Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru

Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
Full Title	Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
Developer	Intelligent Systems
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Gameboy
Release Date	JP Japan September 4, 1992
Genre	Action/Adventure

Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (translated as For The Frog The Bells Tolls) is a game released for the Gameboy. The game was never released internationally, but is notable for The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening using the game's engine.

Story

The story tells of the rivalry of the Prince of Sablé (named by the player) and Prince Richard, who have competed in fencing and other acts since childhood. In most areas of competition, the Prince of Sablé has been the better, but not in fencing in which Richard has excelled. One day they receive word that a neighboring kingdom, the Mille-Feuille Kingdom, has been invaded by King Delalin and captured Princess Tisamaru.

Richard takes off before the hero to save the princess, leaving the Prince of Sablé to catch up. In addition he meets up with a frog who wishes for the hero to unite all the frogs in the kingdom into a safe place.

Gameplay

The game is unusual for its gameplay style and is often best compared to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. This is due to bird's eye view for the world map and 2D platforming while inside caves, dungeons, and similar areas. The features a large amount of interaction with NPCs, giving the game a distinct RPG style, though the game lacks any sort of experience system.

As with the Zelda series, the hero only gets stronger by obtaining additional items. These range from more powerful rapiers, better shields, and other tools. However the player does not directly control the hero in battle, rather it is handled by the game as the player watches. When he wins, he gains money, hearts, and other items. If he loses it is not game over and he will restart from the last town he was at.

Later in the game the Prince can assume alternate forms to help in his quest. The first is frog form where he is given high jumping ability. He is able to enter watery areas, talk to frogs and some soldiers, and eat insect-type enemies and automatically restore a heart. However in this form he can fight no other enemies and he attracts snakes. He can also turn into a snake later on which allows him to enter tight spots and talk to other snakes.

Legacy

Although never re-released or given a sequel, the engine was used for Link's Awakening. Two other Zelda games, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages were also built largely off of the gameplay style.

The character Prince Richard also appears in Link's Awakening as an NPC whom's castle has been taken over by his servants. His villa he escaped to is filled with frogs and in the DX remake of the game, he poses with Link for a picture.