Cave Quest (Match-3)
One of my most-played match-3's of all time!
Options include separate sliders for SFX, Music and Ambients, Full-screen, Custom Cursor and choice of Timed (bonus cash~! Ka-ching!) or Untimed (can be changed between M3 levels).
Story:
Your family has disappeared in the mountains, and thanks to rumors of dangerous evil spirits, the locals are too afraid to help you search for them.
It's a good setup for a game, but the story is not the real focus of the game. It's all about the gameplay.
Gameplay:
What we have here is a light adventure with a nice variety of
match-3 types:
- Traveling - Move your characters by clearing the pathway in front of them. I really enjoy trying to keep just ahead of them, and not letting them catch up to the game pieces if I can. 1. It's a fun little mini-challenge, and 2. If they don't touch any pieces for a bit, they'll have an explosive charge on them when they DO catch up! Ka-BOOM!
- Clearing the board - Removing gloom, ice, chains, vines... That kind of thing.
- Bringing items to the bottom of the board -- You may need to clear away rocks during the adventure, and you might find something useful while you're at it!
- Battles! - Match-3 battles are turn-based, so once you make a move, it's the enemy's turn. Red tiles to attack, green to heal and blue for shielding. Making a match of four or more will earn you an additional turn. These battles aren't difficult, strategy-wise, but they're still fun :D
In addition to the various match-3 scenes, we have some light adventure gameplay. This consists of things like collecting items (sometimes from multiple locations), talking to people and doing some simple quests.
There is a
HINT button in case you don't know what to do next, as well as a fast-travel
MAP, and the
task list is a big help if you lose track of what you're supposed to be doing.
Money:
You're going to make a lot of money whilst you play, and there's a shopkeeper who will be happy to take that money off of your hands. Items you purchase from him will either help you on your quest (adventure-wise), or will function as bonus items during Match-3 play... Sometimes both!
Mr. Shopkeeper will get new items in stock periodically, so don't worry if you buy him out! Shiny new items will be available later.
Don't have enough money, and aren't ready to progress in the story yet? There's a gold mine that will not only help you with your financial woes, but is also a great place to charge your bonus items.
Verdict:
This is a super-addictive match-3 with great gameplay variety and some light adventuring. The story lasted under 4.5 hours for me, but I've also played through this game at least a dozen times over the years... and now I've started over once again! Recommended!
