Little King's Story

[Hero]

I got my copy today and so far it's wonderful. I don't see a single reason for it to be on the Wii, but it's fun and likable enough that I don't mind at all. I love the style, and it seems like there's going to be plenty of good tactical and strategic decisions later on.

James

Bought it and feel 100% the same - the game begs for some pointer interface and lacks one. Seeing this on the Wii without the one Wii-specific feature that could make a good game even better...its a bit of a drag.

GRANTED, not that big of a drag as I've been playing the hell out of this since Saturday. It definitely has a Pikmin vibe with exploration and combat. It regulates the sim building down to very simple aspects - you only determine when and what upgrades to apply to your kingdom. The game sets up the where, and there's no need to mico-manage a structure afterward.

There's no resource management, but plenty of treasure hunting. About 90% of found objects are worth loot, while the rest are either side-stuff collectibles, or items to equip. Aside from treasure, you also scour the world looking for rival kings to defeat and land to take over.

In fact the game has a very tongue in cheek and dark humor about it all. It's a surprise to see such in a game that's so bright, cute, and colorful, but apparently the devs wanted it that way. They felt making a cute game would offset and excuse the darker tones of conflict and yada yada.

And what conflict! I'm really happy that it's a straight forward affair getting into exploring and combat, and moreso that combat takes some thinking to get through. Granted the first few major battles are the Pikmin-dogpile affair. After besting the first rival king combat really opens up - enemies have resistances and weaknesses to certain attacks, bosses have exposed/invincible patterns to watch out for, and all of it requires planning out your squad makeup.

Unlike other RTS style games, only a certain number of citizens can follow the king at a time, and must follow the king in order to fight and explore. Some classes are apt to this from the get-go like Grunts and Hunters, while others can perform specific tasks well like a Farmer for digging or Carpenter for building. It's when the game opens into the second rival king battle that everyone serves a dual purpose. Now Miners can one-hit kill rock monsters while taking down boulder blockages, or Lumberjacks can take down trees and pesky plant-based monsters.

All in all I'm really impressed at the balance of a easy to learn, harder to master game with inviting aesthetics over darker tones. Oh, and the music is pretty damn awesome too - lots of Classical mixed with their own Dragon Quest-esque anthems.

So far I've only got two minor gripes. First and foremost the aforementioned lack of pointer support. There's a targeting feature that shows the line of movement that citizens will run, but it snaps onto things a little too easy and stubbornly stays there. It's something I've gotten used to but still think a pointer would've been better. The other quibble is that there's two very different vibes from the game. In the beginning its all about exploring and discovery. Once you've grown used to the mechanics it becomes very campaign-focused with the need to grind loot for nation building. It's not a bad thing per se and I see why the game needs to get harder (to justify the length), but I was really enjoying the simplicity in finding new locales.

[Low]

Down to $30.

[Yoshi]

Gamers who like video games rather than feature lists are the market, so you can stop acting like XSEED is trying to rip $50 out of your wallet.

Down to $30.

I guess XSEED didn't know their market as well as you thought. Dropping $10/month is impressive. It'll be the correct price in two more months at that rate.

[kingoffighters]

I have no idea if this game is any good. It does look pretty interesting but not having Wii (pointer) features on a game like this hurts it. Of course, we all know that's not the reason why it didn't sell. Wii audience don't buy real games.

[Yoshi]

Don't forget that it had to compete with the masterpiece that is Wii Sports Resort.

edit: Jesus. Look at this list.

[James]

I guess XSEED didn't know their market as well as you thought. Dropping $10/month is impressive. It'll be the correct price in two more months at that rate.

Oh go on, amuse me with your idiocy- explain why Little King's Story is a $10 game.

James

[kedawa]

It's an obscure Wii game that could have been done just as well on Gamecube almost a decade ago.
Regardless of the quality of the game, $10 seems to be the going rate for such things.

[James]

It's a full game that gives hours of entertainment, has an endearing style, plays well, and it a lot of fun. $50 was pushing it, maybe, but the quality is there. It's not a $10 game. You're wrong to say so. Is tripling (or quadrupling, whatever) the polygon count and adding some bump mapping really worth the extra $40? Do you actually play games or just watch them?

James

[Hero]

No, it's just much in the same vein of incremental generational narcissism and demands for self-entitlement. Much like how people think you're a sucker if you even buy music these days - it's a self-perpetuating idea that everything is supposed to be free. Or at least in incremental terms, that something should be $10 based on some anomalous hierarchy where graphics, achievements, leaderboards, and other side minutiae justify the high price of a game moreso than what the game actually plays like, how long it lasts for, and how it's constructed to compel you to go back to it again and again.

[Yoshi]

It's a full game that gives hours of entertainment, has an endearing style, plays well, and it a lot of fun. $50 was pushing it, maybe, but the quality is there. It's not a $10 game. You're wrong to say so. Is tripling (or quadrupling, whatever) the polygon count and adding some bump mapping really worth the extra $40? Do you actually play games or just watch them?

ok. So Mega Man 9 should have been $50 then. I understand your view perfectly.