Neutopia
A Zelda-like quest to rescue Princess Aurora.
Neutopia is an overhead action-adventure video game developed by Hudson Soft. It was released for the PC Engine in Japan in 1989 and for the TurboGrafx-16 in North America in 1990. The game is widely regarded as a clone of The Legend of Zelda, though it has been noted for making certain improvements over that title.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Hudson Soft
- Publisher
- Hudson Soft (JP); NEC (NA)
- Platforms
- TurboGrafx-16
- Released
- November 17, 1989 (JP); April 15, 1990 (NA)
- Genre
- Action-adventure
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The game is set in the distant past in the land of Neutopia, a prosperous and peaceful region divided into four spheres: land, subterrain, sea, and sky. The people worshipped at a Sacred Shrine and were watched over by Princess Aurora, who controlled eight spiritual medallions used for good. A Climactic Castle was built as a symbol of prosperity. The evil demon Dirth invaded, ravaged the land, captured Princess Aurora, and stole the eight medallions, scattering them across the four spheres. A young warrior named Jazeta arrives at the Sacred Shrine, where he receives a charmed compass that can guide him to the medallions. He is told he will inherit the wisdom of his ancestors and win the Princess' love if victorious. Jazeta sets out to defeat Dirth and rescue Aurora so she can free the ancestors' spirits and restore peace.
Gameplay
Neutopia is an action adventure game with a top-down perspective and labyrinthine exploration. The player controls Jazeta as he explores four spheres, recovering two medallions from each. The medallions are hidden in crypts, each guarded by a boss. After collecting all eight, Jazeta gains access to the North Pole where Dirth resides. The player moves Jazeta with the control pad and can attack with weapons or use items. The life meter, current weapons, gold, and bomb count are displayed at the top of the screen. The status screen allows item selection, shows the direction indicated by the charmed compass (which sounds an alarm near a crypt or medallion), and displays a map of the current crypt if the Crystal Ball has been collected. Information can be gathered from non-player characters in caves, some accessible only by burning objects, blowing up walls, or pushing rocks. Jazeta's main weapon is a sword, but he can also use items such as the fire rod, moonbeam moss, rainbow drop, falcon shoes, medicine, magic rings, hourglasses, and wings. Sword, shield, and armor upgrades range from bronze to silver to strongest. Enemies include spear-throwing goblins, fireball-throwing fish, fake rocks, ghosts, and charging knights.
Development and release
Neutopia, a role-playing game from Hudson Soft, first launched in Japan on November 17, 1989, for the PC Engine. It reached North America on April 15, 1990, for NEC's TurboGrafx-16. Gaming magazines Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro offered previews, with GamePro calling it a "magic and monsters type role play." The premiere issue of TurboPlay, released in June 1990, featured a complete walkthrough. The title later appeared on the Wii's Virtual Console: Japan got it on May 1, 2007, followed by North America on August 20 and Europe on August 24, alongside Super Metroid and Shinobi III. It then came to the PlayStation Network as part of a Hudson Soft TurboGrafx-16 series, releasing in Japan on June 16, 2010, and in North America on April 19, 2011. A Wii U version followed in Japan on April 16, 2014, and in North America and Europe in March 2017.
Reception
Since its release, Neutopia has been widely regarded as a clone of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda. A German magazine review called it Zelda on the PC-Engine and said differences between the two must be found with an electron microscope, praising the graphics, music, and gameplay but noting the 24-character password system and Japanese text as drawbacks. After its Virtual Console release, many websites drew comparisons to Zelda. Nintendo Life noted similarities including eight dungeons and medallions, blowing up walls, burning bushes, dungeon designs, and pushing blocks, but also highlighted differences such as the fire rod, warp wings, and lower difficulty. Destructoid compared its copying of Zelda to China Warriors copying of Kung-Fu Master, and pointed out other Zelda clones like Crusader of Centy and Alundra.
More in Hudson Soft Games
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced