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September 7, 2020

Quick Review: Tadpole Treble


(I was supposed to post this one last Friday... Oops.)

An adventure always has to start somewhere.
At the parents' place, as an example.
Early in the life of this blog, I talked about the webcomic Brawl in the Family. After that webcomic ended, its creator, Matthew Taranto, went into game design. He provided art for some indie games such as Nefarious… and also made his own game, full of the wholesomeness, adorableness, comedy, wit, and most importantly, music we’ve come to love from his work.

Developed by BitFinity, published by it and Sunken Treasure Games, and released on September 2nd, 2016, Tadpole Treble is the story of Baton, a tadpole that literally just hatched from her egg. Just as she was making her first wiggles in this watery world, she’s gobbled up by a large bird. She fights to free herself and is dropped at the top of the island’s mountain. This poor baby must find her way home!

These trouts are so big compared
to the poor little Baton!

A level paying tribute to the 8bit days?
Okay, I love this game already.
The gameplay is very musical – Baton moves on the water stream like the lines of a musical staff. Notes come in from the right as black, spiky things that the tadpole must avoid by moving up and down. She has a base attack, used by hitting the Right key or the Space bar. And as Baton progresses through the level without getting hurt, a meter raises, and when it’s full, you can hold down the attack button to turn Baton invincible for a moment, which also allows her to destroy black notes. Now, make it to the end of each level without losing all of our tadpole protagonist’s HP.

This island is HUGE! But so gorgeous!

Taranto included a handful of songs where he
sings. They're very much welcome.
The secondary goal is to collect the 100 Bubbles in every level, some of which require utmost timing and precision. Along the way, several actions Baton can do will give her points, and your score at the end of a level grants you a letter grade, all the way up to S. She can use her attack on bamboo poles, on cymbals that appear, and also use it on a few other instances. Last but not least, each level has a Challenge Fly that can be gathered by accomplishing something in that level – what must be done? The goal differs in each level. The game gives some clues. The fan-made guides will help more.

Singing along may be tempting, but focus
on guiding Baton through.
The main game only has 12 levels, but every single one of them is memorable. In design, in music, in challenge as well. My favorite level is Thunder Creek – awesome song, awesome concept for the level, awesome design all around. This is the type of game that isn’t that difficult to beat – getting to the end is doable in two hours at most. But completing it? Gathering all 1200 Bubbles, finding all the flies, completing every bonus mode? Git gud. Upon completion of the Story Mode, an extra mode opens, titled Concerto, in which you must try to finish all the levels in a single run, with only one life bar.


The game also includes: A Composition mode allowing you to create your own songs, your own levels, with a few fanmade examples available in the game’s Steam Workshop; multiple extras that can be unlocked by reaching a certain threshold of Bubbles brought to Etude, the giant bullfrog requesting them; and plenty of secrets, Easter Eggs, and references to famous video games. All of which is to be expected from this game’s creator, really.

If a battle was to happen between Etude the giant bullfrog
and a bear, I would have to think long before placing a bet.

I'd better brush up on my vomposition skills.
I loved, loved playing this one. I had some idea of what to expect – it’s a tadpole moving on a staff, avoiding obstacles to the music. But beyond expectations, playing it is a whole other thing. It’s definitely a game to try out. You’ll be wowed, you’ll be surprised, and you’ll most likely find yourself looking up the songs online to hear them again. It’s cheerful, it’s gorgeous, and it’s a treat to play, get it, get it now, and play it. If you like music and rhythm games, you’re going to love it.

Tadpole Treble is available for 4.99$.

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