Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore Nintendo Switch Review - Is It Worth It?

Oh, 'Seedy Eye', now I get it.
Review by Chris Scullion: www.nintendoli...
Video by Alex Olney
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Review copy provided by Limited Run Games
#NintendoSwitch #Arzette #CDi

[@_buttonmasher]

Thanks for shouting out the Soundtrack. Im the composer.

[@nora-bee]

Thank you for crafting such an amazing soundtrack! Might be my favourite ever!

[@alfasilverblade]

It deserve a nomination for soundtrack in the game awards 2024. But indi games never win that cathegory.

[@Frieowksf1293]

Thank you so much for this music

[@wariotremblay3306]

you're amazing, love all your work and I hope you get to get to score more games!!

[@OmegaOmari]

I can hear leitmotifs of the original CD-I Zelda games in the music! As someone who really likes the soundtracks in those games, I’m looking forward to hear the rest of the soundtrack!

[@maegnificant]

No NintendoLife review is complete without the "Cast Of Colourful Characters" phrase

[@baalfgames5318]

Too bad it typically refers exclusively to the villains.

[@Rubberman202]

I've played this game for 3 hours, and I can safely say this game rocks. You can really tell that the developers understood what the original CD-i Zelda games (minus Zelda's Adventure) were going for and emphasized the good aspects of those games, while improving on the gameplay with various QOL improvements and the like. Cutscenes are also endearingly cheesy, and I've genuinely grown fond of the characters. I actually would love to see a sequel to this game, if they ever decide to make one!

[@Tokisada_Shiro_Amakusa]

rocks? naaaah this game looks generic!

[@thesaltgod]

​@@Tokisada_Shiro_Amakusa To say this looks generic clearly means you do not know the original material

[@Tokisada_Shiro_Amakusa]

The original material looks solid comapred to this piece of crap! @@thesaltgod

[@Tokisada_Shiro_Amakusa]

The cinematic looks good but the gameplay and sprites looks terrible I wont spend my money in this shit!

[@Tokisada_Shiro_Amakusa]

Zeldas Cdi is a masterpiece compared to this!!@@thesaltgod

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

I like how this game tries to be canonically connected to the Zelda CDi games, without having any of the original characters to avoid an action lawsuit by Nintendo. And unlike the CDi Zelda games, this one actually looks good. I already have it on my wishlist on Steam, but I might consider waiting for a sale.

[@DontKnowDontCare6.9]

I personally think of this game as a continuation of Nintendo and Philips flipping the bird to Sony when they tried to infiltrate Nintendo (to acquire them) and screwing Philips with the runtime length and size of the CD (which they already agreed upon but Sony changed at the last minute)

[@Supercatandrewman]

Well good news, it just went on sale!

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

@@Supercatandrewman Yes, and I bought it just the other day. It's a surprisingly fun experience, with all the so bad it's good charm of a CDi Zelda game.

[@TheDavidVAs]

Fun fact, Arzette is voiced by Bonnie Jean Wilbur, who voiced Zelda in Wand of Gamelon and Faces of Evil. EDIT: My mistake, she voices the opening cutscene. Thanks to KawikaProductions for correcting me.

[@GBrothersStudio]

Good

[@KawikaProductions]

Incorrect. She is voiced by Angel Haven Rey. But Bonnie Jean Wilbur narrates the opening cutscene.

[@TheDavidVAs]

@@KawikaProductions Ah, my bad, thank you for the correction. Will edit. :)

[@jacobcordell2882]

You're awesome thank you I love fun facts about games

[@pcachu]

Bonus: Jeffrey Rath, the original voice of CDi Link, is the narrator for the tutorial level.

[@therealseanw.stewart2071]

I can't really explain my feelings, but I am SO happy that this game exists. Perhaps it's out of nostalgia for the old CD-I Zeldas, or the old era of KZbin, but man, this game and the developers' effort in recreating the feel of those is awesome. I unironically love this game. Plus, Button Masher's soundtrack is genuinely beautiful.

[@cjnewman7550]

@therealseanw.stewart2071 cute profile pic, what is it? Do you know the artist?

[@therealseanw.stewart2071]

@@cjnewman7550 You're talking to him! lol

[@forevermasteri4330]

YTP'er Jimmy Davis animated the beacon activation scene and the first time Arzette returns home. He didn't have the proper equipment to efficiently create a truly 2D animation like everyone else.

[@matthewbankey5547]

Holy crap, wow, thanks for explaining that! The developers truly know their audience.

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

I am look forward to forcing Peanut Butter Gamer to play this.

