X
- E10+
- NIS America
- E10+
- NIS America
- E10+
- NIS America
- E10+
- NIS America
The Cruel King and the Great Hero
Released On: Mar 15, 2022
66
6.3
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
All Platforms
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 14 Critic Reviews
66
29% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
71% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 14 Critic Reviews
66
29% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
71% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
It may not be the deepest RPG but The Cruel King and the Great Hero is certainly one of the most heartwarming. In fact, I adored its story and cast of characters so much that I highly recommend it to anyone with a soft spot for unconventional lighthearted tales.
The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a sincere production, which does not aim to overturn the canons of turn-based role-playing games, or to amaze with who knows what technical innovation. Quite the contrary: precisely to the extent of this moderate simplicity Nippon Ichi Software inscribes a winning design idea, which - even without some structural ingenuity - manages to convey first of all the message of a light-hearted but also intimate and profound story. The most relevant stylistic figure then remains the art direction, which with such a graceful hand drawing style makes the game world a real videogame fairy tale.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 User Ratings
6.3
50% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
17% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
33% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 User Ratings
6.3
50% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
17% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
33% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Pros:
-One of the most visually stunning games I have ever seen. The entire game was hand drawn by the incredibly talented director of this game, Sayaka Oda.
-The music gives off a fairy tale vibe and is great to listen to.
-The writing is amazing, with lots of charming characters and even some heartbreaking moments.
-There's plenty of content, with dozens of side quests and a story that took me roughly 40 hours.
-The bosses can be very challenging, especially if you don't do any sidequests. The final boss specifically took me a few tries.
-The monster weakness system is a unique and original idea that makes combat more interesting.
-I appreciate the simpler take on RPG's. It reminds me of Paper Mario with its combat and partners.
-This game is only $30 for a digital copy, which is a great deal for a game that will likely take at least 30 hours. The physical edition also comes with a digital soundtrack, artbook with comments by the director, and a plush of the main character for $60. There is also the Treasure Trove edition which adds an adorable plush of the dragon king and an acrylic puzzle for $105.
Cons:
-Battles appear to frequently
-I personally didn't mind, but a lot of people have a problem with fetch quests and back tracking, which this game has its fair share of in the side quests due to it's relatively small world.
-The aforementioned acrylic puzzle in the treasure trove edition of the game is not of very good quality. The pieces didn't seem to want to fit together, and required so much force that I hurt my thumbs. The pieces also came apart easily, so I spent hours on a 130 piece puzzle that shouldn't have even taken one. Maybe the one I received was just defective, but I'm definitely never taking it apart again.
Summary: An audiovisual masterpiece with simple yet engaging RPG gameplay and an amazing story that I'd recommend to anyone with a Switch or PS4.
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PlayStation 4
It's a small-budget RPG that is overflowing with charm and gorgeous presentation. I absolutely understand wishing for bigger things with it, but that's not what the game is. The game is an incredibly charming and heartwarming fairy tale that has pretty much all of its shortcomings counterbalanced by nice little touches. For example, the numerous side quests, which are basically, all fetch quests very nicely come together by the end to give you a real feeling of accomplishment about all you've done for the side characters.
The combat is a bit too repetitive, though inoffensive, and there were a few things that I feel had greater potential that the developers didn't expand upon, but I cannot bring myself to give the game a lower score in the face of its current harsh rating because of just how wonderful of a little nice RPG it is.
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PlayStation 4
The Cruel King and the Great Hero combines an excellent storyline and an exceptional art-style with a significantly simplified gameplay, which wouldn’t be an issue if not for the tons of very repetitive fights that end up constantly interrupting the narrative flow. Perhaps more exploration and less combat would have served the game better, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
The Cruel King and the Great Hero shines with its captivating art direction, but lacks deepness in gameplay mechanics and would have enjoyed a far better pace.
The Cruel King and the Great Hero‘s storybook narrative and great designs are a classic that arguably never should have left the page. With too many shallow gameplay and world elements, it’s hard to feel invested in anything but the main story cutscenes, but that said, as the game is aimed at a far younger age group, if you are in the market for an RPG for kids, you could do far worse.
The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a cute RPG, I can’t deny that, but it, unfortunately, doesn’t fully invest in any of its features. The combat is tacted on, the story is predictable, and missions feel like unnecessary padding. Still, the charm is there with a more laid-back narrative than your thrilling style RPG. If you’re someone that just wants to wind off and take a break from stories that make you grip your head in fear and confusion, then perhaps this game is for you.
I did genuinely find a lot to love in some of the disparate aspects of The Cruel King and the Great Hero, but games can only ever be a sum of their parts. While there have absolutely been games in the past where I was able to overlook poor gameplay due to the strength of everything else in the package, it feels at least a little bit different when said gameplay is an active detriment to everything around it. Likewise, while plenty of games have had localization issues in the past, this feels like a game whose identity is so closely tied to being a fairy tale – to the point that NIS America sent us a literal “Storybook Edition” for the game – probably could have, and indeed should have had another editing pass done. At least the soundtrack is worthy of praise without any stipulations, but it’s hard to recommend the full package with all of its flaws.
Beautiful game. It could be repetitive, but the amazing soundtrack, charm and beautiful visuals makes it for its repetition. Characters are great and the story, while simple, it's good.
It's a simple game that ooze charm.
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PlayStation 4
After missing out on Liar Princess and Blind Prince, had to buy Cruel KIng and the Great Hero and try the game. Already watched trailers and reviews for Liar Princess, so I know what to expect from this new game. And it sure did not disappoint, bought a storybook game and got a storybook game. Graphics are hand-drawn yet pleasant on the eyes, controls are basic and intuitive, gameplay is simple and enjoyable, story so far is well told with decent narration. Oh, and the loading times are short and almost not noticeable, unlike some other game "cough" cris tales "cough". Plus, there is a feature that minimize random encounters once the hero's level is already higher than the monsters in the area. Downside, expect the game to be short and have repetitive errands, so am playing from time to time, in between other games. Overall, Cruel King and the Great Hero is a simple and fun game, that wants the player to have a good and pleasant story time.
Wanted to give a score of 8 but the game is just too short and not enough depth so a high 7 is good. And to show support to the devs, bought the storybook edition that comes with a hardcover mini artbook and plushie of the great hero, so the devs can continue making similar games and hopefully, the devs can add more depth to future games
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PlayStation 4
It looks phenomenal and is truly an awesome story to play, but the gameplay is tedious RPG stuff. It is enjoyable I found in fun it but it is still not what I will call an amazing fun experience, for all the things around the gameplay so good that I pulled myself through a 15 hours of it to enjoy it so much.
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PlayStation 4
The game is good but it should be free at this point, it passes for a Nintendo switch game but not ps4, the graphics are outdated and the fights very few and not fun
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PlayStation 4
Summary The Wicked King and the Noble Hero is an RPG with a human child named Yuu and the dragon that acts as her foster parent. In the game, the world was ruled by the dragon overlord, and it was defeated by the hero. But instead of killing the dragon, the hero decided just to cut off its horns where his power came from, and the two became f...
Rated E +10
for Everyone +10
Platforms:
- Nintendo Switch
- PlayStation 4
Initial Release Date: Mar 15, 2022
Developer:
- Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: NIS America
Genres:
