Customer Reviews

Makai Kingdom

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Makai Kingdom is brought to us by the same people who created Disgaea, La Pucelle, and Phantom Brave. You are cartoon style characters moving in grid combat on random boards.

The graphics are quite reasonable for this style of game. Makai Kingdom is about strategy and not about visual speed, so while the individual characters are cute, they are not overly detailed. This is OK if you're playing on a small screen TV, but once you move up to a larger screen and/or high definition TV, the characters begin to look a bit fuzzy and pixellated.

The sound falls into the same category. You get generic electronica-sounding background sounds, along with dialogue such as "Take This!" and effects like "BOoooom!" Since you tend to tune out all of those sounds while focussing on your strategy, it's fine.

Actual gameplay is very enjoyable. Each character has strengths and weaknesses, a variety of attributes to customize and weapons / armor to work with. Makai Kingdom can easily take you weeks, if not months, to finish, if you really put the time and effort into tweaking your characters to fit your playing style. The more effort you put into your characters, the more fun gameplay will be, and themore smoothly your battles will go.

Really, the game is a colorful, multi-dimensional, customizeable strategy game that really tests your planning and strategy skills. Given the number of characters and situations you have to keep track of at any point in time, it's an impressive way to keep your brain cells active and alert. For anyone who reads those studies that say "crossword puzzles help keep your mind alert", I suggest they give this game a try. Talk about a game sure to help your thinking processes become more acute!!

Highly recommended for any strategy / RPG fans.

Well, Nippon Ichi has done it again. For those people who loved Disgaea and/or Phantom Brave, here is another entry in twacked out RPG arena. As an aside, if you don't know about Disgaea or Phantom Brave, might I recommend those as well.
Back to Makai Kingdom. Lord Zetta, the demon Overlord Laharl would be proud to have grown up to be, arrogantly destroys his Netherworld, and it becomes your job, as his pawn, to help him recreate it. How, you ask? That's where the game gets interesting. You start off with one character, an unfortunate soul floating in the Netherworld cosmos, whom you confine into an object. This is remniscent of Phantom Brave. The system is pretty easy to pick up on, where each object has a set of stats that you use to determine which job a character created from it would best suit. Rocks have good defense and attack stats, so they make good warriors. Flowers have good magic and intelligence, so they make good wizards, and so on. Later on, you can sacrifice these created characters to call into existence buildings, which give different bonuses in battle. On top of this, there are also vehicles, which are essentially mechs, or mobile fortresses with weapons. Finding the proper mix of leveling your characters and sacrificing them for power is where the joy lays in this particular mechanic.
Of course, what game is complete without a large selection of skills, spells, weapons and items. Yes, the standard spells are there, but you can also use a ball and chain to spin the battle grid into the sun, as well as using flamethrowers, gatling guns, frying pans and pies as weapons. I have not completed this game yet, and I'll probably put a few hundred hours into this one just like I did Disgaea, but I felt the need to try to persuade other people to enjoy this game as well before I did. Purchase, and enjoy.

Makai Kingdoms is about an arrogant overlord of the netherworld that makes a horrible mistake dooming himself and his world to oblivion. This once great overlord must begin anew with a ragtag army and rely on the help of other overlords to regain his power, among other things. It is your task to lead this army and help him regain what he lost. That is the overall just of the storyline and plot. The story is pretty easy to follow and has an interesting twist or two in it with multiple endings. This game has both a serious side and a comical side to catch the interests of most players. If you don't have a sense of humor I'm not sure you will like the game though.

Makai Kingdoms is a strategy turn-based RPG game. Similar games include: Final Fantasy Tactics, Disgaea, La Pucelle, Phantom Brave, and the Vandal Hearts series. I suggest playing at least Disgaea, if not Phantom Brave as well, before playing this game because you will recognize some hidden characters later from these games if you do and better enjoy the humor in it.

As for game play, it works much like Disgaea, if you are familiar with it, with a little of Phantom Braves' confining added in for the formation of characters. Unlike Phantom Brave, you don't have to confine everyone to items for battle....THANK GOD! It works like Disgaea where you can summon them on screen within a certain distance of the base, or Zetta, in this case. It has added the use of mechanical vehicles and buildings to add a more interesting combat environment.
The graphics are similar to that of Disgaea....which gives it an anime type feel.

