Review: Little King's Story for the Wii

LIVING IN AMERICA
Reviews of games released in the U.S.

Little King lets you entertain your delusions of grandeur in quirky fashion

LITTLE KING’S STORY
System: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Real-time strategy (well, sort of)
From: XSEED
Price: $49.99

I’m a big fan of unique and quirky video games. Not only do they add a fresh twist to the gaming landscape, they also showcase creativity in what often can be a me-too, copycat industry. Which brings us to the latest quirky game to catch my fancy: Little King’s Story for the Nintendo Wii. A cross between Pikmin and the Pied Piper of Hamlin, Little King chronicles the adventures of a young boy who stumbles upon a magic crown that gives him the power to command people. Oh, the things I’d do with a power like that. Like ordering Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann into the same locked room with one of those one-way observation mirrors. That should be fun.

Anywho, using the loyalty of your initially unemployed subjects — combined with the strategy of your Don Quixote-like, power-hungry advisor Howser — your goal in Little King is to expand your run-down, rat-infested shack of a kingdom by conquering neighboring territories. You do this by turning your slacking subjects into hard-working citizens such as farmers, soldiers, carpenters and lumberjacks. Once you turn your peeps into more productive members of society, you can take them out to the field and have them follow every order your little kingly heart desires. This can range from digging treasure and harvesting produce for funding your conquests to ganging up on monsters and enemy targets that impede your kingdom’s expansion. This is the heart of Little King as having a good mix of subjects and skills is the key to not just defeating big bosses but finding hidden stuff and unlocking areas so you can progress further.

Commands are done using a real-time system; you move a cursor toward your intended target, then let loose your loyal subjects like lemming-piranhas. Seeing your cute little henchmen clumsily amble toward their target or hastily retreat to your side never gets old for yours truly — and yes, I’m that easily amused. After all, I’m the same guy who thinks that naming my king “Burger” is a stroke of comedy genius. (Hearing my character called King Burger never gets old, either. Ah, the pleasures of being easily pleased.) Let’s just say that if the sight of little guys climbing and clinging desperately to big bosses while smacking the big lugs around is something that amuses you, then you’ll be thoroughly amused by this game.

As you progress through the game, not only do you enlarge your territory, you also expand the type of subjects you can have. You can unlock a host of new job types — including a class that allows you to, um, recycle chickens in the field (PETA would be so not pleased). You can also upgrade older classes into more powerful or efficient versions of themselves. In addition to natural growth through expansion, you can increase your population by targeting subjects who have fallen in love and using your trusty targeting cursor to send them to church. This allows them to get married and bear a child to add to your list of obedient subjects. It’s certainly the little touches like this, including the mannerisms of your tiny king and his followers, that help make Little King’s story shine. Little King is also chockful of hilarious moments, including funny comments from the game's characters. You’ll be called a slacker, a midget and the ruler of a poor excuse for a kingdom — and those are just from your own subjects. (You may be able to command them, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can force them to like you, especially in the beginning of the game.) With subjects like these...



The game is without its drawbacks. One of the gripes I have about this game is the missed opportunity to use the Wiimote for more accurate targeting. Oftentimes, Wii games end up tacking imprecise waggle controls to a game as their way of adding Wiimote support. This not only makes the game less fun to play, it’s also one of the quickest ways for flailing gamers to pull a freaking muscle. Little King, thankfully, doesn’t resort to waggle but its decision to use traditional controls for aiming makes it a pain to move your cursor sometimes. An option to aim with the Wiimote pointer would’ve been much better. Filing your troops up stairs can also be a pain at times because some have a tendency to fall off and get stuck at the lower levels. It’s like herding cats. Gathering and selecting troops can be an annoying exercise as well, as is having to backtrack repeatedly — especially as your territory gets bigger. Admittedly, a lot of these issues get resolved as you progress through the game and gain access to certain contraptions and abilities.

Overall, whatever gripes I have are minor and don’t significantly detract from what is an excellent and well-polished game. Little King is one of those rare releases that has a lot of heart, something that’s also enhanced by a classic art style that harkens back anyone’s childhood. Don’t let the classic kiddie art style and easygoing pace fool you, though. The ending for this Teen-rated game might be a bit too heavy for the kiddies. The existential climax actually gave me flashbacks of my psychology classes in college and broke my heart, to be honest. But it’s to Little King’s credit that it actually made me care that much to have my heart broken in the first place. It truly is a bittersweet pleasure. I command you to play it. SHINGENMOCHI

FINAL VERDICT: Highly recommended.

Recommended if you like: Pikmin

*** This review originally appeared in the Reno Gazette-Journal, where it was selected as a Quick Pick in the Friday Calendar's A-List section. (I'm posting it on my personal site as backup.)