Way back in the days of yore (christmas of 97) my parents bought me a playstation hoping to keep my loud mouth quiet and my butt in a seat. It came with several interesting games of note including Parappa The Rapper, Discworld, PO'ed, Project Overkill, Final Fantasy VII, Tomb Raider, Wild Arms, and Rayman. However, sealed away in a gigantic ugly box was a game called King's Field. Drawing me with it's twin swords and dragon on the cover, I immediately popped it in first to play it.
Little to say it was something that I "experienced" as opposed to "play." This, my friends, is:
The King's Field Experience
King's Field starts with no introduction, no opening text, or storyline background. In an old twist on NES games if you didn't have the manual you had no idea what was going on. I have the original box and instructions and I still can't make heads or tales of the story. Apparently you're some sort of royal guy searching for a sword on a mysterious island.
This is where you start; on a lone island in the middle of nowhere. Blackness fills the sky like a limited palette Intellivision game and the only clue you have to your location is a small, almost unnoticeable path in the water (as you can't swim... don't want you escaping do you?). Somber music fills your ears with a slow, melodic sound of rushing waves from the ocean.
Where else to go but forward? Taking a left I spot an object in the horribly short clip distance; a large, grey, pulsating object with glowing red eyes. A slow, raspy breathing sound now fills my speakers as I make sure my dagger (the only item you start with) is equipped and approach cautiously.
Edging closer my mind is filled with pure fright and revulsion as this... THING, a beast straight out of the works of Lovecraft guarding a precious artifact slowly pivots in my direction and mulls over me thinking... thinking about whether my brain would test better fried or mashed. With no other equipment or spells on me I slowly backed away, heart pounding, praying to EVERLOVING GOD this monster wouldn't give chase!
Taking the other fork I come across a small cave with a pool of water in the center guarded by, to my shock and horror, miniature versions of the Krakken-like beast I encountered before. These guys were pushovers and the magical health spa ensured I remained healthy, so I circle-strafed and quickly knifed my opponents to death. Licking my wounds and counting my experience points and gold, I decided to plod onwards in my explorations over this mysterious island.
A few bends, a secret door, and a couple turns later I come across a magical spell and artifact guarded by two multi-headed snails. Thinking them as harmless, I slowly approached only to have one spot me and turn in my direction. Preparing to back away (because snails are slow, you know?) I was to my surprise that the snail reared back and launched a fine poisoneous mist killing me in a nano-second.
Too weak to continue, I turned off the game and unplugged my playstation. Gripping my cold, clammy skin I set up my N64 and began playing Mischief Makers; a much more colorful and upbeat game. As I played, I was slowly drawn to look at the King's Field box... and thoughts began to wash over my brain. This game hooked me... but I no longer had the will to play it and I never would until almost 10 years later.
My Overall Experience
King's Field was the scariest game to have ever been released. You aren't given a clear goal, there are no NPC's save a few paper thin shopkeeps, there are no helpers, party members, or friendly faces; you're trapped, alone and cold on an island filled with hundreds of monsters who want your BLOOD.
The King's Field series (which has spanned about 6 games as of this topics) is a game created by mental-masochists; the developers have set out to torture the player in every way possible psychologically. I can't sleep at night without that 10 polygon krakken-beast appearing in my mind. I have yet to beat the game, but I own all of the series (including the Japanese only PSP versions) and conquering their poorly written manuals with size 2 font or bad cover art is challenging enough for me.
ASCII Entertainment; I hope your happy. Not even Ultima Underworld or "horror" games like Resident Evil or Silent Hill have touched you in terms of atmosphere and pure adrenaline. If you guys run across this game, don't play it if you're weak of heart or your mind will be torn like me. There probably won't be any more new King's Fields in America thanks to poor sales, but I will continue to support this fledgling series.
...Just thought I might want to share this with everyone. As both a warning and an advertisement.
Little to say it was something that I "experienced" as opposed to "play." This, my friends, is:
The King's Field Experience
King's Field starts with no introduction, no opening text, or storyline background. In an old twist on NES games if you didn't have the manual you had no idea what was going on. I have the original box and instructions and I still can't make heads or tales of the story. Apparently you're some sort of royal guy searching for a sword on a mysterious island.
This is where you start; on a lone island in the middle of nowhere. Blackness fills the sky like a limited palette Intellivision game and the only clue you have to your location is a small, almost unnoticeable path in the water (as you can't swim... don't want you escaping do you?). Somber music fills your ears with a slow, melodic sound of rushing waves from the ocean.
Where else to go but forward? Taking a left I spot an object in the horribly short clip distance; a large, grey, pulsating object with glowing red eyes. A slow, raspy breathing sound now fills my speakers as I make sure my dagger (the only item you start with) is equipped and approach cautiously.
Edging closer my mind is filled with pure fright and revulsion as this... THING, a beast straight out of the works of Lovecraft guarding a precious artifact slowly pivots in my direction and mulls over me thinking... thinking about whether my brain would test better fried or mashed. With no other equipment or spells on me I slowly backed away, heart pounding, praying to EVERLOVING GOD this monster wouldn't give chase!
Taking the other fork I come across a small cave with a pool of water in the center guarded by, to my shock and horror, miniature versions of the Krakken-like beast I encountered before. These guys were pushovers and the magical health spa ensured I remained healthy, so I circle-strafed and quickly knifed my opponents to death. Licking my wounds and counting my experience points and gold, I decided to plod onwards in my explorations over this mysterious island.
A few bends, a secret door, and a couple turns later I come across a magical spell and artifact guarded by two multi-headed snails. Thinking them as harmless, I slowly approached only to have one spot me and turn in my direction. Preparing to back away (because snails are slow, you know?) I was to my surprise that the snail reared back and launched a fine poisoneous mist killing me in a nano-second.
Too weak to continue, I turned off the game and unplugged my playstation. Gripping my cold, clammy skin I set up my N64 and began playing Mischief Makers; a much more colorful and upbeat game. As I played, I was slowly drawn to look at the King's Field box... and thoughts began to wash over my brain. This game hooked me... but I no longer had the will to play it and I never would until almost 10 years later.
My Overall Experience
King's Field was the scariest game to have ever been released. You aren't given a clear goal, there are no NPC's save a few paper thin shopkeeps, there are no helpers, party members, or friendly faces; you're trapped, alone and cold on an island filled with hundreds of monsters who want your BLOOD.
The King's Field series (which has spanned about 6 games as of this topics) is a game created by mental-masochists; the developers have set out to torture the player in every way possible psychologically. I can't sleep at night without that 10 polygon krakken-beast appearing in my mind. I have yet to beat the game, but I own all of the series (including the Japanese only PSP versions) and conquering their poorly written manuals with size 2 font or bad cover art is challenging enough for me.
ASCII Entertainment; I hope your happy. Not even Ultima Underworld or "horror" games like Resident Evil or Silent Hill have touched you in terms of atmosphere and pure adrenaline. If you guys run across this game, don't play it if you're weak of heart or your mind will be torn like me. There probably won't be any more new King's Fields in America thanks to poor sales, but I will continue to support this fledgling series.
...Just thought I might want to share this with everyone. As both a warning and an advertisement.
Comment