Introduction

Presentation

Graphics & Sound

This is one of the areas where Lost Kingdoms falls short. The visuals in this title are not something to be impressed with, infact I’ve seen first generation Dreamcast titles that makes this title visuals look like poo. The character models are bulky , low in polygons but are fluid with their movements. Textures can be found here and there and are used very well to help give life to the game’s large environments. Frame rate is rock solid even during the most intense of battles and that is always welcomed. The game also features some great effects when unleashing you creatures but after playing a visual masterpiece like Resident Evil it’s hard to be impressed with anything.

Sound:

This is also another department where Lost Kingdoms takes a dive. Voice acting is non-existant other than a few bleeps and blurbs and the music is barely what you would expect from an RPG. Some of the tunes can become very monotonous and annoying after hearing them time and time again but I was quite fond of the tune played in the Apothecary. The creature’s growls, screams, and attacks sounded pretty well though. Even though Lost Kingdoms does feature the added bonus of surround sound it doesn’t feel like From Software utilized the tools.

Gameplay

The gameplay in this title revolves around collecting and using magical cards to advance further in the game. In Lost Kingdoms you have a deck, this deck can only contain 30 cards , organizing your deck before entering levels is essential for your survival. When entering an area you enter into numerous amounts of random battles and if your deck is not worthy enough to survive to the very end then you must start the area over because you may only use each card once in a level that is unless you use a Mind Flayer card which restores 5-10 already used or dropped cards.

Each card releases a type of creature which will be at your command, there are three different type of creatures, summons, weapon, and independent . When you deploy a summons-type card Princess Katia temporarily transforms into a beast that does some serious damage to every baddie in your way, some summons-type cards can even restore Katia’s health or restore used or dropped cards. Since Katia herself can’t do any damage a weapons-type card releases a creature that appears directly above Katia which launches a quick attack, since you can roam freely across the battle field weapon-type cards are quite useful. When an independent-type creature is released it roams around the battlefield on its own doing damage to anything or anyone in its way, independent type cards are quite useful since they can help distract enemies in order for you to use any other type of card. Every time you use one of these cards a Runestone is consumed , if you run out of Runestones instead of using up the stones using cards will then consume your energy and I know you don’t want that to happen. Everytime you hit an enemy Runestones appear on the battleground so to avoid running out of them you must risk getting hit by enemies while running up right next to them to pick up some Runestones, Runestones appear in different shapes and sizes which determines how much they are worth.

With over 20 different levels to explore Lost Kingdoms has more than 105 different cards to collect and find. There are many ways to collect and "capture" creatures, you can find them in chests in every level, buy them at the Apothecary, transform older cards into new creatures (only after earning a certain number of experiences points during battle) earn them as a gift after collecting fairies, or capture them during a battle with a capture throw. Collecting all 105 cards isn’t too hard of a task and for more experienced gamers it might even be a walk in the park. The game also features a few puzzles here and there but they are easily figured out with the simple tactic of trial and error.

With tight controls, intense battles with multiples enemies at once , Lost Kingdoms sure does deliver in the gameplay department even though there is much to be desired. Hopefully a sequel will satisfy all of them...

Lasting Appeal

Conclusion