Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom Review

A number of players were touched by the tale of Trip and Monkey in Namco Bandai’s Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. For those who are looking for a similar experience with the characters of a game, look no further. Namco Bandai’s Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom follows the adventures of two friends as they both try to save a kingdom that has been lost to darkness for hundreds of years.

With a lot of games storming in this holiday season, what makes Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom a title worth picking up? Let’s take a look at the HOTs and NOTs of the game.

HOT

Eerie Storyline
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom immerses players into a land that has been devoured by darkness. No one in the kingdom survived except for one thief, Tepeu, who is determined to fight against the tide of darkness and save the kingdom. While searching for a lost treasure in a castle, the thief meets Majin, the guardian of the kingdom who has been isolated and forgotten for ages. Both characters will have to work together, finding ways to get through the kingdom and restore it to its former glory.

Command the Majin
When Tepeu finds Majin and wakes him from his slumber, he becomes the master of the creature. In Tepeu and Majin’s adventure, the player will have to command Majin throughout the game, from targeting and attacking enemies in combat to solving puzzles that require teamwork. This close relationship between Tepeu and Majin adds an element of strategy to the game, as the characters depend on one another throughout the game. For instance, whenever Tepeu dies in combat, Majin can revive him before he is taken over by the darkness. So as long as Majin is alive in battle, Tepeu can die a lot of times and Majin will always revive him. However, Majin is weak from his slumber and cannot take on all the enemies by himself, so Tepeu’s fighting skills and devastating finishing moves are essential in battle.

Puzzles to Solve
The Kingdom in the game is very big and exploring it will take some time and patience. In order to get to the next area, players will first have to solve several puzzles. Around every corner, there are puzzles blocking the way that the player will have to overcome, most of which are relatively simple. However, the puzzles offer a lot of variety, such as turning on switches, destroying rocks, catapulting Tepeu to the next area, or even just finding the right path to the next area. Although the constant puzzles can get annoying after a while, their ease makes them manageable and keeps the player interested.

Combined Attacks and Stealth Kills
Unlike the battle system in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, players are able to create a combination attack with Tepeu and Majin. Whenever both characters are close to one another, there is a high chance that they can perform a combo attack together and inflict a huge amount of damage to the enemy. The battle system of Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is pretty simple: it’s a hack and slash game but the ability to command and team up with the Majin makes the battle system exciting and a lot less repetitive than other games in the genre. There are a plethora of attacks that players can perform in combat and as Majin recovers his abilities from the past, both characters become unstoppable fighting machines.

On the outside, this game may look like yet another mindless hack and slash game, but there is one more feature that needs to be noted. Since the enemies in the game are somewhat blind due to the nature of being corrupted by the darkness, Tepeu can sneak around them by crouching and perform a stealth kill. The stealth kill works only on regular enemies and not on bosses, but executing it is fairly easy and extremely satisfying. Whenever the enemies feel the presence of Tepeu, the player can just lose them and attempt it again.

Epic Boss Battles
There are a number of great boss battles in the game that will challenge and excite players. For the most part, the bosses can be compared to the ones found in the Legend of Zelda games. Taking down the bosses are fairly easy, as they will have patterns that give the player hints as to how they should attack. At the end of each boss fight, new abilities will be awarded to the Majin, bringing him one step closer to becoming unstoppable.

Love Collecting?
In addition to just going through the storyline of the game, a lot of extra things can be done in order to get everything out of the game. Throughout the Kingdom, there are treasure chests that contain experience points that allow Tepeu to level up. Fruits that increase the Majin’s strength and stamina can also be collected. Customizing Tepeu and Majin’s outfits can also be done by finding new costumes in treasure chests. Also, there will be downloadable content in the future that will allow players to obtain rare outfits that grant the characters unique abilities.

NOT

Graphics and Weird AI
The only downside to Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom lies in the graphics and the AI. Players can expect the animations of the game to stutter at times. During an intense battle with the enemies, players can notice a slight lag and sometimes it ruins the experience, especially when it occurs during boss fights. As for the AI, they are easy to manipulate. Whenever the darkened creatures detect the presence of Tepeu and Majin, the best way to lose them is just to get out of their sight and all will be forgotten.

VERDICT

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is easily one of the best action-adventure games of 2010. The unique storyline and charming characters are something that players will remember long after beating the game. The experience that I’ve had with the game is something to treasure. Players looking for a great storyline blended with unique elements of gameplay should definitely check out Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom!

[Editor’s Note: Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]