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"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Devil Kings
10 years ago
Alright, this time a game many of you have likely never heard of before. I hope this one is quite informative for you guys.
Devil Kings
This is a game made by Capcom on the PS2 that is a version of a later released game on PS3 and Wii called Sengoku Basara. That game is pretty fun and this game is somewhat similar but with its own twists on things. You can still tell they are from the same series, even if you can't tell by the name of the game. Basically, this is capcom's version of Samurai Warriors but with their own twists on the game. However, can this game hold up to how good the Samurai Warriors games can be? Well, let us see and find out shall we?
Gameplay
The main point of the game is to go from map to map and run across them hacking and slashing all the enemies you come across, occasionally fighting no name captains, and commanders before you finally get to the unique officer on the other side of the level. While this in a way is what you do in dynasty warriors, and samurai warriors, there is one big difference between the two series. The samurai warriors series actually has some strategy involved when you are progressing through the levels and you can replay the levels several times trying to stop enemy plots and to help save your fellow officers and it really feels like you are in a big historical battle. You don't get that here. Really the whole thing here is to just run from the other end of the map, defeat the boss, gain exp and go to the next map. Your allies don't help you at all, they just sit there pretty much, though you occasionally may want to save some of them, but the only reason you protect them is you get an exp boost for saving allies, what few there usually are on the maps. You are flying solo here. You just rack up lots of kills, and trying bring big hit combos to try and make your exp be higher. While this is fun to extend, there just doesn't seem to be any reason to really try hard on the levels, but you do have to pay attention and start on lower difficulties and work up as the game is hard on normal and above and you need to level up your characters first. It really does just seem that this is the doesn't have to think as much version if samurai warriors, but it can be fun to extent, the appeal just doesn't like that long. There is only a set number of levels to play as and there are only twelve characters to play as as well, even though there are more in the game. Though if you can get through all twelve characters, good luck, as the game does get stale after awhile. Devil Kings, like sengoku basara is all about making all the characters be a bit nutty at times as well, so do expect some nutty behaviors, sayings, and occasional events to take place. Just don't take the game as serious as you would one of the Warriors games, as this game sure doesn't take itself serious.
Story
Okay this is the area where this game suffers and sort of makes me a little upset in a way, mainly because of one thing, localization. This game is supposed to be about the sengoku period of japan, but instead it has been localized for us here in the US, to where the story has been changed around. You are still trying to capture Japan but that is about it. All the characters names have been changed, even though you can recognize several of the people if you have played other games that reference this era or even the later Sengoku Basara that doesn't do this. This really is my main complaint with the game as there is almost now no story except conquer Japan. You learn a little bit about characters, but you would never know why they are doing things and what is going on half the time if you didn't have a general understanding like I do about what is supposed to be taking place here. I just don't like the way the story plays out here. While there is at least somewhat of a story, which saves the score from going any lower than it is, I'm still not happy with what they did to the story by trying to bring it to us Americans like this at all. Conquer the land, you don't need to know much else. Yeah right...
Graphics
This is one of the nicer things about this game is that it really does look nice. The levels are colorful or dark depending on the level's tone and soldiers on the screen look great and everything appears to play properly with almost no slowdown at all. There is still some of the effect where things just appear in the background or disappear if too many things get on the screen at one time, but that is something you don't see as often as you would think. Another big reason I give such high marks here are the occasional cutscenes you get between levels that are actual anime scenes of some of the starts of battles. These are wonderful, and even if they are dubbed over, do look very nice and are one of the few areas where you actually get some sort of story, which you won't be getting in the levels. I was genuinely surprised to see these anime cutscenes and to see that they weren't left out of the game with how localized this game seems to be in the story department. They show just how good the PS2 was at showing anime at that time. If anything, you should look up and watch some of these, they are quite impressive.
Sound
The sound of the game isn't that bad, especially the voice acting work where you recognize some of the voice actors immediately, like Devil King himself, who is played by the same guy that plays Grounder from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. You will also find people that play the voices of several of the current My Little Pony series. You will find the voice actors of Spike, who is very easy to recognize, but also apparently Rarity and Trixie's actors are in there as well, plus several other actors that have worked on lots of anime and have long long lists of voices they had done over the years. So while there may be very little story to listen to, the characters do sound great and try and keep you entertained with that nutty feeling that does occasionally come with this gaming series. The main thing though is that they don't often add a lot to the story and the voices sometimes repeat many times in a level or over time as you play the same levels over and over again. It can get very old after awhile. The music is alright, but not super memorable. It does its job of keeping you distracted though so I'll give it that. It isn't bad by any means to where it draws attention to itself or in the other way to where you start humming the tunes. It is just alright.
