POSTED 14/11/12


NEW LITTLE KING'S STORY

Konami
Vita

What a pickle! Beasties have given you the boot from your kingdomesque thingy, burnt it to a crisp and are now sleeping in your bed. Or, at the very least, the crispy-charred remains of it. You’re a king, damn it! Do you take this laying down? Of course not! Besides, you don’t have a bed to lie down in anymore.

Luckily, you’re a resourceful regal type. Well, actually it’s more that you’re the robe-clad equivalent of Simon the Likeable and have powers of persuasion over most everybody. You majestic bastard! As such you sweet talk plebeian minions into building you a new kingdom.

That’s the basic setup for this RPG, real-time strategy, city-constructing melangeiwhatsit. Imagine if Pikmin dressed up as Kingdom Hearts, swallowed Civilization and trundled off to Sim City – well, sort of. You and yo’ posse (including moocow!) amble about the countryside, charming citizens into schlepping stuff for you, digging up loot and overseeing construction projects – plus taking care of the odd fight. Yes, there are fights. You can even join in if you’re feeling a tad  roister-doistery.

You’ll explore many a nook and cranny within a fairly sizeable land, which only gets bigger upon taking down bosses. Controls are wonderfully simple. There’s nothing overly Vitatasmic, rather other than some touchy-feely guard herding most is accomplished with simple button stabs. Just because there are 88 keys on your typical piano doesn’t mean that you have to use them all...

We haven’t even mentioned the look of NLKS. It’s gorgeous! A lovely, well-rounded anime kind of thing’s going on, with a bright palette that steers clear of garishness.

If you like time-drowning in a game that involves more than an itchy trigger finger then this deserves a royal seal. Actually, you’ll need to be patient enduring all the bloody text screens...

Hail to the king, baby!

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