Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
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| Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru | |
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Yoshio Sakamoto |
| Release date(s) |  September 4, 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Action/Adventure/RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy |
| Media | 512-kilobit cartridge |
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (カエルの為に鐘は鳴る? lit."For the Frog the Bell Tolls") is a video game title for the Nintendo Game Boy. It was released only in Japan on September 4, 1992.
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[edit] Storyline
In a land far away, two princes- Richard (of the Custard Kingdom) and the game's main protagonist (prince of the Sablé 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 underclassman. 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. Prince Sablé is left to try and catch up. While on Prince Sablé'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.
[edit] Major Characters
- 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 man, though he's not very bright. He always somehow loses against Prince Richard when they fence. The kingdom of Sablé, 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 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. Prince Sablé is his good rival and childhood friend. During the course of the game, Prince Sablé 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 Delalin 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.
- Beelzebub - A giant bee who leads the Geronian army. He is the principle planner of the invasion of the Mille-Feuille Kingdom.
- Doubtful - A wizard who wears the enchanted "Glasses of Mandler". He alone knows how to destroy King Delalin. He has an Asvogel, a condor-like bird name Polnareff as a pet.
- King Delalin - 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.
[edit] The Game Genre
Since this is a mixture of adventure, action, and RPG, it is difficult to define its genre in a single category- even Nintendo themselves have not been consistent. Its strong "search through the countryside" storyline and amusing characters have given it a lean towards being an RPG, however it does not contain an experience system. Furthermore, the 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.
[edit] Gameplay
The game's movement is divided into two ways:
- 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 prince in that direction. Enemies are visible, and you 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" and other side-scrolling platformers. The D+Pad moves the Prince left and right, while Up is reserved for jumping and climbing ladders. As in the overhead view, Enemies are visible in this perspective; you can begin battle by bumping into them.
[edit] Enemy Battles
When you 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 and the prince and the enemy engage each other. If the 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 player's strength, attack, armor and defense, and the opposing enemy stats. For bosses, the player must fill up his life bar and have the most powerful items found at certain points before battling each boss in order to win against them. If the 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.
[edit] Transformations
As the story advances, the 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 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 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 prince must eat a strange apple.
- Frog - After Doubtful gives the prince the frog potion, the prince will be able to transform into a humanoid frog by entering watery areas. Endowed with high "jump power", this form will allow the 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 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, and snakes are attracted to it. Prince Richard and Sablé can both take this form.
- Snake - Only the prince of Sablé can transform into this form. When the prince eats a strange egg, he will transform into a "snake". It allows the prince to pass through tight holes and talk to real snakes without fighting them. Cannot fight any enemy in this form as well as in Human form. When you encounter a frog in this form, you'll terrify it, while it flees off.
[edit] Trivia
- The title's feature is taken from Ernest Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, which in turn was named for John Donne's "Meditation XVII" of Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions.
- After the release of Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, Nintendo immediately developed and released another Nintendo Game Boy title, Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, by using the same engine and design of Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru.
- Several characters and things from Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, including Prince Richard, made a cameo appearance in the Game Boy title, Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. In the DX version, Link and Prince Richard struck their poses in front of the Kanalet Castle gate while the Camera Mouse took a picture of them. In both versions, Prince Richard made a deal with Link by allowing him to obtain the Slime Key after he brings back the Golden Leaves from Kanalet Castle. In Prince Richard's Villa, a group of frogs hop around while the remixed version of the Kaeru No Tame Ni Kane Wa Naru main theme plays in the background. Finally, the third of eight instruments found in Key Caverns is Sea Lily's Bell, which explains the bell seen in the Japanese title.
- Two official CD albums given out by Club Nintendo Japan 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 Totaka, can be found in this title.
