Kaeru No Tame Ni Kane Wa Naru
Encyclopedia
is an action role-playing video game developed by "Team Shikamaru" of Nintendo
's Research and Development 1
division, in cooperation with the external company Intelligent Systems
. It was published by Nintendo
for the Game Boy
and released in Japan
on September 4, 1992. The title is a play on Ernest Hemingway's famous novel, For Whom The Bell Tolls
. An English fan translation has been made.
The game's movement is divided into two ways:
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Research and Development 1
Nintendo Research & Development 1
was Nintendo's oldest development team. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video games industry, and the original R&D1 was headed by Gunpei Yokoi...
division, in cooperation with the external company Intelligent Systems
Intelligent Systems
is a Japanese first-party video game developer and internal team of Nintendo Co., Ltd. It has its headquarters in the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture....
. It was published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
and released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on September 4, 1992. The title is a play on Ernest Hemingway's famous novel, For Whom The Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to a republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As an expert in the use of explosives, he is assigned to blow up a...
. An English fan translation has been made.
Plot
In a land far away, the two princes- Richard (of the Custard Kingdom) and the game's main protagonist (prince of the Sabure Kingdom) have shared a friendly rivalry since they were small children. They often compete, especially in the sport of fencing, but in the vast majority of competitions (with the exception of fencing) Richard has ended up as the loser. One day a messenger arrives from a small neighboring kingdom, warning the princes that the evil King Delalin has invaded the Mille-Feuille Kingdom and captured princess Tiramisu. Seeing an opportunity to gain the favor of the princess (and finally win for once at something besides fencing), Richard grabs a boat and rushes towards the kingdom. Sabure Prince is left to try to catch up. While on the Sabure Prince's journey, he encountered a frog that wants him to find all of the other frogs around the entire Mille-Feuille Kingdom, and tell them to return to their safest place.Major characters
- Sabure Prince (sometimes referred to as Prince Sabure, Prince of Sabure, Prince of Sablé or Prince Sablé) - The main protagonist of the game (named at the beginning by the player). He is a good-natured and kindhearted boy, though he's not very bright. He always somehow loses against Prince Richard when they fence. The kingdom of Sabure, being the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the land, has provided him with a comfortable life so far; he has never had to worry about money. This upbringing has had the side-effect of giving the Sabure Prince the idea that any problem can somehow be solved by tossing cash at it.
- Prince Richard - He is the prince of the Custard Kingdom. The Sabure Prince is his good rival and childhood friend. During the course of the game, the Sabure Prince and Richard will both compete to save Princess Tiramisu first.
- Princess Tiramisu - She rules the Mille-Feuille Kingdom. The legend of her unequaled beauty has spread far and wide through the land. Seeking her hand (forcibly) in marriage, King Delarin and his minions have invaded the countryside, laid siege to the castle and kidnapped her. While she is missing, there is no peace within Mille-Feuille.
- Jam - A thief from the town of A La Mode. He was hostile to the Sabure Prince at first, thinking he was a member of the Geronian army. Their second meeting involved him stealing all of the Sabure Prince's money. Eventually the two realized the misunderstanding, and became friendly with each other. He wears an eyepatch, and can also transform into a frog, but it is unknown as to why. He gives the Sabure Prince the Power Bracelets.
- Beelzebub - A giant bee who leads the Geronian army. He is the one that planned the invasion of the Mille-Feuille Kingdom.
- Mandola - A witch who wears glasses. She alone knows how to destroy King Delarin. She has an Asvogel, a condor-like bird named Polnareff as a pet.
- King Delarin - He is the title's antagonist. He has captured Princess Tiramisu while using his evil powers to destroy all the peace within the Mille-Feuille Kingdom. While he first appears to be just a normal snake, he'll transform into a giant snake during battle.
Genre
The Sabure Prince only gets stronger through the use of items, thus placing the title as an "Action-Adventure" game, the same as the Legend of Zelda series.Gameplay
- Bird's-Eye Scrolling - A top view that only is shown in villages, towns, fields and other similar areas. Like the Legend of Zelda franchise, moving up, down, left, and right on the D+Pad will move the Sabure Prince in that direction. Enemies are visible, and the player can begin battle by bumping into them.
