I'm not sure I can add anything new to the exnleelct reviews here, but I'll try. When I first heard that 3-D Dot Game Heroes would be released in the US, I was ecstatic. From Software had already scored a huge hit with Demon's Souls, and the idea of this game seemed very intriguing: an homage to the top-down action adventures of yesteryear, with particular attention paid to the granddaddy of them all, The Legend of Zelda. But 3-D is more than a tribute. It is a blatant rip-off. I say this in the best way possible, because if there is one game a company should rip off, it's Zelda . Hailed by many as the single greatest game ever made, TLOZ changed gaming forever, from its use of the battery-pack for saving, to its open-world environments, to its dungeons and bosses. Zelda had it all. Of course, it spawned many quality sequels, but with the advent of 3-D gaming, the top-down beauty of this classic has been lost. 3-D has a full dose of itself, however. There are numerous references to 8-bit classics of yesteryear, from strange translations of spells, to clues that point you nowhere. There's even a developer's room, harking back to games such as Chrono Trigger. But scratch below the nostalgia, and you have some quality gameplay that's worth coming back for. Anyway, The Good: 1) The Nostalgia I loved every minute of it. As a 35-year-old gamer who remembers crowded arcades in the early 80 s, it was great to revisit the quirks of old NES classics. 2) Exploration 3-D has a large overworld map, just like Zelda of the past. But many of the secrets of this map are obscured, or unattainable, until you get certain abilities. This adds length to the game, but it never feels unnecessary. A world that was a pain to traverse early becomes easily maneuverable later. 3) Bestiary This gets it own section. In order to get enemies into your bestiary, you actually have to HIT them with your bestiary book. It is amazing how much fun this adds to the game. The weapon itself has short range and pathetic attack, and often it takes many, MANY hits to book an enemy (particularly bosses). There are many enemies to hit, and some of them can be quite challenging. 4) Character creation I spent hours with this, creating strange and wonderful characters. It might not be for everyone, but it's fun nonetheless. The Bad: 1) Perspective. At times, I found the dungeon cameras incredibly frustrating. When trying to book the Dark Knight, I would often take phantom hits for no good reason. Sometimes, your character will get hung up on environment, or won't be able to use his weapon because he's too close to the door. It's a pain. 2) Control the game utilizes a mix of the grid system from TLOZ with analog controls, and while sometimes the effect is good, it often fails. It's annoying that my character can move diagonally, but can't ATTACK that way. 3) Music quirks At times, the music would start skipping, particularly when moving from screen to screen. It always freaked me out. The Best: 1) Trophies It's nice when a game gets it right, and these trophies only serve to add to the experience. For example, in order to get many of the hidden trophies, you have to defeat a boss without getting damaged. That adds to the experience. Booking bosses also gains trophies, as does beating the game without ever dying, etc. etc. All in all, the trophies do exactly what they should they ADD to the overall experience of the game. So, that's it. I docked the game a single star due to the few missteps I mentioned, but all in all, if you are a fan of the old school classics, you should buy this. Even if you aren't, there is still a lot to be had here.