New Little King’s Story Review, 9.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating
New Little King’s Story is an interesting beast of a game. One the one hand, much of the gameplay is a direct recreation of the original 2009 Wii title right down to any number of boss encounters and the map layout of various areas. On the other hand, the game also features a story that acts as a continuation of sorts to the narrative of the original, albeit sans most of the more surreal elements that define that game’s latter half. So it is that NLKS operates as both sequel and a remake, but whatever you would call the game, it ultimately stands as a strong new(ish) title being released for a system in rather desperate need of just that.

New Little King’s Story titular story picks up more or less several years after the events of the original game. The King of that game has grown up a bit as have all the various aides and princesses who surround him but overall everyone more or less retains their personalities from the first game. Everything is going swimmingly but of course that cannot last if we are to have a game and so it is that strange forces overtake the kingdom. Forced to flee to a small village on the outskirts of the land, the King, his most trusted advisers, and a handful of villagers must now work to restore the kingdom and the land to its former glory.

The story in NLKS definitely is going for a more standard anime-fantasy feel as opposed to the almost surreal children’s book come to life aesthetic of the first game. I am not prepared to declare this change a good or bad one because ultimately I think in the larger sense it will really come down to personal preference. What I do feel free to pass judgment on is the often shaky translation of this game that comes across very much like something right out of the 90s in this regard. Dialogue is completely stilted, what appears to be jokes/references fall flat do poor localization, and there is just a general sense of disconnect between the player and what they are reading on the screen. Thankfully the overall narrative of NLKS is ultimately strong enough in its low-key way to overcome this problem more often than not, but it remains noticeable all the same.

Don’t you just hate it when good vegetables go bad?

Gameplay wise, New Little King’s Story is almost identical to its predecessor but since said predecessor was a lot of fun to begin with, that is no bad thing. The game is mainly divided between two parts: exploration and management of the kingdom. The latter mostly sees players deciding on what structures to build when (the game does not allow players to choose where to place buildings mind you) and this is important because certain buildings also allow players to train their villagers in jobs ranging from solider, carpenter, lumberjack, merchant, chef, and more. Overall this aspect of the game is more akin to say the Suikoden series than Sim City but it still does a nice job of expanding the scope and reach of the game.

The heart of New Little King’s Story lies in the ability for players to recruit villagers (which is accomplished by walking up to one and pressing the circle button) in order to form an ad-hoc army. The player must then take that army and explore/reconquer the surrounding landscape. In order to truly claim a piece of territory as their own, players will first have to defeat the sub-boss or boss of that area. After they successfully accomplish this, regular enemies will be permanently cleared from the locale and players will be able to start building various structures and the like. It is a system that in practice is a lot of fun and also allows for a good deal of non-linearity. At around the three hour mark NLKS really starts to open up and players are free to explore huge chunks of the map in any order and at any pace they prefer.

This time around the rescued princesses can join the King and his army in battle and each grants a unique and useful extra ability.

Actual combat in the game is a simple but effective affair that has players ordering their present set of troops to charge at a foe and attack in whatever way best suits their current class. It is these aforementioned classes wherein the real strategy for the game lies. The need to be ready to adjust one’s forces and find just the right balance between classes that can fight and those that can help overcome the various obstacles that litter the land is a constant one. And while in-general beating regular enemies is simply a matter of numbers, most sub-bosses and bosses tend to require more strategy and some lateral thinking in order to win. Keep in mind that the King is very weak in comparison to his troops and only a few hits will send him back to the castle in order to start again. Thankfully the game eventually allows for players to order their troops in a number of formations for better control of their placement, which can be a real life saver during certain encounter.

Overall it is a great system that combines some of the best aspects of a game like Pikmin and a game like Final Fantasy Tactics into a potent whole that can quickly become incredibly addictive. This is also a game with a massive amount of content; expect to spend at least twenty to twenty-five hours beating the main campaign. That number can easily double or more for players prepared to really sink their teeth into all the optional side quests, hidden areas, and more that New Little King’s Story offers. There was another Pikmin clone released back when the Vita first launched, namely Army Corps of Hell, but NLKS is dramatically better than title on pretty much every level. Not least of all because it features touch controls which makes giving orders to the army accompanying the King dramatically less painful of a prospect. It is one area where this remake/reboot/sequel actually has a clear and unquestionable advantage over its console progenitor.

Boss battles are some of the true highlights of the game.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the graphics featured in NLKS. From a design point they are fine, featuring a highly appealing visual style that recalls the original Little King’s Story while still also reflecting the slightly older and more epic tone driving the game. Where problems arise is with the frequent, and at times massive, slowdown that begins to haunt the game once players can recruit an army of troops whose numbers run to double digits. And then there is the problem with the frequent occurrences of pop-up and which can even lead to some pretty awful bugs. At least twice I had to flat out restart my game because the various bridges, buildings, and more that I had built were not loading and the game was acting like I had never built them. Thankfully both resets restored everything to normal but it was frustrating all the same. Considering the often touted power of the Vita (not to mention some of the visual accomplishments the system has already achieved) such issues are hard to excuse, especially since there were not present in the original Wii title.

Aurally, the voice acting in New Little King’s Story is not just bad; it reaches near Mega Man 8 levels of awful at times. Thankfully there is not a ton of it as the majority of spoken dialogue is reserved for a handful of cutscenes, but the villagers do say little catchphrases when you talk to them/order them to do things/etc. Which in turn does not encourage keeping the volume up when playing NLKS; a shame since the game’s music is really rather good, mixing up new arrangements of classical music like Night on Bald Mountain with well composed original pieces. The original game basically used a variation of Simlish for its spoken sequences and honestly this was approach the sequel should have stuck with as well.

It can be really gratifying to watch your little refuge build itself up into something legitimately impressive.

Even with these problems however, New Little King’s Story remains the kind of overall strong title that the Vita is in dire need of. The problems in the game can be frustrating at times but they ultimately pale before what the game gets right. Certainly I have no hesitation in recommending NLKS to any Vita owners who have not played the original and are looking for a meaty title to occupy their time. As for those who have played the original, whether or not they will want to play this follow-up comes down to how much they mind playing through a game that largely resembles the one they have already experienced. New Little King’s Story is a game that stands out on any number of levels and it is one that will likely convert any who give it a fair chance to its cause. The original Little King’s Story never really found its audience thanks to getting lost in the shuffle of shovelware littering the Wii by 2009. Considering the Vita’s far more scant library of games at the moment, hopefully the same will not happen to New Little King’s Story; if ever there was a game that deserved success, it is this one.

A review copy of this game was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review. The reviewer spent approximately 35 hours playing the game and completed its main campaign.

Also, feel free to follow the reviewer on Twitter @bigred_13 please if you feel so inclined.