Earlier, I gave my first impressions on Little King’s Story, the Action RPG title developed by Cing & Town Factory. While Arkham Asylum managed to wrest my free time away from this gem for a little while, I was able to return to the title and see it through to completion. What has been created here for the Wii is definitely a title that should not be missed by any owner of the console.
From the moment you boot up the game, it becomes apparent that this is a title with more style and charm in its opening cinematic than most contemporary titles have in their entirety. The classical music arrangements used as background themes, the painted quality of the cutscenes, the vibrant colors of the landscapes and townspeople: the whole piece feels like a work of art.
The utterly urbane nature of Little King’s Story is even reflected in the deep messages delivered by the other surrounding kings whom you must defeat on your journey. Concepts such as alcoholism, over-eating, loneliness, and even death and dying are tackled along your otherwise whimsical journey. In the realm of children’s titles, this one goes above and beyond to deliver something that is fun and accessible while delivering some subtle, valuable messages that are not pretentious or pushy.
The gameplay never really seems to get old. Just when you feel that things might be starting to get repetitive, you’ll be confronted with a boss that will require a totally different configuration of townspeople in order to overcome. I love that the game provides plenty of distractions for you on the way to the end goal. Finding hidden landmarks on the map, uncovering and documenting all of the monsters in the kingdom, tracking down hidden gems for one of your queens, even hunting for 100 different pieces of fan-drawn concept art will occupy your time when you tire of global conquest.
For fans of the Nintendo Wii, or anyone that just appreciates a well-constructed game that isn’t going to stress you out, go out and pick up a copy of Little King’s Story at earliest convenience. It took me close to 15 hours to complete the storyline, and even then there were plenty of sections of the map I had yet to uncover and tons of missions to be completed. This is a truly memorable title that, once the credits roll, will leave you wishing there was more.
Final Verdict – 9/10
