King's Field: The Ancient City

by AgeTec

Product Details

• ASIN: B00006599W
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,389 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

An accursed idol responsible for the destruction of an ancient race has resurfaced to wreak havoc once again among the kingdoms of man. You must return the idol to the Ancient City to break its curse, but monsters of unspeakable horror haunt the ruins. There is a palpable fear in the air of the Ancient City. Even the monsters fear the evil that has returned. Treasures beyond imagination await the warrior bold enough to attempt the journey, strong enough to face the minions of death, and wise enough to follow the path that leads to the essence of light. You must use your sword arm well to rid the land of a potent curse. But be aware that should the sword fail, you have the magical arts to serve you in your quest. Learn the proper time and place for each or you too shall be counted amongst those lost forever.

Product Description

This is the game King's Field: The Ancient City for the Playstation 2. This game may not come with the original case and instructions. We stand by our products and offer a 60 day guarantee. If a game does not work within 60 days from the time you receive it we will gladly exchange it for you.You can read details about our guarantee

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best in the Series, June 12, 2003

By 

Fates Puppet "lifespuppet" (NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King's Field: The Ancient City (Video Game)

To start, let me give you fair warning. This game requires patience, just like the previous installments. There are no grand displays of computing power. There are no impossibly fast monsters, and the story requires time and effort to develop. If you can handle this, and you are willing to give this game a fair chance, you may find it was well worth it.

All the King's Field games emphasize exploration. This isn't a normal first person game. This one requires the player to be patient while searching the massive world they are confronted with. Don't get me wrong, it has its fair share of monsters, traps and puzzles, buts its real beauty is in its ability to immerse the player in a completely unfamiliar world.

The immersive experience is, in my opinion, helped a great deal by the speed of movement. Where others find it a chore, I believe it is there for one purpose. If you were able to cruze through at blinding speeds, you would miss the trully terrifying and exciting elements of this game. Creeping along long forgotten halls and stairways, with only the dead still in the air to keep you company, you almost feel the death and pain of the halls in the air. There are parts in this game that will scare you like no horror move can, not because of any thing, but because of what could be lurking in the darkness up ahead.

This game also offers players a wealth of customization. As you progress through the game, your character slowly grows stronger, as do the weapons he chooses to use. The story in this game requires just as much patience as the exploration. There are no huge naratives to explain what's going on, only your conversation with the few remaining inhabitants can provide you with clues to completing your mission to destroy a cursed idol.

If you enjoy getting wrapped up in your games, and wish to find one that will absorb a good deal of your time, then this game is for you. Fight the undead, giant bugs, and even otherworldly monsters in your quest to bring peace back to the world. Don't let a few small flaws turn you away from an otherwise amazing gaming experience.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly surprised---but it's not for everyone., April 28, 2002

By 

David O'Toole (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King's Field: The Ancient City (Video Game)

This game appeals to a rather limited audience. King's Field is focused on atmosphere, setting, and a sense of deep exploration. You navigate spooky, abandoned environments, combat skeletons and slimes, find secret passages with treasure chests inside, and solve puzzles. The settings show a lot of variety, ranging from mines to graveyards to Gothic castles to water-filled passages.

Now I grew up on some very old games: a roguelike called "DND" on an old DEC microcomputer, and later on, the licensed Dungeons and Dragons games on Intellivision. That style of game---slow, methodical, collecting weapons and power-ups as you proceed through ancient crypts and so on---is not as popular as it once was, but if it appeals to you, you'd do well to try out this old-fashioned dungeon crawl.

Oh, and I do mean crawl. One problem is that your movement speed is rather slow, and fights can proceed at a snail's pace until you're used to the stiff controls. But these are minor flaws in a game with zillions of secrets to find, tons of items and enemies, and evocative, atmospheric locales.
Serious (old-school!) role-playing fans only---NO cutscenes here.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ancient City, January 8, 2004

By 

Axel Law "The Happy Seizure Kid" (Derby, KS, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King's Field: The Ancient City (Video Game)

Just when the Playstation was getting started, a company called ASCII Entertainment---best known in the gaming industry for improving graphics---decided to help jumpstart it with a couple new games. "King's Field" and "King's Field II" both debuted in 1996, and in actuality, are the second and third games (the first game was never released here, and they brought the second and third ones over here and renamed them 1 and 2... yeah, slightly confusing. Oh well.). Both were more of an underground favorite, but I personally find the second, in particular, to be quite a classic. Now, Agetec (the renamed ASCII Entertainment) returned to make a new King's Field titled "The Ancient City," centering around a cursed idol that must be returned to a dead city in order for the curse to be lifted, but you also had to fight the main nemesis, the "Dark One." I noticed several people on Amazon seem to hate this game, but then again, most people are newbie gamers that don't have the patience for games and therefore, are not ultimate. Read on for my review of this very overlooked PS2 game. If you don't... well, remember The Ring? Yeah, that's what will happen to you if you don't read. Haha.

THE GOOD
This game features some of the most beautiful graphics on any system I've EVER seen. People talk about the XBox having superior graphics, but one look at this game might change your mind. The control scheme is like the originals and you might find it a bit awkward, but if you're a Doom fan, it'll come as no surprise to you. The music is creepy and/or melodic, very much in the same vein in the originals. In fact, the whole game has this "old school" feel to it that I personally enjoy. While the story isn't exactly plot twisting, it's straight forward and enjoyable.

THE BAD
While I think it's a great game, it's not a great game for everybody. It takes a lot of patience and overcoming tediousness to play through this game. In the beginning, you have to find the equipment and items required to complete the game and some of them are difficult to find without the help, perhaps, of a strategy guide. Not really my gripe, but it is a difficult game, indeed. The kind of game that can kick your @$$ and make you love it. My kind of game.

Perhaps my only REAL gripe with it is its lack of connection with the previous games. BUT this is minor; it keeps the style and fun factor of the originals, which is a good thing. The game still has my five stars.

OVERALL
If you enjoy a Doom-style RPG and are willing to take the time to play through it, this game is worth it. A little hard to find nowadays, but well worth the hunt. However, if you have lack of patience in games (especially RPGs), this game IS NOT for you. If you are like that, go back to your Chrono Cross. Loser.