"Smashing, if overlooked Mega Drive classic."

I love noticing or playing titles that barely get the recognition they deserve. There are many scattered across the Mega Drive that deserved more attention, praise and glory but for some strange reason they never do claim the glory they thoroughly deserve. These hidden gems are the types of titles you sometimes spot in bargain bins, or for dirt-cheap prices on EBay or some other secondhand online store. Now you may see these titles at a car boot sale, role your top lip scornfully and walk on by condemning it to depths of hell. However, taking a chance for a small price is sometimes very rewarding.

Kings Bounty is a Strategy RPG. Yes, it may look outdated, but it should only bother those who complain about visuals over game play; the rest will see the gold underneath the visuals. In essence, your aim is to travel the land arresting criminals who have taken up base in random areas of the world. You have in your control at first a small band of peasants and sprites for which you can expand on as you traverse the lands and become a better leader; but they come at a price unless you find a few willing to join free of charge- until their first wage of course. There you have it. That is the basis for the game and you have a set amount of days to do such a thing too, which places challenge on the title. The coolest thing is that the game has the best random world I have ever encountered in a title so far. That is not to saying there are not any better out there, but enemies appear in different locations every time you play, this is fun because no two games are the same.

As for the battle system, it plays like a basic SRPG. Your characters pitted against the enemies in a battle to the death. You can acquire numerous movements from the likes of Peasants, Trolls, Wolves, Ghosts, Gnomes, Dwarfs, Sprites, Elves, Archers and Vampires. The thing is one Vampire, despite being a strong enemy, is not nearly enough in this game. Having 200 Vampires though, and you have a super strong troop. You can have five different troops on the field at one time. The more of that specific troop you have, for instance having 500 vampires, 200 Ghosts etc will fare better against 10 vampires and 5 ghosts. Some characters are obviously better. Peasants are the weakest of course and then later acquirable characters are stronger such as vampires- but they come with a better reputation and funds. You start with Peasants, but you need stronger troops in order to capture the more notorious criminals as they hire the strongest enemies the game holds. Now it is easy to want to have a stronger band of random warriors and creatures...but, yes, there is a catch, you are their employer and they want cash to serve in your army. Therefore, as you probably may have already guessed, a peasant will be reasonably cheap while a vampire may not. Try paying 200 vampires their wages and watch your funds run dry. Let us say now that you do have a semi-strong group of warriors, but you are unsure about what to do next. Well, Kings Bounty while it does not have a randomly generated world, its scattered enemies, allies, treasure and criminals are randomly placed every time you play. Your task then is to find all these criminals, while maintaining a strong troop and using your funds correctly before the allotted days run out therefore forcing you to restart from the beginning.

There isn't really that much to say about the visuals for a console that has been obsolete for more than a decade, but if you're the type of gamer who relies on visuals over game play, I'm hoping that by you playing (if you shall choose) Kings Bounty that you're opinion will change and you'll favor game play over visuals. As for the music, try listening to a looping tune repeatedly outside of battle and then a different looping tune repeatedly inside battles. The visual and audio front do not do Kings Bounty any favours, but it's what lies underneath all that that matters the most and while the game play is not stellar it is so much fun, you'll forget all of its short comings.

For me, King's Bounty was a title with a difference. While all eyes were preoccupied with the fantastic Shining Force, King's Bounty was easily miss-able, as it did not have the same cute appeal or marketing/advertising success as other titles released by Sega. King's Bounty is by EA by the way and competition to Shining Force, one of Sega's best series of all time. It uses the typical medieval look that most games around that time either did well or badly- King's Bounty looks like a pile of steaming pixel poop when compared to the cutesy visuals seen in Shining Force. Its box art is not very impressive either. However, there was something hidden between and beyond its shoddy surface that made me play it, and want to continue playing it until I completed it, not once but three times. It is a great RPG to play if you ever manage to find a copy and it gets my recommendation seal of approval. Let us hope that EA include it on their next EA Replay title for the PSP.

Pros and Cons

+ Very Fun Game
+ Deeper than you will initially think
+ Very replayable
+ Hidden Gem

- Poor Visuals
- err... I like the game so nothing else

If You Like This, You will Probably Like:

- Shining Force Series- the SRPG versions, not the crappy Hack N Slash titles.
- Fire Emblem Series
- Feda: Emblem of Justice
- Little Master

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/08/10

Game Release: King's Bounty: The Conqueror's Quest (EU, 1991)