Shinbu has
made studying the art of the sword his life-time pursuit. It is a passion and
way of life for him. It was not always so. At one time he was a disciple of the Seiryu clan, but then he did “something stupid” and was expelled.
And so he
lives in the town village in the eastern portion of the realm. He supplements
his livelihood by acting as a bodyguard to travelers. It is during his return
home from such an assignment that he sees a disciple of the Seiryu clan being
chased by members of the Kirin Clan. Shinbu steps in and fights off the pursuit.
The disciple is Sui Lin, and she has come to find the one-time student Shinbu
(he says nothing, initially). Something terrible has happened. The Kirin have
attacked and wiped out all of the Seiryu clan with the exception of Sui Lin. She
is the sole surviving member and thus heir to the role of clan lord. But she
doesn’t want it, and so she has come to find Shinbu, to see if he will serve as
clan lord.
That is the
preamble to the story of Kingdom of Paradise, a sprawling role-playing title for
the PSP handheld that carries more of the standard features of the RPG genre,
but departs from them at all the right moments.
The game is
from Climax and SCEA, and all one really has to do is launch the game to know
that this is something new for the platform. The intro is more like a movie,
with a lush musical score carrying the credits as though the player was in a
theatre.
The story
follows Shinbu’s quest of vengeance, which leads to ancient swords and
unification of the divided realm of Ouka.
There are
times when the story seems to be made up on the spot. His teacher in the village
give him his father’s sword, and then hurriedly – almost like an afterthought –
mentions there is another legendary sword.
While
Kingdom of Paradise has many elements familiar to fans of RPG titles, one area
where it deviates markedly is in the combat system. Shinbu is a sword master and
thus he will be taking on a variety of enemies with nothing but his sword
between him and a restart.
Prior to
entering an area where it seems likely that a battle will occur, players select
a bungei scroll. The scroll is, essentially, a pre-loaded attack combo. Players
can find the scrolls in the journey throughout the kingdom. These scrolls come
with slots that are filled with kenpu tiles, which are also found. Each tile has
a different attack (there are 150 moves spread throughout 15 different martial
arts styles, to there is a lot of diversity here). You load the kenpu tiles into
the bungei scroll to create your own unique combos. It is really cool stuff.
But that is
only half of the equation. The other half is Chi, the magical ability that it
tied to elemental objects. The more you use your Chi, the better it gets and the
more powerful spells you can cast.
Using both
of your offensive abilities has been kept simple. And the entire control scheme
of the game is rather simple. But the game is missing that second thumbstick –
you know, the one that controls the camera angles. The locked camera position is
decent, but there are times when the game almost feels like a side-scrolling
title, rather than the lush three-dimensional game it is. Being able to rotate
the camera would have been wonderful, but then, this is on the PSP and it is a
thumbstick shy of the PS2 controllers.
The game’s
graphical elements are very good. The character models are typical of the
Japanese style RPG style, but are still compelling, and the environments are
very well done. The sound goes from solid to silly with ease. Just when you
think the game’s narrative is pulling you in, it seems to jump over to a badly
dubbed English track of a Japanese movie, complete with the fast-talking
portions.
But
regardless of the minor obstacles, Kingdom of Paradise is a grand RPG with a
great combat idea. It is certainly deserving of more than a mere look by PSP
owners and RPG fans are likely to be enthralled with the create-a-combo pack
idea. It adds personalization to the game, and truly makes the experience
unique.
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Gameplay:
7.9
Load times are
minimal and the control scheme is easy to grasp. The combat mechanics have a bit
of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it is good stuff indeed.
Graphics:
8.0
The graphics are
very eye catching and the animation is solid. The locked camera creates some
frustration at times, especially when the gamer tries to rotate it using a
thumbstick that isn’t there. Only that and the small screen remind players they
are on a handheld and not playing on a home console.
Sound:
7.5
The musical score
is wonderful, the dialogue, and some of the dialects, can seem like a hurried
translation (a la the Godzilla movies) that the voice actors were improperly
briefed to do.
Difficulty: Medium
The challenge
lies in putting together the right bungei scrolls of kenpu moves for the most
effective combat combos possible. You will need them as you progress through the
story.
Concept:
8.3
While the story
itself is not totally new, and the general presentation is standard (in that you
can level up Shinbu as he gains experience) the combat ideas are rather
intriguing and quite fun.
Multiplayer: N/A
There is a
head-to-head battle mode included in the game, but this was not a release
version and so the mode was not available for testing.
Overall:
8.0
The game begs for
a moveable camera, and the plot – at times – seems like ideas were tossed in out
of the blue (the “oh yeah, and there’s another sword, too”). The voice acting
sounds like a dubbed Japanese movie at times. Those are the downside of the
game. The upside is that the title is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, the
animation is solid, the combat ideas are excellent, the role-playing elements
are very well executed and the game evolves at a steady pace with a lot of
action and story-driven moments. This is a fine RPG title and, quite honestly,
any PSP fan of the genre would be well served to own it.
