Line #43 VideoGame/BlossomTalesTheSleepingKing


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blossom_tales_the_sleeping_king.jpg]]
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3	''Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King'' is an action-adventure game released in 2017 by Castle Pixel. Its story follows a young knight trainee who sets out on a quest to wake King Orchid, who was cursed by his wizard brother, Crocus. The narrative is relayed through an interesting FramingDevice: a grandfather is telling a bedtime story to his grandchildren. The kids being kids, of course, they can't help but interject and influence the story (and, rarely, the gameplay) from time to time.
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5	''The Sleeping King'' is nothing if not a loving pastiche of (and tribute to) the early Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda games, particularly ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]''. It borrows (and, in a couple of cases, directly swipes) attacks, items, and gameplay elements from the series that inspired it. However, it does differ in a few ways: the dungeons are fewer and simpler (though they are much longer), and the gameplay is more focused on combat and solving basic puzzles rather than exploring and navigating complex dungeons.
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7	On September 24th, 2021, a sequel called ''VideoGame/BlossomTalesIITheMinotaurPrince'' was announced and was subsequently released on August 16, 2022. Unlike the first game, it was published by Creator/PlaytonicFriends.
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9	!!Tropes relating to this game include:
10	* AntidoteEffect: ''The Sleeping King'' has an abundance of spells, attacks and items you can obtain, but most of them are essentially minor variations of the same projectile attack or AreaOfEffect attack. While some of these do have specific situations where they're useful (like melting an ice wall with a fire spell), in normal combat they're more or less interchangeable. So you're likely to end up with a lot of stuff in your inventory that you will seldom or never use.
11	* AreaOfEffect: Several. The most basic [=AoE=] attack in your arsenal is your SpinAttack, but the Quake Spell, Fire Spell, and Thunder spell also hit all enemies within a certain distance of the heroine.
12	* {{Autosave}}: The game saves your progress every time you move to a new section of the overworld map, or in a dungeon, every time you enter a new room.
13	* AwesomeYetImpractical: The late-game Thunder spell will instantly destroy any minor enemy within a wide radius of the heroine, but using the spell takes up most of her Special gauge (and if you haven't upgraded the gauge enough, you can't use the spell at all), limiting its usefulness.
14	* BleakLevel: The Wastelands. The other non-dungeon areas of the game have lighthearted and whimsical themes, but the Wastelands are a grey, barren region covered in skulls, dead plants, and orc encampments with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVI6kX-s620&list=PLQL4aITDfx9_UtOIGDLv-2ieW_dD5kZgL&index=24 ominous, militaristic music]] playing.
15	* BubblegloopSwamp: The Gasping Marshes in the southeast are a swampy region where it is constantly raining and most of the traversable land consists of soggy mud that slows down your movement speed until you get a certain item.
16	* BulletHell: Some of the bosses’ projectile patterns are about as close to those of a classic shooter as you can get in a Zelda-style game while still remaining somewhat playable.
17	* DeathOfAThousandCuts: Nothing in this game does more than a half-heart’s worth of ScratchDamage, but it is possible to get hit ''a lot'' in a short period of time if you aren’t careful.
18	* EvilLaugh: Crocus has one produced by synthesized, 8-bit sounds.
19	* FloralThemeNaming: FamilyThemeNaming:
20	** Lily and her brother Chrys, the latter being a shortening for Chrysanthemum.
21	** King Orchid and his brother, Crocus.
22	* GoodMorningCrono: Blossom starts her adventure in bed, CatchingSomeZs from her head, as her Grandma notes:
23	--> '''Grandma:''' Oh my! She's still in bed!\
24	Come on, sleepyhead. Wake up!!\
25	Good morning, Lily!\
26	'''Lily:''' Oh no! I slept in!\
27	'''Grandma:''' You were so excited about today that you couldn't fall asleep, could you?\
28	'''Lily:''' Of course not! I've been waiting for this day my entire life.\
29	'''Grandma:''' Just remember. If you ever need advice, you can come to me.\
30	You better go before they get started without you!\
31	'''Lily:''' Love you, Grandma!
32	* GreenHillZone: Blossom Fields, the lightly-wooded area surrounding Blossom Town, is the first area the player will do proper adventuring.
33	* HeroicMime: Subverted. The heroine, Lily, does say a few lines.
34	* InfinityPlusOneSword: A low-key example: the Boomerang is by far the most powerful weapon in the game. It does two to three ''times'' the damage of your fully-upgraded sword, has impressive range, passes through enemies and obstacles, ignores height and depth, and can hit enemies a second time on the return trip. Its only disadvantages are that it's relatively slow, and it uses the Special Meter so it can't be spammed indiscriminately, making it less useful against a swarm of low-level enemies.
35	** For that matter, the game's balance heavily favors ranged weapons. The bow is also much stronger than your sword, but it's still much less versatile than the boomerang for combat purposes.
36	* KingMook: The First Golem, the boss of Runestone Temple, is basically a very large version of the regular golem enemies.
37	* KleptomaniacHero: Most houses have a treasure chest ripe for the taking, and no one cares if you make off with all of it. Grandpa actually lampshades this by saying that the hero "loves taking things that don't belong to her!"
