From the Vault: Brave (NDS)

So this is still an evolving idea, but for Retro reviews of games on past Gen consoles (yeah sorry guys, 2D/3DS is old gen now, deal with it), I thought I’d borrow the title Disney used to use for movies they would lock away for years then re-release for a limited time and watch the money flow in, even if the movie wasn’t good (I’m looking at you, Black Cauldron). This seems an especially fitting title for reviews about games that are extremely unlikely to be released anywhere else. I mean, why would you re-release a forgotten 2DS game based on a kid’s film? Maybe they make a new game starring Merida one day but it definitely won’t be a remake of this and there are tons of games like this.

So, if you were going to play a game based on the hit Pixar movie Brave, this game might throw you off quite a bit. Both the movie and the game have the same basic premise: Merida found a witch and had her make a spell to change her mom, somehow that translates to mom is now a bear and you have to break the spell.

In the movie (spoiler) the spell is basically broken by mother and daughter mending the emotional strain between them and learning to accept and appreciate things about each other they didn’t previously.

In the game, all that emotional stuff is pretty much thrown out the window. The in-game explanation is that well the witch’s spell was thrown off by the evil of Mor’du and she must defeat him to set things right. Probably a better premise for a video game than the movie itself, but totally undercuts the point of the movie…

But yes what transpires in Brave for Nintendo DS is an action-adventure across 20ish levels that have you battling malevolent forest creatures for over 20 very short levels before a “final showdown” with Mor’du himself (more on that in a bit). And you know what? It’s actually not bad at all. There are some interesting mechanics with earning upgrades to your abilities, finding new bows and swords and armor throughout the levels. The combat is actually kind of nuanced with enemies having different elemental weaknesses so you have to switch to the appropriate one. The combat is a little sloppy but functional. This makes it a pretty easy recommendation for anyone who would want a game starring a Disney princess that actually features them as a fierce action-adventure heroine. It’s also pretty short and can be beaten in a day or two, whether or not that’s a plus may vary. The console/PC version has the same premise but offers some different gameplay so at some point I’ll review that out as well.

So while it isn’t a brilliant game, I was mostly pleasantly surprised by Brave for the Nintendo DS. It’s a competent action game designed for young kids that features a cool heroine. I really just have one major complaint and it has to do with the final battle. This is obviously a spoiler but do you really care if I spoil the boss battle of an eight-year-old licensed Nintendo DS game? If so you’ve been warned.

So the whole time you are basically building for an epic showdown with Mor’du. You’d think the final battle might be against the bear and maybe some minions spawning here and there since that’s been the pattern. Maybe Mor’du has a few special tricks up his sleeve, he is the end boss after all (btw in the movie, Mor’du is more of an innocent victim of the witch’s trickery which Merida figures out, that doesn’t happen here so in the game he’s just some evil bear corrupting magic and the forest).

Instead what you get is four easily dispatched waves of enemies while Mor’du just watches from a tower that crumbles a little after each wave then falls to his death. YOU NEVER ACTUALLY FIGHT MOR’DU.

Granted, disappointing final battles are hardly uncommon in video games of all shapes and sizes, but I can’t recall a single game I have even played where the whole point is to defeat this one big powerful final enemy and that enemy is just a spectator in the final fight and instead, you just fight some meaningless cronies. It kinda deflates the game as a whole.

So ultimately let’s say you are looking for something for a younger kid that might still only have a 2DS/3DS (especially to play on a long flight or a weekend away in a hotel or something). Brave isn’t a bad choice for most of the reasons I listed, it just completely undercuts most of the points of the film and doesn’t even give you the epic showdown it promises from the start of the game. It isn’t a hidden gem but not some embarrassing trash either. Simply a competently made game that just cuts its own legs out from under itself at the end. That’s all for now, see ya real soon!