Have you ever wondered what it would be like if The Legend of Zelda games were more piratical? Well, Trident’s Tale from developer/publisher 3DClouds answers that very question… kind of.

“Set sail for an epic action-packed adventure in Trident’s Tale, where you’ll become Ocean, a bold young captain on a quest to reclaim the legendary Storm Trident—a mythical artifact that grants power over the seas. But beware the ocean is vast, treacherous, and crawling with danger at every turn!”

I do like a good pirate game, ever since playing Sid Meier’s Pirates! (best pirate game ever!) way back in 1987 on my Commodore 64. I still play the updated Pirates! Gold today. By the way, Pirates! needs a more modern remake. Anyway, I like the pirate sub-genre of gaming, so Trident’s Tale really is my kind of game. Playing as a young and apprentice pirate called Ocean, you discover as mysterious amulet that conjures up skeletal pirates hellbent on seeking out Ocean (you, not the big blue watery thing). In order to stop these dead pirates, Ocean must find pieces of the Storm Trident.

Right here in the plot set up, you already have a very Zelda-esque MacGuffin. Link goes after the Triforce, Ocean goes after the Storm Trident. There’s more as the core gameplay here is a mix of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. There are islands to explore, temples search and puzzles to solve. Plenty of characters to interact with, a lot of sailing and generally, a very Zelda-like experience… but with pirates.

Trident’s Tale is a very enjoyable romp that will last you ten hours, add on about five more hours of you really want to explore and do all the sub-quests, go for 100% completion and so on. The land combat can be a bit frustrating as it requires a bit more finesse than just locking onto an enemy an smacking the attack buttons. You have to dodge (a lot) and attack only when the time is right. You can get hit by long-range attacks and not even know where it came from, it’s easy to get surrounded and overwhelmed. It is quite frustrating at first, but after a few scraps, you do get used to the fighting.

Then there is the sea combat. I found this a lot easier to get on with and more involving. You have to adjust the speed of your ship, line up your cannons and fire. It just feels much more satisfying than the land combat. Let’s not forget the rather generous crafting system that let you create new weapons for Ocean and your ship. Upgrades, new skills to learn. Crew members to find, with their own skills, strengths, weaknesses and upgrades. Honestly, there’s quite a lot going on with Trident’s Tale outside of the combat and exploring.

There’s a lot of fun to be had with Trident’s Tale, but it does feel a little dated in several aspects. The controls can be a little stiff, the animation is awkward – especially with the lip syncing during cutscenes. In terms of the presentation and style, this does feel rather 1998. I don’t know of this was a conscious design choice to replicate and old-school vibe, or if the game just needed a few more weeks of development to iron out some creases. Anyway, rather awkward controls and animations aside, Trident’s Tale is an enjoyable action-adventure title that really is Zelda with pirates.