Control
I honestly have very little to say about the controls other than they are pretty decent. Whatever you want to do is usually pretty easy to pull off, so there is very little trouble in learning how to play the game or to even play the game that well. It shouldn't take you too long as the learning curve is light. The guard button is still a bit tricky to use at times, but unlike dynasty warriors, you won't end up using it that much as you are constantly trying to keep your combos going to help you earn more exp to where you keep wanting to just slash and slash and slash. It is simple, but effective.
Replay Value
As I sort of mentioned above, the game is a bit on the dull side as there is very little strategy to the game. It is simply run to the other end of the level, defeat the boss and move on to the next level. If you enjoy just mindless hack and slash games where there is little point other than doing just this on the same levels over and over again, then this game would be great for you, but if you are looking for something a bit more where the levels weren't so linear, and I mean very linear as sometimes the levels almost look like race tracks. Just follow the path straight or curving around a lot and you will reach the end. There aren't multiple paths on most of the levels. I'm just not that impressed here. The game is fun for awhile, and this game may be one you could come back to again in the future, but it would be the same thing over and over again. Going away from it and trying it again isn't really a thing as there is very little strategy here to try and get better. Overall, the replay value of the game is just sort of okay at best. You have some replay value there, just don't expect it to hold your attention for a very long time.
Overall, Devil Kings isn't a bad game by any means, as it is still a fun game, the main thing is that unlike its counterpart series, the Warriors series, this game gets a bit dull after awhile and sort of loses its luster after playing as several characters. You really aren't doing anything different and you end up playing the same levels over and over again. If you are into hack and slash and want a different take on the warriors series that sort of plays like a Devil May Cry game, this being Capcom after all, then sure give this a shot. However, if you are expecting something like a Warriors game, then I likely would look elsewhere. The game isn't bad, it is just a bit disappointing in with how dull it can be in certain areas, while still bringing some fun in the end.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Devil Kings a seven out of ten.
Gameplay: 6
Story: 4
Graphics: 9
Sound: 8
Control: 9
Replay Value: 5
Overall: 7
Devil Kings
This is a game made by Capcom on the PS2 that is a version of a later released game on PS3 and Wii called Sengoku Basara. That game is pretty fun and this game is somewhat similar but with its own twists on things. You can still tell they are from the same series, even if you can't tell by the name of the game. Basically, this is capcom's version of Samurai Warriors but with their own twists on the game. However, can this game hold up to how good the Samurai Warriors games can be? Well, let us see and find out shall we?
Gameplay
The main point of the game is to go from map to map and run across them hacking and slashing all the enemies you come across, occasionally fighting no name captains, and commanders before you finally get to the unique officer on the other side of the level. While this in a way is what you do in dynasty warriors, and samurai warriors, there is one big difference between the two series. The samurai warriors series actually has some strategy involved when you are progressing through the levels and you can replay the levels several times trying to stop enemy plots and to help save your fellow officers and it really feels like you are in a big historical battle. You don't get that here. Really the whole thing here is to just run from the other end of the map, defeat the boss, gain exp and go to the next map. Your allies don't help you at all, they just sit there pretty much, though you occasionally may want to save some of them, but the only reason you protect them is you get an exp boost for saving allies, what few there usually are on the maps. You are flying solo here. You just rack up lots of kills, and trying bring big hit combos to try and make your exp be higher. While this is fun to extend, there just doesn't seem to be any reason to really try hard on the levels, but you do have to pay attention and start on lower difficulties and work up as the game is hard on normal and above and you need to level up your characters first. It really does just seem that this is the doesn't have to think as much version if samurai warriors, but it can be fun to extent, the appeal just doesn't like that long. There is only a set number of levels to play as and there are only twelve characters to play as as well, even though there are more in the game. Though if you can get through all twelve characters, good luck, as the game does get stale after awhile. Devil Kings, like sengoku basara is all about making all the characters be a bit nutty at times as well, so do expect some nutty behaviors, sayings, and occasional events to take place. Just don't take the game as serious as you would one of the Warriors games, as this game sure doesn't take itself serious.
