Captain Sabertooth and the Magic Diamond is a classic platformer. Varying in dimension, the game is definitely enjoyable for some time. Although, as quests increase in difficulty both adults and children alike will struggle. Embedded with puzzles and mini-games, you never find yourself doing the same task repeatedly. With the assistance of a chirpy parrot, you’ll slowly find your way through the map digging up treasure and defeating enemies until you finish.
Aesthetic appeal
Captain Sabertooth looks fantastic. Bright colors and soft graphics appeal to the younger target audience and remind the older of games like Crash Bandicoot or Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. It can be stated that the content however does not match up. The concept is simple and definitely something all gamers have heard before. Find a magic diamond that grants the holder it’s wish. Since I’m not familiar with the franchise already, I don’t have the same attachment to the characters that some players might experience. Titled as a game to be ‘fun for all the family’, there are definitely flaws in this.
‘Family friendly?’
The first half is frustratingly easy. Which is great for the kids who will pick this up. But anyone with a vague idea of how platform games work will breeze through. You are assisted by a parrot throughout, who chimes in occasionally to tell you how to work out a task you might’ve already completed. At first this is charming, it plays into the pirate theme very nicely and is occasionally helpful whilst you get to grip with controls. After the dialogue has repeated several times, you’ll begin to feel quite frustrated at it and end up muting it. Or at least that’s what I ended up doing.
The next half of the game seems to morph into a very challenging series of wall jumps, slingshots and moving platforms. Don’t get too comfortable in how easy the first half is, since this transition will be extremely jarring. Even I found parts challenging and had to replay them time and time again, so I question if kids would feel similarly upon attempt. The challenges fluctuate a lot – which I definitely would’ve found frustrating as a youngster.
Frustrating character narration
Each character is narrated, and it seems this narration is the only thing that separates the two playable characters you choose from at the start. Despite dialogue being a key factor in the story, your playable character constantly repeats a handful of phrases throughout play. Once again, this starts as charming, but a few hours in this completely shatters any train of thought. Also for a child-friendly game, the protagonist stated “take that, you miserable creature!” every time an innocent enemy was killed… Questionable right? For a bright, soft game, this seems a bit on the nose. Sure the enemies are animated unlike actual creatures but they don’t really do anything. I ended up jumping over most of them out of guilt and the wish to progress to the next area.
Almost useless map
The map is pretty difficult to navigate too. You can’t zoom in, and the whole thing is marked with a small key to guide you through what means what. I ended up ignoring the map since it wasn’t any help when I needed to know where to go. Areas look great, but they’re hard to navigate. Paths are well hidden and I spent more time than I like to admit running around the same area. Getting stuck in the same area with the same few notes of soundtrack also led to muting.
Final thoughts
As a whole, I can see why this game is appealing. But with sticky controls and extreme repetition it’s not something I see myself picking up in the future. I don’t even think I’d recommend it to a younger audience since the challenge fluctuates too much and it’s not something you’d play enough to see the credits roll. I’d just leave it if I were you, unless you have a hidden love for the Captain Sabertooth franchise.
