Touché: The Adventures of the Fifth Musketeer

The Good
En guard! Touche! My, my, now here is one rare gem, that didn't gain a lot of popularity due to very limited sales and lack of advertisement. And it should've, I say, as it is a classical adventure at its best.

Well, first of all, the game could be considered as one of those Monkey Island clones. Let me tell you, that it's not true at all. Touche is sure close to MI games by spirit, but at the same time it is a very self-sufficient game, like Simon the Sorcerer (by Adventure Soft). Also the game features one of the most original themes ever met in adventure gaming - I can't remember any other adventure that has its events taken place in medieval France. And don't forget about musketeers!

A man was heading back to the tavern, suspiciously looking around from time to time, when suddenly a group of bandits attacked him and stole something precious from the poor man, living him at the taverns entrance in a pool of blood... At the same time, Geffroi, a young musketeer-wanna-be, appeared in the town, looking for adventures. While heading to the only tavern in town, he was suddenly...no, no, not attacked! He was asked by a dying man for some help. Geffroi had to find the missing will (that was stolen by bandits) and then bring it to Paris. That's how his adventures began...

Yes, that's the story. But what a story! Finding the will is not as easy as it seemed from the beginning. You and your servant Henry (who follows you everywhere, like Max follows Sam) will visit many interesting places on the territory of medieval France, meet lots of entertaining characters (like Cardinal or the nephew of Da Vinci), meet your love in face of beautiful Juliette and, finally, find the lost will and reveal the secret behind it. There are LOTS of things to do in this game!

As you might already have realized, the game is a humorous one. And the humor in Touche is very good, I must say. You'll hear a lot of funny replicas from Geffroi and, especially, from Henry, your trusty servant ("I'm called 'Henry'. Well, actually I'm called a lot of things, but Henry is the only one I answer to.") Also, the situations you'll get in during the journey and the obstacles and people you'll meet are usually on a fun side. The humor, while being very good and original in its own way, sometimes even reaches the level of Monkey Island and other LA games.

The puzzles in the game are mostly traditional inventory-based and all are very well integrated in the plot. Some of them even have several solutions, which is also a nice touch. Also, at some occasions you'll need the help from your servant, Henry, who, while being as dumb and useless as he seems, will do nicely all the dirty work :)

Another nice touches of the game are its graphics and music. 2D backgrounds, while not being hi-tech for its time, are all beautifully drawn and, along with some great music scores, create a wonderful atmosphere.

The Bad
Well, the main reason for the complaints are the characters. I don't know the reason for it, but most of them are just alike each other. Shopkeepers, tavern owners, priests, just ordinary people met at streets are all very much alike. Only the main characters, like Geffroi or Cardinal, differ from all other people in the crowd.

Also, the animation of characters sucks. Well, after awhile you'll get used to it and begin to think of it as the necessary component of the whole gameplay, but nevertheless... It sucks!

The Bottom Line
All in all - a very good adventure on the very original theme. Apart from some graphical flaws, I can't name any reason to dislike the game. The gameplay, the story, the puzzles and the humor make Touché a very enjoyable experience that even can be compared to all-time classics like Monkey Island, Sam and Max or Simon the Sorcerer. The game is even worth playing just for the sake of its ending - it's awfully funny!