Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome

"The best of both netherworlds"

Nippon Ichi has been releasing some fantastic strategy-RPGs over the last few years, and their latest installment Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome is a Nippon Ichi fan's dream come true.

Makai Kingdom throws you into the role of a netherworld Overlord in a multi-universe space, inhabited by a plethora of universes, all of which having their own netherworld(s). That might be a lot to absorb, but stay with me.

You play the role of the most powerful Overlord who has ever been, Zetta. In an unfortunate turn of events, Zetta placed his soul into a mystical book called the Sacred Tome, in order to avoid destruction. As Zetta, you command an army of troops ranging anywhere from sword-swinging warriors, to gun-slinging infantry...

... to pie-toting, giant-robot riding, vampires.

In this strategy-RPG, Nippon-Ichi has once again done away with the popular grid-based system of old, for the "diameter" system pulled directly from Phantom Brave. You can now move your characters around freely within a fixed circular area based on the character's class and various pieces of equipment.

The building system has been retrofitted to one similar to Disgaea. As your characters kill enemies they accumulate Mana, which can then be used to upgrade the characters class or build various things around Zetta's domain.

Another new addition to the fray is the introduction of facilities. These facilities are buildings which you can use to store characters or items. You can then summon them into battle and unleash your army from within. This provides various strategic benefits, and many of the facilities also provide addition stat modifiers to the characters that are released from them.

And then there's vehicles. Characters can pilot vehicles ranging from flying ships to bouncing cars. These each have their own set of stats, and abilities, as well as equipment designed especially for them.

With all these additions, and the errant humor throughout the plot, Makai Kingdom is definitely one of the top choices for console strategy role-playing this year.

Graphics:: 6

The graphics are the only real technical gripe one might have. Other than the range of colours, they somewhat resemble first-gen Playstation graphics. 3D landscapes with rendered pixels, looking something like Final Fantasy Tactics.

Sound:: 10

Personally I think the sound in this game accurately adds to the humor, and action. Every chapter adds it's own feel to the soundtrack, based on what's going on in the plot. Lots of good symphonic types, as well as somewhat celtic sounding tracks. The sound effects are well done, and both the english and japanese voice acting is not only well spoken, but clear and pronounced with the soundtrack.

Gameplay:: 10

Makai Kingdom is a conucopia of strategy. The game itself gives you enough information to get started on making your army, and leaves you to discover how to build the ultimate set of warriors. This doesn't mean however that it's easy. The game expects you to have a good sense of strategy as it pits you against difficult foes on random terrain in the most insidious of situations. It has the best aspects of Disgaea and Phantom Brave, without all the annoying inbetweens.

Story:: 8

Although hilarious, the story itself seemed somewhat dry and manufactured to me. It's well written, and executed brilliantly, but doesn't really leave you craving the next chapter. The story in this game is definitely overshadowed by it's gameplay.

Replay Value:: 10

With all the different career paths you can take your characters in, and all the randomized dungeons, obviously there's a nearly unlimited amount of replay value to be had. As is the norm of Nippon Ichi SRPGs, Makai Kingdom was designed with replay value in mind.

Overall:: 9

All in all, Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome is a very worthwhile addition to anyone's SRPG library. It combines humorous dialogue with rock solid gameplay and insane challenges to form a clear-cut strategy experience that will not leave you feeling sorry. Word of warning though -- don't make any plans for the next two months.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/01/05