Save The Turtles Review (DS)

Command an army of toddlers to their doom

With oil spills and genetically mutated crabs ahoy, on reflection of Save The Turtles it seems like there was some sort of underlying message to do with the environment. Attempting to save batches of baby turtles from such monstrosities with just a stylus has felt like I’m playing some Greenpeace RTS. Every 5 minutes, it feels like there should be a mini-game where I try and melt the hearts of industrialists with Thermos Tea and endless ranting. Every time I glare at the dangers of the outside world, and then into the wide eyes of my turtle occupants however, I can’t help but feel the subliminal messaging has worked, and that it’s about time the heroes in half shells got their Moses.

Save The Turtles Save The Turtles takes the classic ‘Match 3 colours in a row to erase them forever’ puzzle format and twists it so that you have full reign over where the colours go, instead of letting gravity take its course and forcefully edge them towards the ground. The colours are represented by newly hatched baby turtles, and in a bid to escape to the sea, must align up with similar varieties to be washed away to safety. Even though the beach the turtle toddlers have to traverse is only the size of an average DS screen, it’s filled with man made disasters and natures own abominations that would love to sink their teeth into your miniature pals.

Though the premise of matching turtles is simple, the process of actually getting one of the lazy oafs onto the beach is fairly arduous. Once a suspicious patch appears on the beach, players must dig up an egg, crack it open and then draw a route for the newly dazed turtle to follow. It’s all simple to begin with, but when 10 eggs are on offer around the screen with countless obstacles blocking progress, the limited space soon becomes an issue that’s all the more satisfying to overcome through strategic placing of your colourful companions.

The game is aimed for kids, yet aren’t sugar and spice enough to deter the older gamer from it.

At the beginning, the beaches are trouble free and crystal clear allowing for easy free reign over the area. However as your turtle heroism shines stronger, more hungry beasts make their way to the shores on an endless binge for snacks. Through progression, players are given more varieties of turtle to save, bigger beasts to avoid and an ever persistent seagull to contend with, and all are introduced at such a steady pace that it keeps Save The Turtles from getting stale before the end credits.

Though a cheap downloadable title, the visuals are crisp and suitably lush for such a simple game. It’s evident with the puppy eyed turtles that the game is aimed for kids, yet aren’t sugar and spice enough to deter the older gamer from it. The blatant cuteness of your companions also help to make you feel like a complete git when one of them is dragged into the sand by a crab and digested.

Frustration can occasionally creep into this otherwise entertaining package through the troubles of randomly generated enemies, sniping away any chance of perfection on most levels. All too often, turtles were found to be completely cornered of by crabs that would only disappear if one of my beloved were to be caught. Even with victory in sight, it can be a pain to be caught in one of these traps which feel like an impossible error, and are even more frustrating when it blocks off a turtle saved for an impressive combo.

Save The Turtles As levels are completed, medals are rewarded to those with exceptional scores. Beneficial only for visual merit, however, these awards are reserved for the completionists who really enjoy a good challenge and hope they aren’t inexplicably cornered by hazards. It’s hard to warrant the motivation for such inexpensive yet pixelated metals, and with little to strive for the game becomes very easy to complete. With a set target of turtles to save before time runs out, things can get pretty tense, yet it never really feels hard. Those who wish to gain any decent medals must carry on after the target and clear the beach completely in order to gain perfection, and although slightly harder, it’s never necessary.

For the price, Save The Turtles is an admirable puzzle game which will keep you occupied from beginning to end, and dedicated puzzlers on board for even longer tweaking scores to grab all the gold medals on offer. Though the new waves of obstacles that generate through progression don’t exactly offer much to hinder a basic start to finish playthrough, they do offer enough variety to keep if fresh for the duration. When you’re next on a vigilante mission for turtles, however, pack a mallet instead of a stylus to protect them from oncoming terror.

Save The Turtles is available on DSiWare for 500 Nintendo Points

The Good: Simple and addictive take on a classic format, Constant additions to gameplay through progression keeps the game refreshed
The Bad: Random generation of obstacles can truly trip you up, Not challenging enough to encourage a replay


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Bronze Y AwardBronze Y Award
3.5 3.5 / 5

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