
In around one week from now, Turnip Boy will see his second game drop – Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, and yet the original game remained in our backlog for years due to our admittedly rather hectic schedule.
As such, we felt it was about time to put everything to one side for a short while in order to get through the first entry and see what the fuss was all about.
And boy, now that I’ve completed 100% of the game, I really wish I’d done it sooner.
PEPPERS, PLEASE
Turnip Boy is somewhat of a rebel. Criminally so, in fact. Tired of paying his dues to ‘the man’ (in this case, Mayor Onion), he rips up his tax form as a form of protest. Unfortunately that leads to his immediate eviction and his entry into servitude to the Mayor until his debt is repaid.
These questionable errands have him wandering across the land retrieving unusual goods for the Mayor from a series of Zelda-like dungeons. Veggieville and its surrounding areas is full of anthropomorphic vegetables who are an absolute delight to converse with due to both the colourful cartoonish presentation and the well-written humorous writing. Many of the inhabitants have varying real world problems and Turnip Boy is there to step in and help in his own anarchistic way.
On the surface, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion is an old-school Zelda like adventure with items to obtain, dungeons to explore, puzzles to solve, and some rudimentary combat. Despite having some questionable default button mapping (which can be reversed in the options menu), the controls are both simple and responsive to use; there a ‘trip’ button that acts like a dodge, and an action button that controls your current item. Aside from using the bumpers to switch between items, that’s really all there is to it.
Speaking of items, there are a handful you can collect throughout the game; the first of which, and arguably the most useful, is a watering can that can be used to water the variety of plants you find planted around. These plants can grow bombs, moveable mushrooms, and even your very first equippable sword! For such a rudimentary item, the watering can proves to be the most essential item in your toolset, and everything else seems to work around that. There are a handful of other items too to help you solve the game’s many puzzles, although none of them are all that difficult to solve. They certainly feel satisfying to solve, but don’t expect to spend more than a moment thinking about what you have to do.
Combat on the other hand is a little less satisfying: most foes can be taken out with a stab or two, and most of their attack patterns are rather rudimentary are offer little threat. Bosses are a bit of a step up, both visually and in threat level, but the sheer amount of extra hearts lying around that can restore lost health stop most from being a major threat. One of the later bosses does post a major challenge comparatively, but even then I would say that the average gamer is still likely to beat it within around half a dozen tries or so. Despite its simplicity though, fights are still rather pleasant due to the game’s beautiful aesthetic.
And pleasant really is the best word to describe Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion. Despite the criminal undertones, everything is just incredibly lighthearted and charming. Whether its finding and tearing up important documents, or undertaking brief side-quests for the game’s strange vegetable inhabitants, you just can’t help but have a constant grin across your face for the brief two hour or so runtime.
SUNSET STATION
…but that’s not all there is to Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion. Aside from a secret ending and true final boss that you can encounter, beating the game will also unlock the Sunset Station: a post-game area added after launch that pits you against impossible odds in order to earn more hats.
Upon entering the station, you’ll be greeted aboard the Limitless Line by Conductor Onion. This never-ending ride has carriage after carriage of randomly generated foes with boss fights scattered after every few rooms or so. Beating a boss will give you a choice of upgrade before moving onto the next set until eventually you face the conductor himself. This fight marks both the end of the journey and the true start of your challenge, as each further loop will change up the enemies to make them far stronger. There’s no real end to your journey, instead just testing you as to how far you can hold out.
It’s a cute little addition for those who want to spend more time with Turnip Boy, and I’d say that purchasable hats offer enough of a reason to at least spend a little time with it There may not be a huge amount of depth to it, especially as combat is hardly the game’s strong point, but it still works for what it is and makes a nice little palette cleanser after finishing the main game.
VERDICT
I really wish I hadn’t slept on Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion for so long. The titular Turnip Boy is an adorable criminal mastermind and a hero for the masses who you just can’t help but root (pun intended) for throughout his well told adventure. If you haven’t played this game already, now is the perfect chance to do so before he plans his perfect heist.
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