A Tale of a King and his (many) Princess(es)
Riddle me this, readers... If I told you that this game was sort of a cross between Pikmin and MySims Kingdom, would you run away screaming, or read on in eager excitement? Those who have selected the latter are in for quite a treat. While the premise doesn't exactly look perfect on paper, the execution of this game was made elegantly and brilliantly. Little King's Story is truly a diamond in the rough, a masterful work of art lost in the sea of mediocre Wii titles. However, it isn't without a few faults, and that's why I'm here, to cover every inch of this beautiful (but somewhat tarnished) game in my review of Little King's Story.
First and foremost, I will give you a heads up; Little King's Story may look like your average cutesy video game, but trust me, it quite lives up to its T-rating. How, you ask?
Well, we'll just let this guy speak for it.
Despite its kid-like art style, the game's humor is over-the-top and hilarious at times. I mean, if that image of King Duvroc up there didn't convince you, I fear for your soul.
But then again, humor didn't ever drive a game solely by itself (I mean, just look at Matt Hazard *bah-dum tish*). The controls for this game are pretty easy but very awkward at times. When you want to line your groups up in the order you want them, you have to press down a bunch of times until the townsperson you have selected is available. It doesn't seem too bad in hindsight, but when you're in the middle of a firefight with a giant bone dragon and your selected grunt units aren't available, you can expect many deaths. Same goes for the formation controls, which really hinders progress in this game. Aside from that, however, the game controls very similarly to Pikmin, and it's easy to pick up and learn for novice players.
The combat is just strange. Whenever an enemy is about to attack, steam shoots from his head and he attacks a few seconds later, forcing your army to retreat. After he attacks, swarm him again. Rinse lather repeat until said enemy/boss is dead. This constant game of attack-and-retreat annoys me quite a bit. I can justify it for bosses, but when I have to spend 10 minutes just to kill one giant chicken, there's probably something wrong here.
Aside from actual combat, the bosses of this game are very clever if not pretty frustrating. Before each fight, you are given a slip of paper dubbed a "God Memo," which is a strategy toward defeating said boss. Why these people leave these slips of paper out in the open is beyond me, but whatever. Some of these bosses can range from quiz bosses to (very annoying) pinball bosses. Each kingdom has its own unique boss fights, and almost all of them are very different from each other.
Now we'll talk about the strategy/MySims Kingdom portion of the game. Throughout your travels you will encounter many different items, many of which don't serve much purpose, but you can sell them for money when you return to your throne room. You can then use this money to purchase buildings, when you can add villagers to your town and give them jobs. These jobs all have different purposes. For example, the farmer allows your townspeople to dig up cracks in random areas and unveil healing springs, while buffed-up lumberjacks can chop down giant stumps that block your path to other areas. It's essentially like the different colored Pikmin, but a lot more extensive.
The graphics aren't too impressive, but they aren't very bad, either. Some of the enemy textures and bosses could've used a little bit of a graphical makeover, but all that aside, it's a nice-looking game.
If you're tired of all the banter about Pikmin and want to play a game that feels more extensive than it, than this game is for you. Even if you aren't looking for that kind of thing, I still suggest you rent this one and give it a try. It may just bring out the little king in you.
