Thank you to NIS America for providing us with a review copy of The Cruel King and The Great Hero for Nintendo Switch.
Although Nippon Ichi Software’s The Cruel King and The Great Hero released a few weeks ago and they provided us with a review copy prior to the game’s release, which I’m very thankful for – my recorded footage of the game got corrupted! That and one of the grievances I have with the game pushed me away from continuing to play it. However, I still have things to say about The Cruel King and The Great Hero because, based on what I’ve experienced, I do think other people should give it a chance and play it for themselves.
Long ago, while a town of humans sat within walls of stone, the mountains and forests beyond were home to the monsters. Atop the mountain existed the kingdom of the Dragon King and living amongst them was a little girl named Yuu, the character that you’ll be playing as. When Yuu was a baby and her father passed on, the Dragon King became her caretaker and has supported her growth in achieving her goal of becoming a Great Hero. Young and energetic, Yuu will often immediately rush into situations made known to her, as she wants to help those in need like any great hero would. However, with her still being a kid and lacking any real weapons (yet), the Dragon King will ensure the safety of his daughter by following her from within the shadows.
The Cruel King and The Great Hero is the second game in NIS’ Storybook style of games. While the first game, The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, was a slow and simple puzzle 2D platformer that was quite short, The Cruel King and The Great Hero is a slow and simple 2D-sidescrolling JRPG, meaning it’s got some more to it in terms of length. You’ll walk from area to area across the world map to complete the game’s main objective: taking on major good deeds by helping the monster citizens and communities. Additionally, you’ll also run into some monsters that need you to gather items or find other people for them and those will serve as your side missions.
Inbetween the safe havens that you can run through are paths and caves filled with random encounters against hostile enemies. Through turn-based combat, Yuu and her chapter-based companion will have to defeat or run away from whatever enemies come their way. Defend, use skills, items; the game is very simple and grounded in comparison to most other RPGs and there’s nothing wrong with that. In a lot of other JRPGs where a characters’ HP and MP gauges would usually start in the hundreds, The Cruel King and the Great Hero starts Yuu’s HP at 20.
Despite how simple the game is, where it truly shines is in its beautiful art and comforting music. If you already thought The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince was cute, The Cruel King and the Great Hero turns it up another notch. Every monster that you end up fighting is cute, big or small. The environments that you’ll walk across are very vibrant in terms of color, I felt this especially as I was playing handheld on the Nintendo Switch OLED model. Watching Yuu work so hard towards her ambitions and just being kind to everyone, she instantly becomes a lovable character.
Now, as I stated earlier, this game is slow and that’s the major gripe I have with the game. Aside from the fountains that you’ll unlock later that will allow you to teleport to other fountains you’ve already reached, you’ll mostly be walking from area to area. Even though Yuu will run in environments that she’s already cleared, each part of the map has a lot of paths to walk through and this game’s version of a repel isn’t enough to mitigate how slow it feels. Perhaps there is a faster movement option Yuu will gain as you further progress through the game, but the slow pace of the game in combination with the very peaceful storybook presentation of the game… led to me dozing off a few times.
Despite that, when I am wide awake and walking through The Cruel King and The Great Hero’s world, working with Yuu to help those in need, I can’t help but enjoy the game. So if you haven’t purchased the game yourself, I’d suggest doing so. It’s currently available on the Nintendo Switch eShop for $30. If my opinion of the game is to change into something negative, I’ll definitely write about it in the future but I feel confident in Yuu that she’ll become a Great Hero.