[@rootbourne4454]

I know, we better get a new PBG video out of this game. PuhBuhGu will return to make him play this one but he’ll actually have a good time with it this time.

[@zigazav1]

@@rootbourne4454 What if PBG revives the "PBGGameplay channel, just to play a game that references games that gave him and Jeff pain to go through them? He probably won't do that, as his last video on that channel was ERAS ago of gaming. A video that didn't even finish the let's play it's tied to. It'd be a nice surprise though if he did that

[@BIayne]

I ordered the physical copy of this from Limited Run. I just have to support this dedication to memery.

[@SBaby]

2:00 - This doesn't just draw inspiration from the Zelda CD-I games. It has voice actors from the Zelda CD-I games in it. Also Vinny from Vinesauce voices a frog.

[@severintw]

I think it is very brave trying to recreate something that was disliked back in the day and has only been brought up again and again because it was of such poor quality and then expecting it to result in a product people will enjoy today.

[@zigazav1]

Very bold move by the developers. Even if this game in the near future tends to be hated too, at least we have those intentionally badly drawn cutscenes to make fun of their quality, like people would back in the day for the CDi Nintendo games. But with the better controls I hear this game has, compared to the games it was inspired by, it shouldn't nearly be as painful to go through

[@Garomasta]

Already on my 3rd playthrough thanks to the increasingly hard game modes that you unlock. This is one of the most charming games I've played in ages and Arzette herself is a really likeable protagonist. The cutscenes had me smiling constantly with all the quirky animations and references to the CD-i Zeldas.

[@supersmashbro596]

oh you sweet summer child. this game is far, far more intelligent than it lets on. it's not meant to be played once it's actually meant to be played many times. did you know, the magic gun is completely optional? this isn't a glitch. no, theres a secret path in the first stage that gets you the sword beams (and thus red magic) early. theres an achievement for beating the game like this. and this isnt the only sequence break either. you can get the double jump with just the sword beam with red magic if you know theres more than one way into the shack. this game is a metroid game (as in super metroid) disguised as a cdi shitpost. and it is glorious. the cutscenes are all skippable (save one which, ill admit is a joke i never get tired of seeing) so yeah this game is a speedrunners paradise.

[@jordanbisasky4586]

First thought it was a spin-off to Shantae. Amazing it's a spiritual successor to the cdi Zeldas!

[@Jormunguandr]

It's comedy gold and nostalgia. I just bought it no hesitation ❤😂

[@zigazav1]

Think people will make videos on this as compilations of the terribly drawn cutscenes like people did ages ago for the terrible CDi Nintendo games?

[@dynamicsketch]

This game is fun, entertaining, and the cut scenes can be hilarious at times. I like how Arzette is made uncomfortable around characters who make creepy faces while annoying characters just irritate her.

[@nora-bee]

I don't care what anyone says or what else comes out this year, this is my GOTY 😤 Here to challenge... ME?! 💪🐴

[@WhyYouWahYoo]

Been blasting through this game this weekend. It’s nothing incredible, but really fun for what it is! What’s striking for me is the attention to detail in the cutscenes and graphics style, and apparently there’s even composers and voices here from the original Zelda titles. What a love letter to the CDI, Maybe an Ironic one, but still.

[@peacorptv6502]

Style over substance can be quite fun sometimes

[@JediMB]

I got some unexpected DuckTales 2017 vibes from some of the music featured in this review. Haven't played any of the CD-i, but I do find myself drawn to Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore. The design of the titular Arzette probably does a lot of work there.

[@gamet2004]

This is such a cool concept! It looks fantastic and interesting. I probably want to try this one

[@K3vinTuCara]

Ya know, this might just be me but i’m tired of pixel games being called “retro”, it’s literally just a style used to this day by now. Might get this, thanks 🙏🏾

[@gostreiver8036]

In a world where the are so many vanias and action platformers competing for my attention and money. I gravitate toward the things that are unique and innovative. This is brilliant

[@JeremyRiedel]

The "knowingness" of this game comes from the fact that two of the developers are none other than John Linneman and Audi Sorlie of Digital Foundry fame.

[@thatrandomredengine9430]

How much you wanna bet a Nintendo executive got Vietnam flashbacks when he saw this game? 😂

[@matthewbankey5547]

I think it’s worth it. Perhaps the gameplay might not be that compelling for some people, but I certainly found it fun to play, and I found myself getting really attached to the characters, too!

[@seanewing204]

Clicked on the thumbnail expecting to see a Shantae fangame, e.g. Freedom Planet or Fast RMX, immediately recognised the CDi games' art style at the beginning of the video.

