Anybody out there remember
Tony
Tough and the Night of the Roasted Moths?
If you were a fan of Tony’s tongue-in-cheek humor, then you’ll
love Prezzemolo, even if it is a children’s
game.

Prezzemolo is a popular
cartoon, animal mascot for a European chain of theme parks, much
like Geoffrey, the Toys R Us mascot. Stefano
Gualeni – the scriptwriter for Tony Tough – has tapped
into his unique sense of humor to bring Prezzemolo to life.

The official
website is in Italian and there is also a downloadable
demo. Now my Italian is a bit rusty, especially
since I’m no longer dating Sophia and Gina, but for the purposes
of this preview Prograph was kind enough to provide
me with a special version with English subtitles.

Prezzemolo is a colorful,
third-person point-and-click adventure game. Much like the classics
of the past, on-screen icons represent
your choices: a hand means you can take an object; a magnifying glass
allows you to examine an object; a wrench lets you use or open an
object and the letters ‘ABC’ mean you can speak to a
character.

The game itself focuses
on Prezzemolo’s search for his friend
Bambu the Panda, an eccentric inventor who is missing. Prezzemolo
suspects that Bambu’s disappearance is somehow related to the
Tu-Dream Machine, an invention that projects your dreams onto a screen.

The supporting cast is a wonderful mix of colorful characters: Pagui
the scatter-brained sea gull, Aurora who glides across a room like
Morticia Addams, Tigey the friendly tiger and many more.

Almost every object in the world of Tanaboo is interactive and items
can be added to your inventory. While Prezzemolo is intended to appeal
to children, it is a little more difficult then the average Humongous
game, but not as complicated as a Tony Tough.

Prezzemolo is already
available in parts of Europe and they are currently seeking a publisher
in North America. The title character
is very likable and well-defined (though I must admit that his catch-phrase “In
the name of 1,000 strawberry pizzas,” makes not a lick of sense
to me). How can you not like someone who keeps an empty goldfish
bowl in his living room in the hope that a fish may one day jump
in it to live.