King's Field: The Ancient City

"Everything I imagined from King's Field in Next-Gen graphics."

Ah..what can I say? I'm a King's Field fanboy. I'm trying to track down the original Japanese version, but with no luck. Anyway, this game is everything I would imagine it to be, in all the glory of Ps2 graphics. It was a long time between this game and KF2, and hell, I didn't even know it was out yet. So I was quite shocked when I saw it on the shelf, and didn't think twice about buying. Anyway, on to the review part. (yay!)

Controls-9/10
Well, I love the controls. They're just perfect for this game. Like I said in my King's Field 1 Review, the controls are kind of clunkish and a little sluggish at first. But, you get used to them, and then they grow on you. They're not exactly your model FPS controls, but the game isn't an FPS, so that works. But it is damn hard to switch from Unreal Tournament to this game..but we won't get into that. heh.

Gameplay-10/10
There are so many hidden aspects of this game. I won't spoil anything, but each King's Field has a major magical secret that isn't mentioned in the manuals. It's really powerful to those who learn it. Some of the enemies in the game are alot easier than the previous games, and some are alot harder. Attacking the NPCs has become more of a factor in this game. One of them actually HAS to be attacked. Also, you don't have to sit there and whack them for an hour before they die like in previous KF games. Two or three hits should be suffice.

Graphics-9/10
They're beautiful. So..polished..so..clean..-screams- I just love the graphics. The graphics have always fitted the King's Field games. In this game, you're in a completely different world..and the story isn't quite as dark and mysterious as the previous games. Therefor, the characters have faces. (And the ps2 can draw faces better than PSX ^_^) The enemy models are just completely beautiful. The graphics in this game give GameCube and Xbox graphics a run for their money.

Sound-10/10
Again, not much has changed from the other games in the series. Although, the BGM is more upbeat than the other games, it's still dark like the atmosphere of the game. The sound effects of the weapons actually fit the weapon this time though. When you swing a sword, it sounds like it's cutting through the wind.

Story-6/10
Just like the King's Field legacy, there's not much story to it. It mainly focuses on exploration. It's a bit more linear than the first two though. You play the role of Prince Devian. The king was presented with an Idol, of which he loved. Almost as soon as he got it, the Kingdom started to fall..he learns that the Idol is something called the Idol of Sorrow, which was a story told amongst the Elves. Our boy, the Prince, was given this idol by a strange wanderer, who told him to return it to the Land of Disaster..and that's your mission. Return the Idol to the land of Disaster, make everyone happy. :-D

Buy or Rent--
BUY BUY BUY!! I cannot stress this enough..unless you play this game to no end in the few days that you have, (which you probably will) you won't beat it. Even still, the most seasoned KF veterans take weeks to beat the game..it's a truly long game, and that's what the KF series is best known for--really long, adventurous games.

Overall-10/10
I just love the game. I feel it's the most underrated RPG ever. It's a good way to stay away from such mainstream, overrated, pointless games like GTA and such. (not to bash GTA, but yeah.)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/03/02, Updated 11/03/02