Neutopia--Final Opinion.

So if Neutopia is a serious Zelda clone, why would you want to play it? Because Nintendo isn't going to ever make another The Legend of Zelda in its original style. Neutopia lasts roughly ten hours. It offers up identical gameplay to the original The Legend of Zelda. There are some changes though. The main character's sprite is huge compared to Link and far more detailed. Which alters the range of hit detection from what was found in Zelda. It makes the swordplay more complicated as you have to line up correctly to attack enemies. The main character's sword isn't the weapon you'll be using most of the time. The fire rod will be your primary weapon. It shoots out fire based on your vitality. So the more health you have the stronger it becomes. At its weakest it's shooting out a little ball of fire that goes out a few feet and does little damage. At its strongest it's shooting out a backdraft level wall of fire at the enemies that does a lot of damage and travels most of the way across the screen. The fire rod also fires in eight directions which alters up the basic Zelda gameplay considerably. Neutopia is also harder in the boss battles and the action element. Zelda wins out in the puzzle element. The story of Neutopia is more involved than that of the original Zelda, but still remains minimalist at best. The graphics are clean and colorful and somewhat cartoonish. The music is mostly bright and cheery and won't annoy. Neutopia is a fun game that's well worth the $6 entry fee. Especially for those out there who love the action RPG. I'm giving Neutopia for the TG-16 via the Virtual Console a 7.