Review: Cthulhu Saves the World

If you were around during the 16bit era when Japanese RPGs were the hottest imports, you’d remember how many hours you might have spent leveling up your party members as you traveled from town to town fighting enemies and saving the world one boss battle at a time. Cthulhu Saves the World, developed by Zeboyd Games, reminds you of those times since it is a throwback to turn-based RPGs but contains so much humor and parody that it makes for a hilarious experience.

Cthulhu is a demon of insanity about to doom the world until his powers were sealed away. The narrator tells you that in order to break the curse, Cthulhu needs to become a hero by doing heroic deeds. Breaking the fourth wall, he overhears the narrator and begins his quest to do good things for the people he once terrified and gains companions along the way. Cthulhu must save the world!

The game plays like a classic turn-based RPG, but with some modern twists that alleviate it from being too long and tedious. For example, while random encounters exist in the game, after a certain amount of battles in each location, the random encounters will be turned off and you will be free to fight monster at your own will by selecting to fight in the main menu. The game only has one potion that does everything –heals illnesses, revives, restores HP– so you don’t have to worry about hoarding supplies. You can also save anytime you want, and if you lose a battle, you can use 1-ups to retry the battle again right from the start. These options make the game fast and enjoyable while still keeping it retro in style.

Battles also have a combo and multiplier system so your attack strength and that of your enemies will constantly be increasing as the battle progresses. When you win a battle, you will regain all your health and some of your magic points too. Again, this makes gameplay so much less of a hassle and more about getting through each level and enjoying the game. Each time you level up, you can also choose what abilities your characters will learn so it gives you a bit of a customization option. Do you want Cthulhu to be a magical madman or do you want to make him super strong?

The battle system may be light and fast, but it’s no pushover. You’ll have access to different attacks and magic spells, and your enemies will also have their own set of surprises up their sleeves. You can use combo finishers to do lots of damage after a string of combos, or you can use special team attacks that do consecutive damage each turn. Boss battles are fun, but you’ll have to use some strategy against some monsters too.

When you’re not battling, you’ll be laughing at the game’s humorous presentation and impressed by its many details. Because the game is a parody, you’ll laugh at how it uses common RPG staples like dungeon and town exploration and adds a comedic twist to them. The game pokes fun at itself, but some jokes will come out of left field, and you’ll feel like they are overdoing it a bit. The monsters you’ll encounter are also very colorful and the bosses have personality. The graphics pay homage to the 16bit era, but they are detailed for what they are and look polished on an HD screen. The game’s soundtrack seems like it came from an actual RPG game back in 1992. It’s that good and very catchy.

If you enjoy classic RPG games and enjoy some humor in your games, you can’t go wrong with Cthulhu Saves the World. For 240 Microsoft Points, you get a full-sized game with classic gameplay and hours of fun. The game’s leveling up system is easy and a lot more enjoyable than those of most RPG games even with seven characters at your disposal. Despite having retro graphics and giving us nothing we haven’t seen before, Cthulhu Saves the World is an impressive title that will make you smile, if not laugh out loud.

Score given: 8.5/10

Published January 2010 | GamingUnwrapped.com

Category : Xbox 360 Reviews
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