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3D Dot Game Heroes Image

3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)

Release Date:
77
Metascore
 66 reviews
7.8
User Score
 110 ratings

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Developer: Silicon Studio
Publisher: Atlus
Game Details: A long, long time ago, the Dark King Onyx brought an age of darkness upon Dotnia Kingdom. Only by
A long, long time ago, the Dark King Onyx brought an age of darkness upon Dotnia Kingdom. Only by the bravery of a hero with a legendary sword was Onyx sealed in an orb, restoring peace to the world. But Fuelle, a powerful Dark Bishop, has stolen the orb, and with it, peace. Dotnia requires a hero once more! Can you live up to the legend? Ultimate retro love letter -- Seamlessly fusing new and old, the golden era of gaming is felt in every detail of this lovingly-crafted adventure.A long, long time ago, the Dark King Onyx brought an age of darkness upon Dotnia Kingdom. Only by the bravery of a hero with a legendary sword was Onyx sealed in an orb, restoring peace to the world. But Fuelle, a powerful Dark Bishop, has stolen the orb, and with it, peace. Dotnia requires a hero once more! Can you live up to the legend? Ultimate retro love letter -- Seamlessly fusing new and old, the golden era of gaming is felt in every detail of this lovingly-crafted adventure. Eye-popping visuals capture the nostalgic charm of pixel graphics in cutting edge 3D. Simple, but deep action-adventure gameplay is a throwback to the 8-bit era. Veterans will find references and jokes that pay homage to the great games of yore. Awe and adventure live again -- Embark on the next generation of classic exploration and discovery in a grand story-based quest. A hero sets out to gain the power of the six sages and the six orbs that protected the kingdom of Dotnia, which now stands on the verge of destruction. Customize your hero -- When pixels are your building blocks, the possibilities are unlimited. Freely edit the look of your character, or design one completely from scratch, and then trade designs with friends via a compatible USB storage device. Your hero's blade is also upgradeable, letting you add length and width to create a sword that fills the whole screen. [Atlus USA]… Expand
Developer: Silicon Studio
Publisher: Atlus
Genre(s): Role-Playing Action RPG Action RPG
Number of players: No Online Multiplayer
Cheats: On GameFAQs
Rating: E10+
Official Site: http://www.3DDotGameHeroes.com
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Critic Reviews
(66)
77
Metascore Generally favorable reviews
47 Positive Ratings 71%
19 Mixed Ratings 28%
0 Negative Ratings 0%
Based on 66 Critic Reviews View All
100
Gaming Age
"Definitely a love letter to old-school gaming fans." ... Read full review
90
Thunderbolt
"3D Dot Game Heroes is challenging, but it's nowhere near as difficult as Demon's Souls - but it really doesn't need to be. The overall experience is relaxed and humorous, and the retro concept stays amusing for the whole ride." ... Read full review
85
XGN
"3D Dot Game Heroes was clearly inspired by the good, old Zelda games and does it in a way that would make Miyamoto proud. The game is challenging and has enough variety to stay entertaining until the very end." ... Read full review
80
Eurogamer Spain
"A true gem for those who feel nostalgia of the old times." ... Read full review
75
GameCritics
"Ultimately 3D Dot Game Heroes does exactly what it sets out to do. It's a nostalgic look back at the classic Zelda games sprinkled with some commentary on gaming history, and a great example of retro gaming done right, even if it does keep the flaws along with the goodness." ... Read full review
70
Gamestyle
"3D Dot Game Heroes is a wonderfully presented game, with a clever concept that is well-executed throughout." ... Read full review
50
Game Revolution
"There are a ton of in-jokes, sure. But when you've heard them all before, it feels less like a tribute and more of a "we ran out of interesting things to say for ourselves", and when you haven't heard them you won't get them anyway." ... Read full review
User Reviews
(17)
7.8
User Score Generally favorable reviews
74 Positive Ratings 67%
25 Mixed Ratings 22%
11 Negative Ratings 10%
Based on 110 Ratings and 17 Reviews View All
10
Kozlow2k
May 31, 2011
"Excellent game that brings back memories from the past, zelda, final fantasy, those low bit games we liked so much. 10/10 flawless epic"Excellent game that brings back memories from the past, zelda, final fantasy, those low bit games we liked so much. 10/10 flawless epic looking forward to some more blast from the past like this one."
-nuff said… Expand
10
BDeyo01
Sep 20, 2010
Only buy/rent this one if you're looking to play a Zelda-Clone. This game does nothing to further or detract from the Zelda design, exceptOnly buy/rent this one if you're looking to play a Zelda-Clone. This game does nothing to further or detract from the Zelda design, except make a few alterations. The other reviewers of this site and the critics really said it best, "retro adventure game built for HD." That's really all it is. With that said, if you fully enjoy this genre and can see yourself playing it all the way through, then it is definitely worth renting (first), and buying (if you want 100% completion).… Expand
10
zvenalot
Dec 5, 2010
Excellent game that brings back memories from the past, zelda, final fantasy, those low bit games we liked so much. 10/10 flawless epicExcellent game that brings back memories from the past, zelda, final fantasy, those low bit games we liked so much. 10/10 flawless epic looking forward to some more blast from the past like this one… Expand
8
Davegamer
Apr 29, 2012
3D Dot Game Heroes is an a Zelda-like game which should be on any Zelda fan shelf. From the very beginning you learn the basics of the game3D Dot Game Heroes is an a Zelda-like game which should be on any Zelda fan shelf. From the very beginning you learn the basics of the game and the controls to solve the first puzzles which are also extremely similar to the first Zelda for NES. However the FROM team has introduced some of their essence that makes this game really tough in the second run or even worse in the third, in which you die if you get hit once. Really challenging if you are one of those people who like unlock every secret in a game. As for the plot, quite simple, but enough to enjoy the experience.

