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[hellclerk]

THIS IS NOT "FFCC: MY LIFE AS A KING." THIS GAME IS BETTER AND A FULL RETAIL RELEASE.

And Hear the Lamentation of Their Women!~

Information:
Publisher: Marvelous Entertainment/XSEED/Rising Star Games (EUR)
Developer: CiNG/Town Factory
Genre: SimulationRTS/RPG
Number of Players: 1
MSRP: $49.99/€49.99/£34.99
Official Site: US site/Blog

Release Date:
North America: 7/21/2009
Europe 4/24/2009 OUT NOW!
Japan: Q3

Synopsis:
"This is good, but what is best in Life?"

You are the Young Corobo Bred, who one day stumbles upon a mysterious crown that gives him the ability to charm people and make them follow his orders. As King, it is now your responsibility to give your simpleton subjects the illusion of happiness and extend your reach of power to the rest of the world! Using the Wii remote and nunchuk, build your town, raise your populous, defeat the UMA around you, and then the vile infidels of neighboring kingdoms, if only to steal their wealth and women.

Now, gamer, would you not set forth with your small inner circle for the power to rule the world?

Gameplay:
"The open steppe, a fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair"

As said in the synopsis, the whole of the gameplay is designed around the expansion of your kingdom to the rest of the world. In order to complete this monumental task, you must first rise your kingdom of Alpoko by purchasing houses to train the lazy clods who first inhabit your grand land into your loyal and fanatical army. Train farmers, soldiers, archers, chefs, lumberjacks, whatever your country needs in order to defeat the barbarian pigs of neighboing lands.

Characters:
"WRONG! Corobo, what is best in life?"

Howser, the Bull Knight: A grand knight, and your most trusted advisor and general. He rides a cow and shows no mercy. With him under your command and his words of wisdom at your ear, there is nothing that can defeat you. Howser gives you the missions to expand your reign, as well as helps to you plan your grand Capital out as it builds.

Liam: The man-giant who is also right by your side as you gain your power. Behind his large, clumsy hulking exterior, Liam hides a fountain of knowledge and experience. His job is to advise the most efficient method of going about daily tasks.

Verde: A pretty, cheerful girl, her place under your man-god regal powers is Secretary of Records and deals with all of your in game information and statistics and to write down your grand rise to Man-God Emperor of the Earth!

The Harem of Princesses: As you go about uprooting the "legitimate" ruling bodies of other nations, there is usually a daughter of the newly disposed and executed regals. It really would be a shame to dispose of these... beautiful relics of the old rule. No, it would be best to keep them for yourself, isn't that right?

Your Loyal Subjects: Yes, each of your loyal peoples, each of whom would gladly give their lives for your grand, divinely attributed goal of gaining power of the world. Oddly enough, each of these plebeians has their own lives, goals, and aspirations. So, in order gain your dream that much sooner, talking to the townsfolk gives the impression that you actually care about their worthless lives, thereby making them all the better for using to increase your rule.

Corobo Bred: That's you, the king, the Man-God, the Ruler of the Earth as appointed by the heavens. What are you still doing talking to me? GO FORTH AND CONQUER!

Previews
"Crush your enemies,".

PALGN

Another breath of fresh air on the Wii, Little King's Story looks to be another quality title when it's eventually released. With fun gameplay and an always changing game world, it could easily be a sleeper hit.

GamesRadar

If there’s one thing all Marvelous games have in common (and we’re including Suda51’s Grasshopper oddities as spiritual bedfellows) it’s the focus on the little things. The quirks of the Harvest Moon girls, the pixilated pooch in Contact, hanging out with Travis Touchdown’s kitten; all unnecessary asides, but vital pieces of the puzzle. Little King’s Story has them in droves.

GameSpot

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.

1up (interview)

We're a little disappointed that the game lacks a few customization options, like letting you choose where to place new buildings rather than the preset way the kingdom currently grows, but so far, Little King's Story looks to be big fun, and we're eager to check it out more of it at this year's Tokyo Game Show.

IGN

Part real-time strategy, part Harvest Moon-type life sim, the game puts players in charge of a small town and tasks them with growing it into a vast kingdom. There are giant monsters guarding neighboring areas, and as they are defeated the size of your empire will increase. We got an extended look at this Story recently, and came away eager to play more.

