Neutopia

"The Legend of Neutopia: A Link from the Past"

THE LEGEND OF NEUTOPIA: A LINK FROM THE PAST

NEC stole Zelda and called it Neutopia (but they did a great job)

When this game came out I was amazed that Nintendo did not immediately take NEC to court and sue them. It is so similar to the Legend of Zelda as to be mistaken for the Legend of Zelda: A Link From the Past for the SNES, which was released a few years later. That being said, this game is one of the most under rated video games ever. It is roughly as good as A Link From the Past.

If you really enjoyed the Legend of Zelda, I highly recommend this game. It is essentially another Legend of Zelda game. The plot, play mechanics, and style is the same. The quest is long and has many different types of stages. Highly addictive. If you aren't familiar with Zelda, it is an RPG style game where you control a little character around a field of worlds collecting money and uncovering items in order to complete objectives to finish a quest. Over time you gain more advanced weaponry, magic, increased resistance to injury, and more physical power for your character. You can also save games in this title with the use of passwords.

Graphics and Sound- 8.5: Very good. Sprites are super deformed and cute, just like in Zelda. Very colorful and original back grounds.

Gameplay (control)- 9: Responds well. Alot of fun. Addictive. Challenging.

Fun Factor: 10- It really is just as good as the Legend of Zelda. In fact I prefer Neutopia and Neutopia 2 to those gawd awful Zelda games that came out on the Nintendo 64.

Overall- 9: It truly is an exceptional game not to be missed. Although, I don't know what to think about the blatant infringement upon Nintendo intellectual property, the game players really do profit from NEC's plagarism with this wonderful title.

*Another game I would recommend to those who like Zelda is 'Crusador of Zenty' for the Sega Genesis. It too is an exceptional Zelda clone, though ever-so-slightly inferior to Neutopia and not as colorful.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/04