Forever Kingdom Critic Reviews

There have been a rash of bad-to-mediocre RPG's for the PS2 lately, and this one rises above the dreck with the combo system and the solid graphics and sound.

A tough love of a game. You won't get into it right away, and for the first few hours you'll be finding yourself swearing more than playing. But with a little patience, and a few grains of salt, it becomes a rather fun RPG.

In essence, it seems for every good point to the game there's also a negative counterpoint in the same category.

No doubt the combat is tough to master, and the graphics won't make Squaresoft's artists lose any sleep, but Forever Kingdom has an unquantifiable charm that makes it an enjoyable diversion.

Cheap deaths, a bland story, and questionable boss balance hold Forever Kingdom back from being a completely satisfying experience.

It's nowhere near perfect, particularly in the visual department, but the multi-character gameplay gives it a good deal more gameplay longevity than some of the other contenders in this department.

Controlling three characters simultaneously is a breeze, and the complex combo system makes trouncing enemies fun.

A game with no real outstanding qualities. That said, if the core gameplay is enough to hold your interest and if you enjoy collecting rare items, the game may be worth a purchase.

Just doesn't quite provide enough bang for your buck.

The game looks like a first-generation title Playstation 2 title. It even plays like one as well, with basic controls that feature perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves in video games: the combination attack/search/open/event button.

Add to that the lethargic pace of the action, inconsequential storyline and ridiculous outfits/items (which are an acquired taste at best), and this RPG sinks rather quickly into the ever-growing pool of dead-average RPG's trying to cash on the genre's ever-growing popularity.

A flimsy plot and disorienting soundtrack frame an otherwise nondescript action RPG.

The multiple-character combos are a nice touch, but the execution is so poor as to make it a moot point.