Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal Review (no fat)

by Konami Platform: DS Genre: RPG	ESRB Rating: Everyone Release: 2006-3-21	Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal Features: 3D Graphics Turn Based RPG Multiplayer Capabilities
	Egamer's Rating: 4 / 10. Reviewed on: 2006-04-05

Game Description

In a desperate attempt to get an RPG on the market for Nintendo DS, Konami slapped together Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal to cure the hoards of RPG fans, but succeeded only to disappoint them. The game would not have been such a bust had there been depth in the story line and bigger type fonts incorporated into gameplay. The fact that the entire game is played on the touch interface, and all of the other buttons on the system are ignored for most of the game, doesn’t benefit the games status either.

Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal Gameplay

The story in Curse of the Demon Seal is one that most RPG fans have played before. The story is about a boy named Tao who is the only person qualified to save the world from monsters that have escaped from the Demon Tower when lightening struck it. The tower allowed the town of Modomino to live in peace, as it housed all of the monsters before Mother Nature took her course. Now, the monsters have escaped and turned everyone to stone. Well, everyone but Tao. Go figure.

To conquer the monsters, Tao has the ability to cast spells. Here’s where the work comes in. To cast spells gamers must draw shapes into the touch screen. The catch is that the spells don’t work very well and they suck magic points. It’s easier to just fight the monster with Tao’s sword, but that would make for some pretty dull battles. Also, there are over fifty spells that can be used during the game, so remembering all of them would prove a difficult task. Players will probably have to look into Tao’s spell book just to find the spell that they need, and then cast the spell by drawing the shapes. This aspect of the game just makes for tedious and repetitive labor.

To traverse through the world, navigation is done with the touch pad. Players just click on the arrow in the direction that they want to go. Gamers can also use the d-pad if they wish, but that would make for complicated gaming as everything else is done with the touch pad. When actions are available in the game, text appears in the bottom of the screen. The text is plain, and the smallest anyone has seen. Another pitfall of gameplay is the tortoise-like loading time of the menus.

When the map is activated, after taking ages to load, it covers the controls on the touch pad and freezes the game on the game screen. What’s the sense in having two screens if gamers cannot play in one and use the map in the other without affecting actual gameplay? This is just another aspect that the developers of Curse of the Demon Seal just didn’t get.

Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal Graphics

Graphics of Curse of the Demon Seal are the highlight of the game. When gamers cast spells they can expect to see some of the 3D graphics in action. The environment of the game looks pretty good while gamers are roaming freely in the game. The cut-scenes look alright. It isn’t the best use of graphics, but it’s passable for the DS. The best use of effects, however, is when spells are cast and the effects that the spells have on the enemies.

Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal Audio

The audio for Curse of the Demon Seal are mediocre. The music sounds like something you would hear from an older gaming system, pre PS1. There is hardly any voice acting, and the sound effects in action sequences are lame.

Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal - Final Verdict

If you’ve never played an RPG before Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal would be would still be a desperate choice. Do not buy the game if you are looking for an in depth story line and non-repetitive gaming. It’s a safe miss.

Price

Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal comes with a $29.99 price tag.