Cat Quest III, the third entry in this charming feline ARPG series, comes emphatically on the heels (paws?) of the co-op focused sequel from 2019. While the original cat-venture dialled back the role-playing formula to a highly basic level, almost to a fault, developer Gentlebros this time strikes a nicer balance of depth and accessibility. The result is a vibe that feels far closer to early Zelda or Secret of Mana — with cats and pirates, that is. At the same time, the experience maintains a delightful pick-up-and-play design and instantly enjoyable combat. These elements, along with the usual silly cat puns and vibrant visuals, kept me endlessly drawn to my Switch like a kitty to its catnip, frequently picking it up while finding it difficult to put down.

While the second game in this popular indie franchise expanded things via multiplayer and a larger overworld, this sequel adds pirate motifs, ship battles, and diversifies the colorful, isometric lands. This time, players take the role of a cat-pirate prodigy who sets out to explore a slew of island worlds, both by land and by sea, to secure the coveted Northern Star Treasure before the maligned “Pi-rats” get their hands on it. It's a fun new stylistic twist on the series, much of which brings shades of Wind Waker and even a bit of Assassin’s Creed IV. Of course, the game takes a far simpler, borderline arcade-style approach to this formula, though this simplicity is partly what draws me to the Cat Quest series in the first place. 

At the same time, some details are further explored and fleshed out here, which adds plenty of welcome meat to both the core campaign and peripheral bits (side quests, collectibles, progression). Cat Quest III adds elements such as a deeper, more refined co-op system; a second player can now seamlessly jump in and out at once among many friendly NPC parrot stands, which is also where players can easily heal and save. Deeper, more numerous dungeons and towers are also brought to the fold and scattered across the islands — some of which shift the perspective to a more classic 2D scrolling one. While I still could have done with some larger overworld areas, these indoor settings at least mix things up and add more of a dungeon-crawler feel, like a more typical ARPG.

Perhaps the most notable addition is the aforementioned ship combat and travel. For the most part, I had a “blast” as I boosted and shot my way through enemy ship ambushes strewn about the seas. But it should be said that these can really only loosely be dubbed “ship battles”, as they consist of a couple of attack modes via different cannon types. These are tediously shot from your often-slippery vessel as you zip through the seas in a wild dance with an enemy ship. Upgrades and customizations (such as added ship health) do exist — as they do with land-based combat — though they are few and far between. Still, these mechanics are usually “good enough”, and the nautical bits only comprise maybe 20% of the game. 

Like its predecessors, Cat Quest III’s core experience lies in the quasi hack-and-slash combat on land, as well as firing off limited-use spells, and, for the first time, guns. Seeing my 1700s era pirate cat spamming his “Meowchine Gun” at rats with eye patches was an amusing sight to behold. My melee weapon of choice was typically the Wolverine-esque Tri-Claws, which allow you to swipe and shred foes with a vengeance. Included this time is the ability to quickly swap between a melee and long-range weapon, bringing a hint of tactical gameplay to the button mashing battles. My preferred attack method involved peppering targets from a safe distance with my Ice, Fire, or Arcane Wand, then swooping in all nimbly-bimbly and finishing off the Pi-rat foe with claws while they were vulnerable. 

You can also tinker with several different spells, which, like most weapons and gear, can be earned or discovered at different points across the map. A few of these spells can be juggled at once, thanks to a seamless hotkey interface that allows you to strike enemies with a barrage of fire, ice, electricity, and (frankly overpowered) arcane magic. These abilities, coupled with a quick dash/dodge feature, help round out a smooth, entertaining combat system that’s easy to wrap your head around and feels great. This is all despite being thrown many seemingly overwhelming offensive/defensive options, all of which are assigned different buttons. Everything has a nice synchronization for the most part. Gear also plays a big role, as it can be mixed and matched in various ways to complement your build. For instance, you might want to equip a fire-themed pirate hat if you favor the Fire Wand, as it'll boost your fire power.

