!

Weapon/shield upgrades (they are a must – after some upgrades, your weapons become orders of magnitude better than initially)

Cons

No manual; the built-in help (page 2) is written for (smart)phones with numeric keypads. This means you’ll need to do some trial-and-error to find out what each key does

Keys can’t be redefined. This can be a real pain in the back for example if you play the game on any Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox devices, where the Contacts button (the one in the game that changes weapons) is too close to the D-pad button and is, therefore, often depressed. Nothing is more annoying than finding out that you’ve switched to “Vivi” (a fairy companion not capable of attacking, only stone pushing) and this is why you don’t have any weapon. Fortunately, the game runs on the Universal (which doesn’t have many app buttons on the side); in there, the Camera and the Record side buttons are used for quick weapon switch and attack / action.

I’m afraid it might be a bit short – that is, it may be suffering from the similar problem as Angel Sword (see Eric Pankoke’s excellent review here). After some three hours of play (without my drawing a map – that is, sometimes I had to wander around to find a previously blocked gate I could find much faster with a map hand-drawn), I was already at 49% as can also be seen in this screenshot. (You can check this yourself by just taking a look at the conversation script – it can be found at \Program Files\Knight Tales - Land Of Bitterness -\Res\T )

The game is far too easy: it was very rarely that I had to restore a game

Slaughtering weak enemies (mostly toads), in general, gives more (!) experience points (XP) than slaughtering stronger enemies. That is, most players will prefer just slaughtering toads to climb the XP ladder and to get money. This results in a VERY fast climbing in the level – after two-three hours, I was already Level 15. With the original Zelda on my SNES (and, later, Gameboy Color), it took me days to achieve something similar.

While this, with messed-up stone-pushing Sokoban-like puzzles, is of great help, when you re-enter a map, non-boss enemies reappear there in exactly the same position, making exactly the same (initial – that is, before the ones close to you sense your presence) course. This, on the long run, can prove pretty tiring and boring.

Other screenshots

Statistics / character page

Fairies coming with you and helping you in pushing rocks or adding fire damage to your sword; also lists the collected keys

Verdict

This game is, basically, very good if you like Japanese RPG’s and Zeldas in particular, except for, on some devices, the button issues. Too bad it’s REALLY short. I really wish it was FAR longer. Hope the developers come up with a FAR longer title.