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Royal Trouble: Hidden Honeymoon Havoc HD

Score: 98%
ESRB: 12+
Publisher: G5 Entertainment
Developer: Orchid Games
Media: Download/1
Players: 1
Genre: Adventure/ Puzzle


Graphics & Sound:

Royal Trouble: Hidden Honeymoon Havoc HD picks up with the royal couple, Prince Nathaniel and Princess Loreen, on their honeymoon. They decide to follow the advertising billboards and visit Merry Castle for the honeymoon adventure of a lifetime, but little do they know that the castle is merely a place for highborn couples to get fleeced!

You'll spend your entire adventure within the grounds of Merry Castle, going from a luxurious suite, to a spa with a lovely bath attendant, to the courtyard, a dungeon, secret passageways and everywhere in between.

The locations are nicely detailed and beautiful to the eye. Everything has little touches, such as rays of sunlight filtering through a window, dust motes floating in the air, or the breeze lazily blowing the leaves of a plant. I especially enjoyed the area where there was a magical tent that would fade in and out.

The background music is fanciful and reminiscent of being at a Renaissance Faire, as it should be. It is universally excellent throughout the game, as is the narrator, who is so cheesy and overdone, but absolutely perfect. He really adds so much to the game, as he is describing the predicaments in which Loreen and Nathaniel find themselves. Sadly, there are no voiceovers for the characters, themselves, as you'll be reading text only, but I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator.


Gameplay:

Royal Trouble: Hidden Honeymoon Havoc HD is a puzzle adventure where you intermittently play as Prince Nathaniel and Princess Loreen, who are on their ill-fated honeymoon. Almost immediately upon entering their suite at Merry Castle, they become separated and you'll play as each of them as they progress in their escape attempt from the castle. Along the way, you'll have to be mindful of items in the environment that you can pick up and use and you'll also encounter nifty puzzles that drive the story forward.

As you make your respective ways through the castle and grounds, you'll meet a few charming and not-so-charming characters, such as the previously mentioned seductive bath attendant, Roxana; a kindly magician and also the uncle to Lord Drak; a lovelorn knife-thrower and even the greedy and nasty Lord Drak himself. You'll need to stay on your toes to survive the experience, as Drak has some pretty nefarious plans.


Difficulty:

Royal Trouble: Hidden Honeymoon Havoc HD has three difficulty levels to choose from: Casual, Advanced and Expert. In Casual, your Hint button will recharge quickly, as well as your Skip button for the puzzles, and you'll see Glimmers on active areas to let you know the location of an item or spot that requires your attention or interaction. I did notice that sometimes there was a Glimmer when I had already done what needed to be done, but these occurrences were extremely rare.

If you select Advanced, your Hint and Skip buttons will charge normally (as opposed to the fairly rapid charge in Casual), but you'll still have Glimmers on active areas. This is the difficulty level that most adventure gamers would probably want to select if they don't want to blaze through the game, but don't want to play completely hardcore with no assistance.

Expert difficulty level has slowly recharging Hint and Skip buttons and no Glimmers on active areas. This is for true adventure game experts.

That being said, if you are playing on the easier settings, Royal Trouble: Hidden Honeymoon Havoc HD tends to be a lighter, more easy game. I say that because everything you are doing simply makes sense and there's no struggle to figure out where you need to go next. To me, this makes it a better adventure game, but more hardcore adventure gamers may not agree.


Game Mechanics:

The puzzles in Royal Trouble: Hidden Honeymoon Havoc HD are all great fun and run the gamut from memory games, to a Simon variant, to tile swapping games, to matching games, and even timed games. I never skipped a puzzle, because I enjoyed each and every one. With some games, I will see the way to solve a puzzle, but not want to take the time to actually see it through, but I never felt that in Royal Trouble: Hidden Honeymoon Havoc HD. Additionally, every puzzle fit organically within the storyline and didn't feel the least bit forced. Always a plus.

In addition to making your way out of Merry Castle, you'll be tasked with finding the scattered lion's heads of Nathaniel's family crest, 29 in total. It's basically a side quest and you'll need to watch for them, as they are very well hidden and there is one in every location. I missed a few along the way, so I am not sure what happens if you find them all, other than an achievement, but it's a fun little extra thing to be watching for as you progress.

You'll also have to use your wits, sometimes, just to get out of tricky situations including jail cells in the dungeon, so you'll always need to be on the lookout for things that can help. Overall, Royal Trouble: Hidden Honeymoon Havoc HD is just a fun adventure for any fan of the genre and, just like its predecessor, is an all-around excellent example of a damn near perfect adventure game.


-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ashley Perkins

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