I recommend it to any retro-game lover.… Expand
7
Nel
Dec 8, 2016
This game really reminds me of Zelda, but it's in "3d" . The game is really enjoyable, and the story is fine. The controls are great and itThis game really reminds me of Zelda, but it's in "3d" . The game is really enjoyable, and the story is fine. The controls are great and it is a really neat game for old school gamers.… Expand
7
mojamojakumasan
Jan 17, 2011
Capitalizing on nostalgia has always been a successful tactic of marketing and media. Now it's time for our generation (i.e. Children of theCapitalizing on nostalgia has always been a successful tactic of marketing and media. Now it's time for our generation (i.e. Children of the 80s) to experience it. All of our favorite comic books, TV shows, and games from the past are now being re-imagined for today's market. Sometimes we get something good (Star Trek the movie), and sometimes something abysmal (*retch* Transformers 2).

3D Dot Game Heroes...the love-letter3D Dot Game Heroes tries to capitalize on all of our nerd-stalgia from the 1980s by giving us a near cut-and-paste parody/homage to The Legend of Zelda, while sprinkling in a heavy dose of game-culture references to several Nintendo (and Famicom) games of yesteryear. The result is a funny and somewhat interesting experience through familiar territory which ultimately doesn't do anything new or endearing.

The story is your typical 80s fantasy-adventure plot. A unspeakable evil that was once thought banished by your great ancestor is being resurrected by a dark wizard. As the descendant of the great hero, it's up to you to collect all of the orbs necessary to seal the great evil once and for all. How could this have happened? The king of Dotonia decides to move everything into 3D (to improve tourism), which ultimately sets things in motion for the great evil to be released.

If you've played a Link to the Past (or any top-down Zelda-esque game), you'll have a good idea what your getting with 3D Dot Game Heroes. Once you get your sword, you'll move from one elemental(ly?) themed dungeon to the next, collecting orbs of *insert element here*...and you get the idea. In between dungeons are towns, where you can purchase useful items, help the locals with side-quests, and upgrade your sword to ridiculous proportions. You'll need to spend all your hard earned cash if you want to clear the game's seven dungeons, which can be pretty difficult at times.