[@joechill6327]

The soundtrack by Button Masher is great

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

The soundtrack is lame, it sounds like a poor midi cd rom game one of those primitive midi instruments, give me Mario vs Donkey Kong any day over this crap.

[@Slamy4096]

@@Adamtendo_player_1 But wasn't that the point? The soundtrack wanted to replicate the CDi games.

[@louisdellalucca8969]

I pre ordered the collectors edition from Limited Run and have no regrets!

[@dynastymusou8906]

This looks good! Good thing Limited Run Games is doing a physical version of it. Not a regular retail release, unfortunately, but better than nothing. I will probably order the Xbox version. 🙂

[@kevanchicago4664]

Take a drink every time this video says something to the effect of, "if you played the the CDi and you get the joke you'll like it, but if you didn't it might fall flat"

[@AStupidID]

I'm so excited to play this game. It's so nice we're getting retro games like this that are trying to don the styles of more niche systems from the past. Hopefully they do a sequel based around Zelda's Adventure haha.

[@flrpitflrp1965]

I hope it’s good, I preordered it from limited run

[@zigazav1]

The cutscenes are badly drawn, but that's kinda the point. Even to the point that the voice acting quality is intentionally iffy. I hear though that the female protag Arzette has great voice acting done for her. I kinda hate the guy in green who's meant to be the CDi "Link" of this game. To be fair, I didn't like the Link from the CDi games, so, it's fitting

[@Christophoronomicon]

I've never played the Zelda CD-I games (I luckily never bought a Philips CD-I!), but I was around when they were released and I am very much aware of their infamy! 😂 I was really surprised when I heard a studio was trying to create a good platformer with that same aesthetic, but I'm happy they've by and large managed to do it. I'm just a bit curious as who is the audience for this.

[@TheLemonyBard]

“Even the Virtual Boy sold more than that!” Not sure where you got that but… no? Lol VB only sold 770K.

[@chrispy3051]

I %100d it in about five hours. It's honestly a really fun and well designed game that pays homage to the Zelda cdi games. Do not get this game if you're looking for a challenge, this game is super easy.

[@ChicagoRetroGamer]

Thanks for sharing! I hadn't heard of this game yet, but it looks pretty cool.

[@FenexTheFox]

Ah, the most appropriate score that this game could have gotten! "Good."

[@jaym5118]

Hopefully one day there will be a spiritual successor to the Zelda's Adventure game too. Complete with live action cut scenes.

[@TomMooreT2S]

Is it worth it? IT’S A YTP GOLD MINE! XD

[@zigazav1]

Yup! XD haha

[@GeorgeMarionerd]

Yo Chris Scullian he wrote a lot of stuff in the Nintendo magazines I grew up reading!

[@jamesrule1338]

Never owned a CDI. More of a Sega Master System person so I already have a lot of retro games aimed at me (Monster boy and the cursed kingdom being my favorite Wonderboy inspired game, but Angelos is a close second).

[@JeskidoYT]

glad to see Phillips somehow spit out another video game 30 years later. Wait, they didn't??

[@chrisruston3920]

I really wish Alex would give the scores on his video reviews and be faithful to the reviewer

[@KhaozDeluxe]

When I first saw this I thought it was some fan project.

[@Semudara]

I mean, it kind of is? The same developer who made the surprisingly good fan-remasters of the Zelda CDi games went on to create this.

[@KBroly]

This was made by Seedy Eye Software. GET IT!? C. D. I.

[@owlyus]

The gameplay also looks kinda Popful Mailish too

[@Orraobserves]

Game grumps need to play this

[@zigazav1]

Arin would probably have a bad time going through this, even if this game is trying to be good while at the same time having bad cutscenes

[@mos3]

Best rating…. 7/10… Good lmao XD

[@mechashadow]

Will Arzest's Evil Ever Stop?!

[@HollowJay]

Good review

[@markiimark6573]

Actually looks pretty decent

[@rhinestonemask]

5:13 cdeez nuts

[@PlanetZoidstar]

Arzette reminds me of Anita Sarkeesian's subversive Princess Platformer scam-I mean video game concept that she never made. Only it's good.

[@protocetid]

I guess it’s also worth a play if you’re into 90s cheese, personally I think the game is largely a gimmick

[@kaikiske7436]

Weird how LRG is getting people to pay for shitty games under the guise of nostalgia for other really terrible games. I happily keep My money and not “be in on the joke”

[@BassForever]

OH BOY!

[@neatnateable]

They must have bought a lot of reviews from many KZbinrs. I have no nostalgia for the CDi. This game does not look fun to me, but kudos to the artists and developers who captured a niche look and feel.

