It's been a long time since I last made a review on this site, so I'll likely be rusty compared to how I was in the past. With that being said, I've decided to make a review for a game I heard about from an old co-worker of mine who, like me, used to spend a lot of time watching youtube poops back in the day. That game is called Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore. It takes direct inspiration from 2 of the most infamous video games of all time, the Zelda CD-I games, two games that a lot of youtube poops were made from. The development team funnily enough is called "Seedy Eye Software" which is hilarious! Get it... Seedy Eye, CD-I... ok I'll see myself out... Anyway instead of this game being just another meme, it's actually a legitimately good game, and is unironically in my opinion one of the better indie games of 2024.


Graphics: 8/10

I just want to point out for this section, I'm judging the graphics based on how well this game captures the look of the old Zelda/Mario CD-I games rather than how it is compared to other steam indie games. In that regard, Arzette pulls it off very well from the... umm... cutscenes to level design and in game character models, the developers managed to pull off the CD-I aesthetic very nicely. Overall, I think the graphics are worthy of an 8.

Sound: 9/10

I have to say, I was not expecting to like the soundtrack for this game as much as I did. Durridin Forest, Badonc Beach, and Daimur's Lair were definitely some of the big standouts in this OST. I definitely don't regret purchasing the digital deluxe edition which came with a soundtrack which I can listen to on Steam. This soundtrack made good use out of synth. Overall, I think the soundtrack is worthy of a 9.

Fun fact: As far as voice acting goes, some of the original cast for the Zelda CD-I games came back to bring their voices to this game all these years later which is pretty awesome considering the infamy those older games have.

Addictiveness: 8/10

One of the major issues that the Zelda CD-I games had was terrible controls. Thankfully, Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore doesn't have that issue. Movement is smooth, hitboxes are reasonable, and overall the platforming was satisfying to experience. I must point out that there is quite a lot of backtracking to previously completed levels and fetch quests for various NPCs throughout the game. If that's not your thing, then this game won't be for you. If you're okay with that though, this game is well worth giving a shot. I had a good time with this game, enough so to give the addictiveness an 8.

Story: 4/10

As the game's title suggests, it takes place in the kingdom of Faramore, which had been ruled by the royal Rahklin family for generations. Eventually, the demon lord Daimur conquered the land and plunged it into darkness. Princess Arzette managed to defeat Daimur and sealed him in the Book of Oakurin, a magical prison controlled by the Jewel of Faramore. The kingdom returned to an era of peace for a little over a decade. Then, one of Daimur's followers Duke Nodelki found the scattered jewels of Faramore and unsealed Daimur. Now, Arzette once again must defeat Daimur and bring peace to the kingdom once again. It's a pretty generic plot with a villain that's evil for the sake of being evil, but at the end of the day, this game was never meant to have a gripping storyline. With that being said, I'm giving the story a 4 since at the very least you get a decent backstory to the game.

Depth: 3/10

If you're planning to unlock all achievements, this game will last you around 15 hours. There are 4 modes, casual mode, hero mode, boss rush, and classic mode. There's not a whole lot here in terms of depth, but it was at least a worthwhile 15 hours. There's a grand total of 14 levels, along with 1 town. The levels themselves, are rather short, but you'll find yourself making multiple trips to complete various side quests and fetch quests. Overall, there's not a ton of depth, so I'm giving this category a 3.

Difficulty: 4/10

If you're just playing Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore as a 1 time playthrough, it's not very difficult at all thanks to the various items and other buffs you get throughout your adventure. If you're want to 100% though, that's where this game starts to get a bit more difficult. Boss Rush even on the easiest difficulty can be quite challenging thanks to only being granted a specific set of items per boss and damage taken carrying over to later bosses. On top of that there's classic mode, where you only have 3 lives to work with. Thankfully if you lose all your lives, you just get sent back to the level select screen and you don't lose your progress other than of course having to start the level you were on again. Overall, Arzette isn't an overly difficult game to beat other than boss rush and classic mode, so I'm giving the difficulty a 4.

Overall Score: 8/10

I never thought I'd see the day that an indie game based on the Zelda CD-I games would be made, let alone be worth the purchase, but here it is. Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore showed me that in the right hands, even the worst of video game concepts can be turned into something special. Honestly, now I can't help but wonder if some mad man will one day try to make a game that takes inspiration from E.T. on the Atari 2600... Never say never I guess. Anyway getting back on topic, if you're a fan of 2d platformers, or if you're like me and couldn't get enough of the ytp era of youtube, I'd recommend giving Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore a shot.