Speaking of difficulty, 3D Dot Game Heroes will net you a platinum...if you're willing to work for it. You'll need to play though the game several times to find all of the items, complete all side-quests (some which become unavailable after certain events), and finish the game on the one-hit-death "SPELUNKER" mode. Some of the trophies are easily attainable on your first play-through, but the really difficult ones are there for the hardcore only.

The voxel style is interesting at first, but can get tiring after a while. Many of the characters and enemies look bland, and it can be a little difficult to discern what's an interactive part of the game world from just scenery. After a while, areas begin to look the same, and enemies don't put up much resistance (especially with a maxed out sword). Boss battles don't feel very epic either. It could have been the voxel graphics, or the feeling that bosses are copies of traditional boss-archtypes, but the battles amount to uninspired confrontations that are over pretty quickly. It would have made encounters more interesting if you had to find a weakness using your newly acquired tools, but that's the one thing from the Zelda series you won't find here.

Fortunately one thing the game does well is parody, which really shows during it's several loading screens. By using NPCs from the game, the developers have cleverly recreated box art from famous Japanese and American Nintendo games of the past. It's always fun trying to guess which box art represented which game (and in some cases...it's really hard).

The writing is also pretty funny and well localized. This game doesn't take itself too seriously and it's constantly coming out in the dialogue with pithy one-liners and references to other nostalgic games of past. Like, when the Dark Lord asks you if you would join him in conquering the world, and is actually surprised when you say "yes".

To wrap this up, the game was decent, but felt like it tread too much on familiar ground and didn't introduce anything new. By the 3rd dungeon, everything looked and felt similar to the previous dungeons and I began to lose interest. Even though I played to the end (and I appreciated all the nostalgic homage), I was left unimpressed. I'd recommend this to a hardcore Zelda fan who's jonesing for a top-down adventure, but for everyone else...save this one for a weekend rental. ~Mojamojakumasan http://blogs.ign.com/mojamojakumasan/… Expand
5
tomvs123
Aug 3, 2018
I'm not a big fan of Zelda games, but the uniqueness of the art style drew me in.

Once you get over the art style and crazy long swords,I'm not a big fan of Zelda games, but the uniqueness of the art style drew me in.

Once you get over the art style and crazy long swords, it's just a by-the-books Zelda game with From Software and Dragon Quest references.

The story is a parody of classic Zelda games and generic JRPGs. The bad part about it is that it's not that funny. It's just occasionally slightly silly. It's like it was written by a teenager with the sole goal of imitating Japanese games, and that teenager doesn't have the greatest sense of humor. Don't expect any laugh-out-loud moments, but you'll get a few chuckles here and there.

The gameplay is typical NES/SNES Zelda, although with a few quirks/bugs. So that's good for Zelda fans, but the common bugs I experienced was my sword not working after moving to a new screen or the sword occasionally going directly into the ground, and not hitting the enemy when it was right in front of me.

Exploration of the world is just like classic Zelda games. You'll find a lot to like here if you like exploring the map and finding secrets. There's plenty of them to find.

And refreshingly, there's no quest log or marker. You actually have to talk to people and remember what they say to progress in the many side quests. As for your main objective, the closest thing you get is a blinking icon over the temple/dungeon you're supposed to be going through at the moment. I like when games do things like this because an automated objective arrows and quest markers in other games just make them seem like slightly-more-complex rat mazes rather than immersive worlds.

The dungeons are typical for Zelda, but are slightly more complex and annoying than "A Link to the Past." They get progressively more annoying as you complete them

So this is a game for people who love NES/SNES Zelda games, aren't big on story, and who like the art style. I'm glad to have it in my collection, but it's likely something I'll never play again.… Expand
User Reviews