- 2D-Platforming - A side view that is shown only in dungeons, caves, castles, and other similar places in the game, similar to Zelda II: The Adventure of LinkZelda II: The Adventure of LinkZelda II: The Adventure of Link, released as in Japan and often mistakenly called The Adventures of Link, is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements. The second installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment...
and other side-scrolling platformers. The D+Pad moves the Sabure Prince left and right, while up is reserved for jumping and climbing ladders. As in the overhead view, enemies are visible in this perspective; the player can begin battle by bumping into them.
Enemy battles
When players make the Sabure Prince touch an enemy, the game shifts to a battle scene. However, as a further separation from the RPG genre, the player does not select from a series of menu commands. Instead, the player just watches the battle. This causes a back-and-forth loss of physical strength while the Sabure Prince and the enemy engage each other. If the Sabure Prince is significantly stronger than the enemy he faces, the enemy will run away (resulting in ability increases for the player without needing to engage in battle). Victory or defeat in a typical battle is gauged by the Sabure Princes's strength, attack, armor and defense, and the opposing enemy stats. For bosses, the player must fill up the Sabure Prince's life bar and have the most powerful items found at certain points before battling each boss in order to win against them. If the Sabure Prince is victorious, he will gain money, hearts, strange apples, strange eggs, or other items. If he loses, he will restart from a "hospital" in the town he last visited, but will retain the money he had when he perished.Transformations
As the story advances, the Sabure Prince will have the ability to transform into a frog, then later on, a snake. Frogs, Snakes, and Humans each have their own special abilities- some of which are required to switch to in order to progress through the storyline.- Human - The form the Sabure Prince starts with. Humans do not have much magic, but Human has a greater amount of attack power than the other two forms. If the Sabure Prince attempts to enter water as a Human (before drinking the frog potion given by Doubtful), he will drown. To transform back into this form, the Sabure Prince must eat a strange apple.
- Frog - After Doubtful gives the Sabure Prince the frog potion, the Sabure Prince will be able to transform into a humanoid frog by entering watery areas. Endowed with high "jump power", this form will allow the Sabure Prince to enter water safely as well as talk to real frogs and some soldiers (without fighting them). On the field screen, even if the Sabure Prince touches an insect-type enemy, he will not engage in a fight - rather, he will "eat" it, regaining a heart. This form cannot fight snakes or other foes than insect-type enemies, and snakes are attracted to it. Prince Richard and the Sabure Prince can both take this form.
- Snake - Apparently only the Sabure Prince can assume this form. When the Sabure Prince eats a strange egg, he will transform into a snake. It allows the Sabure Prince to pass through tight holes and talk to real snakes without fighting them. While this form cannot fight, certain enemies may turn into blocks when talked to. Also, if the Sabure Prince encounters a frog while in the Snake form, he'll terrify it, making it flee and move off the screen.
Music
- Two official CD albums given out by Club Nintendo JapanClub NintendoClub Nintendo is the name of several publications and a more well-known customer loyalty program provided by Nintendo. The loyalty program is free to join and is committed to providing rewards in exchange for consumer feedback and loyalty to purchasing official Nintendo products...
have one song from Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru. One album is the Peach - Healing Music album, which has a slow-remixed version of the overworld theme. The other album is the Luigi - B-Side Music album, which has the original overworld theme.
- The infamous song known as Totaka's Song, created by Kazumi TotakaKazumi Totakais a Japanese video game composer and voice actor who composed many major Nintendo games, including Mario Paint and Animal Crossing. He occasionally also does voice acting for Nintendo games, including Yoshi from the Mario and Yoshi series. He is also one of the various composers who worked on the...
, can be found in this title. To hear it, the player must return to the port town following the third quest in the castle, then go left, up, and into the shop next to the boat, and wait for three minutes and 30 seconds.
Other appearances in media
- Several characters and things from Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, including Prince Richard, made a cameo appearance in the Game BoyGame BoyThe , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
title The Legend of Zelda: Link's AwakeningThe Legend of Zelda: Link's AwakeningThe Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, known as in Japan, is a 1993 action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy...
. - It is possible to collect a 'sticker' of Sabure Prince in the vault section of the WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
title Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
. - Dr. Arewostein, the "Nantendo" employee from Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru appears in Wario Land 4Wario Land 4Wario Land 4, known as in Japan, is a video game released for the Game Boy Advance system in 2001. In this game, Wario has to gather four treasures to unlock a pyramid and save Princess Shokora from The Golden Diva...
as a fellow explorer in the bonus rooms, and as a projectile.