Kings Field

Download Kings Field and delve into the atmospheric world of this groundbreaking RPG! Explore dark dungeons, battle fearsome creatures, and uncover the secrets of a mysterious land. Unleash your inner adventurer and play now!
a game by ASCII
Genre: Adventure/RPG
Platforms: Playstation, PSX
Editor Rating: 8/10, based on 4 reviews, 5 reviews are shown
User Rating: 8.3/10 - 6 votes
Rate this game:
See also: RPGs, Hack and Slash Games, Old School Games, 3D Games, Dark Souls-like Games
Kings Field
Kings Field
Kings Field

In a world where 2D RPGs ruled the market, King's Field dared to do the impossible: bringing the epic scope of a role-playing game to the brave new world of 3D gaming. The predecessor of one of the most popular gaming franchises today, King's Field doesn't get the praises it sorely deserves.

As the precursor to the Dark Souls series, you can expect King's Field to be one tough-as-nails gaming experience. However, while those games always felt "tough but fair," King's Field throws any pretension of fairness out of the window, resulting in a highly frustrating experience that only die-hard Miyazaki fans might enjoy.

A New Perspective

Not only did King's Field introduce a new perspective into the genre by bringing RPGs to the 3D realm, but it also did something that very few titles attempted in the genre: it put the player in a first-person view 3D environment. Much like The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall, King's Field loves to put players in maze-like dungeons that can be rather challenging to explore.

However, the game suffers from being an early 3D title, and that's clear to see in the basic models and the lackluster level geometry. Still, despite the basic look, King's Field conveys its world in a believable manner that should be more than serviceable enough for most players.

Outrageous Difficulty

As long-time fans of the Dark Souls series might know, these games are not for everyone. However, if Elden Ring was the pinnacle of the series, then the first King's Field is the ultimate test of a fan's patience. Not only is this game difficult: it's unfairly so.

From unexpected traps to laughably unbalanced enemies, King's Field tests not just your gaming ability, but also how far it can push your buttons before you rage quit. While most of the time I'd say that "that's just how the game is," it certainly feels like King's Field is trying to be hard for difficulty's sake, resulting in a severely unenjoyable experience.

A World of Wonder

Fans of the Souls series cheered when Eleden Ring came and gave the series an open-world treatment – what they didn't realize, however, is that much of what made Elden Ring – and to a lesser extent, Dark Souls 2 – so popular was established by King's Field.

Things like the mimics, random rings that give you overpowered powers, special equipment, and who could forget the Moonlight Greatsword – they all come from this game.

While most of the mechanics might be undeniably dated, the overall presentation, like the music and the crazy lore, stood the test of time. The soundtrack is filled with banger after banger, filling you with a sense of discovery and excitement as you discover the humble origins of the legendary Souls series.

8

Much like the rest of the games in the series, King's Field is a game that you either love or you hate. However, once it finally clicks with you, what you'll discover is an amazingly rewarding action RPG experience.

Pros

  • Amazing soundtrack
  • Challenging gameplay
  • Fun to explore its rich world

Cons

  • Unbearably difficult in some parts
  • The dungeons are a pain to navigate
  • Basic 3D models

Download Kings Field

Playstation

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
PSX

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

People say:

8.5

While the other reviewers will probably hate this game, I totally enjoyed King's Field. (This is actually the sequel rather than the first game Thank goodness.) This game really brings the world alive, although it is hard to imagine anyone living in the maze of corridors. King's Field has one flaw which lies within the speed. KF is slow, and running drains you character of strength. The graphics and audio will immerse you at the get-go. It's not an RPG, but close enough.

8.5

King's Field is hands down a must-play game for any RPG enthusiast. Some people may comment on the game playing very slowly or being sluggish. but this is one aspect of the game that only adds to the realism. This title has all the great aspects of a true RPG, including items to pick up and equip, but also has an adventure feel to it because of the strategy used in doing battle with the enemies. Do not plan on finishing this one for quite some time. Thumbs up...it's a great game!

