Joy&RaptorsUnrestrained!
05-18-2014, 03:37 PM
In Tiny Castle, a town-building/monster raising app game, you play the long lost heir to a magical kingdom currently under the control of the Wicked Queen, who has shrouded the land in a mysterious fog and invaded it with monsters (cyclopes, goblins, ogres, demons, sandmen, muck monsters, hobs, and slush trolls). Beginning with only the castle and a few resources (gold for construction, magic dust to clear the fog, food for helping your own mythical creatures grow, and gems to speed up the processes of the game), you eventually clear three islands, complete quests to oppose the Wicked Queen and rescue a captured ally, and breed a wide array of mythical creatures.
You arrive at your ancestral tiny castle with four friends... Phillip, an aristocrat who likes to cook and is in charge of managing your resources; Wendy, a whimsical daydreamer who is captured early in the game (and many of the quests involve trying to find information about where she's being held captive); Mervin, a young, nerdy wizard who is in charge of breeding the different creatures and has a musical streak (and a weakness for MAGE catalogue purchases); and Robin, a battle-ready young woman who likes to train your creatures for combat with the Wicked Queen's minions.
At the beginning of the game, you have access to one magic source: "Garden Magic," though magic (except magic dust, which can be used to disrupt the Wicked Queen's fog and whirlwinds) is largely limited to what creatures you can breed and their dominant colors. Garden Magic (green) can be used to construct hedge maze habitats, and summon garden nymphs. By discovering different ancient architecture that focuses the other kinds of magic, you can gain access to Forest Magic (brown) and it's centaurs, Sky Magic (purple) and griffons, Volcano Magic (red) and phoenixes, Desert Magic (yellow/gold) and Cynos (based on Anubis), Mountain Magic (gray) and Satyresses, Polar Magic (pale cyan) and Ice Golems, and Beach Magic (blue) and Mermaids.
All creatures begin as eggs in the nursery, and after hatching, require an appropriate habitat to live in (basic habitats support two creatures at a time, more advanced ones can support four). Once they've been fed enough, the babies (who are all adorable) can rest in a tower as they metamorphose to teenager form, and after being fed some more, they undergo another sleep that turns them into adults (a recent addition to the game allows you to raise creatures to an even higher level, making them stronger and tougher in battle, though only a few of them - 9 as of the writing of this post - have an appearance that differs after they reach adulthood, though at level 15, they all develop a case of sparkling glitter). In addition to the eight single-magic varieties, you can breed two creatures together to create hybrids of combined magic. For instance, combining a Mermaid and a Garden Nymph could create a Nereid, a Triton, or (around the 4th of July) the variant-colored Patriotic Mermaid. Combining a Phoenix and a Griffon could create a Cocatrice, a Wyrm, or (around Valentine's Day) either the Cupid or the variant Golden Cupid. While the randomness of the breeding process can be incredibly frustrating, it is also possible to buy eggs with gems (which can be found in game or cost real money to purchase).
A variety of Beach creatures have intriguing designs that I think might inspire some costume ideas. In addition to the aforementioned Mermaid and Patriotic Mermaid, other Beach creatures include Tritons, Nereids, Coral Nixies, Undines, Hippocampi, "Lochness," "Leviathans," Hydras, Selkies, Roanes, and Sirens, and Nagas, Djinn, Genies (Volcano/Desert), Marids (Polar/Desert) and Gorgons (Garden/Mountain) exist in the game as well.
I was wondering if anyone else played, and if so, how far along you were? I've currently cleared all three islands, and am trying to get the Green Dragon (Garden/Polar), Nightmare (Volcano/Polar), Vily (Mountain/Polar), and Nanuk (Desert/Polar) (and possibly the Swan Maiden... not sure if she's still available this far after Valentine's day). I also missed the Ember Wisp and Undine and am not sure they'll be back, and I still have to wait for Halloween to get the Pumpkinhead.
You arrive at your ancestral tiny castle with four friends... Phillip, an aristocrat who likes to cook and is in charge of managing your resources; Wendy, a whimsical daydreamer who is captured early in the game (and many of the quests involve trying to find information about where she's being held captive); Mervin, a young, nerdy wizard who is in charge of breeding the different creatures and has a musical streak (and a weakness for MAGE catalogue purchases); and Robin, a battle-ready young woman who likes to train your creatures for combat with the Wicked Queen's minions.
At the beginning of the game, you have access to one magic source: "Garden Magic," though magic (except magic dust, which can be used to disrupt the Wicked Queen's fog and whirlwinds) is largely limited to what creatures you can breed and their dominant colors. Garden Magic (green) can be used to construct hedge maze habitats, and summon garden nymphs. By discovering different ancient architecture that focuses the other kinds of magic, you can gain access to Forest Magic (brown) and it's centaurs, Sky Magic (purple) and griffons, Volcano Magic (red) and phoenixes, Desert Magic (yellow/gold) and Cynos (based on Anubis), Mountain Magic (gray) and Satyresses, Polar Magic (pale cyan) and Ice Golems, and Beach Magic (blue) and Mermaids.
All creatures begin as eggs in the nursery, and after hatching, require an appropriate habitat to live in (basic habitats support two creatures at a time, more advanced ones can support four). Once they've been fed enough, the babies (who are all adorable) can rest in a tower as they metamorphose to teenager form, and after being fed some more, they undergo another sleep that turns them into adults (a recent addition to the game allows you to raise creatures to an even higher level, making them stronger and tougher in battle, though only a few of them - 9 as of the writing of this post - have an appearance that differs after they reach adulthood, though at level 15, they all develop a case of sparkling glitter). In addition to the eight single-magic varieties, you can breed two creatures together to create hybrids of combined magic. For instance, combining a Mermaid and a Garden Nymph could create a Nereid, a Triton, or (around the 4th of July) the variant-colored Patriotic Mermaid. Combining a Phoenix and a Griffon could create a Cocatrice, a Wyrm, or (around Valentine's Day) either the Cupid or the variant Golden Cupid. While the randomness of the breeding process can be incredibly frustrating, it is also possible to buy eggs with gems (which can be found in game or cost real money to purchase).
A variety of Beach creatures have intriguing designs that I think might inspire some costume ideas. In addition to the aforementioned Mermaid and Patriotic Mermaid, other Beach creatures include Tritons, Nereids, Coral Nixies, Undines, Hippocampi, "Lochness," "Leviathans," Hydras, Selkies, Roanes, and Sirens, and Nagas, Djinn, Genies (Volcano/Desert), Marids (Polar/Desert) and Gorgons (Garden/Mountain) exist in the game as well.
I was wondering if anyone else played, and if so, how far along you were? I've currently cleared all three islands, and am trying to get the Green Dragon (Garden/Polar), Nightmare (Volcano/Polar), Vily (Mountain/Polar), and Nanuk (Desert/Polar) (and possibly the Swan Maiden... not sure if she's still available this far after Valentine's day). I also missed the Ember Wisp and Undine and am not sure they'll be back, and I still have to wait for Halloween to get the Pumpkinhead.