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The Creature of Kapu Cave
Hello! And welcome to my 6th review
I recently finished TOT but I want to review CRE because I feel as though there are a lot of negative reviews and I want to throw in my opinion that isn’t so one-sided. I also really wish it was summer and I desperately want to go to Hawai’i. If I could get on a plane right now, I’d go! Let’s get started so I can day dream about Hawai’i & not the cold outside 
Plot:
Nancy travels to Hawai’i to be a research assistant to the ever quirky Dr. Quigley Kim who is an entomologist (scientific study of insects). Something is happening on the big island & all the pineapple crops are being destroyed! Whispers around the island say the local but secretive research compound has awoken Kāne 'Ōkala a man who was killed in a volcano many years ago, now roaming the island wreaking havoc! You, as Nancy Drew must get to the bottom of the islands mysteries before all the crops are destroyed for good.
Pretty good plot, I mean there have been better but it’s believable enough. I like the whole idea of Kāne 'Ōkala and I wish that was explored more than Nancy just asking people about it. Oh! Also the Hardy Boys are there & you can play as them if you call Nancy which was a cool new way to play.
Characters:
Big Island Mike Mapu: Big Island Mike runs a little store called “Big Island Mike’s Immersion Excursions” with his daughter, Pua. Tourists can catch fish, make shave ice, go snorkeling & collect shells to make necklaces. Mike mainly wants you to enjoy your time there & is helpful in some ways.
As soon as you get to the island Big Mike is the first person you talk to, he’s very out-going & helpful. He also really wants you to go fishing, collect shells & snorkel. He’s always in his shop so if you need him chances are he’s there.
Pua Mapu: Pua is Big Island Mike’s daughter and she loves to surf! She helps run the shop but in her free time she does nothing but surf & teaches others how to surf.
You only interact with her a few times, she’s not that helpful as she’s always surfing & doesn’t serve any other purpose than being Mike’s daughter.
Dr. Quigley Kim: Dr. Kim is an extremely frazzled entomologist who likes to get off topic when she’s talking to you, so pay close attention. She is trying to gain fame and funding for her work but all the money is going to the Hilihili Research Facility.
Even though Nancy is there to help Dr. Kim you only speak with her a handful of times too. Once you get to the island her camp has been ransacked & she has disappeared. Her voice is very irritating & the chores she has you do are tedious but then again you’re there to help her!
Dr. Malachi Craven: Extremely driven, sometimes standoffish Dr. Craven runs the Hilihili Research Facility. He keeps what he’s doing extremely secretive & doesn’t let anyone in the lab unless they work there. Interacting with him was sometimes comical!
The interactions you do have with him are far from pleasant. He’s very secretive about what his facility is doing that he screams at you the first time you try to go into the compound. Later, you have to sneak around him sleeping just to get some clues as to what’s going on- it’s so fun!
Frank & Joe Hardy: Old friends of Nancy’s and amateur detectives in their own right. The brothers are in Hawai’i to investigate the Mapu family for a company that plans to offer Pua an endorsement contract. They help Nancy with her case & as I stated above you can play as the boys assisting in solving their mystery at the same time.
The Hardy boys are helpful as ever! I really do enjoy playing as them, I thought it was something neat & different than any other game I’ve played. It’s a huge, huge coincidence that they’re also in Hawai’i at the same time Nancy is but I can overlook that, obviously HeR wanted them in the game for some reason…
The characters are all very memorable although I’m not sure of the clear motives they each have for what’s going on with the pineapple crops. That, in my opinion could’ve been better. Pua is probably the least helpful character because she doesn’t want to do anything but surf. Dr. Kim’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard & her personality is so scatterbrained! I had never played a game where the Hardy Boys were there too like TRN so I thought it was fun to play as them for a little while.