Media
"See them driven before you,"

more screens and art

Insider Interview with Rising Star

other videos

Reviews:
"And hear the lamentation of their women!"

more reviews at metacritic

D-Pad Magazine 5/5

Little King’s Story is a game of stunning breadth, imagination and slickly implemented design, and filled with an envious degree of heart and soul. There are flaws; for example the Wii remotes capabilities aren’t used at all, organising your Royal Guard can be fiddly and losing thirty minutes of play by dying before saving can become frustrating. However, the fact remains that in grabbing hold of the Little King’s coattails, you should prepare yourself for an adventure that is unique, memorable and thought-provoking; that it manages to retain a sense of intrigue and progression throughout its 30 hours plus play-time is a testament to its quality. While many may dismiss royalty as being little more than a drain on the taxpayer, with Little King’s Story Cing and Town Factory have undoubtedly produced a monarch more than worthy of his crown.

Revogamers 9.5/10 (Spanish)

Don’t have any doubt: this is one of the games of the year because of its dedication, quality, talent and performance. Which has been perfectly polished at all points (except for the pointer, but it was deliberately), which offers a wide variety of reasons to play and which is suitable for everyone, absolutely every audience, including the fellow who watches while other plays.

For many people, strategy games are addictive, and they spend many hours playing until they squeeze their civilization. Others get bored by the slow pace and choose to directly play an adventure, passing over everything else. And this Little King's Story is giving small doses of the best of both genres in the exact order, making it a long, complex, varied, never repetitive and brain demanding adventure. This core is coated with a layer of artistic genius, one more of comedy, another one of great structure, and swims in a superb soundtrack, giving as a result a sensational videogame for anyone, who can play in long sessions or in little games. Essential.

NGamer UK 9.2/10

Whether observing these strange characters or listening to the laugh-out-loud-funny turns of phrase (disgusted letters from citizens about your many wives, for example), this is one of the funniest games on Wii. But that's just one tiny part of a game with a whole lotta love poured in. It has meaty gameplay that you can tear away in belly-filling chunks. It has a musical score that makes your journey across Alpoko into a literal trip through the works of Beethoven, Strauss and Rossini. It has charm and challenge in equal measure.

But most of all, when everyone else is mucking around in blood and guts, Little King's Story has the tenacity to be an actual game you can play and play and play. The first true essential of 2009, this little king towers above the competition.

Official Nintendo Magazine UK 92

We could go on for another four pages about all the genius little touches that Marvelous have crammed into the game. There is just so much to enjoy here. It's so refreshing to see a game that's not afraid to offer gamers a whopping Zelda-length quest wrapped in the sort of charm, wit and inventiveness rarely seen outside of a first party title. MadWorld and GTA might be great games, and are certainly more adult, but Little King's Story will be the one that reminds you why you fell in love with Nintendo gaming.

IGN AU 9.1

It's compelling and complex, deep and rewarding, surprising and above all entertaining. There are few other games on the Wii that can really share that much praise in a single sentence, so that's an achievement unto itself. It does have drawbacks – for all the polish, Little King's Story still has occasional gameplay quirks and shortcomings. But my god man – this is fine gaming. Ignore the box art , look past the cutesy presentation – Little King's Story is an enormous tale wholeheartedly worth exploring.

Edge Magazine 9/10

Perhaps the game’s greatest achievement, however, is a constant focus on you, the player, delicately changing the world as your kingdom expands. Every moment feels like it’s been lavished with attention; Little King’s Story is as rich as it is long, and it’s a very lengthy game indeed. Its central mechanic is unique, its world unlike any other, and its completion a Herculean task. It’s a game of rare quality, and exactly what the Wii deserves. It’s a true original.

Nintendo Power 9/10

A resounding success. [Aug 2009, p.88]

GamePro 4.5/5

Adorable, charming, and an absolute blast, Little King's Story is more than worth your time - and weighing in at about 30 hours, it deserves every minute it can get! A surprising and enchanting experience, I think it's safe to say that Little King's Story is a must-own title that I certainly couldn't have expected, which only makes this hybrid RPG's success all the sweeter.

Eurogamer 8/10

Little King's Story is not the best game you'll ever play. It's repetitive, it's lacking in depth and it can feel slow and frustrating at times. Plus it's got some dodgy politics and a rubbish save system. But it's the best game I've played all year, and that includes Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad. It's charming, engrossing and just plain fun. It's proof that Wii games don't have to be mediocre mini-game compilations or first-party Nintendo titles. It's a reason to be glad companies like Rising Star still exist, and that they're still making games like this. And it's got nice graphics. What are you waiting for?

Threadmaker's final thoughts
if you're in Europe and are still reading this thread, what the hell are you doing here? go out and get the damned game! These reviews are doubt blindingly positive! North American Readers? it's close, oh so close...

PREORDER BONUS FOR AMERICA!

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF LITTLE KING’S STORY NOW! Pre-Order Little King’s Story at participating retailers* and receive a free Onii squishable soft figurine. Cute, cuddly and insanely homicidal, the Onii is the most numerous of the UMA that infest the kingdoms in Little King’s Story.

at Gamestop

 

[Dascu]

The reviews are pretty amazing. Way better than I had thought.

Anyway, TheHut shipped my copy yesterday. Hope it arrives soon.

 

[John Harker]

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice, a doomed1-dascu 1-2 punch. threads off to a good start in my book.

game looks fun, should be a nice ride

 

[Netto-kun]

Not really a fan of strategy games, but the charming art style and positive reviews totally sold me. Ordered my copy from Play.com (£29.99), too bad they are out of stock at the moment. At least that'll give me some time to finish other games.:lol

 

[Ydahs]

An average of 88.6% from 10 reviews is very unexpected. A shame I don't have enough time to play it but I will buy it by the end of the year.

It was my most anticipated game at a point, but months of no news really dropped it off my radar only until recently.

 

[neight]

An average of 88.6% from 10 reviews is very unexpected. A shame I don't have enough time to play it but I will buy it by the end of the year.

Virtually every game gets an average ~80-85%.

The 9 from Edge though has me taking serious notice.

 

[Dascu]

Posted in the other thread, but... worth a re-post:
http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/club_nintendo/stars_catalogue_5823.html

You can buy the game for 5000 Nintendo stars off their catalogue. Pretty random of them to something like this for a 3rd party game.

 

[LOcKY]

I bought my copy from Tesco for £24.97 so i picked up straight away... i admit i was going to be a cheap arse and wait for it to drop as £34.99 is a bit out of my budget until pay (which is next week)

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR UK PLAYERS BUY IT NAaooW!!

 

[hellclerk]

Virtually every game gets an average ~80-85%.

The 9 from Edge though has me taking serious notice.

for reference, most review outlets have an overall review average of between 60% and 70%, so no. most games get in the 60s or 70s. the 80s doesn't make an amazing game, it makes an above average game. for the most part this has been pegged an a smart, unique game with a couple of weird quirks, but on the whole is very intriguing.

 

[neight]

60 to 70%? Yea right. Then they see all their ad revenue get flushed down the toilet.

 

[hellclerk]

60 to 70%? Yea right. Then they see all their ad revenue get flushed down the toilet.

well, if you're talking about big games, then yeah, for the most part you're right. they tend to go from the 80s-90s with those, occastionally getting below 70, or in some BAD cases, even lower (see Too Human or Lair). however, this is a pretty small time game, and while it has some big names attached to it, it's still no Halo Wars or Sims 3.

 

[legend166]

I just

Spoiler

Beat the Onii King and upgraded my castle.

It was a really cool boss fight.

 

[markot]

Are the other kings evil >.>? Or are you just an expansionist turd in this game?!

 

[hellclerk]

Are the other kings evil >.>? Or are you just an expansionist turd in this game?!

Spoiler

in all seriousness, it's a bit of both. though i don't know if they would count so much as evil as incompetent. i won't be playing til june though, so i wouldn't know.

 

[Dascu]

Are the other kings evil >.>? Or are you just an expansionist turd in this game?!

Spoiler

They're hiding WMD's.

 

[Bernbaum]

I shall play this game.

 

[Visualante]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=358401

 

[VGChampion]

I really want to play this game. One of my most anticipated games for a long time. Hopefully GameFly sends me a first run copy.

 

[speedpop]

Haven't bought it yet. Don't know if I plan on doing so.. kinda sick of gaming these days. Far cry from when the early days of this game being whispered back in '07.

