An Underwater Adventure

Charm Tale 2: Mermaid Lagoon brings all of the fun of the original game and offers even more. You fill the roles of Dorothy, a young woman whose parents have taken on a cruise across the ocean. For some reason, they decide to take an unusual route; one not too many people travel on. If only they had a OnStar!

Out on the water, Dorothy notices strange rays of light that seem to shine straight down to the bottom of the sea. She's never seen anything like it before, so she decides that this might be a good place to go diving!

After diving, she is greeted by a beautiful mermaid who explains to her that the underwater country is teeming with various creatures, some of which who even look human. Normal humans can't see them, but for some reason Dorothy is the exception.

Finally, she explains to you that there are magical gems that can help you further understand all the various forms of life that live in this magical place. All you have to do is match gems of the same color and the whole world will start to make more sense to you.

A Classic Match Three

When it all boils down to it (get it?; because there's water!), Charm Tale 2 is a traditional match-three puzzle game. In each stage you will face a game board of a different shape that is teeming with colored, sparkly gems. You have to match gems of the same color. You have to get at least three to make a match, but the more you get in a single line, the more points you will get. The pieces can be touching in any way, whether it's on the sides, top or bottom, or even diagonally. You can either click each piece individually and then double-click the last piece, or simply hold the left mouse button down and drag it across the chain. The second works much better and is a lot faster, but the first method still works.

Sometimes you'll get one big gem that will take up eight grids on the board. When you include these in a chain, not only will you get points, but they'll break up into eight smaller gems. These are easy to collect because they're already in a group. You can score some major points this way.

What I really loved about Charm Tale 2 upon first playing is the crazy chains that you can make. In a lot of games of this type, it's almost impossible to get a really long match going, but it's very much a possibility here. Come to think of it, maybe I'm just not very good at matching games!

Unfolding Story

As you progress further through the game, you'll get more tidbits of the story. It's a very entertaining tale and the dialogue is all very well-written. As you match more gems, you'll be able to see even more creatures of the deep, all of whom have interesting things to tell you.

A Good, Old Fashioned Puzzler

While Charm Tale 2: Mermaid Lagoon may not bring anything new or revolutionary to the table, it provides some good, classic match-3 fun and a storyline that's interesting all the way until the end. If you like matching things, you'll be more than satisfied with this purchase.