Settings/Graphics:
Beautiful! It is Hawai’i after all (mainly the reason I wanted this game). I loved the beach, I replayed this game just to go fishing & collect shells. I would’ve liked to spend more time there but I get that you have to go all over to solve the mystery. There were a lot of places to explore, but I won’t go into too much detail as to not give anything away. The forest looked believable too, every leaf had detail & I really felt like I was on the Big Island.
Game play/Puzzles:
This game was a perfect length. It wasn’t too short or too long, there’s nothing worse than enjoying a game & being done in a few hours (like FIN) or hating a game & having it dragggg on! I’d say there was a good amount of snooping in this game! You get to go through people’s things multiple times and that’s always fun! That’s my main appeal of these games, I love the snooping… The puzzles aren’t that bad, you may needs some hints & that’s ok because I need a lot lol!
Scare Factor:
There isn’t anything in this game that is jump out of your seat scary. I’d even say MHM is scarier. There are times where you jump but I think it’s just because it might be loud & you don’t expect it. But on a scale of 1-10 I’d say 2. It’s not bad at all!
Ending:
I know some people were upset about the ending and I totally get it. It was kind of like “ooh so it’s happening…” when it comes up you don’t necessarily get it ha. I think it could’ve been played out better but it’s not that bad of an ending, I’ve seen/played worse. I actually really enjoy getting to the ending part, it’s fun!!
Overall:
Not a bad ND game, there are better but there are also worse. I’d say this is better than say HAU, TOT & SAW. But that’s just my opinion. I like this game because the puzzles aren’t crazy hard to figure out, they play out in a way where you feel accomplished after you do them and then you go to snooping or doing another task. Not just puzzle, after puzzles, after puzzle. I also enjoy games during the day, where there’s a lot to explore ALL over & not just a few places outside like HAU. I’d definitely recommend this ND game; I’ve re-played it & had fun each time. There are criticisms like collecting frass, talk about snoozville! But it has more redeeming qualities than frustrating ones.
Thank you for reading my review! As always, please feel free to leave comments, rate & share your own opinions. Thanks!
Hello! And welcome to my 6th review
I recently finished TOT but I want to review CRE because I feel as though there are a lot of negative reviews and I want to throw in my opinion that isn’t so one-sided. I also really wish it was summer and I desperately want to go to Hawai’i. If I could get on a plane right now, I’d go! Let’s get started so I can day dream about Hawai’i & not the cold outside Plot:
Nancy travels to Hawai’i to be a research assistant to the ever quirky Dr. Quigley Kim who is an entomologist (scientific study of insects). Something is happening on the big island & all the pineapple crops are being destroyed! Whispers around the island say the local but secretive research compound has awoken Kāne 'Ōkala a man who was killed in a volcano many years ago, now roaming the island wreaking havoc! You, as Nancy Drew must get to the bottom of the islands mysteries before all the crops are destroyed for good.
Pretty good plot, I mean there have been better but it’s believable enough. I like the whole idea of Kāne 'Ōkala and I wish that was explored more than Nancy just asking people about it. Oh! Also the Hardy Boys are there & you can play as them if you call Nancy which was a cool new way to play.
Characters:
Big Island Mike Mapu: Big Island Mike runs a little store called “Big Island Mike’s Immersion Excursions” with his daughter, Pua. Tourists can catch fish, make shave ice, go snorkeling & collect shells to make necklaces. Mike mainly wants you to enjoy your time there & is helpful in some ways.
As soon as you get to the island Big Mike is the first person you talk to, he’s very out-going & helpful. He also really wants you to go fishing, collect shells & snorkel. He’s always in his shop so if you need him chances are he’s there.
Pua Mapu: Pua is Big Island Mike’s daughter and she loves to surf! She helps run the shop but in her free time she does nothing but surf & teaches others how to surf.
You only interact with her a few times, she’s not that helpful as she’s always surfing & doesn’t serve any other purpose than being Mike’s daughter.
