The Dink Network

Dink Smallwood

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDD
October 16th, 2009
v1.08
Score : 9.7 exceptional
custom_robj.png
Robj
Jester He/Him Australia
You feed the madness, and it feeds on you. 
Well, I'm guessing this hasn't been reviewed for a while, and it's not like there isn't enough reviews already, but since I did a video review, I'm just adding 'a text version' of it here.... yeah.

Foreword
This is the game that started it all... it's one of the greatest classics ever in my opinion and it still remains on the list of my favourite classic games, and there's no doubt it always will.

Dink Smallwood is often described as a 'Zelda-like' game. Although I've actually seen some people argue against this, Dink Smallwood reminds me of 3 games. They are - Zelda, Monkey Island, and Diablo.

Story
The story of Dink Smallwood is definitely awesome, and it kept me interested throughout the entire game. It involves a range of different tasks you perform throughout Dink's adventure, which really only kicks-off once Dink's house burns and he gets invited to stay with his Aunt in Terris. Before that point, the quests can be seen as quite lame, as they mainly consist of feeding animals, finding an animal and collecting some food. But I definitely prefer these easy quests that don't feel real adventurous to let the player figure out the game, rather than a boring tutorial like I've seen in some games. Throughout Dink's adventure you'll meet teachers of magic, find shops to upgrade your weapons, behead some ducks, and talk to a lot of people.
One of the best things about Dink Smallwood is the humour included in the game, and it truly helps to liven up the game and make it more entertaining to play.

Graphics
Dink's graphics aren't shiny-extremely-realistic masterpieces, but they are definitely well done, and they work. In comparison to other RPG's, they could have been better but it's not really a problem at all. As long as they don't look like crap, then they are ok in my opinion. Personally, I like the saying - "Better graphics doesn't necessarily mean a better game".
In terms of animation, there's a range of graphics - some are simple, and some are eye-catching. The mapping of the game is also well designed, however there is the occasional annoyance of getting bounced back and forth between screens because of an object placed in the way.

Gameplay in terms of control
Dink is controlled using the keyboard, or a computer game controller - they both work well. The controls can not be altered to your own liking, but that doesn't even matter because the defaults are really easy to use, which is a good thing. I've played games that have controls that are so complicated and weird that you can't figure out the simplest things.

Game sounds and music
Well what can I say?
The sound is one of my favourite aspects of Dink Smallwood. Dink Smallwood only uses midi files for it's game music and these work extremely well in the game to set the mood for the various scenes and situations, and the normal game sounds share the same quality.
They are simply awesome

Overall
Dink Smallwood is a great game and it will always have a place amongst my favourite classics. The adventure and humour fit together well and make a good pair and the editing capabilities that have spawned several user-created worlds is truly a spectacular feature.

Score: 9.7