The Cruel King and the Great Hero Review: A charming and accessible living storybook that can be a bit too simple – Eugene Sowah

The spiritual successor to Sayaka Oda’s The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is finally here

Nippon Ichi Software is famously known for their Disgaea series, but over the years they have released a fair few other unique titles.

One of these was The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, which was adored for its charming hand drawn art style.

Now four years after The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince’s initial release, creator Sayaka Oda is back with her next title, The Cruel King and the Great Hero.

The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a JRPG that tells the story of Yuu, a young girl who lives with her adoptive father, The Dragon King.

But the story begins a few years before their fateful encounter when the world was ruled by the notorious Demon King who led an army of monsters to take over the human world.

When all hope seemed lost, a brave hero rose up to defeat the Demon King and bring peace to the world, or so Yuu is led to believe by the stories her adoptive father tells her.

Yuu knows the Hero is her father but she doesn’t know the identity of the Demon King who is closer than she thinks.

In an effort to become a Hero Yuu trains every day and endeavours to help as many people as she can, which leads her on an epic adventure of self-discovery.

The Cruel King and the Great Hero’s plot will definitely pull at your heartstrings, as this charming story unravels a dark truth for Yuu to face.

The characters are well-devised and engaging throughout the entire adventure, it’s almost a shame it ended a lot earlier than expected.

Like its predecessor The Cruel King and the Great Hero boast a charismatic hand drawn art style that is reminiscent of fairy tales or a children’s book like Where the Wild Things Are.

It is clear to see a lot of detail has gone into crafting its world that features compelling characters who are just bursting with originality.

Each new world features a brilliant design however they can feel somewhat repetitive at times.

The soundtrack is awesome, with each delightful sounding theme invoking a sense of adventure, adding an extra atmosphere to every situation.

The soundtrack is one of the highlights of The Cruel King and the Great Hero.

There isn’t any voice over, which is a shame as the game is dialogue-heavy, however, a narrator tells the story during cutscenes which really enforces the storybook style.

The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a JRPG that splits its gameplay between exploration and battle.

Each new area will be split into smaller interconnected sections. There are a few secret areas but it all feels far too linear and straightforward.

Most of the secrets or items are marked on the map, which makes exploring way too easy.

There are areas that can only be accessed after meeting certain characters which are also marked on the map.

Their game doesn’t feature a fast travel system but players will be able to warp back to specific locations using a magical item.

Traversing can be a right slog as Yuu can only run in areas where her level is higher than the monsters who inhabit them.

Even with the running, it still feels like her movements are super slow which is frustrating as some areas have loads of sections and there is a hefty amount of backtracking.

The game is broken down into different story arcs where Yuu will meet a new character. Each section will involve her battling through the game’s dungeons and fighting the final boss.

Extra activities are called Acts of Kindness which are the game’s side quests given by the residents of various towns.

These quests aren’t hugely difficult and will mainly require Yuu to fetch items or defeat some enemies, however, it is a nice way to learn more about the great cast who are the champions of the game.

Battles will be initiated via random encounters which will take Yuu to a turn-based screen. Now combat is very simple, each character will have an attack, special move and access to items.

Although Yuu does learn new skills and can make use of a wide range of attacking items which does elevate the strategic element of the game, combat could still do with a difficulty setting as it felt far too easy even during the boss battles which were never threatening.

On her journey, Yuu will meet three different characters who will do battle with her and allow her to reach new areas or find items with their diverse abilities.

The only issue is you can only have one partner with you at any given time and will have to warp to your hideout to swap them over if you need them to uncover a secret.

The game doesn’t feature a skill tree or any team attacks but characters can be equipped with new weapons and items that cause different kinds of buffs.

However, this simplistic system left me wanting more customisation as it all can become quite repetitive.

The game does feature its own trophy which comes in the form of badges that players can unlock after achieving certain landmarks in the game.

They are a nice incentive and help add that extra bit of longevity to the game. Alongside this players can also get Star Fragments from completing side quests which can also be used to unlock extra goodies.

Verdict

The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a delightfully innocent game that looks to bring in newcomers to the JRPG genre with its simplistic controls.

However, I feel veterans of the genre will simply find this game way too easy with its linear and basic approach. There just isn’t enough depth within its core gameplay and becomes repetitive real quick.

The Cruel King and the Great Hero is out for PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch on 11 March

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