The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (DS) Review

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on the Nintendo DS is a thoroughly enjoyable role-playing game which does a great job of capturing the feeling of the film. It features an excellent battle system and gameplay that is well suited to the young adult market targeted by the recent movie. Its main weak point is the slightly repetitive nature of the tasks, but overall it is a solid effort that translates the big screen adventure to the small screens of the DS. It is disappointing that Disneys new DGamer system (a form of online infrastructure – more on that later) was cut for the Australian release, but as it stands, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian sticks out in the crowded DS market as a licensed game that is more than just a quick cash in.

The game follows the original C.S. Lewis story reasonably faithfully and allows the player to take on the role of a range of heroes, including Prince Caspian, the Pevensie children, Reepicheep, Trufflehunter and many other favourites from the book and film. The original story is an all-time classic and has a depth that is generally lacking in video game writing. Some sections of the original story are skipped over, but what is presented is done well. It is not a word-for-word retelling and players who have not read the book or seen the film should not expect to get the full story, but for its purpose, the version told through the gameplay and cutscenes is more than enough for anyone to relive their previous experiences with the tale.

The graphics and sound do a fair job of capturing the audio-visual experience of the film, and while they are never going to set new standards, they are certainly above the average for licensed games on the DS. The animation is a little stiff and the locations a little generic, which is unfortunate as the original Chronicles of Narnia stories painted a rich picture of a living, breathing fantasy world. It is as though the developers have attempted to match the lacklustre designs from the film instead of going back to the original books for inspiration. There isn’t a lot wrong with it, but overall the audio-visual package just seems to lack the imagination that the books so easily display.

What the game does do extremely well though is present a battle system that is fresh, innovative and takes advantage of the unique features of the hardware. Rather than offering a standard turn-based battle system, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian requires the player to handle attacks by using the touch screen. Players select which character will attack which enemy and then must follow a set of on-screen actions to determine the effectiveness of their attack. For example, when a character with a sword attacks, the player will need to accurately trace lines across the screen. Each character falls into a specfic class, with each class requiring a different set of on-screen actions. The player also has the ability to team up certain characters’ attacks to deal extra damage. It is not a perfect system and some classes are far more fun than others, but it is certainly a step above the usual turn-based battles of most other role-playing game series.

There are many items to collect throughout the game, but the item system is unfortunately too confusing to add much to the experience. Using items is extremely simple with a basic drag and drop interface, but it is the items themselves that are often confusing for the player. Some items follow the regular role-playing game conventions food restores health but other items seem to have no relationship with what effect they have armour weakens enemies. This confusion aside, there are plenty of items to collect and use as well as a number of other items that can be used in the forge to upgrade weapons and equipment. While not as detailed or as fun as something like the Horadric Cube from Diablo II, the forge is still a nice little addition that players can use to craft better weapons and equipment.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is quite a short game, with a main quest lasting around 10 hours. There are some side-quests to be completed which may encourage some players to play through the story again, but due to the slightly repetitive nature of the quests, once most players have completed it, they will have little reason to play through a second time.

Unfortunately, Disney’s intriguing DGamer system did not make it into the Australian version, as this would certainly have added a tremendous amount of replay value to the title. For those unfamiliar with DGamer, it is best summed-up as Disney’s answer to Xbox Live. Players can use the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection to interact with other Nintendo DS gamers who have any other DGamer enabled game. Players can design avatars and decorate them with costumes earned by achieving certain goals in DGamer enabled gam
es. The system also features online leaderboards to track various aspects of the game such as flawless battles and the number of characters acquired.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on the Nintendo DS is a good game that can accompany the film or book for fans. It presents players with an excellent battle system that could teach many console role-playing games a thing or two about how to make turn-based battles more exciting. It is a system that is screaming to be applied to a bigger-budget game. The story is based on one of fantasy’s most beloved author’s works and while it is not a perfect translation, it is definitely better than most angsty-teen-defeats-wicked-evil-intent-on-destroying-the-planet storylines that often pass for good video game writing. The DGamer system would have rounded the game out nicely and added some much-needed replay value, but that will have to wait for another Disney game. In the end, Prince Caspian is a fun, but short romp through Narnia that shows great promise for the way role-playing games on the DS could be.