[@Semudara]

It's an indie game passion project... I don't think they could have "bought" any reviewers' opinions if they wanted to.

[@neatnateable]

@@Semudara Well, I just say this because many of the channels I follow suddenly launched a review of this little game. This doesn't happen a good amount of the time for little games unless there is an organized marketing plan behind it.

[@daryantsns3448]

This looks like those crappy Zelda games that became the foundations of YTP!

[@Semudara]

Yep, that's exactly what this game is a love-letter to!

[@The_Endless_Now]

Have you got anything to drink?

[@Axecon1]

This is certainly one of the games of all time

[@zelatoth]

This looks like a fun game... To watch someone else play.

[@TBoneTony]

Oh my goodness, this is awful. The Birds are singing, isn't it beautiful?

[@GalacticPoisonX]

They gave it a 7/10

[@demi-fiendoftime3825]

My only disappointment is the story should have been silier and not tryied to take itself seriously while also refrenceing every meme

[@jaredstarr1]

i started watching "good vibe gaming" instead of you beacause i cant stand felix soooo much

[@Dtt9671]

Well made game

[@joeneonturbo]

Just watching this game is triggering. I don’t think I want to relive early cd rom games ever again. Too soon!

[@dotdot5906]

The ending of the game is random af. Like why did she just out of nowhere make the place communist lol. "I wouldnt say saved. under a new management"

[@Tokisada_Shiro_Amakusa]

This game looks super generic.

[@lewa3910]

This is why i don't watch this channel for the reviews, cuz they just seem to come from a place of profit seeking. These guys would call Undertale 'nothing more than derivative of Earthbound' if they reviewed it now compared to back when it came out in 2015

[@pikapikachu2010lol]

cute but nahh

[@Tharealkeeters]

You know we need the next Nintendo system when we’re seeing reviews like this.

[@marcoasturias8520]

They've review non Nintendo games before.

[@JaidynReiman]

They were going to review this game whether the next Nintendo console was out or not. The game is a meme, of course they were going to review it.

[@baalfgames5318]

I'm really getting sick of seeing bland, generic protags in a world where the villains are diverse and interesting, but not as sick as I am of FREQUENTLY seeing villains that were clearly intended to appeal to furries.

[@Semudara]

I am... confused how either of those actually apply to this game here? I mean, Arzette is kind of archetypal, but her design and personality aren't boring by any means. As for the furry thing... you might be projecting a bit.

[@baalfgames5318]

@@Semudara Literally WHY did the game need furry villains? Literally why? These days, the ONLY reason you would have them is to shove your furryphobia into a game. Also, yes, she IS uninspired. They took the most overused, unlikable creature when there are BILLIONS of human characters, and made them the heroes instead of doing something different or putting thought into the hero. You CAN'T make humans interesting. They are inherantly bad and uncreative. And if you REALLY needed furry villains, then the hero should ALSO have been furry if you seriously didn't want to offend people.

[@Semudara]

@@baalfgames5318 Ah, I understand your perspective a lot better now. I hope I didn't offend you in any way; I've got no problem with furries, myself. Gonna have to profoundly disagree you with regard to human characters, though. I think human characters can absolutely be interesting, and only lack in creativity if the writers and artists aren't trying very hard. I think most of the antagonists being animal-esque probably comes from the source material this game is playing tribute to. But it does make me wonder if there are many non-human ally characters in this game. Other than fairies and such.

[@baalfgames5318]

@@Semudara Honestly, I'd rather not go into details explaining my issues with human characters beyond them being overused and uncreative, so let's just agree to disagree. I think there's a few animal NPCs, but I'm not sure. There's a frog. Not surre how many there are beside him.

[@baalfgames5318]

@@Semudara Also, three of the main villains being a horse (Brony), a cat (Furry) and a dragon (Scaley) doesn't help to remove any furryphobic vibes I'm getting from this.

[@VaeVictus17]

The short answer: no.

[@Semudara]

The long answer: no, but actually, yeeessssssss.

[@VaeVictus17]

@@Semudara wrong. Its a simple answer: no. Garbage.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

This looks real lame and imagine taking inspiration from a crappy CDi game? This game is dead on arrival 😂😂😂😂

[@linkvagar2336]

It's literally meant to be a meme game. The developer is literally called Seedy Eye (CDi). Tell me you aren't this dense?

[@Classical19821]

dead on arrival? dead in what way? are you a child who only see things through the lens of what's popular?

[@markfaraday9204]

It's a meme game