Queen's Tales 1: The Beast & The Nightingale

Queen's Tales: The Beast & The Nightingale
by ERS Game Studios - Oct. 2013

Series links: Queen's Tales 1: The Beast & The Nightingale, Queen's Tales 2: Sins of the Past

Available at:
Big Fish as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition



Prepare for an amazing adventure in Queen's Tales: The Beast and the Nightingale! When your father returns from a long journey, he brings you a very special gift – a magical golden nightingale. But the little bird comes with some big strings attached… It belonged to a horrible beast who demands your father's servitude as payment for his stolen property. You bravely decide to take his place and begin the journey to the beast's castle. But you quickly discover that someone will do anything to stop you from reaching your goal. Now time is running out, and your father's life is on the line! Overcome strange and ominous obstacles in this thrilling Hidden Object Adventure game!

The Collector’s Edition includes:

• Thwart an evil plan in the bonus story
  
• Replay mini-games and hidden-object puzzles
  
• Beautiful wallpapers and screensavers
  
• An available Strategy Guide
  

For the Standard Edition

• Walkthrough
  
• Strategy Guide (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge
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I'm So Embarrassed! Another Cute Game And I Love It...!
   

BASED ON DEMO  

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I admit, I’m a sucker for cute, but I genuinely thought I had reached my fill of them and would not love another saccharine sweet story with cute companions and delightful fantasy locations. But I’m in love again. This game is more than just ‘cute’, however, it offers a genuinely new story, a new and interesting mini-games alternative to HOPs, and a new look for the developers (ERS).

However, I would suggest that those who don’t like cute, or want radically new gameplay and/or serious challenges to their puzzling skills, might want to skip this game completely.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS
Although the beautifully hand-drawn quality of ERS games is still there, the style of the art is quite a bit different, and gives me an impression of the Dark Parables games, which are well-known for their spectacularly beautiful imagery. I particularly love the beautifully fanciful critters that have, this year, become the norm for ERS. I would so like to take them home with me! In all, it is a visual gem. The background sound, in a game about a nightingale, is as you’d expect, filled with bird song. But that is not all of course, and both the music and the voices are well done.

WHAT’S HAPPENING
A new fairy tale! Your father steals (by accident of course!) a beast’s magic nightingale (it makes plants grow), which he then gives to you. But it seems that the owner of the bird has set a trap, because now either he gives you to the beast in marriage, or he must give himself into slavery for the rest of his life (sounds like the same thing to me). This, Father intends to do, but you take off to the beast’s castle while he sleeps.

Then, unexpected complication, some crazy witch decides she will stop you getting there! When she attacks you, in a crusading leap away from other games, it is you who gets rescued, by your long-time admirer Dorian. Well, I certainly want to know if, given such a revolutionary work, the essential ‘happily ever after’ ending is overturned as well!

GAMEPLAY
I saw nothing in the adventure gameplay that deviated much from the norm for ERS. It is interesting enough without being a headache, and comes with a directional hint and a good map. This one gives you areas where you have finished, ones that are still be done, and can reveal locations within locations, as well as jump there.

The HOPs are standard interactive lists so far, but I didn’t get to finish the demo, so there may have been more. They were well lit and great to look at, but a somewhat unusual style. The mini-games were not difficult, but some were interesting, more difficult, examples of familiar ones. BUT... instead of HOPs, you could choose to do a differently styled Match 3 mini-game that I’ve not seen before and which was really fun.

BLING! (or WHY I MUST HAVE THE CE)
Well, see, um, ah. Oh okay,okay, I have to have the critters, and I can’t resist the extras!

There are some lovely collectible birds (all different) which go into your bird cage where they will sing and dance. Then there’s the achievements, which end up in your fairy tales book, in the form of well known figures.

The gallery has the usual wallpapers etc., there is a bonus chapter, replayable HOPs and mini-games. Strategy Guide as well.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS
This just hit the top of my buy list!

I Recommend This Game
(Except to RenaissanceMom)

Great write-up, Just.  Looking forward to playing the game.