A review code for the game was supplied by the game’s developers Rainbite.

Mother meets A Link to the Past?

There’s not many games that I play twice! But when I heard Kiwi developers Rainbite were bringing Reverie Sweet As Edition to the Nintendo Switch, I knew I had to double-dip on this little bundle of New Zealand joy!

I actually first played Reverie on my P.S. Vita. Rainbite were brave enough (or crazy enough) to release their game on Playstation’s neglected platform back in 2018. I believe the game did quite well there as it later got a PS4 release and even picked up some indie game of the year awards from outlets like Rapid Reviews UK. However, now the game is on the Nintendo Switch, I was so excited to dive back into Reverie’s wonderful world and experience its crazy and very Kiwi focused story!

The Story

You play as Tai, a young boy on his way to Toromi Island to spend the summer with his grandparents. After arriving on the island, the Moari spirits that inhabit it go into an all out war with each other. The spirits are all brothers, and as brother do, they are arguing over a fishing trip. However, the battles between the brothers have caused a huge earthquake on the island.

‘Kia Ora!’

After finding one of the brothers residing in your basement (possessing a tumble dryer), Tai is given the task of finding the other three brothers and giving them a good walloping in the hope that it restores balance to the island. With your trusty cricket bat you set out for the weirdest and funnest summer holiday of your life!

What I liked about Reverie’s story is that it is weird in the best sort of way. In comparison, right now I’m also playing YIIK: A Post Modern RPG. Both of these games have strong influences from the Mother/ Earthbound series as their stories both involve over the top characters and supernatural events. In my opinion, Reverie’s story balances this influence far better than YIIK. YIIK’s story is bloated, overly long and feels weird for weirdness’s sake. Reverie’s on the other hand is light hearted, funny and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

‘Reverie’s story is that it’s is weird in the best sort of way.’

Is there something Kinda Funny about this arcade?

This, it could be argued, is reflected in the game’s setting of New Zealand, where the locals are always willing to have a joke at their own expense. Personally, I think its unique to have a game based in New Zealand and the charm of the game’s NPCs were a reflection of the real life New Zealanders I met when I travelled there. I honestly loved going from NPC to NPC because I was excited to hear what they were going to say. Of course, some of the times their dialogue was a cliche and there is a few pokes at the Aussies in this game. Nevertheless, it was tongue-in-cheek and lighthearted, often getting a chuckle out of me!

Gameplay

Much like classic Zelda games, Reverie’s map is set into four areas each with their own dungeon.

‘My favorite puzzle mechanic was Stephen the stone’

Dungeons start off small and simple but as you get further into the story they become longer and introduce new mechanics and puzzles. My favorite puzzle mechanic was Stephen the stone (Tai’s pet). Stephen could be used to weigh down pressure plates and even block lazars. What was also cool about Stephen was that you could use other items with him to help solve puzzles. One example of this was with the Nerf Gun. If you needed to switch a lazar on and off again to get past it, you could move Stephan off a pressure plate by shooting him with the gun. These details always made me enjoy the puzzles in Reverie’s dungeons. I always thought they were well designed and usually had me scratching my head at the start. However, after thinking for a few seconds I could usually come up with the answer to the puzzle and move onto the next room.

One gameplay feature I really liked for managing your weapons and tools was the new inventory wheel that Rainbite added to the Sweet As Edition. It made switching between weapons and tools so much easier than having to go into the game’s menu!

‘Enemies always felt like they were just ‘there’.’

Combat is also reminiscent of older Zelda games. Tai is armed with his trusty cricket bat, a yo-yo and the aforementioned Nerf Gun. The combat was basic but ok- I felt like it got the job done. However, this was helped by the lack of enemy aggression in the game.

Enemies always felt like they were just ‘there’. They didn’t really attack you, they just sort of randomly wandered around you. This usually meant I didn’t take that much damage, making the combat often feel easy. One design decision I really didn’t like with combat was that enemies respawned after you left a room. Therefore, at times it could be frustrating to get lost in a dungeon, have to backtrack and then fight all the same enemies you just killed. I understand why the devs made this decision (the enemies drop money and health and it fits in with the game’s influences) but I wish that if you’ll killed the enemies enough, they’d stop coming back.

Each dungeon also had two boss battles: a mini-boss and a main boss. Both were enjoyable but rather easy, especially the main bosses. They fell into patterns that were simple to pick up. If you did have problems working out how to kill the boss, there was also a very obvious nudge from the developer telling you what to do. More times than not, it was loads of Nerf Gun ammo on the floor signally that… yeah just shoot the boss.

The bosses themselves all looked awesome and were memorable and again reminded me of the Mother series with their quirkiness.

Art and Music

The story isn’t the only thing influenced by the Mother series, the art (obviously) is too. I love how simple Reverie’s pixel art looks but also how detailed it is. The bright colours and blocky lines make the game pop in both handheld and docked mode. It looks like the Mother series, but the Daniel Airey has distinguished Reverie’s look enough to make it its own beautiful thing.

It’s not really art but I also really appreciated that Rainbite added in game achievements into the Switch version of the game for all us trophy hunters coming over from the Vita!

The music is also great. The intro music has become a consistent ear worm for me the last couple of days. Furthermore, each dungeon’s track is unique and stands out from the other dungeons, fitting their tone and areas perfectly.

Problems

The only slight problem I had with Reverie was that when you die in dungeons it always takes you back to the dungeon entrance. Annoyingly, the progress you made in the dungeon is saved i.e. doors you’ve unlocked stay unlocked however, puzzles and enemies reset themselves. This got annoying in the final dungeon, which is rather lengthy. I died multiple times and had to keep redoing the dungeon over and over. There are some jump pads you can stand on to warp you to other parts of the dungeon, meaning you can skip some of the rooms you’ve already done. Nevertheless, I wish the puzzles and enemies would have been disabled after you beat their rooms.

The worst type of problem…

In addition, it could be argued that the game is ‘short’. My play through took me less than 4 hours but bare in mind, I beat the game recently on the Vita so could remember most of what to do. Therefore, your time may vary depending on if the game is new to you. This is not a complaint of mine, just a heads up for you guys! In addition, when you beat the game you unlock the final dungeon that is a challenge arena. Therefore, if you wanted to extend your playtime you could always do it there!

Summary

Tai taking a well earned rest after beating the final boss.

Reverie was one of my favourite P.S. Vita games and the trip over to Switch has only improved the game in my eyes. Reverie Sweet As Edition’s story is wonderfully weird, its characters are charming and funny and its world is varied and stunning. If you have any nostalgia for the Mother/ Earthbound series and you want to play a 2D Zelda-like on the Switch, then you have to buy Reverie!

Honestly, Rainbite kept are some things they from games like A Link to the Past which I wished they modernised, such as a basic combat system and consistent enemy respawns. Nevertheless, with its wide range of weapons and tools and the outstanding design of the dungeons keeping you going through the monotone combat, Reverie Sweet As Edition is a must for any indie game fan!

Therefore, I give Reverie Sweet As Edition by Rainbite my score of

8 is Great!

Did you enjoy Reverie on the P.S. Vita? Do you even know what a Vita is? let me know over on Twitter or join our Discord server!

Like this: Like Loading...