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Graffiti Kingdom is a tricky game to judge. Looked at coldly, it's a middling action/RPG with a dated graphics engine and kiddie presentation. Bring in the slightest touch of human emotion, though, and its charm, humor, and creativity will blow away any reservations about its somewhat low-budget feel. Besides, there are very few games in the world that let you create a motorcycle sheep, then arm him with a Horned Headbutt of Doom and Floating Fluffy Bashers.
Graffiti Kingdom starts out peacefully enough, with Prince Pixel once again having sneaked away to explore the castle. One small cinema later and he's accidentally unleashed the demon locked away in the castle basement, gained a guide in the form of a boxy dog named Pastel, and learned to wield the Graffiti Wand. With the castle transformed into the demon's realm and everyone imprisoned within, it's up to Pixel to journey into the heart of demon country and set things right again. Which makes the story sound all very dramatic, but it's actually charming and a lot of fun. As the game progresses and the cut-scenes go by, Pixel's overwhelming self-confidence never once wavers, causing as much exasperation for the demons in his path as poor Pastel, who manages more than a few snarky comments back at Pixel along the way. Graffiti Kingdom also manages the rare feat of balancing the cut-scenes with gameplay, making the story feel like a treat for getting through an area while not bringing the game to a screeching halt as the drama flows by in extra large chunks.
The gameplay itself is pretty standard, but not badly done at all. Running through areas and smacking around monsters has been a staple of video games for decades now, and Graffiti Kingdom does it fairly well. There are dozens and dozens of different creatures to fight, with all sorts of attack patterns and abilities. The levels have a pleasantly stylized look to them, some looking like they're made from construction paper and others taking place in sand castles or even a cartoonish outer space. Different elemental attacks can even effect parts of the environment, like an electric punch sending a shock through water, zapping any creatures in it. Though the graphics won't be winning any major awards for detail, the creatures and settings are a lot of fun to see and play with.
The heart and soul of Graffiti Kingdom, however, lies in its creation process. Pixel himself has no offensive capabilities, but not only can he change himself into any monster he's fighting for a limited time by hitting it with the Graffiti Wand, he can also transform into just about anything you can draw, with the only limits being a few logistical ones in the creation tool. Want to transform into a walking kitchen table with floating attack chairs? How about a lion with laser eyes? A favorite anime character? A blob of slime with gooey attack appendages? Something twisted and wrong from the blackest depths of your soul? The tool is there to create it, and the movement editor even allows all four face buttons on the PS2 pad to be fully customized with whatever combination of moves seems best. Build a stable of critters, assign them appropriate attacks, and see how well they stack up against the opposition. There's still room for improvement in the creature creator (allowing a piece to be attached to another at more than one point would be nice, for example) but even as-is it's an amazing tool to play with. The sense of personal involvement, of "I created that", given off when a creation comes to life really can't be overstated.
Of course, there are still more toys beyond creating your own critter. It's an action/RPG, so there are levels to earn, skills to acquire, and goodies to collect. Leveling up is pretty straightforward; beating on a monster causes it to drop something, usually a coin worth a few experience points. Monsters can also drop a card, however, and collecting that card puts them in the Collection Box, meaning the creature can now be transformed into at any time. They can also now be edited, redrawn, added to, or studied to come up with new ideas in designing one's own monstrosities. Every creature in the game can be gotten, and the Box clearly states how many monsters are in each area and which ones have been acquired. There are also rare monsters that only appear in a certain place at random, as well as special cards hidden in out-of-the-way areas. Finding new creatures to transform into and fight as definitely counts as one of the cooler collectibles in a while, even though in the end it's more fun to play as one's own bizarre creations.
Overall, Graffiti Kingdom is a game that rises far beyond its limitations thanks to some amazing creativity and a huge dose of charm. Weak voice acting doesn't manage to sink a group of likeable, entertaining characters, and the relatively standard run and smack/kick/shoot/headbutt action is elevated by it being your creatures, that you personally design and construct, performing all those actions. Games as unique, creative, and just plain fun as Graffiti Kingdom don't come along every day, and it would be a shame if it got lost in a sea of games trying as hard as they can to be just like everything else.
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