Story
Okay this is the area where this game suffers and sort of makes me a little upset in a way, mainly because of one thing, localization. This game is supposed to be about the sengoku period of japan, but instead it has been localized for us here in the US, to where the story has been changed around. You are still trying to capture Japan but that is about it. All the characters names have been changed, even though you can recognize several of the people if you have played other games that reference this era or even the later Sengoku Basara that doesn't do this. This really is my main complaint with the game as there is almost now no story except conquer Japan. You learn a little bit about characters, but you would never know why they are doing things and what is going on half the time if you didn't have a general understanding like I do about what is supposed to be taking place here. I just don't like the way the story plays out here. While there is at least somewhat of a story, which saves the score from going any lower than it is, I'm still not happy with what they did to the story by trying to bring it to us Americans like this at all. Conquer the land, you don't need to know much else. Yeah right...
Graphics
This is one of the nicer things about this game is that it really does look nice. The levels are colorful or dark depending on the level's tone and soldiers on the screen look great and everything appears to play properly with almost no slowdown at all. There is still some of the effect where things just appear in the background or disappear if too many things get on the screen at one time, but that is something you don't see as often as you would think. Another big reason I give such high marks here are the occasional cutscenes you get between levels that are actual anime scenes of some of the starts of battles. These are wonderful, and even if they are dubbed over, do look very nice and are one of the few areas where you actually get some sort of story, which you won't be getting in the levels. I was genuinely surprised to see these anime cutscenes and to see that they weren't left out of the game with how localized this game seems to be in the story department. They show just how good the PS2 was at showing anime at that time. If anything, you should look up and watch some of these, they are quite impressive.
Sound
The sound of the game isn't that bad, especially the voice acting work where you recognize some of the voice actors immediately, like Devil King himself, who is played by the same guy that plays Grounder from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. You will also find people that play the voices of several of the current My Little Pony series. You will find the voice actors of Spike, who is very easy to recognize, but also apparently Rarity and Trixie's actors are in there as well, plus several other actors that have worked on lots of anime and have long long lists of voices they had done over the years. So while there may be very little story to listen to, the characters do sound great and try and keep you entertained with that nutty feeling that does occasionally come with this gaming series. The main thing though is that they don't often add a lot to the story and the voices sometimes repeat many times in a level or over time as you play the same levels over and over again. It can get very old after awhile. The music is alright, but not super memorable. It does its job of keeping you distracted though so I'll give it that. It isn't bad by any means to where it draws attention to itself or in the other way to where you start humming the tunes. It is just alright.
Control
I honestly have very little to say about the controls other than they are pretty decent. Whatever you want to do is usually pretty easy to pull off, so there is very little trouble in learning how to play the game or to even play the game that well. It shouldn't take you too long as the learning curve is light. The guard button is still a bit tricky to use at times, but unlike dynasty warriors, you won't end up using it that much as you are constantly trying to keep your combos going to help you earn more exp to where you keep wanting to just slash and slash and slash. It is simple, but effective.
Replay Value
As I sort of mentioned above, the game is a bit on the dull side as there is very little strategy to the game. It is simply run to the other end of the level, defeat the boss and move on to the next level. If you enjoy just mindless hack and slash games where there is little point other than doing just this on the same levels over and over again, then this game would be great for you, but if you are looking for something a bit more where the levels weren't so linear, and I mean very linear as sometimes the levels almost look like race tracks. Just follow the path straight or curving around a lot and you will reach the end. There aren't multiple paths on most of the levels. I'm just not that impressed here. The game is fun for awhile, and this game may be one you could come back to again in the future, but it would be the same thing over and over again. Going away from it and trying it again isn't really a thing as there is very little strategy here to try and get better. Overall, the replay value of the game is just sort of okay at best. You have some replay value there, just don't expect it to hold your attention for a very long time.
Overall, Devil Kings isn't a bad game by any means, as it is still a fun game, the main thing is that unlike its counterpart series, the Warriors series, this game gets a bit dull after awhile and sort of loses its luster after playing as several characters. You really aren't doing anything different and you end up playing the same levels over and over again. If you are into hack and slash and want a different take on the warriors series that sort of plays like a Devil May Cry game, this being Capcom after all, then sure give this a shot. However, if you are expecting something like a Warriors game, then I likely would look elsewhere. The game isn't bad, it is just a bit disappointing in with how dull it can be in certain areas, while still bringing some fun in the end.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Devil Kings a seven out of ten.
Gameplay: 6
Story: 4
Graphics: 9
Sound: 8
Control: 9
Replay Value: 5
Overall: 7
