Dual Hearts

At one time or another I started subscribing in the belief that games can be played for more than just entertainment. They can be thought-provoking experiences that tell things about ourselves and enrich our culture. I’m not trying to get all pretentious here but at times I can’t help it. I enjoy seeking out the significance of the games I play. Even games that are not considered classics I will find a special admiration for because through some quality it becomes memorable and offers moments that change my outlook on gaming and perhaps even life.

This makes it very difficult when I finish a game like Dual Hearts and have no valuable insight to offer. This is not the game I can refer to as an explanation for parts of my childhood or depict in agonizing detail as to how I overcame my fear of heights through playing it. It is nothing more than a mere game that one will likely find at a Gamestop bargain bin in-between copies of Madden 2004 and Madden 2005.

The clearest reason as to why this game is the way it is via the concept itself. Dual Hearts is one of those tales about unlikely friends teaming up to save the different worlds they come from. One Hero seeks out the greatest treasure in some ancient ruin near a relatively quiet tourist-trap while the other hero is tasked with protecting the keys that help to seal a great evil. It’s a predictable yet touching tale as the unlikeable hero eventually gains a bit of heart and a friend who while clumsy is endearing in his efforts to gain respect from his peers. If that wasn’t traditional enough let’s talk about the game itself, which is patterned after the likes of The Legend of Zelda and Banjo-Kazooie.

This isn’t quite the mish-mash anyone expects but sure enough all it takes is one look at the back of the box and there’s a screen that may as well come straight out of Ocarina of Time. Matrix Corporation was never exactly known for their originality (they did make Alundra after all) but they clearly wear their inspiration on their sleeve for this adventure. The first main-character is the boyish adventurer type who gains access to a number of weapons and tools. The weapons are self-explanatory and the tools allow him to accomplish tasks like blowing up rocks, grabbing onto faraway platforms, and maybe light some torches. The Banjo-Kazooie element comes from the other main character, a by the name of..well whatever you decide to name him. Bakus are like a combination of a pig and a dog and they can run, swim, dash to break through walls, and even dash while flying through the air. Bakus are also rather fond of exploring large worlds with lots of shiny objects to collect and tons of almost entirely optional mini-games to play.

One of the remarkable qualities of this game is that it meshes two distinct genres very well. The exploration is fun, the controls are solid, and the game does a fine job of jumping between combat-heavy and enjoyable romp. Technically it’s not all that sharp as it’s an early Playstation 2 game so things like variable framerates are expected. The art direction varies quite a bit as the bulk of the game takes place inside the dreams of the town’s inhabitants. This leads to a wondrous array of worlds that can take place in anything from a picture book to a scene from how a dog views its world (who knew that dogs dreamed in color?).

To me the Baku is the real star of this game. He’s a cute little guy with a lot of funny little animations that are always smile-inducing. Every time he eats something he goes into this “Yay Hurray” dance that never gets old. It’s also hilarious how he’s constantly dancing and prancing along while the other hero is slashing baddies to bits. Most of the character development from the other hero comes from this rival who has an infatuation with him. She’s easy to recognize as she disguises herself (poorly) as a hotel clerk and is constantly aware of the hero’s movements. 

While it’s definitely a charming game it’s certainly not without fault. On the whole the game is quite easy. On one side the only challenge is for the completion-freaks who have to find every last shiny object and even then if they’re familiar with similar titles (like Banjo-Kazooie) there’s really nothing there that hasn’t been done before and better. The other more Zelda element to the game is again not exactly new or different enough that it really pushes any limits that gamers have long grown accustomed to. It’s disappointing since Alunda was such a stand-out title and was very difficult for even veterans of the genre. I guess the overall drop in difficulty may be due to the game being geared more towards children.

For the adults however there is an Expert setting. I’m not sure why anyone would want to play it though because basically it amounts to the player taking a lot more damage and the enemies taking a lot less damage. This is the worst way to handle higher difficulties and can lead to some of the boss battles taking a terribly long time to complete. If the player really wants a challenge they’re better off taking less heart containers. It’s not the best way to make a game harder but it’s sufficient.

Ultimately however since Dual Hearts never really strives beyond the bar set by other games it just sort of middles around. After awhile somebody in an internet forum I frequent might bring it up and I’ll say “Oh yeah. I played that game.” They’ll ask what I thought of it and all I’ll be able to say are things like “it was alright”, “fine”, “okay and all but you wanna hear about a really good game?” but not once will I be able to say something about how it changed the way I think about adventure games or how I thought it had some really fascinating ideas. It’s one of those games that at one time or another served a purpose while somebody was waiting for another game, or they were at a rental store and this was the only game available that looked interesting. Still there’s nothing particularly wrong with it and maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I did. I think I played through the entire game in a weekend, which is perhaps a more glowing recommendation than anything I’ve written here (to put it into perspective another game that I finished so quickly was Batman: Arkham Asylum). So maybe you’ll want to give it a go, and don’t think too much about if the game will be impactful in any way.