The latest addition to the Puzzle Quest family of match-3 RPGs is based on Cartoon Network’s extraordinary Adventure Time. The game, available today for iOS and Android, was developed by D3 Go!, which also brought Marvel Puzzle Quest.
Adventure Time follows Finn the human and his best friend, Jake the magical dog, in their adventures throughout the psychedelic Land of Ooo. Ostensibly a children’s show, it’s gathered a substantial adult following as well because of its endlessly inventive design, the rich, slow-played backstory of its post-post-apocalyptic world (set 1,000 years after a catastrophic nuclear war) and the surprising emotional depth it can achieve (Ice King gradually goes from a one-note parody of cartoon villains to one of the most tragic characters on television).
If you’ve played previous Puzzle Quest games, you know what to expect. Like many RPGs, you assemble a party of three heroes (collected through gameplay from a variety of AT characters like Finn, Jake, Marceline, and BMO) and undertake quests, which comprise a series of turn-based battles. The actual mechanical meat is standard match-3 fare (Candy Crush being the most iconic genre exemplar), wherein you swap colorful tiles around to form linear sets of three or more to damage your opponents. Each character is associated with a particular color of tile, which charge up their special attacks when matched. The enemies do not directly manipulate the board like you do, but instead create negative effects like flames that damage your party until cleared.
Levels are filled with various collectible rewards such a from matching chests and keys that appear on the board, or loot bags that drop from defeated enemies, all of which must be matched in order to be gathered. When you make it through a given stage, the heroes earn experience points to grow more powerful and learn new abilities. You are also rewarded with crafting ingredients that can be combined to create things like healing potions or ability-boosting trinkets.
The game has two currencies, Magic Dust and Hero Coins, which can be used to unlock additional heroes. You only have a limited number of roster spots for your team, but more can be unlocked by spending Hero Coins. As is standard for similar releases, the game is free to download, but offers in-app purchases.
If you’re a fan of the show and need a new, relatively mindless, one-finger game to fill your commute, this seems like a no-brainer to download, given the price. Have fun punching buns!
