Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome

"A poor story but rock solid gameplay."

To start off let me just say that Makai Kingdom was created by Nippon Ichi who are the same creators of none other then Disgaea Hour of Darkness. Going in I expected nothing less then an amazing game and I have to say that they delivered however there are a few flaws that might bring the game down for some people which I will discuss later. Onto the review of Makai Kingdom.

Makai Kingdom didn't try to blow a player away with flashy graphics instead they focused on game play not to say the graphics are bad but they aren't exactly great either. There is however some nice art in the game which will be showcased in a few cut scenes but overall most cut scenes take place in front of the same boring background. Eventually it gets tedious and after every chapter you just want to throw the game out the window. They could of at least spiffied the scene up a little. Your characters on the other hand are a completely different story they actually look good but then once again something goes wrong. Each time you change your weapon it changes what your character carries. That's a good thing right? Uhh no. The weapon is 2x the size of your characters sprite. I believe the dimensions are off just a little bit. The battle areas are much like the same background used in almost every cut scene -- they are boring. I don't know why but each level made me feel like I was Disgaea going through the Item World. I'm sure you all remember how annoying looking those levels were. The graphics are mediocre at best but they actually serve well for the game if that makes sense.

The story is well.... horrible. If I didn't know any better I would say it was rushed 3-4 months because a 3 year old could do better. Whats even worse is the fact that the actual story doesn't even get going until the game is over. 20 hours into the game and finally something interesting happens but then BAM it's over. I was so pissed about the quality of the story. It actually will make me rank this game much lower then what I would of. The dialogue on the other hand is hysterical. Much like Disgaea Makai Kingdom offers some of the best lines in video game history. Almost every cut scene I would be laughing because the characters are all comedians. I honestly don't know how they can make the dialogue so good but the story so rotten. Bad and good at the same time.

Now to the core of the game -- game play. Much like Phantom Kingdom, Makai Kingdom (no relation) offers the same free roaming battle system/ Basically what they have done is removed the squared grid and put in a circle. You can roam anywhere inside the circle and the size of the circle depends on your MV stat. This adds more strategy to this type of game which in the end makes it better. As well now there are skills that have an AOE (area of effect) which with the free roaming battle is implemented nicely and adds even more strategy to your battles. Outside of battles you have the ability to create a whole bunch of characters who you can use in battle. However to create a character you need to confine them to an item. Basically items you find in battle or items that you buy you can create a character with. Depending on the item your character can come out with great stats or bad stats so try and make sure characters are confined to a good item. Another feature that is a lot like Disgaea is the ability to equip 3 different pieces of armor no matter what they are and 1 weapon. This holds true in this game as well. I'm not a fan of it but I guess it work. Overall the game play is solid, rock solid and is easily the best feature of the game.

Much like Disgaea or for that matter any other SRPG game Makai Kingdom offers loads of extras for you to do once you've completed the game. With a new game plus you can start all the way from the beginning with all your money, characters and equipment so that you can power level to get in and kill the ubberly strong bosses whom you wouldn't be able to beat your first time through. Power leveling mind you takes hours and hours and hours and the most patience possible but it's well worth it when you finally kick an overlords ass. I suspect the game alone will take about 20-25 hours but if you plan to do everything the game will run you at least 50-60 hours.

To end I highly recommend you pick this game up especially if you enjoy a good old fashioned RPG. Story isn't much but the dialogue and game play alone is worth $50.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/05