King's Field: The Ancient City

 PlayStation 2
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 14
  3. Negative: 3 out of 14
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  1. GameZone
    82
    If this game is played for 15 minutes and then discarded due to the slow speed and pace of the game, you aren’t giving it the patience it deserves.
  2. GamePro
    80
    With a better laid-out world, more cleverly hidden treasures, and a great sense of nonlinearity, The Ancient City is a nice bit of evolution for the series.
  3. Electric Playground
    75
    It took me almost an hour before I GOT King's Field: The Ancient City--and then the experience suddenly became charming, challenging and rewarding.
  5. All Game Guide
    70
    Gamers looking for big changes in the series, though, won't find the experience much different than earlier King's Field titles.
  6. GameSpot
    66
    A rental is definitely advised for those who are not already familiar with the series.
  7. IGN
    66
    Depth is what helps save King's Field from the world of mediocrity. The level of control over your character is most assuredly a nice bonus as you can equip armor on just about every major body part.
  8. Game Informer
    65
    Even with these intriguing traits in place, King's Field: The Ancient City will bore approximately 99.9% of the gamers out there. Primarily because the game is so slow and burdensome. [Apr 2002, p.77]
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  9. Gamezilla!
    58
    Shape up the way the game flows, its speed, and a better control/attack system, and this might be worth looking at.
  10. PSM Magazine
    50
    The action is so slow and the world so depressingly medieval. [Apr 2002]
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  11. XenGamers
    50
    Gamers willing to stick it out will be rewarded with a lengthy quest and plenty of challenge, but King's Field: The Ancient City is unlikely to create many new converts.
  12. PSX Nation
    50
    A slight but meaningful improvement over what it delivered two years ago on PS2 with "Eternal Ring".
  13. Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
    40
    It's tedious, wearisome, dreary, slow, stiff, flat and monotonous...in other words, it's an utter bore. [Apr 2002, p.103]
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  14. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    33
    Too hard...too slow...too ugly. [May 2002, p.107]
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  15. TotalGames.net
    23
    Kings Field – a name that has been emblazoned upon our minds by virtue of its sheer incompetence.
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Awards & Rankings

73
#73 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2002
21
#21 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2002

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 29 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 29
  3. Negative: 3 out of 29
  1. R-e-n-n-a-t
    Aug 8, 2011
    10
    Pure awesome-ness in game form. Yes, it's slow, and yes, it's frustrating if you die. But these are good things! You're truly afraid to die,Pure awesome-ness in game form. Yes, it's slow, and yes, it's frustrating if you die. But these are good things! You're truly afraid to die, you truly feel like an adventurer exploring cursed lands, and the slower combat allows you to think (which you must do to succeed) to beat your enemies and find the plethora of hidden items and secret places.

    This game is about exploration, about probing an ancient horrific land, and about surviving amidst large hords (impressive unit counts and NO load times, great graphics for the time) of depraved enemies. It has a very Lovecraftian vibe.    … Full Review »
  2. M3R1D1U5
    Mar 11, 2018
    10
    This is not only the definitive entry in the King's Field IP, it's one of the best games on the entire ps2 catalog. As other reviewers haveThis is not only the definitive entry in the King's Field IP, it's one of the best games on the entire ps2 catalog. As other reviewers have stated, it is indeed a slow game, with a completely and absolutely bleak and depressing atmosphere, akin to that so intensely praised ambiance found in the Souls games (which are, indeed, spiritual successors to King's Field).

    And while it has a strikingly similar design ethos to that of the Souls games, it manages to be its own thing, focusing almost solely in the atmosphere and dungeon exploration (while Souls focus stands on the combat).

    Definitely, not a game for everybody. And MOST DEFINITELY not a 60/100 game.

    King's Field: The Ancient City may be the greatest rpg in the ps2 library, and it's a damn shame that critics and audicence at the time weren't able to understand the genius behind it. An absolute masterpiece and without a doubt a 10/10 in its own niche.    … Full Review »
  3. Thekaboofieman
    Nov 24, 2017
    10
    This is an incredibly good, yet overlooked, series. They have this incredible atmosphere, and feeling of discovery. I would wholeheartedlyThis is an incredibly good, yet overlooked, series. They have this incredible atmosphere, and feeling of discovery. I would wholeheartedly recommend this game. That is, if you can stomach dying fairly often.… Full Review »
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