ninja226's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.1
- Helpful Votes:1,277
- Reviews Submitted:359
- First Review:July 23, 2016
- Most Recent Review:April 26, 2021
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Experience the romance of Regency England, in this sumptuous solitaire game.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Jane Austen would approve!
PostedFebruary 11, 2017
ninja226
fromwichita, KS
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is a fun, delightful, game to play--solitaire wrapped up in a Jane Austen-like romance novella. If Jane Austen were alive, she would approve.
The graphics are good, the characters are likable, and the music is soothing.
There are 20 chapters, which correspond to various locales the characters visit and where the romance unfolds. Each chapter has 10 hands to play, except the 1st few chapters, because there are 180 "levels" total.
There are 2 modes of game play, Easy and Hard. Each hand can be replayed until 3 gold stars are earned. The faster you play the hand, the higher the points and gold earned. Gold stars can purchase power-ups and correspond to items that decorate the protagonist's drawing room or various items to dress the protagonist (Achievements room).
Each of the chapters has a beautifully drawn landscape that can be saved as a screensaver, EXCEPT the drawing room with your earnings cannot be saved as a screensaver (DRATS).
You can double the game play by playing all levels in Easy and then Hard mode.
If you are a woman, like feminine things, like romance novels, or like solitaire, this game fits the bill.
I would love to see a sequel similar to this game from the devs--they've hit upon a winning formula.
I recommend this game!
A series of robberies takes a deadly and supernatural turn!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Semi-interesting mystery adventure through 1700s Naples
PostedFebruary 4, 2017
ninja226
fromwichita, KS
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The title of the game is apropos--you'll see when you complete the game.
The graphics are pretty good, but animation and voiceover are minimal.
The storyline is pretty thin and not really developed.
You play a detective/jewelry artisan and will make bejeweled items in order to proceed to next chapter. Your jewelry box in lower right corner will glow when you have all the parts to create the item (paint by numbers).
The puzzles range from easy to challenging.
I would have liked the game more if there were more animation, special effects and better developed characters and storyline.
I don't recommend this game.
Toxic flowers have been claiming victims and withering plant life in the Netherlands. Can you cultivate the answers to this mystery?
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Toxic boredom
PostedFebruary 4, 2017
ninja226
fromwichita, KS
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I bought this game thinking it would be a long game judging from file size. Indeed, it is a long game with many puzzles to solve, but the the way the story develops is so boring and uninteresting.
Story takes place in 1700s Netherlands and you play a detective tasked with finding the antidote to the toxic flowers killing noblemen in the city.
You have a botanist/chemist box in lower right corner that rattles or sparkles when you find the ingredients to create a new flower species. This flower must be created to create an antidote, but multiple antidotes are created before the conclusion.
The puzzles range from easy to difficult. There are a lot of places to visit, items to find. Had to use the Hint button a lot to figure out what to do next. The teleport map is helpful to giving you clues about what to do next.
Buy this game if you want a real challenge playing detective without much help. The game doesn't have much in the way of special effects, animation, good graphics, and the storyline is practically nonexistent.
I don't recommend this game.
Track down the truth about your brother’s disappearance!
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
An enjoyable HO mystery adventure to find lost brother
PostedFebruary 4, 2017
ninja226
fromwichita, KS
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game goes by pretty quickly, primarily because most tasks are intuitive or logical. I was able to proceed without any Hints and didn't skip a single puzzle.
The storyline is easy to follow and draws you into the mystery. The title of of the game is apropos for the plot and becomes apparent upon completion of the game.
You travel to the underworld, but not a spooky game. Lots of special effects. Good animation.
Ratio of HOS to puzzles is 1:1. At least half of the objects to find in HO require interaction with another item to find.
I didn't find the puzzles too hard, but some took many tries before reaching the answer.
Overall, a straightforward mystery/adventure game that most Fishies will enjoy.
I recommend this game!
When a famous shapeshifting alchemist is charged with looking into the murder of the king's most trusted agent and friend, the last thing she expects to discover is an intricate network of shadowy criminals, intent on bringing chaos to the land.
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Alchemist detective journeys through famous fairytales
PostedJanuary 29, 2017
ninja226
fromwichita, KS
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I'm in the minority opinion about this game, which is a poor cousin to the 1st installment in this series.
First, this installment has no relationship and is not a continuation of the 1st game in the series. Merlin the wizard is sort of a connector between the 2 games, but makes only a brief appearance, just as he did in the 1st game.
The story is a bit truncated and is a mishmash of well known fairytales. You play an alchemist detective directed by the king to find the conspirators, so you travel through a time transporting portal that takes you through lands inhabited by the likes of Robin Hood, Hansel & Gretel & Red Riding Hood.
As an alchemist, you will make various potions as you make your journey to get yourself out of a predicament. This means finding ingredients to the potion recipe. Once all ingredients are ready, your alchemist box (icon in lower left corner) twinkles and you make your potion and proceed to next task.
The HOS for this game is more challenging than 1st game. I had to use hint more than once to find certain items. Some items morph, and it may take a while before the proper form appears for the taking. There is also interaction with objects to find some objects.
The mini puzzles are mostly easy. The one I didn't like was avoiding the pine tree branches as you hang glide through your next destination. Those cursors didn't work well.
The artwork for this game are not near as nice as for the 1st game.
No bonus chapter, no CE bells and whistles like the 1st game.
If you play the 1st game in series before playing this game, you may end up disappointed, like me. On its own, it's more than OK, but when compared to the 1st game, there's no comparison, the 1st game is way better IMO.
I don't recommend this game.
