[REVIEW] 2-Hit Combo- Cthulhu Saves the World/Breath of Death VII

In a world overrun breathtaking facial animation, serious character acting and more-than-linear idiot-proof shooters, it's definitely a relief to know that there's developers out there making clever, funny, and (above all else) fun titles still... throw those three adjectives into a blender, add half a pint of Old School RPG style, 2 cups of sprite (not the drink) graphics, and a pound of Sierra-esque humour, and you've got two of the most entertaining games I've been lucky enough to play (and replay!), Zeboyd Games' Cthulhu Saves The World & Breath of Death VII.

I started with Breath of Death VII, not bothering to play through the six prequels first (SPOILER ALERT: They don't exist). As soon as the opening titles start, you can pretty much tell you're in for a treat. It's quirky, which is immediately obvious. You play as a Skeleton Knight, Dem, and along the way team up with a Ghost, a Vampire, and a Zombie, on a quest for... knowledge? the meaning of un-life? I'm honestly not sure what the plot hook was, but the fact that I still played, exploring a (comparatively) massive world with almost limitless freedom, is a testament to how well Zeboyd have hit the nail on the head. It wasn't about the major plot direction, but fast paced Turn based combat, brilliantly scripted dialogue between characters. There were a few let downs for me though, but honestly only a few. I felt the 'random' encounters came a little too thick for me, and the black background to each combat got a little repetitive, but that was really pretty much it!

So with those thoughts in the back of my head, I fired up Cthulhu. Now, I'm a gamer with a vast library of emulators and ROMS, and of the Tabletop variety as well, so I know Cthulhu. Since this is the Internet, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you probably do to. If not, a quick Google Search should help you out.

Immediately intrigued by the title (I mean, Saves the World? Doesn't sound like the Lovecraftian horror we all know!), and surprised to find out that I'd scored the Super Hyper Enhanced Championship Edition Alpha Diamond DX Plus Alpha FES HD - Premium Enhanced Game of the Year Collector's Edition (without Avatars!) edition, I started my new game, and was treated to one of the funniest tutorials I've seen in a game in... ever. It didn't stop there, either... this game has almost everything I wasn't expecting: Alien Cats, Zombies to save, and a wise-cracking Elder God (who knows that sometimes you have to save the world before you can destroy it). Honestly, if I thought the humour in BODVII was good, it was tame compared to CSTW, and comes faster than the combat.

Speaking of combat, I was quite happy to see that they'd added backgrounds to the fights this time, and I have to say, they're quite pretty (even if they are 8/16 bit), and change depending on the ground texture you're standing on.

The music in both is perfectly atmospheric and paced, and they're games that make you want to keep playing, just to see what happens next. I feel obliged to mention that the games have a gorgeous 720p resolution, though when you're rocking 16-bit graphics, it's not something that jumps out at you, and (to me, anyway) not a major selling point for games like this, especially when the retro throwback is perfect in itself.

It's so hard to talk about either of these games without spoiling any of it for you, so the simple run-down is this: If you long for the days of epic Zelda exploration, SNES Final Fantasy Turn based fighting, and Police Quest humour, then either of these two games will make you a very, very happy person.

Even better, if you're on Steam, you can pick up BOTH of them for the (underpriced, in my opinion) price of $2.99 (and it's 10% off until the 20th of July!)