The UPS to the game:
Characters can multi-class, leveling is quick, skills are attached to people rather than weapons, you can store over 1000 or more items if I recall.....I've never needed that much though, vehicles, facilities, smooth motioned game, replay ability, hidden characters, new classes and monsters, multiple endings, clean humor, and the prinnys are back!!! :)

The DOWNS to the game:
In order to get ANY of the secret characters it requires you to go through the game a second time and in order to get ALL of the secret characters you must go through the game 5 times over. A second time is fairly reasonable but any more is getting a bit carried away. This is particularly a problem since nothing changes when you go back through it. This wouldn't be so bad if there was another reason to go through all the level 1 monster stages but there really isn't. It would make a lot more sense to allow the option to go through again or just have the aftermath stories AFTER the fact and let you remain at the end with the option to unlock further levels and return to previous stages. The language is a little harsh, which is fine for me, but not for most teens. It is rated TEEN with Language, Mild Fantasy Violence, and Sexual Themes. So, it is stated, in a manner. Okay, bugs.... I know if you put out the maximum of 3 facilities, put out the maximum of 8 fully equipped characters and try to throw some object out of bounds in some random dungeons it says you can't have anymore objects on screen. AKA too much stuff for the game to handle. Well, if that was the case, it shouldn't let you bring on that many items, characters, etc. I've also noticed it is possible to summon someone into a situation where they cannot move stuck in an object...However, this is very rare.


I hope this helps you with your buying decision.
Zen

I'll admit, at first I thought that Makai Kindom was a poor excuse for a Nippon Ichi SRPG. The levels were even more abstract than those in the other games, with random tiles and themes. Disgaea and La Pucelle both had maps that had something to do with the story. Also, due to the removal of the movement tiles (now any character can go wherever), and extravagant jump heights, some strategy aspects were missing. Long range healing meant that even if one couldn't reach any unit in need of health, the spell probably could.

However, the more I played, the better it got. The story is quite possibly the best yet, and the characters are superbly interesting and diverse. Phenomenal artwork is spread across the game, through area creation events and dialog scenes, to name a few. All the composers knew what they were doing, and the soundtrack is worth owning separately. There is a huge amount of customization available, from weapons to stats, and good variety of characters. And, as the game progresses, more unconventional play tactics and fields are introduced to increase its appeal.

While I haven't played Phantom Brave, and I don't usually go for the power-levelling play style, I still deem this one of the best playing experiences I've had in a loong while. NIS deserves the support of everyone, so go and buy a copy now!

As a movie and book collector from the videogame generation, it's difficult not to get involved in videogames. Unfortunately, it takes a lot for me to pick up a game outside those companies I trust (Square-Enix; Konami; Sony). From the moment I saw Makai Kingdom I knew I wanted it, so I took the chance on the small name publisher. I was not disappointed in any way. I bought this game two months ago, beat it four times, and I'm still playing it and finding new things (I can't beat the Prinny Overlord). The replay value of this game is huge, to the point where nearly every new game feels completely new, depending on the characters you create and use and the weapons you master with each character. It just keeps going and going. My only problem with the game is the battle system, which started out excellent but soon grew old. Its one drawback is the ease in which I was able to beat it the first time. Still, the character and weapons systems will keep you going for some time. Makai Kingdom is worth the price tag, as it will take up a lot of freetime.

I'm a big fan of the NIS games before hand so getting Makai Kingdom back in my life was a pleasant surprise for me. As I mentioned in the title though the game isn't one you can just push through and beat in an averaged amount of hours. It will take you more hours than you thought it would due to the fact that you have to train your team up a lot. There are some interesting things happening though and a lot of the maps change for revisits which helps give it a nice and renewing feeling. Once you get the hang of it though your team will easily be dispatching stronger enemies and leveling quickly, but don't take it for granted. If you rush, you will die.

Makai Kingdom is a semi-free roaming, as opposed to a FFT/Disgaea style grid, strategy RPG. It is probably the spiritual successor to Phantom Brave in nearly every way.

Makai Kingdom is "Good." It has some very unique features which differentiate it from Disgaea, its big brother from NIS, specifically the free roaming battles, the unit creation mechanics, and the world creation mechanics which causes the game to be entirely different every time you play it. It's difficult for me to elaborate upon here without going on for pages, so I suggest checking Youtube for some videos or Gamefaqs for more in-depth descriptions by people far more learned on the game than myself.

How ever, it has some faults. It shares Disgaea's taste to make you grind, which is fine. However, because Makai Kingdom randomizes the battle fields each time and doesn't allow for defensive lines (because of the free roaming) finding good grinding maps is impossible. That may appeal to some people since you wont be tempted to just play the same ideal grinding map over and over, but when you make or reincarnate a new unit, you'll want someplace efficient to get them back to par.

