Retro Review - Neutopia
I have said it many times throughout my years reviewing video games and is that The Legend of Zelda is one of the most influential sagas of video games by far, games like Dark Souls were inspired by the gameplay of "Ocarina Of Time", as well as other more recent games like Genshin Impact, was "inspired" in "Breath Of The Wild" and the game of which I will talk today takes much inspiration from the most classic games of the long-lived saga of Link, this specifically can be considered as a game inspired by the first The Legend Of Zelda or others like "Link To The Past" or the classic "Link's Awakening" and although without reaching the majesty of these titles, the game of which I will talk today is quite entertaining.
The events of this game take place in the magical territory called Neutopia, a place full of peace and prosperity (the perfect setting for the next catastrophe). In this area there are 8 magical medallions, which Princess Aurora uses the powers given by these talismans for good. This fantastic world is divided into 4 zones, one of which represents something specific: the land, the sea, the sky and the subway world, whose zones thanks to the talismans are in harmony. However, one day an ancient demon that in the past caused much terror and destruction, returns again to seize the power of the talismans. Dirth (the demon and main enemy of the game), uses his army of demons to cause destruction throughout the land, in addition to kidnapping Princess Aurora and stealing the 8 magical talismans, which he hid in different areas of Neutopia, thus creating an era of terror. But as you can guess, at this point in the story is when the hero, Jazeta, appears, he will be in charge of recovering the 8 talismans thanks to a magic compass which has magical residues of the talismans and will guide our hero in search of these objects and also save the princess. In this way, Jazeta will embark on an unparalleled adventure to restore peace to his kingdom.
As I mentioned, Neutopia is a game that is obviously inspired by the classic The Legend of Zelda saga, so in its graphic section shares certain similarities with the Nintendo game, that is, we will find scenarios with great colorful, varied color palette that make every place we go is visually pleasing, with good details in the scenarios and decorations according to the "fantastic and magical" atmosphere that wants to convey this game. There is a good variety of places to go, from forests, dungeons, meadows and villages, each with its corresponding elements that make them different from each other.
Even in the character design there is a lot of similarity, so that any of the characters we see in Neutopia could be in The Legend of Zelda without any problem. With good sized sprites and decent details, as well as animations and visual effects according to the aesthetics of the game. Something that stands out in The Legend of Zelda is its great variety of enemies and final bosses, and that is something that could not be missing in this game, since the variety of enemies is also accurate, with good designs and especially the final bosses.
The soundtrack is not as memorable as... (you know what game I mean), however it is quite good, varied and epic when needed. With a musical set perfectly composed to fit every possible situation, from more "relaxation" moments when we find ourselves traveling through the scenarios, melodies for those moments of more tension when we are facing a final boss or going through some dungeons and the classic melodies corresponding to places like villages. The sound effects are also good, they are there to fulfill their purpose and they do it in a good way.
Although comparisons are "odious" Neutopia is basically a The Legend of Zelda in all its mechanical aspect, it is an action rpg that takes all or almost all the elements for which Link's saga was known worldwide, however, despite these similarities in terms of game mechanics, Neutopia is not simply a clone of The Legend of Zelda as it is a game that manages to create its own personality and is a game that shines by itself, so much so, that even had a sequel, which may talk about in a few weeks.
But basically, if you have previously played the classic games of The Legend of Zelda as "Link To The Past" or "Link's Awakening", the mechanics of Neutopia are very similar (if not the same), being an overhead view game in which we will go through a series of medium wide scenarios or dungeons defeating enemies, solving puzzles, finding objects that will be of great use and fighting final bosses. In the towns we will be able to buy items that will help us to restore our energy or life bar that we can buy thanks to the coins that the enemies drop, as well as new weapons to use against them.
Neutopia is one of the most classic Action RPGs there can be, a game clearly inspired by The Legend of Zelda and that despite so many similarities, it is a title with its own soul and great personality.
Your comment about ‘Ocarina’ inspiring Dark Souls has me intruiged. To my eye, the two games look very different. I was wondering how, exactly, is Dark Souls taking inspiration from Ocarina? Apart from it being a totally brilliant game:) ?
Well, Z targeting was invented in Ocarina of Time, and that mechanic (besides being present in other games) is also present in Dark Souls. Other aspects such as the development in the dungeons is quite inspired by Ocarina, and also certain aspects of the inventory. In addition (and although they are different games, they are from the same company), Elden Ring is quite inspired by Breath Of the Wild.