The beauty of episodic gaming is that although the titles released are shorter than their full disc-based cousins, they are released more frequently, and often at a discounted price. The only problem, however, is that there is hardly enough time to de...
The beauty of episodic gaming is that although the titles released are shorter than their full disc-based cousins, they are released more frequently, and often at a discounted price. The only problem, however, is that there is hardly enough time to develop ideas and concepts into new gameplay features. The second installment of the Homestar Runner inspired series, “Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People”, titled “Strong Badia the Free” unfortunately falls into this trap.
Strong Badia the free opens with our protagonist, Strong Bad, checking his emails. He receives an email stating that Strong Bad would make a much better king than the current king, King of the Town. This of course, sparks Strong Bad’s interests – though he never acts on them. However, after replying to the email, Strong Bad’s house is invaded by The King of the Town and Strong Bad is placed under house arrest, for refusing to pay the newly (and retrogradely) created Email Tax, in which all emails sent and received require payment to the king. Fast forward past the game’s prologue, and Strong Bad escapes his house with desires to establish “Strong Badia” with a much more free way of living. Along the way of course, Strong Bad encounters his friends / enemies from the series who’ve also established their own countries. Strong Bad must make his way throughout them and unite them under the Strong Badian flag to get to the King’s castle, so that he may establish Strong Badia and break free of the King’s oppression.
If you played the original Strong Bad episode, Homestar Ruiner, you’ll have a fairly good idea of what to expect here. The graphics are fully three dimensional but at the same time retain their two dimensional feel and look similar to the flash cartoon the series is based on, Homestar Runner. The game does look very clean and there is a high visual clarity – something that is rare on the Wii, although it can be attributed to the source material.
The gameplay in Strong Badia the Free is exactly the same as the previous episode – nothing has changed at all. Players use the Wiimote to aim at where they want Strong Bad to travel and he will do so with a click of the A button. Conversations are held with other characters through dialog boxes from Strong Bad’s head, in which the topics of conversations appear and players can choose which one they want Strong Bad to talk about. In addition, players can occasionally choose a “positive” or “negative” answer, indicated by angel and demon icons during dialogue. Although using the wrong response doesn’t really garner any negative rammifications, it’s a very nice touch to hear Strong Bad suck up to his enemies so badly, and usually fail. It’s also worth noting that the game was a lot more straightforward this time, so it was much easier to complete. Unfortunately, some players may be deterred by this fact but this reviewer definitely welcomes it.
In keeping with tradition, the second episode of Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People contains a very humourous mini-game within Strong Bad’s room, called Math Kickers: Featuring the Algebro’s. It is basically a Double Dragon clone, except the characters battle with polynomial functions, defeating them by factorising and via other mathematical functions. It was a very nice throwback to my high school years, but also a worrying one to think about how much maths I’ve forgotten. Regardless, it’s a very nice inclusion, though it is a shame to see that the popular Teen Girl Squad comic was not available for this installment, but is most likely going to return in the next episode.
There isn’t a whole lot of music within Strong Badia the Free, but the voice acting is top notch. As with the previous title, the talent from the original Homestar Runner cartoon return to voice their respective characters, and they sound brilliant. The voice acting is really what makes the characters of the Homestar Runner universe so appealing and so funny.
Strong Badia the Free is a title that is really hard to recommend to anyone who played the first one and didn’t enjoy it. What we have here is the exact same game, albeit with a different storyline and while this isn’t a sequel, it’s important to remember that it’s more of a continuation of the series. If you’re going into Strong Badia the Free hoping to find new features, then don’t. If you enjoy the Homestar Runner universe or at least enjoyed what you did in Homestar Ruiner, the first episode, then Strong Badia the Free comes highly recommended. I eagerly await the third episode to see what it brings, if anything.
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