The Legend of . . . Dante?
The Evil King has taken over Princess Emilia’s castle, and it is up to Dante to save her. Dante’s Quest is an action-adventure dungeon crawler developed by Christian Dentico. This top-down 2D adventure game has seven dungeons in the castle to be explored. Each dungeon comprises a grid system of rooms that are the same size but contain different layouts.
The dungeons are designed as mazes, and the player must explore each room to find keys, bombs, and other items needed to progress further into the dungeon. Along the way, they will encounter various obstacles, such as locked doors, hidden walls, and traps, which must be overcome to reach the end. The dungeons’ layouts are not always straightforward, and the player must often backtrack and explore multiple paths to reach the boss room.
To help the player navigate, the dungeons contain maps and compasses that reveal the location of the boss and treasure chests. At the end of each dungeon, the player must face a boss. These bosses typically require the use of a specific item obtained in that dungeon.
The combat in Dante’s Quest is relatively simple, The standard attack is a quick slash with a sword that is effective against most enemies. Dante can also obtain a range of weapons throughout the game, such as bombs, a fire rod and arrows. All of these provide him with additional means of attack.
Links to the Past
If this sounds and looks familiar, you would be correct in assuming that this is almost a carbon copy of the original Legend of Zelda game for the NES. From the style of gameplay to the layout of the dungeons, and even the art style is reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda. While one could say Zelda inspired the game, there are too many similarities that cannot go unnoticed. Every mechanic is taken straight from the Zelda series and has not been expanded upon at all. In fact, the mechanics taken are dulled down and left mediocre at best.
From the first moments of Dante’s Quest, you start with three hearts that represent your health. If you get hurt, you can break pots or kill enemies that will drop hearts and replenish your health. After Dante defeats one of the bosses at the end of the dungeon, a Heart Container will drop. Heart Containers will increase Dante’s overall health.
Even the enemies are modeled after the Zelda series. There are bats that fly around sporadically that can hurt you, much like the Keese There are also octopus-like creatures that will shoot rocks at you like Octoroks. The weapons and various items that Dante uses are almost identical to the ones found in the Zelda games.
Try Forcing Better Play
Dante’s Quest is built on a foundation that could be fun; however, its execution is lackluster. The combat is almost the exact same as the original Zelda game but just falls short of being fun. To hit the enemies, Dante has to be right next to them. However, this leaves no room to evade the enemy, so you will get hit most of the time. If the distance to hit enemies was just a little further away so you could evade after you attack, it would improve the combat gameplay exponentially.
Another aspect that Dante’s Quest fails in is its dungeon themes and music. Every dungeon in the game looks and feels the same, with nothing standing out about them. They all share the same wall and floor designs, with the occasional rug put in to make a path. The music is also repetitive, especially for longer play sessions. Most of the music is the same few notes repeated frequently, and I found myself muting the music often.
While all of these shortcomings hurt Dante’s Quest, what makes it worse is that it is inspired and tries to copy the highly regarded Legend of Zelda. The ideas and mechanics cannot go unnoticed by the player, and these comparisons will be made constantly while playing.
The concept of a mobile dungeon crawler game akin to the original Zelda game is enticing. If there were more original ideas, gameplay improvements, and better theming, Dante’s Quest would be a better game to play. However, in its current state, you are better off saving a different kingdom.