 

[Haunted]

Haven't bought it yet. Don't know if I plan on doing so.. kinda sick of gaming these days. Far cry from when the early days of this game being whispered back in '07.

Don't leave us!

 

[Cygnus X-1]

An average of 88.6% from 10 reviews is very unexpected. A shame I don't have enough time to play it but I will buy it by the end of the year.

It was my most anticipated game at a point, but months of no news really dropped it off my radar only until recently.

Actually, it seems that announcing games later bring more negative consequence then positive ones.

 

[Earthpainting]

The 'Pikmin meets Harvest Moon' description that sold me on the concept is pretty accurate. I'm several hours in and the game just keeps on expanding. Surprisingly addictive and awesome game, in spite of some minor control/interface issues. The path finding can be a little wonky at times and I wish there were an easier way to actually organise your guard troop on the fly. Whenever my peasants fall in love, I'm practically forced to send hordes flying through the church doors, just to get the right two people in.

Putting names and faces on your people makes it feel very different from Pikmin in terms of casualties though. Whenever someone dies, the other guys mourn the deceased the next day. I already used to feel bad whenever some of my Pikmin passed away, so this is utterly depressing. The fact that my brave men and women die constantly does not ease the pain either.

I'm currently farming money to fund my

Spoiler

mage town

.

 

[hellclerk]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=358401

not an official megathread! this game deserves one!

anyway, i'm going to try and stay out of this thread for a while. i'll update things like reviews and such, i just don't want to be spoiled

 

[Jonnyram]

not an official megathread! this game deserves one!

anyway, i'm going to try and stay out of this thread for a while. i'll update things like reviews and such, i just don't want to be spoiled

You are a tool. Visualante's thread is way better than yours, and you don't need the word "offishul" in your thread title to make it the best place to post.

 

[Meesh]

...and then the vile infidels of neighboring kingdoms, if only to steal their wealth and women.

This game is going to be huge, was there mention of online modes?

lol, "stealing their women", this games a little darker than the box art suggests Stealing someones "women" online would be entertaining, especially with Wiispeak.

 

[Visualante]

not an official megathread! this game deserves one!

Um, okay then.

 

[hellclerk]

This game is going to be huge, was there mention of online modes?

lol, "stealing their women", this games a little darker than the box art suggests Stealing someones "women" online would be entertaining, especially with Wiispeak.

read the "Princess Harem" part. that's what i was talking about (polygamy FTW!). also, no online. yeah, sucks, but eh. from the reviews, it hardly needs it.

 

[farnham]

it shipped today!!

 

[Tailzo]

I've bought this for my fiancé, and we're playing it both.

Some of the people in this game are hilarious, the bull knight and my ministers are strange and interesting.I don't think it's important to actually speak to them, but I have statistics telling me how many love me, "meh" me or hate me. Gathering my people became easier now that I've got a podium, I don't have to manually go around and search for them. They'll gather before me when I wish

We're currently dying against a boss. The bosses are cool, and seem to be a key to advancing the game. (While day / night doesn't, seem to affect the story / general progression.) I like not feeling pressure from any time limits, like I did in pikmin. When I die, I get a "life over" screen. It's crucial to save often, and sadly you can only do so inside your castle though.

However, I think the game has some minor controll issues. Controlling the camera with a d-pad is kinda bothersome, I miss dual analogue controls. Also when I try to select people, or just pull people away from battle, it's a bit too hard to react in a presise manner. (Meaning getting a farmer out of the heat of battle, instead of everyone.) Atleast it doesn't seem like it's a huge loss when people die. Some of them get revived and are washed up on the beach. Oh, the game uses no motions controls by the way.

It's still very fun though. It's a lot more like Pikmin now that i have more people. Only more fleshed out, in a rpg kinda way. Plus I can buld new building, unlock new jobs for my people, grind money by killing monsters or digging gold, ect. I see a lot of hints of what is to come, and I think we'll be playing this game for a long time. We keep finding all sorts of weird items, unlocking new buildings, areaes, jobs, ministers, ect. You don't want to miss this game!

 

[kkg1701]

Does anyone know what the song played whenever you wake up is named? I recognize it but don't know its name.

The game is awsome, only bad I have so far is that they didn't implement IR-controls for targeting.


KK

 

[GhaleonQ]

Well, if Game Of The Year is determined by the amount of official threads devoted to a title, we've got it locked. Which is the real real one?