Dr. Quigley Kim: Dr. Kim is an extremely frazzled entomologist who likes to get off topic when she’s talking to you, so pay close attention. She is trying to gain fame and funding for her work but all the money is going to the Hilihili Research Facility.
Even though Nancy is there to help Dr. Kim you only speak with her a handful of times too. Once you get to the island her camp has been ransacked & she has disappeared. Her voice is very irritating & the chores she has you do are tedious but then again you’re there to help her!
Dr. Malachi Craven: Extremely driven, sometimes standoffish Dr. Craven runs the Hilihili Research Facility. He keeps what he’s doing extremely secretive & doesn’t let anyone in the lab unless they work there. Interacting with him was sometimes comical!
The interactions you do have with him are far from pleasant. He’s very secretive about what his facility is doing that he screams at you the first time you try to go into the compound. Later, you have to sneak around him sleeping just to get some clues as to what’s going on- it’s so fun!
Frank & Joe Hardy: Old friends of Nancy’s and amateur detectives in their own right. The brothers are in Hawai’i to investigate the Mapu family for a company that plans to offer Pua an endorsement contract. They help Nancy with her case & as I stated above you can play as the boys assisting in solving their mystery at the same time.
The Hardy boys are helpful as ever! I really do enjoy playing as them, I thought it was something neat & different than any other game I’ve played. It’s a huge, huge coincidence that they’re also in Hawai’i at the same time Nancy is but I can overlook that, obviously HeR wanted them in the game for some reason…
The characters are all very memorable although I’m not sure of the clear motives they each have for what’s going on with the pineapple crops. That, in my opinion could’ve been better. Pua is probably the least helpful character because she doesn’t want to do anything but surf. Dr. Kim’s voice is like nails on a chalkboard & her personality is so scatterbrained! I had never played a game where the Hardy Boys were there too like TRN so I thought it was fun to play as them for a little while.
Settings/Graphics:
Beautiful! It is Hawai’i after all (mainly the reason I wanted this game). I loved the beach, I replayed this game just to go fishing & collect shells. I would’ve liked to spend more time there but I get that you have to go all over to solve the mystery. There were a lot of places to explore, but I won’t go into too much detail as to not give anything away. The forest looked believable too, every leaf had detail & I really felt like I was on the Big Island.
Game play/Puzzles:
This game was a perfect length. It wasn’t too short or too long, there’s nothing worse than enjoying a game & being done in a few hours (like FIN) or hating a game & having it dragggg on! I’d say there was a good amount of snooping in this game! You get to go through people’s things multiple times and that’s always fun! That’s my main appeal of these games, I love the snooping… The puzzles aren’t that bad, you may needs some hints & that’s ok because I need a lot lol!
Scare Factor:
There isn’t anything in this game that is jump out of your seat scary. I’d even say MHM is scarier. There are times where you jump but I think it’s just because it might be loud & you don’t expect it. But on a scale of 1-10 I’d say 2. It’s not bad at all!
Ending:
I know some people were upset about the ending and I totally get it. It was kind of like “ooh so it’s happening…” when it comes up you don’t necessarily get it ha. I think it could’ve been played out better but it’s not that bad of an ending, I’ve seen/played worse. I actually really enjoy getting to the ending part, it’s fun!!
Overall:
Not a bad ND game, there are better but there are also worse. I’d say this is better than say HAU, TOT & SAW. But that’s just my opinion. I like this game because the puzzles aren’t crazy hard to figure out, they play out in a way where you feel accomplished after you do them and then you go to snooping or doing another task. Not just puzzle, after puzzles, after puzzle. I also enjoy games during the day, where there’s a lot to explore ALL over & not just a few places outside like HAU. I’d definitely recommend this ND game; I’ve re-played it & had fun each time. There are criticisms like collecting frass, talk about snoozville! But it has more redeeming qualities than frustrating ones.
Thank you for reading my review! As always, please feel free to leave comments, rate & share your own opinions. Thanks!