Fairytale Fights

Game review by Harold Goldberg, Common Sense Media
Fairytale Fights Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 18+

Fairytale heroes as serial killers in farcical bloodbath.

Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 2009
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Parents say

age 14+

Based on 1 review

Kids say

age 12+

Based on 13 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this game.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that, despite the cute appearance of Fairytale Fights' familiar characters, it is not meant for kids. There are buckets of blood in this extremely violent hack 'n' slash platforming game. There's nothing real about the game, but the concept of fairytale characters becoming serial killer-like murderers would probably disturb anyone under the age of 17. What's more, there's a feature in the game that shows exactly how you butcher and slice up an enemy into sections. Plus, a character called Naked Emperor appears nearly nude, though his privates are covered by a fig leaf.

Community Reviews

gamenerd323
gamenerd323 Adult
December 13, 2009
age 14+
Fairytale fights is actually kind of fun. There are some decent controls, it's kind of a new idea. Although a game with more sophistication would be a better choice, this game is pretty fun! But the audience it targets is very small. It's too violent for small children and too childish for adults, if your kid is a mature 13 year old, or 14, this game should be fine. And the violence is so unrealestic, it's unbelivable, there are unrealestic amounts of blood and gore with poorly ilistrated characters.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

FAIRYTALE FIGHTS is not for kids, but many of the original tales of the Brothers Grimm aren't, either. Here, you’re a fairytale character who’s lost your fame. You’ve become forgotten. You’ve got to reclaim your notoriety by hacking and slashing through a magical, cartoon-y world as Snow White, Beanstalk Jack, Little Red Riding Hood or the Naked Emperor. As you move through beautiful, Candyland-like environments, you slice and dice through hundreds of enemies to proceed. But beware: blood flows everywhere, spilling slowly like honey.

Is It Any Good?

Clearly, Fairytale Fights will confuse or scare children who've been weaned on edited versions of Grimm. This is a game with such over-the-top violence that the blood its characters spill actually seems to be a character. It can completely cover your immediate environment like something out of a Devil May Cry game. There's even a split screen that shows exactly how you've cut up an enemy, slice by slice.

But while it may disturb kids, any adult who plays will see that the slicing and dicing becomes tedious quickly. While there’s a variety of humorous weapons beyond hacksaws and axes (like a shark skeleton), most seem to cut in the same way. There are camera issues in the game, too: when four or more angry lumberjacks gang up on you, you can’t see what you’re doing from the birds-eye perspective in the game. The developers have created a mood that’s light in the face of a lot of killing. It’s too bad they didn’t make time to design a game that gives you more diversity in play.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about which character they enjoy playing the most, Snow White, The Naked Emperor, Little Red Riding Hood or Beanstalk Jack. Would you have enjoyed playing another character from fairytale lore? Which one?

  • Does the violence seem realistic to you or does it seem cartoon-like and inoffensive?

  • Do you think the boss battles, like the one with the giant beaver, are hard enough? Or are they feel too repetitive?

Game Details

Our Editors Recommend

For kids who love fairytale games

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