Poor Hans! He’s just a poor boy, but has large aspirations in life. If only people would just take notice of him! Ah well, it’s a hard world out there, and Hans will just have to make his way the best he can. He decides to try his fortune in Copenhagen, Denmark. Unbeknownst to him, there is adventure just around the corner.

Shortly before Hans arrives in Copenhagen, a very spoiled princess decides she doesn’t want to stay cooped up in the palace anymore, but would rather roam at will through the neighboring town and countryside. Although she has been warned of the dangers to herself, particularly from some troublesome trolls who seem to have a fetish for princesses, she sets out on her own. Her father sends a court advisor to fetch her back. When Hans arrives in town, he meets the princess, court advisor and many other townspeople. He soon learns that the princess is threatened by the trolls, and he will have to protect her and return her to the palace.

HCA The Ugly Duckling is an adventure game based on the life of Hans Christian Anderson, along with many of the themes and characters of his famous fairy tales. The Little Match Girl, the tinderbox, a mermaid are all featured. Hans stars as himself, and is a poor boy seeking to increase his social standing. He comes to Copenhagen just in time to save the princess.

As in all adventure games, Hans will travel around many locations, speaking to people and collecting inventory items. He’ll use the inventory items to solve puzzles, none of which are very difficult. Most of the puzzles are inventory-based, although there are a few other logical puzzles. Sometimes he will also have to deal with the trolls, but they’re easy to avoid.

When Hans first comes to town, he will have to get a job and earn some respect, in order to keep the local police force from constantly tossing him out as an undesirable. Fortunately, a local student will give him money if he can locate some snake juice. He can also find money by kicking different items around town. All the inventory puzzles involve talking to many people for information about items, and running errands for some of them. Successful completion of these little favors will garner a needed item, which can be given to someone in exchange for a different item or information. Players will need to return to the same characters from time to time, to gain new information.

The story is divided into town sections, each of which Hans can enter after advancing socially. When he succeeds in accomplishing the set tasks, earns money and gains respect, then he can enter the more posh parts of town. Supposedly this social advancing is a big part of the game, but the characters in the game really don’t change that much toward Hans in the course of the game.

The story is interesting and charming, and the inclusion of the familiar fairy tale characters and elements work very well. The designers did an excellent job with the story and puzzles, which are just right for kids ages 8-12, and really for any adventure game fan. Unfortunately, most kids won’t have the patience to work with the extremely clumsy interface. The interface involves some of the worst path finding I’ve ever experienced. Hans will never walk around anything; he can only walk in straight lines. If there is any object in his path, he won’t go around. This isn’t just incredibly annoying, but it can keep players from seeing important areas in the game.

Visually, the game is wonderful! The locations are beautifully drawn, and the characters are as well. They are varied in appearance, and present a good match to their personalities. The music is pleasant and classical in tone, and features some well-known Grieg (famous Norway composer) compositions like “The Hall of the Mountain King,” which is the only one of Grieg’s works I know, thanks to my local Public Radio station.

This game is sweet, charming and could be a great game for children, but for the very badly designed interface. It’s too bad the game is already released, as a re-design would lift it up from just average to very good. However, I believe this is the first game from this company, and later efforts should be better designed.

An interesting adventure game with a fun theme of fairy tales, best for kids with patience, due to the difficult interface.

Gameplay: 6.0
There is a great story trying to break out, but the interface won’t let it. The interface IS the game on the PC, and if players can’t interact with the story, there’s not much fun going on.

Graphics: 8.0
Beautiful graphics!

Sound: 8.0
Lovely sound!

Difficulty: Medium
There are plenty of inventory puzzles to keep everyone busy for awhile. The puzzles aren’t overly difficult, but aren’t too easy, either. Most involve traveling back and forth between locations and talking to characters in each area.

Concept: 7.0
The story is fresh and original, but the design and implementation leave much to be desired.

Overall: 6.5
I really liked the story and the music, but was frustrated by Han’s movement. It was very irritating to have to move him forward and backward to get around things, and I would just want to quit playing. That’s not good. However, players with more patience than myself may have a better time. The theme and puzzles are fun, though! It’s too bad the game wasn’t tested more on a “player-friendly” level before release.