Tao's Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal (DS)

Reviewed by Kit

Hello, Boys and Girls, and welcome to another installment of Review That Game! Today's game is Tao's Adventure, a DS game of not so epic proportions. As you read the review, you might notice that the game sounds familiar. Perhaps similar to Azure Dreams? Well, this is a somewhat sequal to that classic gem. So shall we continue with this review?

Story: The game begins with young Tao wandering around his town learning how to cast magic. He's known as an air caster, though he learns spells of all elements. While in his lesson, something happens. His father realizing something is wrong, seals Tao in a bubble and leaves. When Tao gets out he discovers that all but a handful of his people has been turned to stone. As the youngest and most magical survivor, Tao must go to the Demon Tower in Modomino to find the egg of the creature that stoned his people. Only with this can a medicine be made. At Modomino, Tao learns that most of the townspeople hate him. Apparently his people sealed away the monsters in the tower at the cost of people's lives, and that is unforgivable. Anyhow, that is the plot of this game. It's not particularly deep, but then again, neither was its predecesor. 3/5

Graphics: There's nothing particular appealing about the graphics. They are somewhat small, and lackign detail as all action takes place on the top screen. Items in the dungeon are sometimes hard to notice. In towns, you'll sometimes run behind buildings, but the shading does not indict very well when the building is right in front of you. The game looks like an early PS game, and really could have been better done. 2/5

Audio: The music is scratchy in town, though it retains a nice deserty feel. In the towers it has a more mild sound that does not take away from your actual purpose. 3/5

Gameplay: First off, this is a stylus only game. You can use the direction pad for moving, but that is it. Actions must be done with the stylus. When in the dungeon, things play out like Azure Dreams. Since, you the reader, might not have played thazt, I will go into detail. Every move you make is also a move the monsters can make. Also the dungeon is laid out in a grid pattern. On the ground are treasures to be picked up. When you confront a monster, you must be next to them to attack or cast magic. Magic is done by drawing the proper runes with the stylus. This can be tedious as you have to have the main points of the rune in the proper place. That is, don't draw the rune on the side if it's supposed to be in the middle. As you explore the dungeon you'll find monster eggs which you can hatch to have monsters fighting at your side. Another thing to note, the dungeon is not randomly generated, and you can leave at any point and return to the floor you've been on (with a spell of course). Levels earned in the tower are kept even when you leave the tower. Overall, not bad gameplay, though the stylus only system does make things tedious, especially if you hit the screen accidently before attacking (it will make you turn in another direction). 3/5

Replay: Without anything to make each replay unique, there is a low chance of popping in the game again. 1/5

Overall: It tries, but it fails. At best Tao is a mediocre game. At worst it is slow and tedious with nothing innovative. Pick it up if you really have no problems climbing a giant tower, otherwise there are better games to play with. 2/5