There is a
prophecy, one that displeases Lord Zetta, the proclaimed ruler of the
Netherworld. And when he encounters Raiden, sent by an unknown master serving
the prophecy to destroy him, it appears that all Zetta’s fears are about to
become a reality. Well … until he destroys Raiden, and thinks his woes are at an
end, if for no other reason than he is “one bad-ass freakin’ Overlord.”
But when he
looks in the Sacred Tome, the book that displays all that is going to happen, he
discovers that all is not well. On the verge of destruction, Zetta binds his
soul to the Sacred Tome.
Of course,
Zetta is not happy and wants his kingdom back. So he turns to Pram The Oracle,
who creates a netherworld for Zetta to gain control of. But since Zetta is a
book, he has a long way to go before that world becomes his.
Makai
Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome is a PlayStation 2 release from Nippon
Ichi and is a turn-based anime-style two-dimensional game that tantalizes with
colorful environments, solid character development, but generic gameplay. This
really, in many ways, feels like a “been there, done that” type of game.
You really
begin the exercise with a brief tutorial and then you have to bind souls to
objects to create your first party. Essentially, you stand next to an object in
the environment and bind a soul to that, with the created character deriving
attributes from the object used to create him or her. For example, stand next to
a rock and bind a soul and the created individual will have higher defenses than
others, but won’t have the skills to be a mage.
After
creating a party (from healer, magician, junk dealer, pickpocket, witch and
apprentice templates), you begin the task of regaining a netherworld for Zetta.
Using Makai gates, you jump to different areas, which are basically
dungeons/stages. Clear the stage, develop/level your team members and move
upward to recapture all that Zetta lost.
Where the
game departs from the usual fare is in the Invite system. As you move through
the world, you will encounter enemies. You counter by moving the cursor onto
Zetta, the book, and then inviting pre-created team members to join the battle.
You can summon your entire team at once, or a few at a time. Each stage has a
numerical value assigned to it. Defeat enemies and meet the point total of the
stage and the stage is cleared and you advance. Run out of allies and it is game
over – so it is wise to save before entering a stage.
There are
several phases to the turn-based combat of the game. You move the cursor over a
character and decide whether to move anywhere within the radius of the red
movement circle that appears, then you can attack anything within a blue area
that appears if that option is selected.
The combat
basically comes down to commonsense in terms of equipping your party members,
strategy in selecting targets and movement. Consider this a chess match. There
is a bit of a learning curve in this game. The controls will seem awkward
initially when trying to move from one aspect (the move/attack screen) to the
execute/end turn screen. Executing combat ends a party member’s turn, so you
must watch how you attack and attack range.
Makai
Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome is a colorful game with many graphical
elements that are stock for these types of games. The sound, though, could use
some work. The game
has some really inane ‘dialogue’ moments. For example, when Zetta realizes that
beating Raiden solved nothing, according to the Sacred Tome, he mocks the book
with such sterling lines as “Sacred Tome? Ha! More like … Sucky … Dumb … thing!”
This is not
a bad game, by any means, but aside from the Invite system – having the ability
to create and call up party members – this game does not really offer a lot that
is new or different. The story is convoluted and driven along by dialogue that
is, at times, disjointed. Perhaps it just didn’t translate well. That said, if
you are a fan of the genre, this is a game that may not set new standards, but
it will certainly present a bit of a cerebral challenge.
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Gameplay:
7.0
This is turn-based combat with dialogue that does not flow but you have to
advance with the X button on the controller. There are load times, but this is a
game that moves slowly. The controls border on the intuitive and then juxtapose
into “which button do I push again to execute the combat?” There is a small
learning curve here.
Graphics:
7.7
The special effects are nicely rendered for a 2-dimensional game that tries to
take on the appearance of three dimensions is an isometric viewpoint. The
animation is so-so, and the cutscenes do not really keep the theme intact. The
static artwork of the characters bears no resemblance to the game sequences.
Sound: 7.0
The music is lilting
and does not add any kind of mood to the game, and the voice acting is over the
top.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 7.5
The game does have a
new trick, or two, but for the most part, this is the same as most other anime
turn-based combat exercises.
Overall:
7.3
Not a bad game, but do not expect to be blown away by the story or innovative
gameplay. The Invite system is very nice, but the game moves slowly. A solid
turn-based combat title that may have appeal to those who really like this style
of game, but there is relatively little here that will pull in new fans. All
that said, Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome is an average game with
solid graphics but slow-moving gameplay.
