Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King

"Lupin the 3rd!"

Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King is the first non-import Lupin game to hit US shores since “Cliffhanger” back in 1984 (but it clearly wasn't named after Lupin for the US)
In any case, Lupin TOTSK is a very well put together game featuring elements of games such as “Metal Gear Solid series” and survival horror games and Puzzle solving similar to “ICO”. There is even a little mini-game featuring Fujiko that is similar to “Asteroids”
I'm pretty sure this game got a bad rep from people who hate anime but it could've been from those who enjoy violence over all else… but I digress…

So you start as Lupin and his faithful cohorts getting ready for a big heist, if only they knew how big the heist was going to be maybe they would have stayed home that day…
Lupins plan at the beginning was to steal the cups of victory and honor from a train so that's where you start the game. As you progress the story, it takes you to a small town in Europe where the cups are to be presented at a castle museum where they were originally.
You occasionally get to choose between Lupin, Goemon Ishikawa
and Daisuke Jigen.

This game is mainly focused on the stealth system where you must sneak up on enemies or disguise yourself as them to accomplish goals. During this you will occasionally be required to pickpocket to receive items some of which only exist as a “collectors item” which I'll get into later. The other main game element is survival horror, once you get into the later chapters you will see why.

The game features all the music from the Lupin series and more as well as the voice acting from the US cartoon network's adult swim airing witch puts the sound quality over the top… unfortunately I have to lower it back down due to occasional repetitiveness…

The graphics are terrific, they are 3D renders but look like cell shaded, the backgrounds are stunning and in depth, no pastes. The characters look perfect and our old friend Fujiko Mime has a see through dress. There are even great cut scenes!

The story is told very well and wouldn't you know it, it feels just like a Lupin episode… where at the end Zenigata still hasn't caught Lupin and Lupin makes amen's for everything bad.

Once the game is beaten there is actually a little replay value, anything you have stolen will be listed in your new hideout which will be available at the main menu upon beating once. That alone isn't enough but if you steal everything you will have a few extra things to do such as play the Fujiko game on the old neo geo in the corner of the hideout. There is more but it's more fun if you find out your self.

Well, it seems to have come all too quick, here is the wrap up.
5 pros and 5 cons will be listed now in order to help anyone who still hasn't decided weather or not to pick this up.

pros
1. Full array of voice-overs by the actual US cast!
2. metal gear and survival horror style Gameplay variants without over use of violence, darkness or twistedness!
3.stunning graphics!
4. comedy and drama mixed together into a perfect Lupin-esc storyline!
5.great for any Lupin fan or classic Anime fan!

Cons
1. Camera angles get in the way in a pinch…
2. Occasionally repetitive enemy lines…
3. some puzzles are hard to figure out…
4. enemy AI is sometimes difficult to deal with…
5. sometimes doing a simple task takes longer then it should…

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/25/06