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Fire 'N Ice review

Game: Fire 'N Ice
Platform: NES
Genre: Casual (Puzzle)
Developer: Tecmo
AKA: Solomon's Key 2 (EU), Solomon no Kagi 2: Coolmintou Kyuushutsu Sakusen (JP)

Reader review by wolfqueen001

May 19, 2008

Coolmint Island was once a peaceful place where happy winter fairies lived out their days in freezing comfort with not a care in the world. Then, one day, an evil wizard named Druidle sent scores of flame monsters into the land for no reason at all except to make poor wittle innocent fairies miserable.

If the evil flame monsters remain, then the tranquil icy paradise will surely melt away, leaving its hapless residents without shelter!

But wait! All is not lost! Dana, a young wizard-in-training, comes to the rescue, handpicked by the Fairy Queen! Granted the power of ice magic, our novice wizard must travel far and wide and conquer the evil that has suddenly and mysteriously plagued his remote island.

Yet there is a catch to your noble goal. Instead of battling this malicious foe in fantastic Harry Potter-esque wizarding duels, you must outwit your curiously stationary enemy. That’s right. Fire ‘N Ice is a puzzle game. A challenging puzzle game with little middle ground.

Using your wand, create or destroy slippery ice blocks to defeat these monsters. However, because of Dana’s amateur skills, he can only shoot his magical icemaker diagonally down in either direction. Further, he cannot climb up a surface more than one block at a time, forcing you to utilize that woefully unused organ between your ears to complete your mission.

You’ll likely find yourself snoozing through the first couple worlds, but soon after, you’ll find yourself scratching your head as formerly cakewalk puzzles turn into headache-inducing brain-busters.

Presented with snaking pipes that take you to new parts of a level, odd jars that hold fire eternally and melt any ice block thrown at them, and evermore complicated level designs, even destroying just one flame can be difficult. You will retry the levels repeatedly, possibly becoming irritated at your apparent ineptitude as the successful route lies tantalizingly beyond your grasp. You see exactly what you need to do… yet… you just… can’t… get… there. Then you growl in frustration and step away for a bit. Returning, you uncover the solution and cheer in joyous celebration as you realize one solid, memorable fact: “I’m smarter than the computer!” A great well of satisfaction rises within, and you tackle the next level, whereupon the whole process starts anew!

As your journey through the wintry fairyland progresses, you’ll encounter some puzzles that are just impossible. Fortunately, with the ability to attempt any level of any world (save bosses) in any order, you can always come back later. Of course, since the difficulty advances a little with each progressive level, your task won’t become any easier.

But who said challenge was a bad thing? Tested enough and the mind becomes a master strategist, the champion of puzzles. Eventually the toughies will crack under the weight of your enormous brain, and you’ll feel forever content. Savor the moment when you defeat the boss of a world, for his puzzle is often hardest. And when the sonorous bells chime sweet melody upon a successful clearance, you can rejoice knowing that you’ve come just one world closer to casting out the nefarious evil.

Run Dana! Go and free your people!

Rating: 8/10

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