Overall 6.9 Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 5
10
Now The Birth Of Jesus Christ Was (Not Quite) On This Wise Eirinn
Alright, let me preface this review by saying that a lot of people are going to greatly disagree with me on this game, but that's fine. I mean, the whole point behind a review is to express your own personal opinion about the game you're reviewing, right? That's exactly what I am setting out to do here.
So I'm a bit late on reviewing a Christmas game, but here it is ladies and gentlemen, the game that logic dictated must exist: the good Christmas game! Just when I had lost almost all faith that such a thing existed, I finally found a good Christmas game. And what's even more amazing is that I found a good console based video game based on the Bible. That too has never been done to my knowledge, and to think that both of the impossible feats were weapped up in one neatly wrapped box, it blows my mind! Well, okay, not quite that extreme, but it does surprise me quite a bit.
So needless to say, King of Kings takes place during the life of Jesus, and is based on the birth story, the journey to Egypt, and the story of Jesus in the temple at age twelve in the Bible. Obviously this game will shine most to the Christian (or at least, Bible believing) gamer, so if you don't fall into those two categories, you probably won't enjoy this one nearly as much as I did. The game is a pretty straight forward platformer, and you likely will feel right at home as soon as you start playing. The controls are very intuitive, and really need no explaining, but just to be nice, I'll tell you how they work, so lean in real close... A jumps, B attacks in the first two stories, and runs in the third, and the d pad moves around, while start pauses rhe game. Simple, basic platformer stuff. Alright, now on to the review.
Graphics: 10/10
Incredible.
These are very nice graphics for the NES, and though they may not be the best graphics of all the games on the system, they are among the best, and definitely deserve the high marks.
The sprites are large and detailed. In some places, you can actually see Joseph's facial expressions. The enemy sprites are no less detailed, and look great for 8 bit sprites.
The level designs look good, and are well made, with good color
selection, and variation. Some leave you wondering where you are exactly, but games from this time rarely strove for realism, so I can hardly fault it for that.
Highlights:
-Great sprites, Batman! They have nice sprites!
-Very nice level designs
-Good Environment graphics
Sound 10/10
Incredible.
Three words: Music, music, music. When you start this one, listen to the background music, and you'll see exactly why I fell in love with this game's audio. They did the one thing that Christmas games should have been doing all along: play classic Christmas carols for the level tunes! Really, Christmas game devs, why did none of you think of this? It just seems so obvious. And the music is clear and well put together, and shows what the NES was capable of with audio.
The sound effects are nice as well. They sound pretty typical of an 8 bit platformer, which to me is a good thing, and no one could argue that it's a bad thing for a game on the NES to sound like a game on the NES. The sound effects won't wow you, but they are a pleasing addition, and the music makes up for the lack of a wow factor here.
You just won't beat this game's audio with another 8 bit game. It ranks right up there with the best platformers on it's system.
Highlights:
-Awesome music tracks!
-Nice classic 8 bit platformer sounds
Story: 10/10
Incredible.
So the stories here are the same stories you've already heard, but they're just as good as ever, and I don't see the point in penalizing a game for having a story you've already seen. If it was good the first time, it's good now. And while the game doesn't contain large portions of the stories, it traces the outlines of each of the three stories well (oh, yeah, and did I mention it has three stories?), and anyone who is even slightly familiar with these stories is going to know what's going on right from the start. So while the gameplay obviously isn't trying to reinact the stories, the actual stories are spot on, and well executed for an 8 bit game. Not familiar with the stories? Never fear, by the final segment of each story, you'll understand what happened.
Highlights:
-The game's stories faithfully follow the stories they depict
Depth: 10/10
Incredible.
Okay, so maybe the game doesn't offer much by way of powerups, and lacks multiplayer, but what it does offer is very impressive.
Difficulty
select! Something that Nintendo seems to find unimportant, for a reference I give you countless Mario, and Zelda games, and even some third party titles such as Contra, and Castlevania. Difficulty
select, is it really that much to ask for? Thankfully the developers at Wisdom Tree knew that a little effort goes a long way, and gave us two difficulties to play on, making the game more accessible to all ages and skill levels.
Next we have not one, not even two, but three stories play. Now this is what impressed me from the start. Rather than giving us one large game, with a single storyline to follow, they give you three bite sized stories to play through, so you never tire of the one you're on. And what's more, every story plays differently, and actually feels like three different games.
The Wise Men story has you trying to get from point A to point B, while collecting Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. The trick? Finding the exit, and defeating the minibosses that pop up from time to time, without running out of health.
The Journey To Egypt story has you simply making it from the extreme left of the level, to the extreme right of it, without running out of health. It plays considerably differently than the first story did.
Jesus And The Temple story has you trying to find the exit of each level, within the time limit. Some levels have dead ends, costing you valuable time if you run into them. The run button comes in very handy in these levels, to say the least.
The health meter is represented by scrolls, and can be replenished by finding more scrolls, AND getting the Bible questions they contain correct. Miss the question, and get nothing.
Highlights:
-Difficulty
select
-Three stories to play through, each with their own gameplay style
-Creative health system
Addictiveness: 10/10
Incredible.
Yes, it's that high for me. The reasons why are simple: the theme is special to me, and so gets my favor immediately, and it keeps my attention all the way through. This is one Bible game I will definitely play again, and soon. It's also a Christmas game that to me is never out of season, so you'll likely catch me playing it in the middle of the Summer as well as December. The gameplay is classic in each story, and makes this title almost like a 3-in-1 cart, that actually sports fun games. Shocker, I know. This one is definitely a go-to game for me when I get bored and want some 8 bit platformer fun.
Difficulty: 5/10
Average.
This isn't a difficult game, but it could send you back a few times. The difficulty
selection also affects the difficulty of the health replenishing questions, so if you're more well-versed than the newer players, you may want to set the difficulty to normal. The levels aren't always straight forward, and sometimes contain tricks to send you in the wrong direction, and the enemies aren't always easy to get rid of, but they aren't typically as much of an issue as the difficulty as the levels themselves.
As much as I hate giving out my first perfect ten review to any game, I cannot justify altering my ratings any (trust me, I tried several times to find a reason to fault it). King of Kings is a game that has a lot to offer to fans of 8 bit platformers, as well as Christians that are looking for Bible games to play. It puts a strong emphasis on the scriptures without making the entire game feel like religious propaganda and missing the fact that it's a video game, and should worry more about being fun, than being a Bible study. I recommend this to all Christian gamers that enjoy classic games, and to all classic platformer fans that at the very least can tolerate the Bible focus of the game. If you don't like the Bible or religion, avoid the game. Simple as that. No sense in playing it if you do, and calling it a bad game. It is what it is, and it makes no attempt at presenting itself as anything else: it's a Bible game, and a good one at that.
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 01-20-14
Review Replies: 4
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