Battle Your Nightmares In My Little Hero
My Little Hero ($0.99) by NCsoft Hero is a platformer that features beautifully rendered graphics and a cute storyline where the main character must save his friend Pinky, who has been kidnapped by the evil Boogeyman.
I think we’ve all wondered about what kind of terrors are lurking under our beds and in the shadows of our closet, and in My Little Hero, you’ll face your fears and battle those creepy monsters in a dreamworld where you’re equipped with a paper knight’s hat and sword.
To search for Pinky, you will adventure through forests, deserts, swamps, and the boogeyman’s nest, solving puzzles, seeking out treasure, and destroying the enemies that stand in your way.
As with most platform games, the joystick for movement is located on the left side of the screen. You attack with the right joystick, and there is no jumping mechanic in the game. When next to an item that you can use, the attack button turns into a use button, allowing you to interact with objects like treasure chests and wardrobes.
The controls were smooth, well done and easy to use, which I would expect from a game without a jumping mechanic.
You’re transported through a wardrobe into a dream world, where there are creatures like bees and bloodthirsty plants to either destroy or avoid. There are also bomb-dropping boogeymen and a few puzzles you will have to solve to get to new areas, such as flipping a switch in one area and returning to another.
Later in the game you receive a flashlight, which can be shined on some monsters to scare them off (mainly indestructible trees) and open doorways. Other items, such as a slingshot, a floatie, and an umbrella, will be unlocked later in the game.
This game actually reminds me quite a bit of Paper Monsters, because the hero is wearing a cardboard hat and gathering buttons as currency. Buttons drop from slain monsters, and are used to purchase candy to restore health. Getting hit by a monster removes a half of a heart, but there’s ample candy to buy and pick up off of the floor.
There are boss fights at the end of each area, and after a boss fight is finished, you can use your gathered buttons to obtain better gear.
There’s no denying that My Little Hero is a good looking game with fabulous controls, but that wasn’t enough to keep me interested. The gameplay is slow and it tends to be both repetitive and boring. You continually visit the same types of areas and kill the same monsters, and there’s little risk involved. In short, it’s just too easy, at least for 90 percent of the game.
The difficulty does ramp up considerably during the last bosses of the game, which is just too much too late. The difficulty curve in My Little Hero needs some serious adjustment.
This is not a perfect game, but it’s charming and nostalgic. Battling your childhood nightmares is both cathartic and fun, and I suspect that even your kids might enjoy a turn or two playing My Little Hero. Get this one now while it’s priced at $0.99.
