Paradise found in a blend of mythology and martial arts
Product: Kingdom of Paradise for PSPs Price: $299 Pros: Created like a period martial arts movie, with authentic-looking sword combat Cons: Vague directions on story continuity may cause confusion as the game progresses
Sony Computer Entertainment delivers an action-packed, martial arts role-playing game (RPG) to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) system with Kingdom of Paradise, developed by Japanese multimedia studio Climax Entertainment.
The game's story offers a strong combination of Chinese and Japanese mythology and symbolism. Players take on the role of young swordsman and bodyguard-for-hire Shinbu, an expelled disciple of the Seriyu martial arts clan in the fictional land of Ouka.
In this world, five martial clans ruled their respective regions and maintained a peaceful balance of power throughout the land. But the power-hungry Kirin clan attacks the four other clans to secure the Divine Swords, the symbols of absolute supremacy.
On his way home, Shinbu comes upon a fellow Seriyu disciple being chased by a rival clan's warriors. In an act of fealty, he fights the pursuers and chases them off. He finds out the Kirin clan has killed his Master and other fellow disciples.
He sets off on a quest for revenge and to find answers about his mysterious past. The game then unfolds like a classic tale from Hong Kong martial arts novelist Louis Cha. It is reminiscent of his stories, such as The Legend of the Condor Heroes and Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.
As Shinbu, players will search for information and interact with an assortment of characters throughout each region to help complete his quest, and restore peace to the five diverse lands of Ouka.
As he travels throughout Ouka, Shinbu collects different numbered Kenpu, or specific fighting moves, from defeated enemies. On their own, these moves are useless. To work, Kenpu techniques have to be attached in specific order to Bugei Scrolls, which enable a system of continuous attack.
Gameplay is fairly simplistic and easy to control. The main controls are labelled attack, Chi, Sword throw and item button. A player's attacks are based on which Bugei Scrolls are used.
Once players have affixed the right Kenpu and equipped the scroll, Shinbu can then pull off a deadly combination of sword attacks against his enemies. There are more than 150 Kenpu techniques in the game.
There are also freestyle scrolls that players can obtain to mix and match moves, which allows them to experiment with an almost limitless combination of multiple attack moves.
The Chi arts in this game are based on the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. There are three levels to each type of Chi art and the levels are raised by frequently using Chi attacks. Therefore, the more players use them, the faster and stronger Chi attacks become.
Each clan's sword techniques are tied to one of the elements. This comes in handy when players create free-style scroll. So if a player organises a scroll that follows the elemental cycle, it makes each move more lethal, which is especially useful against powerful monsters.
Kingdom of Paradise offers beautifully rendered 3D graphics and visual effects. It is an RPG with landscapes that remind one of Guilin, with its tall mountains, beautiful lakes and river.
The game's music is sublime and haunting, especially with the use of the pentatonic scale that reflects the western image of the mystical orient. Kingdom of Paradise for PSP is definitely one of the best RPG games that I have played in a long while and definitely worth the money.