8.5

RPGers rejoice! There's finally an RPG for the PlaySlation, and it's a dam good one. This first-person perspective RPG does not have mind-blowing graphics, but they are nice and clean. The game takes you through many places and pits you agamst huge snails, man-eating plants and much more. This game is not for those who constantly want action; in fact, it moves quite slowly, but true RPGers will enjoy the hundreds of hours of qameplay King's Field has to offer.

8.0

This combines the Doom type of maze fighting with some elements of RPG games to create a fun and challenging game. The graphics and sounds are good but nothing more exceptional than computer gamers are used to. People who are crazy for 3-D textured-map games will simply love the look of it. Personally, I found the game slightly above average-looking and frustrating at times. I really wish there was an on-the-spot save feature.

ASCii's first entry into the PlayStation arena is an interactive adventure with role-playing elements. An epic tale in the vein of an RPG, King's Field is about a man's quest to retrieve a magical sword.

Playing from a first-person perspective, you set out on a vast journey to dispatch the evil monster Necron and return the powerful Moonlight Sword to the king. Despite the unusual first-person approach, King's Field II throws pieces of the RPG book at you, like hit points, magic points, and various weapons. Plus you'll battle more than 30 otherworldly beasts like skeletons.

Overview

Many years ago, a holy monument was erected in a cave deep in the forests of Verdite. This monument was in honor of the Highest Elf. On the monument an inscription read "It is written. A great ship has fallen from the heavens. It struck the island of Melanat, and was buried deep in the island. Those who come from far away lands to seek its buried treasure shall never return alive. Never approach the island....for the sleeping beast in the darkness awaits the great awakening."

A young warrior named Alfred set out on a mission to the island of Melanat to search for his father who had left years ago to slay the monsters on Melanat. Alfred was unsuccessful in his quest to find his father but along the way he managed to slay the monsters of the island, find the magical moonlight sword and return safely to his home land. Upon his return to the gates of his home land, all of the townsfolk were amazed and crowned him the new king of Veridite.

A few years later, new monsters started to appear in the caverns near Veridite. King Alfred set out to slay the monsters but found the moonlight sword missing. Without this sword, he was unable to defeat the monsters. The king dispatched search parties to find the stolen sword. Every village was searched to no avail. The only place the sword could be was the island. The king dispatched his soldiers to the island in hopes of regaining his sword. None of the soldiers ever returned.

Several months later, the king's best friend, Alexander, arrived at the castle to visit the king. Upon hearing of all of the events that had transpired over the past months, Alexander volunteered to go to the island, slay the monsters, and return the sword. While crossing the channels to the island, his ship was attacked by sea monsters and was destroyed. Alexander became entangled in seaweed and managed to drift to the shore of the island.

Where he awakens, your quest begins.

King's Field is an adventure Role Playing game that puts you behind the controls of Alexander on his quest to slay the monsters of the island and return the moonlight sword to the king. The game is set in a dark, 3D environment and all you have to do is kill a few monsters, find the sword and, oh yeah, survive.

Gameplay

King's Field is an Action RPG that is played from the first-person perspective. This is a new twist on this type of game, and is actually a good twist. The object of the game is to fight your way through monsters, explore the caverns of the island and ultimately, defeat the monsters and find the missing moonlight sword. This is not an easy task or an easy game.

You start the game washing ashore of the island. You find yourself in knee deep water with various see creatures swimming close by. As you first climb out of the water, you have a second to get your bearings, and then you are thrust into battle against the monsters of the island. You begin your quest armed only with a dagger that is less than effective. This weapon is about as good as kicking the monsters, which you unfortunately can't do.

