Neopets: The Darkest Faerie

THE BAD:
~ Sadly, the game has so many glitches, you're not a true player until you find one.
~ Simple graphics, although done in true Neopets style, detract from the ability to enjoy the game.

SUMMARY:
Well, this was the game to beat all games for any user on neopets.com. For those of you who don't know what Neopets is, it's a website where you can create a fantasy-like pet (often based off of mythological creatures), play games to earn Neopoints (the currency), and compete in contests, including putting your Neopets against each other in battle. Essentially, it's a world where imaginations are fired up (and encouraged, as well). It would make for a great place to base a video game on, right? That's true, in ways...

I don't know how many people know this, but this game is really a remake of the same game, only before it was for the PS1. The characters are the same, the storyline is the same, and some people can't even tell the difference. Why? Well, I don't think there's any difference at all. The graphics, although they're true to the site's 2D images, only made 3D, don't really show off the capabilities of the PS2's graphics card. Lines appear on sets, you can float over empty space at times, and the glitches in gameplay are hard to avoid. It makes for a frustrating experience, at times.

One good thing about this game is its reconstructions of locations from the website. During the course of the game, you visit Faerieland, a peaceful place in the clouds, Meridell, a medieval stronghold, and Brightvale, its cousin with an emphasis on knowledge. Neopets fans will delight in this - when do you ever get to meet Faerieland's Queen Fyora? And it helps to have background information on the places you go to. I'm a user, and I found it to be the best reunion I'd ever had with familiar sets. It's much like the game Kingdom Hearts in that respect.

Another good thing about the game is its plotline. Sure, it's not deep at all, and good invariably triumphs over evil, but its cute, and again, lovers of the website will rejoice over it. It doesn't have, say, Final Fantasy's storytelling talent, but a charm all its own. I would tell you the plot, but there's not much to it, and honestly, don't you want to find out for yourself?

All in all, lovers of Neopets will have this on their hit-list, but others, regrettably, would not get much enjoyment out of this game. It's like Harry Potter - fans love the games, others find all the mistakes. But I'm not telling anyone not to buy the game - I'm just saying that they might find it helpful to browse the site first if they want maximum enjoyment. Now... let's go save Neopia, shall we?