I have been on the search for an Adventure Time game for a few months now. Ever since I re-watched the show, I wanted something where I could revisit the characters and have one more quest together.
Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion managed to scratch that itch just right. Imagine exploring the world of Ooo and all its characters in 3D! This game does that and much more, let me tell you all about it below.
What Is Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion?
This Adventure Time game was released in July 2018 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
The story sets you in a flooded Ooo where Finn and Jake explore kingdoms by boat, trying to find out why the land has sunk underwater. Along the way, characters like Marceline and BMO join the crew, turning this into a four-character party RPG with turn-based combat.
It is one of the only Adventure Time games that included characters from the later seasons right at launch, making it feel fresh and up-to-date with the show.
The familiar voice actors also return, so interactions sound authentic, and the constant jokes and songs during sailing sections bring back the series’ trademark silliness.
Combat in This Adventure Time Game Isn’t That Deep
In Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion, combat starts basic with attack, guard, and use items, but it layers more complexity fast enough that it doesn’t feel stale. The best part? Using items doesn’t take up a turn, which keeps fights flowing.
There are also special moves. BMO’s apps include features like Freeze, Burn/Overheat, Shock, and Analyze, which reveal enemy weaknesses. These moves often carry the risk of status effects, also called bunks, that change the flow of battle.
One of the more chaotic ones is Flip Out, my personal favorite. When a character or enemy is inflicted with this bunk, they lose control of who to attack, acting randomly until they calm down.
Other bunks include Flumped, which lowers defense, Freezing, which drastically slows speed, Overheat, which makes you take burn damage, Poo Brain, which disables all special attacks, Boggled, which lowers accuracy, Sleepy, and Shock.
You can counter many of these bunks with items, resistances, or by stacking your party’s special attacks smartly.
Also, character ultimates and special moves give you a strategic edge. Finn’s ice sword can freeze, some moves can burn enemies, and others stun or cause multiple bunks. Since you can upgrade special attack energy, once BMO joins, managing those becomes a key part of winning tougher fights.
Exploration & Character Abilities: Why It’s More Than Just Sailing
Kingdoms are mostly water, and travel by boat is a core part of the layout. This means shipwrecks, islands, rooftops, and other features appear as exploration hubs.
Stopping for floating loot, treasure chests, or completing side quests rewards you with money, healing items, new special abilities, or story content. So while combat is what you expect, exploration has enough touches that it feels like you’re actually adventuring, not just moving between battles and cutscenes.
Between kingdoms, sailing is a vibe in its own. Fin and Jake always have a shanty ready between quests, and the constant banter between characters brings back memories. You can never let your guard down, pirate ships and a mysterious kraken sail these waters, and fights can break out within a flash.
Stopping for floating loot, treasure chests, or completing side quests rewards you with money, healing items, new special abilities, or story content. So while combat is what you expect, exploration has enough touches that it feels like you’re actually adventuring, not just moving between battles.
Exploring the flooded-over world of Ooo isn’t just aesthetic, character abilities affect how you move and what you access. Marceline, once recruited, can smash open locked chests or break objects others can’t.
Jake can grow larger, giving physical boosts or enabling traversal over gaps or obstacles. BMO has non-combat abilities to open electronic door panels or interact with machines, and sonar to detect nearby loot or secret paths.
Technical Problems and Visual Style
As fun as it can be, the game shows its flaws pretty quickly. Animations are stiff, objects clip, and characters like Jake have strange visual quirks.
The cell-shaded art style sometimes breaks down, with outlines flickering in and out or vanishing altogether. On PC, the lack of settings is disappointing. Besides resolution and subtitles, there are a few customization options.
No rebindable keys, minimal video settings, and limited controls make the PC port feel unfinished. Render distance is locked low, which washes out the colorful Adventure Time aesthetic with foggy backgrounds that don’t match the show’s vibrant art style.
Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion Nintendo Switch Gameplay
The Adventure Time Switch game is playable, but it is far from ideal. Load times are noticeably long, sometimes breaking up the pacing of exploration and combat.
Frame rate drops are frequent, especially in busy areas like the Candy Kingdom, where enemies flood the screen. Entering combat can trigger stutters that make the experience feel sluggish.
Compared to PC or other consoles, the Nintendo Switch version struggles the most. The limited hardware shows through foggy render distance, jittery transitions, and slow performance.
Most pictures you see here were captured on my Nintendo Switch in handheld mode. I’d recommend sticking to it because playing it docked makes this nugget of a console chug harder than it was ever meant to.
If portability isn’t important, you should only consider the Switch port if no other option is available.
Why This Adventure Time Game Works
Despite its issues, Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion manages to deliver what matters to fans.
The humor feels true to the show, the voice acting is strong, and the lighthearted turn-based combat makes it approachable.
It is also short, often finished in just two or three sessions, making it ideal for casual RPG fans or anyone who wants a simple, fun distraction.
Its blend of open-world sailing and RPG combat almost feels like a smaller, sillier version of Zelda: Wind Waker. The difference is in the tone, this game doesn’t try to be epic, it tries to be silly and funny, and that works in its favor.
Should You Play This Adventure Time Game?
Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion never set out to redefine RPGs, but it succeeds at being one of the better Adventure Time video games.
The combination of turn-based battles, open exploration, and silly dialogue makes it fun even with the bugs and technical limitations.
On Nintendo Switch, the experience is rougher, with longer load times and stuttering performance, but still playable for dedicated fans.
If you love Adventure Time or want a game that proves turn-based combat can be silly and enjoyable, this is worth picking up, preferably during a sale.
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