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XGD > PSP > Kingdom of Paradise
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Videos | Title | Views | Length | Date Added | | 7 | 0:35 | 9/18/2008 | | 6 | 0:36 | 9/18/2008 | | 4 | 0:35 | 9/18/2008 |
Reviews Great!, December 17, 2005 Rating: 8.0/10 By Mitch Kingdom of Paradise is a truly unique experience made specifically for the PSP, which is probably what makes it so original and fun: it’s not handed down from any other consoles, or some sort of sequel that has been spawned off of another game. Kingdom of Paradise is probably the first in what I’m expecting to be a series, mainly because it is so good, and in my opinion represents the PSP, showing off its true power and letting everyone know that Sony’s new gadget is the epitome of awesomeness.
Kingdom of Paradise is packed with nearly 16 hours of game play, which is a whopper for the PSP, and quite amazing because it still has enough room to present itself with reasonably good graphics for such a small console. In this adventure, we take the role of Shinbu, a young, trained and determined fighter with a good heart. We’re not taking control of some bad-boy, rule breaking tough guy with an attitude: he’s a loyal young man who is heavily interested in Martial Arts, and is fairly good at them. We learn that in the past—not long ago—that Shinbu was formerly involved with the Seiryu, a section of his countries military which is dedicated to practicing Martial Arts. Shinbu was finally removed from the Seiryu after he came across some old, hidden away forbidden fighting styles which no one but his elders were aware existed. This really doesn’t have much to do with the story; it’s just some background information on our Shinbu here. What we’re really worried about is that former disciples of the Seiryu, just like Shinbu, are beginning to disappear and vanish at random. Shinbu, who has no aid of the Seiryu, has made the final decision to voyage out on his own across the country of Ouka, alone, to solve the mystery for himself. Across the way, you’ll encounter a lot of different characters, some which won’t appeal to your liking and others that will. Many of these characters are set across different areas, which you’ll find yourself in as the game progresses.
Be warned that if you were expecting a pleasant, happy, peaceful RPG about travelling the ancient hills in search of answer, you’re wrong. Kingdom of Paradise is a Japanese / Chinese fighting game with RPG elements that mainly revolve around Shinbu’s everlasting skill to pound the enemy into the dirt. What’s batter is that the combat system in this game is fairly easy to control and recognize, and the library of different moves and combos the PSP game contains is wide enough to keep you happy and entertained for quite a while, to the point where it doesn’t feel like you’re constantly replaying the same thing over and over again. A lot of the moves revolve around scrolls, which will sound a little odd at first: bugei and kenpu. Te bugei are the scrolls that contain the moves to be learned, and the kenpu are the titles that refer to them. Kingdom of Paradise does a nice job of designing different types of attacks, and they don’t look like they come out of other games. Of course, there are some Matrix moments here, where Shinbu can perform an extremely complicated move that Bruce Lee wouldn’t even be able to complete if he were doing lines of speed. Some of the problems I faced were actually quite annoying when it comes down to the fighting, and that would be learning new moves. A downed enemy will drop a kenpu, in which you will have to add to your library, and add it in with others to build your own combo. In my case, I didn’t enjoy this, because towards the finishing point of this game I was convinced I had enough kenpu and I had learned every possible move, I’d find a new piece and end up regulating a whole bunch of new attacks. Some of these attacks are even as powerful as chi, which are offensive tactics which have the capability of taking out every bad guy around you. Aside from my kenpu grudge, the fighting in Kingdom of Paradise is enjoyable and I don’t really have many gripes… after all, I shouldn’t, right? Kingdom of Paradise is based around performing stunning attacks, and it achieves that goal, and for that, Kingdom of Paradise is laced with gold. Some of them are really brilliant on the eyes, and you’ll be wishing more bad guys will show up just so you can perform that move again to leave yourself in awe. Once you pick up a sword, it’s hard to put it back down. Shinbu’s athletic to say the least, and with a gigantic blade in his hands, the flips and spins he can perform to cut up the enemy are spectacular. With certain chi attacks, you can take the time to use it all on a single enemy, and bite your lower lip as you think “damn, that must have hurt.” The fighting is extremely intense at times, especially when you have ten or so men on your tail. Ever encounter that moment in a video game where you’re on that roll, sitting on the edge of your seat performing visual eye candy that just makes you proud? You’ll feel like that a lot, because the speed in this game is quite harsh, and when Shinbu starts to move in a blur, plunging the tip of his sword out of the enemies back, you’ll feel a rush of excitement not too many video games can produce.
But don’t get me wrong, you’re not going to spend all your time staring at a small screen and mashing buttons until there’s no tomorrow. This is an RPG too, and there are a lot of RPG moments. Still, to my surprise, the PSP can pack a lot of megabytes of information, and Kingdom of Paradise doesn’t fail in that category. There is a lot of different audio files packed into this game, and a lot of the conversations Shinbu can get into in different areas can all be very detailed and rather deep if you listen to the dialogue. Talking to people is often needed in order to progress to the next bit of the game, because some characters hold certain information that allows Shinbu to move on towards his main objective, just like your average Role Playing Game.
Most of the areas you visit are highly detailed, and have some interactivity, so they’re not just good looking but boring environments. Each area has its different scenery, and the developers didn’t just concentrate on making one certain area detailed and pretty: everything has had its fair share of attention and detail. Different characters have rightly been placed in certain parts of the map, and if this were ancient Asia, you could probably count on everything looking similar to the world of Kingdom of Paradise.
If you’re a PSP owner, this is a must get. The fighting here isn’t mindless, but you don’t need a specific mind to enjoy it on that part. It’s fun, it’s long, and it’s a PSP exclusive. Play it.
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