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Where have all the really strange game ideas gone? It seems like original ideas have been cashed in for the next extreme sports game. Don’t get me wrong, some of those games are damn good, but where’s the creativity? Where’s the love?

This game is my personal favorite “diamond in the rough,” not so average NES title. In a land aptly named the Salad Kingdom, there lives the beautiful Princess Tomato (give me a break; I used to work in a produce department). One day, the wicked Minister Pumpkin betrays King Broccoli and kidnaps Princess Tomato. She will be forced to marry Minister Pumpkin’s son unless the brave Sir Cucumber can save her in time.

The premise of this game is pretty straight-forward. You see the Salad Kingdom through the eyes of Sir Cucumber. On the sides of the picture are commands such as LOOK, TALK, TAKE, HIT, PRAISE, etc. Most of these bring up a sub menu to specify what you want to interact with. As you can imagine, the majority of this game is trying to figure out what to do next. The gameplay is very simple, yet this game has a certain charm to it, like your favorite childhood storybook.

Peculiar games like Princess Tomato may not be for everyone. You won’t be amazed by cutting edge graphics or sound here. However, if you like the occasional adventure game, give this one a try.

Graphics: Nothing ground breaking here, but it is fun to look at. The characters are fun to look at. I’m amazed how many fruit and vegetable people they could come up with (Sgt. Pepper rocks!).	7
Sound: Simple and repetitive music, but very catchy and enjoyable.	7
Game Play: It’s hard to mess up controls like this. You won’t be leaning out of your seat, but you won’t get frustrated either.	8
Replay Value: It might take you a while to finish the game, but once it’s over, you might not need to play for sometime. The game isn’t any different the second time unless you are really senile and forget everything.	4
Overall: Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom is a top-notch adventure with great characters, story, and puzzles. The graphics and sound may not be that impressive, but it’s great to see a game like this on the NES. I think you will find an unexpected experience here.	8