Turn-based strategy is one of the videogame genres in which the Japanese have always dominated at the level of franchises and ideas. From the permadeath of Fire Emblem to the law system of the two Final Fantasy Tactics Advance passing through the grinding of Disgaea and similar.
Garden Tale it is a game that would not have disfigured in the Nippon Ichi catalog for its light-hearted style and its being extremely over the top. Settings, characters and everything related to the non-playful part of the title seem to derive from some series B production made in Japan.
The thing the title unfortunately seems to lack is quality.
Bonion a pranzo, a cena ed in guerra.
The reign of Garden it is a place that is as wonderful as it is peaceful. It is inhabited by virtuous people who work to keep the economy alive through the cultivation and care of the gardens. The idyll however is broken when the neighboring reign of Zoo and its inhabitants, the Zooliani, they decide to attack.
It will be up to our protagonist Kurtz, a professional gardener, and his friends stop the invasion in an attempt to preserve the peace and their beloved vegetables. All at the modest cost of a mass extermination.
The game is presented as a turn-based strategy game on the very classic square boxes. The characters will be controlled through a convenient interface divided between movement and various kinds of actions.
THEinterface it is completely based on the use of the mouse and is extremely comfortable in any situation; it will be possible to carry out any kind of action or check any information within a couple of clicks.
At the beginning of each battle it will be necessary to prepare our party through the customization of equipment and skills. Once on the battlefield it will be possible to discover one of the strengths of the title: the Bonion.
Il Bonion it is a type of vegetable with a curious explosive nature. If triggered through an attack it will explode causing damage within a certain radius. If there are other vegetables within range, we will observe chain reactions capable of taking home an enemy platoon within a single turn.
Strategic Puzzle Playing Game
The presence of the Bonion transforms each stage of Garden Tale in a small puzzle to be solved through the skills available to your characters. Each character will have unique equipment with which he will be able to handle the plant in some way.
Some of the possible actions are, for example:
- Move the Bonion along a straight line, which can be done using a spear.
- Controlled detonation of the bonion through a particular sword.
- Bonion regrowth at increased speed using a particular skill.
The combined use of these skills will allow you to solve the stages in a few turns without striking a blow against our Zoolian opponents.
Bonion explosions will also have a second and interesting effect: generate mana. The latter is shared among the members of our squadron and is used as a resource for activating skills, creating a vicious circle between the two souls of the gameplay: strategy and puzzle solving.
Stacking explosions through careful planning of Bonion locations will create a huge source of mana that you can use to heal your characters or kill an enemy tougher than expected.
The worst Japan
While the gameplay finds a way to make its way into the vast world of strategists through a reasoned and intelligent use of its components, the technical sector is running water on all sides.
La graphics di Garden Tale yes, it is acceptable but not at all inspired. The character design suffers greatly from the complete absence of originality in the characterization and this seriously affects the aspect of longevity. You don't feel compelled to play the title at all, if not for the sake of blowing things up turn by turn.
La plot itself is steeped in topos and stereotyped situations from Japanese animation of the worst kind; loli and tsundere will quietly make an appearance without having any glimmer of genius or honest humor. The same playable characters have absolutely insufficient characterizations to be appreciable, often re-entering stereotypes that are really too seen between video games and animation.
Il sound compartment it borders on the purest anonymity with weak effects and a forgettable selection of battle pieces.
This combination unfortunately makes the title rather unpleasant to the eyes and ears of those who approach it because it shows a lack of attention to detail. The main menu itself smells meager and impersonal, leaving the impression of a title made in a hurry in an attempt to make ends meet.
La longevity of the title then ends up being completely based on the gameplay factor that holds up the blow but fails to completely save a title that, unfortunately, is leaking from all sides.
Fortunately, no one will be able to heritable this title from my Steam library.
Garden Tale is an ugly picture with a nice background color. An interesting gameplay immersed in a world that is not in any point of view.
Half Bomberman, half Fire Emblem, the gameplay of Garden Tale works and has fun, especially in the more advanced stages where the possibilities are many but it ends up succumbing to the blows of an absent and at times embarrassing personality.