For me, combat often still devolved into mindless button-spamming and frantically scurrying around like a scaredy-cat (sorry). Still, the sharp mechanics and intuitive hotkey system allow you to play a more strategic, evasive role if you choose. After all, things can go south fast, and you'll sometimes need to attack foes and respond to their distinct movesets in the best manner. The co-op, which amps up the excitement even more, comes in handy for a more tactical, resourceful play style. Your kitty companion can play the supporting/survival role of healing and spellcasting, while you engage at closer range. Or you may choose to back off and fire guns from a distance while they spam sword-slashes and spells from up close. The multiplayer not only turns up the action and entertainment, but also adds some depth to these cat fights.

Cat Quest III brings ample opportunities for growth and customization without typically feeling tedious or grindy. There’s always incentive to venture a little farther and plunder that new dungeon, or grab that heavily-guarded treasure chest at a nearby outpost. The charming and vibrant "Purribean" lands, somewhat small as they may be, beckon you to explore and plunder, and there's quite a bit packed into them. As you might suspect, gaining levels and new, stronger abilities is mainly done by slaying gaggles of distinct Pi-rat foes crawling about. There are also a handful of epic boss fights, as well as several tougher minibosses that yield bounties from an Assassin’s Creed-style bounty board. 

Examples include the vampiric Dratcula and the hard-rocking Captain Meowtallika who attacks with his electrified guitar while on a concert stage. The latter was a particularly amusing fight, being the Metallica fan that I am. It should be noted that the more basic baddies are often easily disposed of and can verge on shallow; as long as you take a bit of time notching a few side quests and do some grinding to gain strength. Still, you’ll want to use your collected gold for gear and spell upgrades — the latter of which I laughably didn’t even notice until hours into my campaign.

But even without these upgrades, I was sometimes able to take out enemies 10-15 levels higher than my own (and this was while playing solo on normal mode, rather than the easy difficulty which I bypassed). The later-game foes and inventive bosses are where the fun, well-crafted combat really shines, as you'll typically need to bust out many weapons in your kitty arsenal. It's these bouts where the game's difficulty and intensity rises above the simpler, "chill" realm that permeates much of the campaign.

There's a borderline-scant amount of items or gear to work with — though this simpler, more streamlined system works for this sort of game. In this context, I preferred keeping the swifter pacing up by weighting the usefulness of just a few equipment pieces here and there, rather than trying to compare dozens of them Diablo IV-style. You'll still find plenty of goodies, but they'll often be in the form of basic upgrades for gear you already own. This is a clever way to keep the rewards and progression system strong, and gives incentive to explore more of the map without being overwhelmed with countless items.

If there's one key nitpick, it comes the form the questing and objectives system — or lack thereof. From beginning to end, you’re given very little when it comes to outlined quest objectives and waypoints. You're often granted only vague indicators as to what you’re supposed to be doing next, or where it's safe to tread for your current level. While this minimalistic approach is fine given the fairly small world map, it can make things a bit confusing when traveling through the open-world archipelago's depths. With regards to the main quest, you’re given naught but a smattering of waypoints through star-adorned towers that point you in the right direction. The map in your menu screen also displays brief, usually ambiguous blurbs that touch on initiated side quests, which aren’t always clear until actually reaching the destination in question.

In-part because of its ambiguous nature (which may yield some mindless wandering), though mostly because it’s just so darn fun and charming, you can easily spend over a dozen hours getting lost in this cat campaign. “Leaving no stone unturned” and treading all corners of The Purribean will add a few more hours. But it will likely fly by like a sprinting cat. Cat Quest III makes venturing and fighting your way through the several distinct islands particularly rewarding and fun, and this holds even truer when it comes to the well-implemented couch co-op. The pirate and nautical themes add a neat new twist to strengthen the borderline-tired kitty motifs and puns — though there are still plenty of good bits on this front too. 

Cat Quest III successfully taps into and refines many appealing traits from its predecessors, while taking at least a moderate step forward. The combat and world design are especially fleshed out nicely. I do feel there's still some untapped potential as a whole — especially regarding the simplistic questing system. But Cat Quest III is nonetheless a delightful ARPG that embodies what I love about the genre: colorful themes, adventuring, and thrilling, fast-paced combat that also yields subtle depth. It’s purr-haps the most entertaining and cheeky in the trilogy, and certainly worth its $20 price tag.