Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom - for NES

Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom is an adventure game written and published by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. The story is pure fairy tale, told with a straight face and a cast of vegetables: Minister Pumpkin has betrayed King Broccoli, carried Princess Tomato and the royal Turnip Emblem off to his castle in the Zucchini mountains, and loosed his cruel Farmies on a land that used to be peaceful. The king died of grief, but not before promising you, brave Sir Cucumber, the princess and the whole kingdom if you bring her home. Very few NES games commit to a premise this strange with this much warmth.

Princess Tomato is played through menus rather than typed commands, so you work through a list of actions: traditional ones such as check and give, and less traditional ones such as praise and percy. Percy is a small persimmon who joins Sir Cucumber early in the quest and stays at his side, lending a hand again and again as the journey goes on. The puzzles are gentle and conversational rather than cruel: talk to the characters you meet, pay attention to what they want, track down the right item and hand it over at the right moment. It is a single player story that moves at whatever pace you set.

Players still love Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom for its tone. It is funny without ever being mean, its art has a storybook softness, and it is forgiving enough that a younger player or a newcomer to adventure games can reach the end with a little persistence. Story led adventures were thin on the ground on the Nintendo Entertainment System, which makes this one both a real curiosity and a pleasant evening of play. For collectors it is a conversation piece, a Hudson Soft oddity that sits happily on the shelf beside the platformers and shooters and surprises everyone who picks it up.

• Genre: Adventure
• Players: 1
• Region: NTSC
• Release Year: 1988
• Developer: Hudson Soft

Cartridge Only: No Box or Manual
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Condition & Authenticity
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