Let me tell y’all about Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore. Developed by “Seedy Eye Software” (hi, Zelda) and published by Limited Run Games, I knew I would fall in love with it the moment I saw the first trailer.
When the charm is so effortless, how could I not be enamored? The influence was as plain as day. Arzette was destined to be a loving tribute to two of the most ridiculed, memed-to-death Zelda games in the franchise’s history. Maybe you’re too young to remember the CD-i Zelda games. If you are, here’s a history lesson for you.
Outside of the cutscenes, though? The Zelda CD-i games were abysmal. (If you’re a developer who worked on those games, I’m so, so sorry.) It was some of the clunkiest, most miserable 2D side-scrolling filth to ever have the audacity to call itself “playable.” It’s impressive for a video game to have almost zero redeeming qualities. But, we got those silly-ass cutscenes — and that was more than enough for us!
So, when I saw the reveal trailer for Arzette, I just knew. It would’ve been easy for “Seedy Eye Software” to make a mean-spirited game that kicks the skeletal remains of the CD-i Zelda titles. What Arzette is instead? A fun, light-hearted, challenging homage to two of the worst games of all time.
cd-i zelda crawled so ‘arzette’ could sprint
I can’t praise Arzette enough. For one, I adored the characters. Every single person you interact with is genuinely hilarious. Arzette herself is sympathetic but also doesn’t take any guff. She’s quick to basically tell someone, “No, that’s stupid and I won’t do your dumb filler quest.” Every level is chock-full of environmental nuance and enemy variety. Additionally, you have a roster of optional weapons and accessories to find in hidden areas, adding depth to the gameplay.
The controls — oh, the controls. Responsive. When Arzette jumps, I know exactly where and when she’s going to land. I know the distance needed for any given weapon in her repertoire to strike a particular enemy. There are platforming sections that are so flawlessly kinetic, you forget you’re playing a game that’s trying to date itself to a distant, mocked era of gaming.
Arzette is a childhood fantasy you happily remember as an adult compared to the nightmare reality it’s choosing to honor. It’s an experience that hit a particularly pleasurable part of my “gamer brain” where the whole game sung to me from intro to end credits. This is how you do it. This is the gold standard for the “spirit” of those CD-i games. 2024 may have had many heavy hitters, but Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore brought me back to the bliss of my younger gaming years!
The post ‘Arzette’: 2024’s Sleeper Hit and a Great Redemption of CD-i Zelda appeared first on VICE.
The post ‘Arzette’: 2024’s Sleeper Hit and a Great Redemption of CD-i Zelda appeared first on VICE.