38	* LavaIsBoilingKoolAid: Averted. If you step on the lava in the Boiling Caverns, you'll be able to walk slowly on it while still taking damage.
39	* LethalLavaLand: The Boiling Caverns are a lava-filled dungeon that is also full of fire-themed enemies.
40	* TheLostWoods: Golem's Haven in the southwest is a heavily forested region with some living trees and moss-covered golems.
41	* MyNameIsQuestionMarks: The ominous note in the starting room is from a "???":
42	--> '''???:''' The time has come for us to depart on our mission. As you know, me and my husband, two loyal knights, recently fell upon a secret that may prove Crocus' approaching betrayal. We travel to the Wastelands in hopes of finding proof that the wizard is training an army of orcs. Our other goal is to slow his plans by slaying his dark mages, forcing him to train a new generation. I leave 'her' in your hands. If we fail to return, please love her like you would your own grandchild. Raise her to be strong and compassionate. And whatever you do, don't let her become a Knight of the Rose...
43	* NiceToTheWaiter: Orchid and Crocus are polar opposites on this front. A book in the library notes how a young Orchid would donate many pairs of his shoes to the downtrodden in Blossom Town, and in the present he's TheGoodKing who lets people from all walks of life into the Knights. Crocus, in contrast, is infamous for forcing the castle staff to undertake grueling chores for him.
44	* NintendoHard: Early on the game doesn't throw too much at you, but as the game progresses you'll frequently be swarmed by enemies who aren't easy killed with the sword, necessitating the use of your magical abilities. Once your gauge depletes and you're forced to wait for it to recharge, you're a sitting duck. Additionally, even if you're patient with your magic and take your time, the game has EasyLevelsHardBosses as a core aspect of the game; expect any boss after entering the third dungeon to be a LightningBruiser that can easily overwhelm you.
45	* OurOrcsAreDifferent: They fill the traditional role of green-skinned humanoid monsters serving under an evil wizard. Unusually, the player doesn't encounter them until the final area of the game, likely because the couple of knights managed to delay his plans.
46	* PaletteSwap: True to the early Zelda games, some later enemies are simply recolored versions of earlier ones, with maybe a few more hit points or a new attribute.
47	* RatKing: The Rat King is the first boss she'll face in her journey to be a knight.
48	* {{Retraux}}: The graphics and sound design are meant to look like 8-bit and 16-bit games.
49	* SelfInsertFic: A minor in-universe example. You have the choice of naming the heroine after one of two grandchildren, and the heroine has few character traits of her own, thus allowing the children to imagine themselves in her place.
50	* ShoutOut: A few.
51	** The game's intro references Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda by implying that Grandpa has told stories about Link before:
52	---> '''Grandpa:''' Hmm... have I told you about the brave elf boy who lived in a magical land called H-\
53	'''Lily:''' Yes, like a million times!\
54	'''Chrys:''' One we haven't heard yet, Grandpa!
55	** The [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario franchise]] is more subtly referenced in a quote from an [=NPC=], who says he doesn't sell mushroom soup to "people who look like mushrooms" because that'd just be weird. He does add that they have a lovely princess, however.
56	*** The Rat King, the boss of the Castle Dungeons, must be fought by throwing his bombs back onto his platform, just like Mouser from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2''.
57	** VideoGame/ShovelKnight is also namedropped in a minor bit of dialogue.
58	* SpeakInUnison: Well, shout, as Lily and Chrys are so happy about a new story from Grandpa:
59	--> '''Lily / Chrys:''' YAAAAAY!!!
60	* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Snowfall Summit is a snow-covered mountain in the northwest with FrictionlessIce and snowballs blocking certain paths.
61	* SpinAttack: Well, this is a homage to the top-down Zelda games, so it’s only natural that this figures heavily into the gameplay.
62	* StockPuzzle[=/=]StockVideoGamePuzzle: ''The Sleeping King'' is absolutely swarming with them, with the most common being variations on the BlockPuzzle, the SimonSaysMiniGame, and the Hamiltonian Path Puzzle.
63	* SwordBeam: This classic attack from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' makes its appearance. However, you only get it very late in the game, and as usual, it only works at full health.
64	* ToiletHumor: Some of the cutscenes upon returning to the game make references to Grandpa's toilet habits. Eww.
65	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: For many in the game, mushroom soup. It's also an item that instantly restores your Special gauge.
66	* VideoGameCaringPotential: Being a kind, helpful person is actually a game mechanic, as a large number of your powerups come from completing sidequests for [=NPCs=]. You don’t ''have'' to do the vast majority of them, but it makes the game much easier.
67	* WalkingArmory: If you poke around and complete enough sidequests, you’re eventually going to have a very impressive horde of spells and weapons at your disposal. However, this does create its own set of issues (see AntidoteEffect above).
68	* WhatTheHellHero: A very minor one: you can smash up the piles of lumber at the lumberjack camp, but the lumberjacks WILL call you out on it.

Context VideoGame / BlossomTalesTheSleepingKing