Does anyone know what the song played whenever you wake up is named? I recognize it but don't know its name.

Couldn't find a video, sorry.

 

[Caesar III]

Does anyone know what the song played whenever you wake up is named? I recognize it but don't know its name.

KK

DAMN YOU. I wanted to know this as well and now I killed like an hour to check my classics collection. I cannot find it I KNOW THIS SONG as well as all the others and I love them, but I cannot name them nor the componist, damn damn damn

If I get it, I'll tell you

 

[GhaleonQ]

DAMN YOU. I wanted to know this as well and now I killed like an hour to check my classics collection. I cannot find it I KNOW THIS SONG as well as all the others and I love them, but I cannot name them nor the componist, damn damn damn

If I get it, I'll tell you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOSbTPYcDvM 1:48?

 

[ernie]

have been enjoying this game all evening, the pursuit of quality throughout gives a real sense of gaming satisfaction

i've just paid for my 'buff lumberjack' training facility and i cant wait till tomorrow to find out just how buff they are =)

 

[dani_dc]

Just done with P4, so now to wait for this game to arrive

Hoping early this week.

 

[jgwhiteus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOSbTPYcDvM 1:48?

FYI, the song at 1:48 is the March from the Nutcracker.

 

[samratty]

DAMN YOU. I wanted to know this as well and now I killed like an hour to check my classics collection. I cannot find it I KNOW THIS SONG as well as all the others and I love them, but I cannot name them nor the componist, damn damn damn

If I get it, I'll tell you

Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite... Also done by Emerson Lake and Palmer as Nut Rocker... Oh and there's an intepretation in Gunstar Heroes.

Edit: Beaten

Edit again: Not gunstar heroes Dynamite Headie. I knew it was Treasure anyway

 

[Oxx]

All the recognisable music makes me smile.

 

[kkg1701]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOSbTPYcDvM 1:48?

Dunno if it's the same as Ceasar III's but it's not that one. Here's a rapidshare link http://rapidshare.com/files/225759978/song.wav.html (hope it works, never uploaded anything to rapidshare before) of a quick and dirty recording of it.


KK

 

[speedpop]

You are a tool. Visualante's thread is way better than yours, and you don't need the word "offishul" in your thread title to make it the best place to post.

This is what my stance was in Visualante's thread but I've played my fiddle to that tune.

Anyway I've decided I am going to buy this today. I waited almost 2 years for this game, why wait any longer.

edit: nothing against you doomed1 or anyone else who may have created this thread, all I wanted was one designated place to discuss the game and it was already happening in another thread.

 

[tetrisgrammaton]

have been enjoying this game all evening, the pursuit of quality throughout gives a real sense of gaming satisfaction

i've just paid for my 'buff lumberjack' training facility and i cant wait till tomorrow to find out just how buff they are =)

so are you saying events happen in real time??

 

[CharminUltra]

I wish I could hate everyone playing this game right now to death.

 

[Oxx]

The title of this thread even gets the name of the game wrong.

 

[sprsk]

I find it very strange this is coming out in Europe first.

 

[Yaweee]

60 to 70%? Yea right. Then they see all their ad revenue get flushed down the toilet.

http://www.gamerankings.com/

You can check the average scores for every review source, and he's right. The average for most is high sixties, low seventies. Very, very few places ascend into the eighties.

 

[trinest]

This is game interesting- I don't know where I stand with it- but its defently a great game, played it for a few hours last night

 

[Mkliner]

The Harem of Princesses: As you go about uprooting the "legitimate" ruling bodies of other nations, there is usually a daughter of the newly disposed and executed regals. It really would be a shame to dispose of these... beautiful relics of the old rule. No, it would be best to keep them for yourself, isn't that right?

Man the king is such a pimp

 

[neight]

http://www.gamerankings.com/

You can check the average scores for every review source, and he's right. The average for most is high sixties, low seventies. Very, very few places ascend into the eighties.

But like he said I'm right for the big games due to the influence of ad revenue.

 

[AceBandage]

2 months.
What a pain.

 

[batbeg]

But like he said I'm right for the big games due to the influence of ad revenue.

True, there's not really any problems with fucking about with Square-Enix, but a bigshot publisher like Rising Star...?

...God I hate Sunday's lack of mail