Monster Tale is a Nintendo DS platformer and virtual pet game developed by DreamRift and published by Majesco Entertainment in 2011.[4] It was only released in North America. It follows the story of a young girl, named Ellie, and her adventures in Monster World with her monster companion, Chomp. Together they must stop the evil Kid-Kings and return Monster World to its rightful inhabitants, the monsters, and also find a way for Ellie to return home.
| Monster Tale | |
|---|---|
 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | DreamRift |
| Publisher(s) | Majesco Entertainment |
| Director(s) | Peter Ong |
| Programmer(s) | Ryan Pijai |
| Artist(s) | Michael Veroni |
| Composer(s) | Ian Stocker |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure Life simulation, Metroidvania[2][3] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Voice talent
edit- Ellie - Brina Palencia[5]
- Meade - Todd Haberkorn[5]
- Deanu - Leah Clark[5]
- Zoe - Monica Rial[5]
- Ethan - Cynthia Cranz[5]
- Priscilla - Tia Ballard[5]
Controversy
editAccording to the game developers, there was pressure from publishers not to feature a young female lead. Peter Ong, the co-founder of DreamRift and director of Monster Tale, told Nintendo Power that "this choice was actually somewhat controversial with some publishers. Our experience was that many publishers are looking to avert the risk of a main character that hasn't been proven to capture large audiences. As a result, there was some concern from publishers that Ellie should change to a male or a more mature/sexy female."[6]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 79/100[7] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| 1Up.com | B+[8] |
| Destructoid | 8/10[9] |
| Edge | 6/10[10] |
| Eurogamer | 7/10[11] |
| GameSpot | 8/10[12] |
| GamesRadar+ |   [13] |
| IGN | 8.5/10[14] |
| NGamer | 80%[15] |
| Nintendo Power | 8/10[16] |
| Nintendo World Report | 8/10[17] |
Monster Tale received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[7] Critics praised the game for its sprite-based graphics, interesting combat and its action-platforming similar to the Metroid series.[18]
Remake
editOn March 29, 2015, DreamRift announced a remake of the game, titled Monster Tale Ultimate, to be released via the Nintendo 3DS eShop.[19] Announced changes to Ultimate included reduced backtracking, visual improvements, and the ability to toggle between the original soundtrack and a new orchestral soundtrack.[20] However the 3DS version failed to ever release. On January 11, 2021, Majesco announced that Monster Tale would soon be coming to modern platforms.[3]
References
edit- ^ Fletcher, JC (January 5, 2011). "Monster Tale brings Chomp home in March". Engadget (Joystiq). Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Parish, Jeremy (June 12, 2012). "Metroidvania". GameSpite. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
- ^ a b "Nintendo DS Platformer Monster Tale Is Making A Comeback On Modern Consoles". Nintendo Life. 2021-01-11. Archived from the original on 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- ^ Hatfield, Daemon (May 11, 2010). "Project Monster Evolves". IGN. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "Monster Tale (2001 Video Game)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2021. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ "Monster Tale". Nintendo Power. Vol. 263. March 2011. p. 90.
- ^ a b "Monster Tale for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Parish, Jeremy (March 31, 2011). "Monster Tale Review". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Bennett, Colette (March 23, 2011). "Review: Monster Tale". Destructoid. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Edge staff (June 2011). "Monster Tale". Edge. No. 228. p. 101.
- ^ Schilling, Chris (May 30, 2011). "DS Imports: The Last Hurrah (Page 2)". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Kemps, Heidi (April 4, 2011). "Monster Tale Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Miller-Watt, Josh (March 22, 2011). "Monster Tale review". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (7 April 2011). "Monster Tale Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ "Monster Tale". Nintendo Gamer. May 2011. p. 57.
- ^ "Monster Tale". Nintendo Power. Vol. 265. March 2011. p. 90.
- ^ Cole, Michael (February 11, 2011). "Monster Tale". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Luke (July 13, 2011). "Monster Tale (DS) Review – Metroid + Tamigachi [sic] = ?". Fork This Llama. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ Osborn, Alex (March 29, 2015). "Monster Tale Ultimate Announced for 3DS". IGN. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ "Monster Tale on Its Way to the 3DS eShop in a New 'Ultimate' Version". 28 March 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.