Mixed Up Fairy Tales

The Good
As far as Sierra is concerned, Mixed-Up Fairy Tales is supposed to be the actual sequel to Mixed-up Mother Goose. For one thing, it isn't made by the same person. Besides, if it was a sequel, then there would be more nursery rhymes that children can sing along to.

Mixed-Up Fairy Tales does share the same gameplay mechanics as Roberta Williams's nursery rhyme game. As a certain character (there are six in total), you walk around the game world trying to find a specific object or a person. You then take them to their destination. You can use a map to help you get around quickly, and you can also save the game that is only assigned to you. However, there are a few differences.

One of these is the ability to name your character. You can use the name your parents gave you, or use something different. Children will be thrilled, thinking that the game's characters are talking to them rather than a random person. A major difference is the interface itself. You see, the game uses a simplified interface so you can get to grips with the game. Nearly everything is based around the “Do” command (which is very similar to the same command from The Black Cauldron, another children's game). There is also the “See” command, which I did not use at all.

There are a variety of characters that you will meet, and apart from Bookend, all the characters are friendly and helpful. You can click the Do cursor on yourself or each character to get detailed information. The character that I found funny was Bookwyrm, who actually looks like a dragon.

Before you can take a person wherever they want to go, you need to pick out the fairy tale before the story can start. The story continues until you find out that something is missing from the story. You then have to walk around game world until you find someone or something from the same fairy tale as the leading character. There is a good selection of fairy tales on offer, and I am already familiar with most of them. The only one that I wasn't was “Bremen Town Musicians”, but completing this fairy tale helped me get to grips with it. You can complete the fairy tales in any order you like, and you can start a new one even if you are in a middle of another. This is ideal if you are stuck on that one fairy tale, and wish to move onto something else.

The hand-drawn graphics look good, and they mimic the same amount of detail used in games such as King's Quest V. By looking at the in-game map, I can see that the game world is laid out nicely, and that there aren't as many screens as Mixed-Up Mother Goose. Nearly all the screens have some building that you could almost enter, but you can't.

The soundtracks used in the game are classical pieces made famous well-known composers such as Mozart and Bach. Each piece blends in with the situation that you are in, and I find the soft ones relaxing as I walked around. You can go into Bookwyrm's house and pick up a book that lets you listen to all the pieces, and this is a good thing as it tells you the name of that piece and who composed it.

There is some replayability to the game, due to the fact that the game changes every time you play it. Both objects and characters are in different positions then they were before, and it is likely that you will complete the stories in a different order.

The Bad
There are only five fairy tales to choose from, but I wish more famous ones like “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, and “Rapunzel” were included. Also, when you look at something on screen, you will see the name of the object above the description for it. But when you dismiss the text, the name will still stay on screen, but it is cut off.

The Bottom Line
Mixed-Up Fairy Tales appeals to children more than adults, but the game can be used to remind yourself in case you forget what the fairy tale is about. Children will feel good about themselves, knowing that the characters are talking to them (assuming that they don't enter false names). The graphics are great, most of the music is relaxing as you get through the game, and the objects and characters are random every game. Another great Sierra educational game.

The Good
Its a lot like Mixed-up Mother-goose but not as good. The pleasing VGA graphics are very similar, but Mother goose (at least the late version on CD) has a more engaging soundtrack whereby a funky rendition of the nursery rhyme is played following the completion of each little mini-quest. It makes all the difference to the game-play, which in Fairy Tales, is pilfered wholesale from Mother-goose.

The Bad
The Fairy-tales soundtrack consists of cheesily pretentious arrangements of classical music played through MIDI. Amorphous, annoying and probably chosen so parents will approve of the game.

The Bottom Line
I played this game with my 6 year old son, and because I enjoy his company, I enjoyed the game. If you also have a 6 year old kid, or need it to complete your Sierra collection it comes up on e-bay occasionally (every 2 or 3 months).