It’s interesting to me that getting to preview Cat Quest III is actually my first foray into the franchise. I’d long seen Cat Quest and Cat Quest II on the Switch’s eShop but I honestly wrote them off as a joke—the kind of meme game where putting “cat” in the title is guaranteed to swindle a few people into buying it.
Imagine my surprise when I saw the reveal trailer for Cat Quest III during Nintendo’s April 2024 Indie Partner Showcase and all my preconceived notions were blasted into oblivion. I’m glad I got a chance to get an early preview of Cat Quest III because despite being the complete distillation of mid-2000s internet—back when everything was cats and pirates—it surprised me with an interesting sense of style and simple yet satisfying gameplay.
Cat Quest III begins with a legend about the North Star literally falling from the sky and marking a spot in the world said to be filled with untold treasure. As such, several pirates have sailed the Purribean in search of the fabled riches, but none so aggressively as the Pi-Rats led by their terrifying leader…the Pi-Rat King—Cat Quest III might not have the most original names, but it’s okay because it knows this and makes a joke about it early on!
You play as a pirate cat, who is found as a baby by a spirit known as Captain Cappey. Luckily, you manage to find the Star Rune—a magical relic that can lead its owner to the North Star treasure! Cat Quest III is clearly having a lot of fun with its setting and story and the nautical setting provides a lot of opportunities for cat-related puns which I’m sure people will love.
“While Cat Quest III isn’t an overly complicated game, there is a fair degree of challenge to it.”
But like I said, it was Cat Quest III’s gameplay—and I suppose its predecessors as well—that really surprised me. The game plays like a wide-open world action RPG but is stylized in a way that’s playful and fun as if it were a Dungeons & Dragons board come to life. Players will guide their cat character (catracter?) across both land and sea, engaging enemies on the ground with their sword, gun and magic; and facing them on the high seas with their ship.
Combat is simple and fluid, as players slash, shoot and roll against enemies in real-time combat and while it’s not particularly complicated, there is a degree of nuance to it. What’s more, players will dive into caves, plundering them for weapons, armour, and trinkets to help them power themselves up and better face the challenges ahead. And rightly so, since the world itself is fairly open, and in true RPG fashion, can wander into areas they are way underleveled for.
While Cat Quest III isn’t an overly complicated game, there is a fair degree of challenge to it. However, this is also balanced out by a lot of QoL features that make the game fast-paced and fun to play. Getting defeated in battle will put you right outside the dungeon you were in, or spawn you at the nearest rest-point or latest treasure you acquired.
“…Cat Quest III feels like the most polished and colourful of the trio, helped in large part by the large separations of ocean and land.”
Furthermore, a second player can drop in at any rest point for seamless and easy couch co-op—and those rest points are pretty abundant. It’s an experience that’s clearly leaning towards a younger audience and doing a lot to make the experience fun and approachable for them.
But I think the thing that really stands out about Cat Quest III and I suppose both its predecessors is its visual style. While every Cat Quest game laid its world out on what feels like an interactive map—complete with area names written on the ground—Cat Quest III feels like the most polished and colourful of the trio, helped in large part by the large separations of ocean and land.
There’s a beautiful mix of greens and blues present at every moment making the whole game feel so vivid and colourful. This is definitely helped by the adorable characters that both look and feel much more alive, animated and polished bringing the series’ playful cartoonishness into the fold, but with much greater detail and style.
Cat Quest III is definitely shaping up to be an excellent experience for both kids and adults alike when it releases on August 8, 2024—and for a modest $19.99 it’s definitely not going to break the bank.
