Review: Cthulhu Saves the World

As we get closer and closer to the end of the Indie Games Uprising, Zeboyd Games, whom you may know for the Breath of Death VII, has come along for the ride with their most recent indie game, Cthulhu Saves the World. Yes, the title of the game is Cthulhu Saves the World. And yes, it’s just as crazy as it sounds. But with all of its insanity (including zombie cheerleaders, senile old men, and alien cats), humor, and old-school charm, Zeboyd Games has managed to make a good old-school RPG that’s not only addictive as hell, but one of the better RPGs I have played in 2010.

The story, as you probably could’ve guessed, revolves around the mythical beast known as Cthulhu. When he is ready to drive the world to destruction and insanity, his powers are taken away by a mysterious entity. To regain his powers, Cthulhu must (you guessed it) saves the world! That’s pretty much the story, and from here on out Cthulhu must go on a series of quests in order to gain hero points and become a true hero, all in order to get back to destroying that damned world. Along the path to the world’s ultimate demise, you meet funny characters, new friends, and new enemies, in what turns out to be a well-made and hilariously-scripted RPG experience.

The presentation for Cthulhu Saves the World is flawless. From the starting menu to the ending screen, there wasn’t a moment when I thought I was playing this on my Xbox 360. The graphics for Cthulhu were amazing in their own right. The game demands your brain to take you on a stroll down memory lane, back into the days of the great SNES. Cthulhu’s 16-bit graphics nailed the look it was going for, bringing me back to the times of games such as Chrono Trigger, A Link To The Past, and Breath of Death VII….wait a second. Either way, along with its beautiful retro graphics, Zeboyd Games brought along a fantastic soundtrack that enveloped me in nostalgia as well. To put it simply, based solely on the nostalgic feeling that these two factors alone gave me, Cthulhu Saves The World won me over. But enough about that, let’s get back to the technical stuff.

The game itself is a turn-based dungeon RPG with a random battle system, and although I’m not a large fan of the random battles scheme, Zeboyd Games managed to make it tolerable in Cthulhu Saves The World. In each dungeon you explore you are given a certain number of random battles that can occur in said dungeon. After you finish the given amount of random battles, then you don’t have to deal with them anymore in the dungeon. The only way to battle after that is to choose to do so by going to your menu and selecting to fight (which is good if you need that extra level). I found this to be very useful because when you’re in a dungeon with no maps and random battles keep occurring, the game can get old – quick. Having a set number of battles in each dungeon made Cthulhu much easier to approach and finish. Another good thing about its battle system was the fact that the battles were extremely short. With each battle lasting approximately 0-2 minutes each (and 2 minutes is stretching it), they didn’t get in the way at all. In a game that revolves around grinding to defeat your bosses, this was a big plus.

So it has a great retro scheme and a tolerable battle system… so what? What makes Cthulhu different from any other RPG nowadays? The determining factor of Cthulhu‘s greatness evolved around its humor in the story. In a story as crazy as this – which isn’t even as bad as some of the RPGs out there today — by not taking itself seriously, Cthulhu Saves the World managed to go strides further than if it had been serious. With witty lines that even make fun of itself at some points, Cthulhu Saves the World really hit home. I found myself reading the dialogue here more than most RPGs I play anyway, and found myself laughing at most of the situations and lines that were laid on me. Zeboyd Games had a great time making this game, and it shows through their work. I found myself having more fun on this than most other RPGs I have played in a very long time and I found myself constantly calling my friends into the room to read a piece of the witty dialogue.

Though I loved the way Cthulhu Saves The World was designed, and its dialogue kept me going, there were points in the game that got simply annoying. One great factor that managed to get on my nerves was the fact that there was no map… for any dungeon. I found myself running around trying to memorize the level of the dungeons on my own, as well as asking my friends if I had been passed certain points or not, and this took a lot more time than I had hoped for. At some points, which the game so humorously pointed out as well, the game became somewhat convoluted. There was a point when I had to backtrack through a level of the dungeon that I had already passed through to turn on a switch that they did not mention earlier. Also, since the random battle system doesn’t help in situations like this, I had to take a break from Cthulhu due to a bit of frustration.

Other than that, Cthulhu Saves the World turned out to be an excellent addition to the Indie Games Uprising, showing that even small-budget RPGs can stand up against the big dogs. With a 6-10 hour campaign alone, as well as some pretty decent extras, including Score Attack mode, Highlander mode, and more, this game is screaming “Buy me now!” Despite some rocky points that bothered me throughout my time playing it, I would still highly recommend this game to anyone considering trying out a new RPG. Cthulhu Saves the World proved that with a good (albeit crazy) idea, a solid foundation, and most importantly, a lot of heart and good humor, you can make what could’ve easily been a mediocre game into a great and memorable gaming experience.

Cthulhu Saves The World
Xbox Live Arcade
	Publisher: Zeboyd Games Developer: Zeboyd Games Genre: Turn-Based RPG Release Date: December 30, 2025 MSRP: 240 MSP ($3)

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Classic turn-based RPG feeling brings you a blast from the past. - Hilarious dialogue. - Solid battle scheme that keeps you playing. - 6-10 hours of gameplay in the campaign alone.	Doin’ It RONG: - No maps anywhere may make this game feel a bit convoluted. - Some points feel like there is a little too much grinding.
FINAL SCORE: 8 / 10