Twinkle Tale is a Shoot 'Em Up game, released for the Sega Genesis in 1992.
First... there was nothing... Then there were lights! Red, Green, and Blue.
The three lights tried to engulf each other and continually clashed. The conflict between the three lights created a fourth white light, which was stronger than the others, but the white light didn't want conflict, so it sealed all four of them within stones. Red became a Ruby, Blue became a Sapphire, Green became a Emerald, The White one became a diamond, and the Darkness they were born in was sealed within an Onyx. When all five stones were in harmony, they created the world of Alpherion.
Enter our heroine Saria. She is an apprentice magician. She arrives in Picket Town in Alpherion at the request of her master, the Red Wizard Olof to see the fortuneteller Raza. Raza informs Saria that Gadou, the Black Wizard has started a rebellion and is causing trouble across Alpherion, already having captured the Blue and Green Wizards, Elan and Dohla and has already sent his legion of minions to capture Olof.
Raza hands Saria three magical items to give her the strength to fight off Gadou's forces. Saria rushes back home and the adventure begins.
Twinkle Tale plays like a overhead shooter, you take control of Saria as she runs around and blasts enemies with her different magical abilities. Each of her magical items represents a different type of gun, and can switch between them on the fly when the situation calls for it. They get stronger by grabbing Power-Up items, but taking damage downgrades the weapon you currently have equipped, actually making the game more difficult the more mistakes you make.
The game was only released in Japan, but there is a fan-made English translation patch.
This video game contains examples of...
- Anti-Frustration Features: Whenever Saria runs into the major boss of a stage, she automatically strafes forward towards the boss, taking out all the busy work and frustration of constantly shifting and re-aiming.
- Big Bad: The Black Wizard, Gadou. He gets hijacked later by a Bigger enemy, the Kaiser Demon.
- Breakable Power-Up: Weapon firepower actually gets downgraded and less effective when Saria takes damage, giving you a double whammy for mistakes.
- Classical Chimera: One of them shows up as a boss, with all three heads having their own health. Saria needs to destroy all of them, one at a time, with the lion's head being the strongest and last to be taken down.
- Cute 'em Up: Downplayed. The game's not lacking for color, and you control a tiny witch, but otherwise there's none of the overtly comical or cutesy elements associated with the genre.
- Death Mountain: Stage 3. Vine Ravine. Watch your step, as Saria can actually fall off the edge of the stage.
- Energy Weapon: The Diamond Arrow. This weapon lacks the range and spread of the others. Instead it concentrates its power more on single targets, doing a lot more damage, plus the shots go through enemies unlike the others.
- Everything Trying to Kill You: As to be expected of a game of this genre.
- Giant Spider: The boss of Dohla Castle. A Giant Fire-Breathing spider.
- Green Hill Zone: Talon Plain marks the starting point of Saria's adventure.
- Homing Projectile: The Silver Comet. Useful for just firing while you concentrate on dodging, as well as nailing enemies from around corners.
- Hydra Problem: A downplayed example. Blasting off one of the heads of the Hydra boss doesn't make two more grow in it's place. Instead it just grows back out of the pulsating purple-veined
extremity. You have to shoot the head, then destroy this extremity to kill the heads for good. - Lethal Lava Land: Rield's Cave is an underground lava cave.
- Levels Take Flight: Zard Mountain Range. Saria takes to the skies and the game becomes more like a traditional vertical shoot 'em up.
- Life Meter: Saria has this, but no lives. So dying is an automatic Game Over.
- Make Way for the New Villains: The Kaiser Demon takes over the plot and Gadou's status as Big Bad near the end of the game once he is released and summoned.
- Nightmare Face: Killing the Tree Boss results in it blowing up and leaving its eyes, nose, and mouth completely hollow, sort of like a skull. Yes, a tree skull.
- Our Hydras Are Different: Awaiting Saria at the end of Rield's Cave is a three headed fire-breathing Hydra.
- Real Is Brown: Sort of. While there's plenty of color to go around, the game over all favors a dark, grittier shading to the environments.
- Robe and Wizard Hat: Being a Cute Witch, This is Saria's overall attire.
- Rule of Three: Saria runs across the three wizards over the course of her adventure, and each one she meets has their magical gem stolen. By the time Saria rescues Elan the third wizard, she lampshades how predictable the whole story is getting...Elan: Thank God you came, Saria. I lost my sapphire, but am uninjured.Saria: I was expecting this...
- Scenery Porn: The scenery is very lush, with particularly detailed environments by the standards of a late Genesis title.
- Spread Shot: The Shooting Star. Useful for covering a wide area of enemies.
- Tree Trunk Tour: Dohla Castle takes place inside the giant tree boss you just got done killing by the way.
- When Trees Attack: Saria fights a giant tree boss at the end of Vine Ravine. The Tree is actually the Castle Entrance.
