Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom

"God speed Sir Cucumber!"

I know what you're thinking: "Talking fruits and vegetables!? What the heck is this?!" I'll tell you exactly "what the heck" this is: A great game that is not very well known! But think of it this way: there are ENOUGH talking animals out there! It's time for the vegetable's time in the sun (Ugh, a bad pun!). And in this game, the veggies and fruits do more than just walk and talk.

STORY: 10/10
The Salad Kingdom was a happy and peaceful place. Fruits and vegetables lived happily with one another. They were ruled by the kind King Broccoli, who had a daughter Princess Tomato. One day, King Broccoli's servant, Minister Pumpkin, decided to turn on King Broccoli. He stole the Turnip Emblem and kidnapped Princess Tomato. He even rallyed up traitorous fruits and vegetables to help him with his evil quest. The vile Pumpkin has even employed farmies, human farmers that love to eat vegetables and fruits! Alas, this was too much for King Broccoli. Losing his beloved daughter caused the king to die of grief. Sir Cucumber, which is the hero you play, was hired by King Broccoli before his death. He promised Sir Cucumber that if he found Princess Tomato and recovered the Turnip Emblem that the valiant vegetable would have the Princess's hand in marriage and would be the new ruler of the Salad Kingdom. So begins the journey. Along the way, you'll meet many friends and foes. An unforgettable adventure.

CONTROLS: 10/10
If you've ever played Shadowgate, Uninvited, or Deja Vu, this game plays just like those, only you can't get killed. If you haven't played any of those games, I will be happy to explain it: There is a window that shows where you are along with who and what are in that area. This is not like a side-scroller at all. You use the controls to move the cursor across commands like "Look", "Check", "Take", "Hit", "Use", etc. There is NO WAY to get killed. The only way for the game to end is to beat it or by turning it off. The only controls in this game are to go across commands, inventory items, and things you want to check and take. Even then, the controls are very good.

GRAPHICS: 10/10
Nice bright colors, and well done character design give this a high rating. The rare animations are good too. Characters look just like the fruits and vegetables they are. The villains look evil and heroic characters look cute and adorable.

SOUND: 9/10
Sound effects in this game are not very common, but there are sounds. Like the distinct hit sound when you choose to "Hit" certain people, the distinct sound when a foe you must battle draws near, and the ringing of the alarm if you choose to hit it. The sounds are nicely done and some of them are memorable.

MUSIC: 10/10
This game has some of the widest variety of music I've ever heard in a video game. There's an adventurous song, a spooky song, a happy song, and more.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
The command menu and the text window, and the view window are all you'll be staring at, but there's more to it than just that. You can experiment to see which items do what, and figure out the order of actions you need to do to cause an event to occur. I.e. you have to hit the alarm thrice to get it to ring. After that, you can't hit it again. You have a sidekick, a baby Persimmon by the name of Percy, who is intent on calling you "boss" ane gives you advice if you get stuck: Just choose the "Percy" command when he's on your team.

CHALLENGE: 10/10
There is NO WAY to get impossibly stuck in this game. You can get impossibly stuck in Shadowgate by having only one torch left and being too far from the goal for it to stay lit long. You can get stuck in Deja Vu by losing all your quarters which you'll need to hop a cab in order to get clues in other towns. You get STUMPED, but not STUCK. With enough determination and curiosity, you'll soon figure out what you need to do next. There is no violence in this game (unless you consider the remains of vegetables gory); instead of weapons, the foes of Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom solve disputes through "Finger Wars", aka Rock, Paper, Scissors. If you lose, DO NOT PANIC! You'll just run away, and you can fight again when you are ready.

REPLAY: 9/10
You get codes as opposed to saving (as in Shadowgate, Deja Vu and Uninvited), so you can access any stage you want to explore and see what else you can do while you're there. You may want to use the code to the last stage to see the ending, too. If you're the gutsy type, you may want to play from start to finish in one sitting (just remember to give your peepers a rest often!).

OVERALL: 10/10
Though not as well known as it should be, this is one of Hudson's greatest games. It's a unique game should be experienced by many. You'll learn that there are fruits you never knew existed until you play this game! In fact, I never knew about the Soursop until I played this game (I was 10 when I first played it). If you're tired of talking animals and games that you can't seem to avoid death in, then this game is for you! Even if you're not tired of those things, then you should still be playing Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom. When you finish reading this review, find Princess Tomato! God speed Sir Cucumber!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/04