That's really the only complaint I can make. The game is very complex, almost too complex, given the use of vehicles and buildings, which may cause you some frustration when you see one you really like and can't figure out how to acquire it (Gamefaqs probably knows more than I do). I guess if someone really had to press me, I would complain that the unit and enemy sprites aren't as well done as they could be. The enemies especially are all kinda samey.

The story characters are amusing and, like in all NIS games, actually quite tragic and able to tug at your hear strings when it gets serious. The combat is fun, if not a little testing at times.

It's a really strong entry of the genre, greatly improving from the ideas Phantom Brave introduced which separates it from the pack, and I'd probably be giving it a lot more love if Disgaea hadn't come before it.

The story isn't exceptionally deep, but it's not supposed to be: this is a comic realm, and unless you've got the driest humor ever it will make you laugh at least a few times. The characters aren't as flat as some games (or comedies) that I've seen, so it's a pleasant if unexceptional romp. The story itself ends relatively quickly, but there's plenty to do after your first play-through.
Story: 5/10

While intentionally done in the quirky style familiar to fans of Disgea, for a 2005 game I found the graphics a disappointment, and it will be moreso for those with large-screen TVs because distortions and pixelation will be magified. The larger portraits between missions are decent but the sprites were dull and the effects seemed overdone considering how little they actually help deal damage - although it still remains funny.
Graphics: 5/10

The sound effects are unimpressive, but the voicing for the attacks and conversation is hilarious in both the English and Japanese - either dub can be selected from the beginning and changed at will through the options.
Sound: 4/10

The music isn't especially high quality, but it's quirky and fitting the comic world it's in.
Music: 6/10

Anybody who enjoys Strategy RPGs will feel right at home. The interface is quick and relatively easy to control up until you start getting into the more random-generated maps, which have a tendency to have sharp cliffs that obscure the camera. Managing character and pool inventory may take a bit to getting used to - especially with the weird items you'll get, like the Remote Control or Balloon - but doesn't become a problem unless you're a completionist or actually want to get the top-level classes and items, which becomes EXTREMELY annoying because some things like the last tier of penguin or `Prinny' class requires you level one of them up above level 600 (yes, the level goes up to 999, not stopping at 99). While some like this, I found it actually hurts the game, because getting any of the truly worthwhile goodies is tedious. On my third play-through my highest soldier was barely level 80, and that's after using him almost exclusively.
Gameplay: 7.6/10

While getting everything gets monotonous fast, you get to keep every single coin, item, and soldier (with experience and equipped items). Being able to save literally everything you can acquire makes next plays much faster and more fun - particularly when you start fighting the optional bosses, like the next game's protagonist and other quirky foes.
Replayability: 7/10

If you enjoy tactical command games and want something in a more comic vein, this will prove a satisfying experience. For those who aren't already strategy fans, it's probably not going to be the right pick.
Overall: 7.3/10

Makai Kingdom is brought by the same people who created Disgaea, La Pucelle, and Phantom Brave. You have cartoon style characters moving in grid combat on random boards.

It's on the ps2 so graphics are reasonable. Makai Kingdom is an SRPG. If you have a small screen, pictures are alright, but get a high def or huge screen, the characters begin to look a bit fuzzy and pixellated.

Maps are randomly generated most of the time. You can chain combos like previous games of the same company.

Each character has their specific stats (healers tend to be weak etc.). Each equipment's effectiveness (armor says 50+ but for a healer, it will only be around 25+ and fighters 60+) depends on the class. Makai Kingdom can take you a week to beat it. If you want to get all the endings and have a 9999 Level for each character, it's going to take you a long time.

You get the usual battle crys in SRPGs.

A buy for any S/RPG fans.

Anyone playing this game is obviously into the Nippon Ichi titles. I know because I am, and if I weren't, I wouldn't look twice at this UGLY game. This is just as fun as the rest. Disgaea, La Pucelle, y'know. It plays like a suped up Phantom Brave, as you expected I'm sure. However, this is the LAST title I'll ever purchase from them. Its one thing to not improve your game.{Like Koei and the same -old hack n slash DW} But its quite another to take a step BACK. The Nippon Ichi games look worse and worse everytime. Obviously they aren't even TRYING to improve graphic - wise. Thats unexecptable. I gave it 3 stars because its a five star {fun} but a hurtful 0 star {UGLYY looking} game.

I'm not the type that put graphics over everything else. But I'm not the type that likes 16 bit {SNES} characters on my PS2 either.