Underground Games: Little King’s Story
Nintendo fans are still scratching their heads as to why the Wii never got a full fledged Pikmin sequel. With as great as the Wii remake of the first game worked (using the word “remake” loosely), Nintendo would have had to be insane to abandon Pikmin 3 for Wii (so… they’re insane). While we were all looking out for the eventual announcement that never came, the closest thing that Wii owners would get actually slipped right under their noses. That title is the underground game Little King’s Story.
Little King’s Story came out in the fall of 2009 and was met with a resounding yawn by the gamers who were clamoring for something to play on the Wii. Why that is I will never know. Maybe it looked too cutesy for the supposed “hardcore” gamer? Regardless, when I booted up the disc and was met with a magical storybook like world where finding a crown means everyone suddenly worships you, I wanted to see how far I could push this thing.
Published by Marvelous Entertainment and developed by Hotel Dusk developer Cing (two names you’re sure to hear many more times in these weekly installments), the game was such a unique blend of genres. The core of the game had the young King Corobo and his followers venturing off to topple evil kingdoms and using their territory to expand the small village that the game starts in. The villagers all have different jobs that come into play during your travels, so farmers are great at digging up items but suck at fighting, where as soldiers are great at kicking ass but are pretty useless outside of battles.
Just like Pikmin, the king can attack directly, but his strength is pathetic on its own. So what does one in power do? Throw his pawns into battle! And the cast you come up against is kind of weird… from evil demons (you assume they are evil… I mean, you don’t really talk to them- you just kick the crap out of them on sight) to rabid cows whose heads fly off when they charge into a fence. Yes, this game is very Japanese. The main difference between this and Pikmin is that due to the variety of jobs the villagers can learn, the combat variety and the different strategies that come into play are much more varied.
And when I say jobs, the game makes it feel like these are really their jobs. When not out adventuring, the king travels around the village and can interact with each villager as they go about their day, following their own little schedule thanks to an in game clock. Each villager has their own life when you’re not brainwashing them into fighting dragons or whatever crazy crap you can’t be bothered to do on your own. Which makes it all the more depressing when your poor leadership gets them killed, because when they die… they’re dead. Villagers will mourn, sporadically burst into tears and make you feel like the awful person you are. At the very least, you can take the time out of your day to show up to their in-game funeral. Jerk.
It’s this immersion into the world that really makes the game feel like more than a knockoff. Managing and expanding your village rewards the same sense of accomplishment as winning a difficult battle. Being able to interact with your subjects makes your troops feel like more than nameless, faceless drones. Then there’s the leveling up of each villager in the training rooms, recruiting new people to your cause, amassing a giant army of invincible farmers… It’s no surprise that there’s so much focus on the village aspect considering some of the kind folks that worked on Harvest Moon had a hand in this quirky adventure.
It’s not everyday that you get the chance to play as a child who bosses adults around with his magical pimp cane, which is more the reason that it’s such a crime that more people didn’t check out Little King’s Story. Its genre blurring game play combined with its familiar combat takes a game that at first glance looks like a Pikmin knock-off and ends up surpassing it in many ways. Luckily for the five people who played this, a rumored sequel is said to be coming for the Vita. The bad news is that it’s on the Vita. If your Wii has been collecting dust these last few months, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Little King’s Story. Your king demands it!
