Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Trolls on Treasure Island delivers a deceptively simple puzzle-platforming experience that feels both familiar and fresh. Drawing inspiration from classic titles like Dudes with Attitude, the core mechanic revolves around bouncing your troll twin—either Samantha or Norbert—across each screen to collect color-coded jewels. The twist is that you must first change your troll’s hair color by leaping through paint cans, ensuring you match the hue of the jewel before snatching it. This color-matching requirement adds an extra layer of strategy, turning what might be mindless hopping into a brain-teasing hunt for the most efficient route.

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Each of the 32 built-in levels ramps up the difficulty with clever enemy placements, time constraints, and environmental hazards. From patrolling crabs on the beach to sneaky bats in cavernous interiors, the adversaries force you to plan each bounce carefully. Running out of time or colliding with an enemy means restarting the room, but since levels are relatively quick, failures never feel too punishing. Instead, they encourage experimentation—finding shortcuts that shave seconds off your completion time or discovering the perfect sequence of paint-can hops.

Beyond the main campaign, the included level editor is a standout feature. It lets players design custom rooms, place paint cans, jewels, and adversaries exactly where they want. This extends Trolls on Treasure Island’s replay value significantly, as you can tackle community-made puzzles or craft fiendishly difficult levels for friends. The simple, tile-based editor is intuitive for NES-era constraints, making it easy to jump right in and start designing without wading through complicated menus.

Graphics

As an unlicensed NES title, Trolls on Treasure Island embraces the system’s characteristic 8-bit charm rather than trying to hide its limitations. The island’s lush jungles, sandy beaches, and dark caves are all rendered in bright, playful palettes that evoke a summer-adventure vibe. Backgrounds are detailed enough to convey different biomes—palm trees sway, stalactites drip, and water edges ripple—while not getting in the way of the gameplay.

Character sprites for Samantha and Norbert are crisp and colorful, with enough animation frames to make their bounces feel satisfying. The hair-color changes are especially well done: each dye job visibly alters the troll’s silhouette, providing clear feedback that you’re now able to collect matching jewels. Enemies, though relatively simple in design, have distinct shapes and movement patterns that are easy to recognize even amid a busy playfield.

The level editor’s graphics may not be flashy, but they’re functional and consistent with the game’s aesthetic. Tiles snap neatly into place, and on-screen icons for paint cans, gems, and foes are instantly recognizable. While you won’t mistake Trolls on Treasure Island for a first-party NES masterpiece, its pixel art style and palette choices give it a unique identity that stands out among other homebrew and unlicensed releases.

Story

At its heart, Trolls on Treasure Island tells a simple yet endearing tale of teenage troll twins Samantha and Norbert. The pair, out windsurfing one sunny day, stumble upon an undiscovered island that matches an old family legend their grandfather once mentioned. With a promise of lost treasures waiting, the twins set off to explore every nook and cranny—motivated by both curiosity and the thrill of adventure.

The narrative is light and primarily serves as a framework for the gameplay rather than a deep, character-driven drama. There are no lengthy cutscenes or voiced dialogue, but in-game text and occasional signposts hint at the island’s mysteries: secret chambers, ancient traps, and hidden caches of jewels. This minimal storytelling leaves room for imagination, allowing players to fill in the backstory and personality of the troll twins as they see fit.

Despite its brevity, the setup works well for a puzzle-platformer. The sense of exploration is tangible: each new level feels like a fresh part of the island to uncover. The underlying family legend adds just enough intrigue to keep you wondering what grandpa really saw all those years ago, and whether Samantha and Norbert will find more than just sparkling gems on their journey.

Overall Experience

Trolls on Treasure Island shines as a compact, nostalgia-driven puzzle game that balances approachable mechanics with gradually intensifying challenges. Longtime NES enthusiasts will appreciate its faithful use of 8-bit hardware, while newer players can enjoy the straightforward but thoughtful color-matching gameplay loop. The 32 levels offer a solid chunk of content, and the level editor multiplies your enjoyment by inviting endless community creations.

The game’s unlicensed status doesn’t detract from its polished feel—controls are responsive, performance is rock–solid, and loading times (if any) are nonexistent. Packaging it all in a single-cartridge experience, Trolls on Treasure Island feels like a hidden gem unearthed straight from the analog era. Whether you’re chasing top completion times or designing the next fiendish puzzle, there’s always a fresh challenge waiting.

For collectors and casual players alike, Trolls on Treasure Island is a delightful trip down memory lane. Its blend of bright visuals, clever level design, and charming story beats ensures that even after you’ve cleared the island’s standard puzzles, you’ll keep bouncing back for more—especially once you fire up the level editor. All told, it’s a worthy addition to anyone’s NES library seeking a lighthearted brain-teaser with plenty of replay value.

Retro Replay Score

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