Lucky Tower Ultimate is an example of, in my opinion, a great way to make a DEFINITIVE version of a campy flash game classic, and this game DEFINATELY lives up to it's name. I'll give some extended context before diving into this review, given this series history Lucky Tower is essentially taking the Henry Stickmen approach to a medieval satire/Monty Python meets Newgrounds edge type of game, and in the context of the original titles, I use that term in a very neutral tone ( As a side note, this game series is from Newgrounds to begin with, and it shows) In short, both Henry Stickmen and Lucky Tower 1 and 2 were rare cases of animation/flash game hybrids, they weren't exactly fully animations, but weren't exactly full on games either, they hit that sweet middle ground, and felt like over the top, interactive choose your own adventure books essentially Lucky Tower Ultimate in my opinion is the best and most definitive way to enjoy the series, but I do recommend looking at the originals for context, but enough about that, onto the actual review At it's heart, Lucky Tower Ultimate feels like a giant amalgamation of the following games, all wrapped up in a very mid 2000s/early 2010s internet edge/internet camp type of romp The ORIGINAL Prince of Persia-AKA the 2D early days Dark Castle-Similarly a VERY tongue in cheek and campy 2D platformer with personality for days And last but not least, the Bard's Tale I'll explain in chunks Prince of Persia/Dark Castle-Now I will emphasize that this game is a hybrid of both of these titles, but while they share features, they are NOT mutually exclusive in either case Like in Prince of Persia, this is also a 2D platformer where you constantly descend through different colored rooms and themes (Green=toxic, grey is default/basic, and exploring hidden rooms, and purple is the hardest, hell, this game even pays homage with that same color style and similar visuals) Dark Castle-There are traps, and anything and everything can and will kill you quickly, but like Dark Castle, its wrapped in slapstick, campy sound effects, and enough cheese for a rat buffet, for that matter a rat on a stick is one of the games weapons, but I digress From the classic swinging axes to rising and lowering spikes, to swarms of bees from hives stinging you to death, gassy leaky pipes shooting poison green gas at you, to monsters pushing you towards your doom with a giant fan. The difference between this and Dark Castle? This game is fully in color and has enough of Newgrounds crassness, toilet humor, and "smart ass"/absurdist humor that Newgrounds nails, maybe just not as brutal This is no Thing Thing Arena or Pico's School, but feels more like a lesser known cousin to Castle Crashers and honestly, this game deserves just as much respect for what it does, and for that matter, I'm surprised there hasn't been a cameo or crossover, such as the Knights Armors and Weapons being unlockable or Von Wanst being playable in Castle Crashers, but I digress Lastly is the Bard's Tale-As I mentioned beforehand, there is the aforementioned Newgrounds humor, but that merely merges with The Bard's Tale. Why? Because, similar to the Bard from that series and the vibes of it, Everything from a crying blonde princess that clearly comes off as a meek damsel being anything BUT a woman in distress to a sage named Sobu who clearly has his doubts and likes money a little too much ("I fear I might regret this" or "Just remember, no refunds on wrong prophecies") as NPC's to rescue and recruit as party members. To a genie who always looks grumpy (Think Carl from ATHF but less lewd yet just as grumpy mixed with Aladdin's Genie) going "Hey who touched my bottle!" or a Cups Player who likes the game a little too much, and looks a bit hungry for more than just the thrill of the game, but equally cries like a baby if you beat him. My favorite being the main bad guy, aptly named Evelius. Who in my opinion, feels like an imp mixed with Voldemort and Mr Burns all put together. Everything from "The toll to pass is all your coins!" and you can choose to steal the guys coins but make it harder on yourself later on, or comply, and maybe, just maybe, you'll earn this dude's favor and he'll actually let you leave the tower if you manage to survive at the end or "Go find this trinket I want! Or Else!" If you do "Hey, nicely done dimwit, I'm impressed, you're smarter than you look, and if you don't "What!? No hard to find object I requested!? Your punishment is me throwing painful objects and or minions at you!" All of this is while you play as the prima don, self centered, narciscistic cartoonish, and funny yet smart assed douchebag aptly named Von Wanst (Which literally translates to rougly "Royal Belly" in German) who's first priority is getting rich and his hair done in a fancy way, and survival is second Everything from "Damn, I fell for that old teleporter trick again!" "That teleport company better have good customer support" or "I don't have any armor, or even a stick to protect me, but who needs gear! Come at me mysterious tower!" All of this paints Von Wanst as a humorous and fun kind of cartoony douchebag, as if this game took its own take on Monty Python, and I honestly could see Wanst and The Bard sharing some mead while complaining about how tedious their medieval adventures are All of this, is what makes Lucky Tower Ultimate truly live up to it's name and clearly and openly wear it's inspirations on it's shoulders proudly, but equally it forges it's own identity in the most chaotic, over the top, and "stupid mindless fun" approach to design, humor and visuals. All while being wrapped in a rogue lite with personality for days and being balls to the wall hard and equally addictive To many towers conquered, and to Von Wanst being the funnest and funniest asshole and fueling his ego mountain high on this dumb yet fun mad medieval misadventure! (Below are links to Lucky Tower 1 and Lucky Tower 2, just for anyone curious or wanting to explore series roots) https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/551891 https://armorgames.com/play/14231/lucky-tower-2 Admittedly, I never played the original flash games and I do regret not finding out about them, but Thank God there's this wonderful definitive experience here on steam
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