Little Kings Story (Wii) Reviews

Review by Leo91 for Little Kings Story (Wii)
Rating:
This game has been on my radar for a while now, but I hadn’t planned on buying it on release. I’m so glad I did in the end.

To be honest, I didn’t really start getting into it until I’d unlocked a few options and saw how much depth it had to offer. It’s a game which at first looks simple but after all the layers are perfectly layered on becomes something of a monster (e.g. strategic positioning, precise choice in item distribution and party members etc.). It never feels too overwhelming though thanks to the perfectly judged learning curve and difficulty level. Moreover the world you’ll be exploring is huge, with plenty of side missions to delve in to if the eventual main goal of world domination becomes too stressful. Add to that the wonderfully diverse UMA (your foes, ranging from snails and mushrooms, to bigger creatures and bosses, like dragons and huge frogs) who all need different strategies in order to be overcome; a brilliant soundtrack made up of remixed classics; and wonderfully bizarre characters which remind you of the unrivalled creative prowess the Japanese seem to have when making great games, and you’ve got a recipe for a fantastic game which deserves all the praise it can get.

I’m 10 hours in, and I’m not even close to scratching the surface of what this game has to offer and having owned a Wii since Nintendo’s launch of the console way back when, I can safely say that this is up their with the best of the lot. If you loved the strategy elements and combat system of pikmin, the quirky characters and enemies of any Zelda game, mixed with the depth and epic scale of Okami, then you’re sure to enjoy what has been one of the surprise hits for me on Wii so far this year.

Review by J. Cartwright for Little Kings Story (Wii)
Rating:
Little King’s Story is one of the greatest Wii titles to date since the consoles release. It’s no shabby second hand title, this is a full on, top mark, well thought out game to break the Wii’s ice. This is no casual party game, this is a proper game. A game that wants you to sit down, get a drink and play with no distractions. If you have ever played and enjoyed Pikmin, this is the next best thing.

You play as the King and you’re goal is world domi…ahem, world unification. You manage your kingdom by building houses, recruiting soldiers/farmers/archers/miners and more to seize the land, collecting treasure and destroying any enemy or obstacle in your path. The more land you seize the more known you become and more people begin being attracted to your kingdom.

As the game pans out, the world moves around you. People in your kingdom talk to each other, fall in love, have picnics and the landscape gains refinement. You start off in a shabby, grubby and small little kingdom but as you adventure and spread your wings your kingdom begins changing. Wood becomes brickwork, long grass is cut short, animals start taking a liking to your place and more. You start off small but end up big.

The game plays at a 3/4 angle and you have full control over the King. You run around, listen to your citizens and perform quests like “defeat this monster at this place” or “Please check out this rumour over here” etc. These quests are optional and play along the main storyline so you always have something to do. Alongside that you search for treasure so you can buy new additions to your land. Throughout the world map you will encounter obstacles and enemies which need to be defeated but only certain men/woman can do the job. Need to take down an enemy? Recruit some soldiers. Found a tree in your way? Recruit some Wood Cutters. You might get to a point where you think you have seen it all but then suddenly the world map gets even bigger and you have more and more to see and do.

Little King’s Story features a story book style graphic and is very pleasing on the eye. Music is classical opera. Might not be your sort of thing but it works well in this type game.

My only gripes dropping this to 4/5 is that the game does not run all that well on 480p. If you have a HD like me, the game looks slightly choppy on the edges and can appear fuzzy on various textures. It’s fully playable though. The other niggle is that controlling a large squadron of different men can become troublesome especially if you’re in a panic and that quests (not story quests) can tend to repeat themselves occassionally.

Other than those small niggles, fully recommended. Buy it now!! The King is waiting.

Review by Mitya for Little Kings Story (Wii)
Rating:
I cannot praise this game highly enough. Nintendo has always struggled with a lack of quality third-party games on its platforms, but this is right up there with the best of them, although I wish it were marketed a little more as it deserves a wider audience.

The game sees you control a little boy who is appointed king of a ramshackle, financially struggling kingdom which is surrounded by other, more powerful kingdoms. Your task, in a nutshell, is to grow your kingdom, improve the lives of your people, invade surrounding areas (the inhabittants of which have all been infected with UMA, a sort of evil-causing virus).

You could call it “strategy lite”, since it doesn’t go into tedious depth regarding resource collection. You do collect stuff, but it tends to be surreal things like junk, turnips or “priceless” pieces of art which, to the untrained eye, look like a 5-year-old did them with a crayon.

But where the game really shines is in its charm and humour. Such attention to detail is on display here that you’ll just marvel at it. All your citizen classes act differently with their own quirks, and your main warrior rides a cow into battle. ‘Nuff said. There are so many amusing items to collect, amusing characters along the way, that it just oozes charm.

This is not so much a game for kids as a game that kids can play. Any game-loving adult will get a lot out of it.

Get it and let’s have a sequal.