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Little King's Story

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btw does anyone know when the next wii harvest moon is coming out in europe? I thought marvelous created rising star to better market and translate their games in europe. and while the marketing part is better can't say the same about the other thing

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Certainly.

 

Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility is penciled down for a PAL release on Sept 26th (although I wouldn't believe anything until you see it on shelves).

 

If I'm not mistaken though, isn't this the sort of "last-gen portish version"? Not sure. I know there's a Harvest Moon game in development on Wii with much higher prodiction values.

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Tree of Tranquility is the new one, Magical Melody was the previously US-only game that was ported to the Wii for Europe. It took them almost two years, and it still had GameCube button prompts in it...

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I'm really surprised this game isn't getting more buzz on these boards. To me it loks like a one of kind game. There's nothing like this on other systems and looks like a game with polish and flair.

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I'm really surprised this game isn't getting more buzz on these boards. To me it loks like a one of kind game. There's nothing like this on other systems and looks like a game with polish and flair.

 

I agree... this title is like a Pikmin with some RPG elements... I'm looking forward to it!

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I'm really surprised this game isn't getting more buzz on these boards. To me it loks like a one of kind game. There's nothing like this on other systems and looks like a game with polish and flair.

 

I'm waiting until Rising Star confirm a European release date before I get myself hyped up.

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i want to see some videos of how you can build your town stuff like that and how your people interact with that town

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The game looks amazing, but I don't know how you can think it will be big. In what way? It won't sell very well if that's what you mean. BIG as in amazing then I'm with you there

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I can certainly see it gaining a cult following. Even when it was only just unveiled, it was being coined as "the next Zack and Wiki".

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I can certainly see it gaining a cult following. Even when it was only just unveiled, it was being coined as "the next Zack and Wiki".

 

Indeed, the game really looks like a pikmin game, which of course is not a bad thing ^_^

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This is gonna be another Wii sleeper with Zack&Wiki, Boom Blox, De Blob etc...

 

Yes it is, I don't care though as long as I get to play it and I get to continue playing hidden gems like this. :)

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With that kind of boxart, I expect it to be more than a sleeper hit. Parents'll see that and think 'Oh.... My kid might like to play that.' And they'll buy it. So you can think a bit more positively about this games sales in that respect. I could be wrong and it could just do really badly but I don't think it will. The boxart will attract kids attention as well as parents looking for something for their kid.

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I'll probably pick this up, it looks good fun. Plus it comes out after my Birthday.

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Loving it, Just loving it.....

Although I hope it's not TOO pikmin-ish, cuz then we wouldn't have something to look forward to....:shakehead

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'Scuse me if this has been asked before, but what's the meaning of the King's party travelling across Europe? With all the flags and all that? Could it be multiplayer?

 

Really looking forward to this, and thankful that there's no blood for Rising Star to omit in this game ^^

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Gamespot's impressions:

 

We got a fresh look at this cute Japanese role-playing game and discovered a range of quirky townsfolk, enemies, and quests to complete along the way.

 

The chaps from Rising Star Games paid us a visit recently and gave us a new look at the upcoming Wii role-playing game Little King's Story. As the name suggests, you'll assume the role of a child king in the game, with a modest kingdom at your command. As you meet your people, explore, and perform quests from them, you'll grow from strength to strength, along the way making a name for yourself in the history books.

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There are plenty of crazy characters and enemies to interact with.

 

One of the first, and possibly most important, structures you can build is a town square, for the price of 1,200,000 bol--the game's currency. Once it's built, a suggestion box allows citizens to give you new quests, such as tracking down and vanquishing a ghost cow that's causing havoc in the graveyard. You can build other structures, including guardhouses, to teach civilians to become soldiers, as well as train up other classes, including farmers and carpenters. Additionally, you can retrain any citizens if you find there are too many of one class--but at a cost of both money and time.

 

When you begin your epic quest, you'll have dominion over only five citizens at a time. As your empire grows and becomes more successful, you'll earn more renown, and your population will grow. Each new hut you build can accommodate two new citizens. As citizens' heath levels drop, their appearance will visibly change--their skin will age, their hair will whiten, and they'll be stripped of some armour. In addition to these visual clues, costumes will indicate what class your citizens are, which makes it easier to see at a glance what state they're in.

 

Little King has an uncluttered look, but there are still a few visual aids on hand. A minimap at the top of the screen shows a compass as well as resources, buildings, enemies, and other important items. Meanwhile, a separate window reveals an inventory and the status of your troops. A timer in the top left of the screen shows you what time of day it is, and unless you're on a current quest, your people will retreat to their homes at night. One cool addition is a live news ticker that gives you updates on your kingdom. Examples include "Got fungus," "Kate died," or even "Wow you must really hate your subjects" when giving them life-threatening tasks. If you have nearby citizens who are currently unassigned, they'll also tell you what they think of your leadership with approving or rude gestures.

 

The game has a cutesy, almost cel-shaded look, and it's hard not to draw comparisons (both in graphics and gameplay) to Animal Crossing's look and RPG elements and to Pikmin's real-time strategy gameplay. Combine that with a light, upbeat soundtrack from Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura, and the result definitely feels suitably cute and cuddly. We spent more of our time in and around the village and heard a few festive songs composed mostly of tin-whistle and accordion melodies, but we'd expect things to get more dramatic as you head to the open road. We came across a number of enemies, including slugs and turnip monsters that disguise themselves and then attack your unsuspecting farmers. It's always wise to have a range of classes at any time so you can assign soldiers to attack, miners to dig for gold, or farmers to harvest crops.

 

There are seven nations that surround your kingdom, and eventually you'll need to take over those territories through armed conflict. Before you do that, however, you'll need to build bridges to allow your troops to access those lands, and we're told there will be certain criteria that you'll have to meet before unlocking the ability to defeat some leaders.

 

One of the boss battles we encountered was a huge frog. The noxious amphibian spewed poison, sapping the health of some of our troops, and it even gobbled some up whole. Once you defeat a boss you'll gain the territory that it inhabited, expanding your dominion. You'll also be able to earn money from prospecting for gold where you see cracks in the ground, or through digging up vegetables, cutting up woods, and more. When your battle-weary soldiers need a rest, the nearby Alpoko Springs cures bruises, sprains, poison, and "geriatrics" (the aged signs of weak health).

 

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The hand-drawn style of Little King's cutscenes look great.

 

In our time with Little King we also encountered an amusing religious character called Kampbell, who is on a quest to build a Soup Church for the Sect of Soup. After an amusing little chat, he finished off a priestly blessing with a "ramen." Little King seems to have a good sense of humour, and with sprinklings like this we expect it will provide chuckles for all ages.

 

Little King's Story currently has a March release date in Europe, with releases in the US and Japan coming later in the year. It looks to be a fun addition to the Wii lineup for those who fancy making a name for themselves as a miniature monarch.

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