Throughout the caverns and levels of King's Field, you will find various items and health revivals. You have the ability to learn spells that will help in your quest. You can find the ability to cast both offensive and defensive magics. The magics are broken up into five different categories -- fire, wind, light, earth and water. Each of the magics has its own special attributes and is used better in certain situations. The defensive magics are used to heal your player's Hit Points, cure poisons and illuminate dark areas. The magic is essential for survival

Along your journey, you will encounter a number of people. Some of the people are there to help you so talk with them often. Keep talking with them until they can offer no new information. You will also come across merchants that you can buy and sell items from. Along the way in your journey, you will find gold, crystal and other valuable objects that can be traded for weapons from the mechanist. You will also find key shops where you can duplicate keys, a crystal shop where you can trade crystals for other items and a fortune teller that will help identify and explain items to you. All of these resources become very valuable during your quest.

Now, the main focus of the game is on fighting monsters. This is also what really hurts King's Field. The fighting is the old, slash then back up, then slash again type fighting. For a game that is so detailed with its weaponry and magic, the designers should have spent more time on this aspect of the game. I found this type of fighting to be the least exciting part of the game when it should have been the most exciting part. On the positive side, I do like how the game uses strength and magic points. These points increase as you defeat a monster until a certain level is reached. When you reach this point, you advance to a higher ranking. This higher ranking makes your Hit Points and Magic Points higher so it is more difficult to defeat you.

Throughout your adventure, you will encounter a number of barrels, chests, traps and secret doors. It is always wise to check everything carefully and make sure that it is safe before entering something or drinking from a pool. The secret doors are scattered throughout the caves and can be difficult to locate. Also, there are a number of traps set around just to catch you sleeping at the controls. Watch for hidden switches to deactivate some of the traps you will encounter.

Graphics

All of the tracks are very detailed and the background cityscapes are well done. The 3D graphics in King's Field are pretty awesome. All of the different enemies have their own look and personalities. Every single monster is scary from the man eating plants to the giant snails to the skeleton warriors. The first person perspective gives you full view of all of the areas that lie ahead. The graphics are definitely the best part of King's Field. The small polygon break-up is forgiven because of the exceptional detail in the overall game.

Bottom Line

King's Field is a very challenging game that is plagued by ho-hum fighting sequences. If you can get past that part of the game, the adventure portion is excellent. Searching for new items and hidden rooms will take you a long time. This is definitely not a weekend rental and finish. You will find many hours of gameplay and still be finding things you missed on the first pass through the rooms. With a few improvements in the monster battles, this could have been a great game, but it just falls short. The first-person perspective is a fresh take on this type of game, and it is nice to see it used in a different arena than Doom cloning. If King's Field_ corrects these problems, it could be a major hit.

Prepare yourself to enter a world where you fight with swords and shields and do battle with hideous creatures.This sounds like it could be any RPG game, but King's Field adds a neat little twist. All your battles and exploration take place via first person. You can look up and down in this fully 3-D playing field.

There have been other 3-D view games, but King's Field definitely gets credit for creating a more immersive experi-ence.This is achieved by the ability to interact with other characters who advance the story and add a human touch to dreary dungeon life.The attacking system is a little hard to get used to at first, but soon you'll figure out how to hit the enemy and avoid getting whacked yourself.

You work your experience up the same way by hacking up the enemies and collecting gold.The sound effects you hear while walking around the dungeon are extremely welldone and on par with the atmospheric stuff found on Doom for the PSX.The enemies first kind of walk around and don't really bother you unless you get close. Later on though, things really start to get hairy.The monsters you fight come in all types of sizes and shapes.This adds a lot to the game and keeps different areas looking fresh (Well, as fresh as dungeons can look). One of the other stand-out features of this game is that its long! Battling monsters takes a while, and navigating the dungeon without a speed button can be mighty inconvenient. Still. I'm glad that the PlayStation is getting its first RPG and Kings Field is a good entry.

One of the really interesting things about the American release is that the version released over here is actually called Kings Field 2 in Japan. It was felt that the first game lacked the depth and action that more sophisticated American players require.

So all in all, we get the best deal here. A better, more playable and graphically superior experience. All that's missing is the smell of blood.

Snapshots and Media

Playstation Screenshots

See Also

Viewing games 1 to 6