The sins of the long-forgotten past have returned to haunt the royal family. Help the princess protect her kingdom and the ones she love the most!
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Fantastically beautiful quest to rescue Queen's baby
PostedJanuary 29, 2017
ninja226
fromwichita, KS
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Wow! Wow! Wow!
Loved this game, love the artwork, love everything about this game.
Loved this game, love the artwork, love everything about this game.
The artwork is outstanding. It is high definition clarity, bright colors, smooth animation movie style clips. Characters are well drawn, dressed appropriate for their station in life, and for the most part, movie star-good looks. There is one bad villain, and he is dark, but not scary. The castle interiors are magnificent, but destroyed within the 1st scene. Even so, the other locales are still nice to explore.
Plenty of HO scenes, Items in the junk pile are very nice to look at. There are morphing items within list of items to find-these are highlighted a different color, and when they turn white, that's a tip they are in their form to be picked.
Mini puzzles are just the right amount of fun. Only one puzzle that is a pain to solve, but most are solvable.
Two modes gameplay: Casual and Expert. Hint & Skip buttons available in Expert mode, just slower recharge (Yeah!)
It is hard to believe this is a Standard edition, as it has all the bells and whistles associated with Collector editions. These include:
- collectible items (click on crown icon at bottom right corner to see what you need to find in each scene). The APPLE items are the hardest to find in the last chapter. At the end of the game, collectible items earned gets you a palace room decorated with items earned by collectibles found.
- Achievements (basically 3 stars, bronze, silver, or gold for things like playing all HO without hint, not skipping mini games, etc)
- 6 replayable HO, 6 replayable puzzles
- 4 downloadable wallpapers
- concept art development
- replayable movie clips
- BONUS CHAPTER (find the potion to turn Prince Henrik back to life)
- 4 downloadable wallpapers
- concept art development
- replayable movie clips
- BONUS CHAPTER (find the potion to turn Prince Henrik back to life)
This is a game aimed for female audiences who like pretty items and fairytale genre. The story is formulaic, but the quest itself is what makes this game a joy to play. The devs did an outstanding job putting everything together in a seamless, beautiful package.
I recommend this game!
His mother escaped her murdering husband just before he was born. Now the son of Bluebeard must break his father's curse.
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Excellent HO adventure surrounding Bluebeard legend
PostedJanuary 28, 2017
ninja226
fromwichita, KS
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is one of the better storylines I have encountered in an HO game. The plot is easy to follow. The characters are well drawn. Unfortunately, the very handsome fellow at the beginning of the game is only seen at the start and end of the game.
The game has a very good flow with respect to HO scenes, tasks, and mini puzzles, all of which have just the right amount of challenge without being overly vexing to solve.
Although it does not have a BF strategy guide, the Hint button and helpful messages that pop up when you hover over an object provided all the help I needed, and I only had to use the Hint button a few times playing on advanced mode. Note: there is no teleporting through the map icon.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable game, and I highly recommend it.
I recommend this game!
Who is trying to destroy the Kingdom of Barsia?
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 5 found this review helpful
Should be renamed to Queen Valla and the Fallen Star
PostedJanuary 28, 2017
ninja226
fromwichita, KS
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The title of this game is very misleading. There is no connection whatsoever to the fairytale Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the storyline of this game. There is no Goldilocks character, but the heroine does have golden hair and a long braid. Bears are in the story, but not in any meaningful way. This story takes place in a Siberia-like land with roaming robots (automatons).
Other than that, the graphics, animation, and special effects are superb.
HOS is the usual Blue Tea special--finding fragments of one piece that come together to make one big ornately decorated object. The frags are difficult to find in some instances and well blended into other objects, so you may find yourself hitting the Hint button.
Mini Puzzles are more challenging than previous games in this series, I skipped several of them.
This is a long game, and one that would be enjoyed by more advanced Fishies who enjoy challenging puzzles and HOS.
I recommend this game!
Romantic Paris awaits you on your next Big City Adventure!
Overall rating
3
/
5
Pedestrian tour through Paris
PostedJanuary 25, 2017
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I had great hope for this game, but it became repetitive at the midpoint of game.
There are 50 rounds of play. Each play is prefaced by a postcard giving an interesting fact about the locale, then a HOS, then a mini puzzle. There are 3 coins to collect in each scene, and coins are fairly easy to find. Items to find in each scene can be challenging, as they are small or blends in with the actual object. Points are acquired for each coin found, coins not used, amount of time to find all objects in list or completing the puzzle. Achievement awards are given for things like finding all coins in every scene, finding 6 items in 20 seconds etc.
I enjoyed the interesting facts presented, but game covers maybe 10 places and not 100 places. The mini puzzles are repeated. The HOS are repeated, just different items on the list.
No screensaver or something fun to acquire at end of game.
The devs are off to a good start, but could do much more to make this an outstanding tour through a city rich in history like Paree.
I don't recommend this game.
Help Angelo collect the resources he needs to build his palace of wonder in The Trials of Olympus!
Overall rating
3
/
5
Cute M3, cuter storyline
PostedJanuary 25, 2017
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The characters are well drawn, and the dialogue between the characters are a hoot, making the storyline and well drawn characters the highlight of this game.
The M3 is a bit ho hum, without much pizazz, but straightforward for those who enjoy M3. There is no time limit, but the faster you complete the board, the more coins you receive, and therefore the faster you can purchase supplies for building an Olympus-like village on earth.
There are 5 chapters to complete, but no screensaver after completion of game.
The devs are off to a good start with the story, characters, and dialogue, but they could do so much more to make the M3 and building aspects stupendous. I hope they read this review and get some hints about improvement.
I recommend this game!