Ranking Every King's Field & Shadow Tower Game

[Music] here it is the video you've all been waiting for no it's even better than a zenos saga Trilogy retrospective it's a list of the kingsfield and Shadow Tower games in order from my least favorite to my mostest favorite now I know what you're thinking yes and justice for is their best album let me begin this video by saying I have a fondness for every single game on this list there's something special and unique about each one of froms releases from this time if you're into this Ultra specific brand of Dungeon Crawler which I don't really know how to categorize other than kingsfield like all of the games here are a worthwhile play I'm not including Eternal ring because a I haven't played it yet and based on what I've seen it's sufficiently different enough to not really carry the same TCH feel free to tell me that I'm wrong anyway enough filibustering let's talk about Shadow Feld all right that's a typo it's supposed to say shadow field starting at the very bottom this one is an easy choice for me it's got to be King's field 1 now this game's Vibe is very different from any other game on the list it's really hard to describe but it feels like there's an element of Outsider Art here there's something deeply lonely about the experience of play playing this game and I think that that specific aspect has become more potent with time it's it's probably the darkest of the four kingsfield games in a literal sense and uh that plays a part in how it all feels but really words just fail in describing this game it's incredibly unique and it's a great jumping off point for the rest of the series so why is it all the way in last place well because it sort of sucks to actually play the PlayStation was brand new from software had never worked on a video game before and translating traditional Dungeon Crawler elements into a truly polygonal 3D space was a novel undertaking especially for such a small team the controls are really clunky and like I know all of the games have slow controls but this is where they're at their worst mainly it's the act of turning that feels imprecise looking around feels like riding an orinary horse to the point where you actually have to yell whoa big fella if you want the camera to stop moving it's true check the instruction manual the enemy behavior in this game is as Bare Bones as it's ever been in the series nearly every single encounter plays out exactly the same way with you relying entirely on Circle strafing baiting attacks and repeating encounters with enemy groups do spice things up a bit especially when projectiles are involved but for the most part combat here is rough and repetitive the monotony is eventually broken up by a final boss whose unavoidable AOE attacks will suck your will to live in an entirely new and exciting way on the visual end the level of detail in this game reflects the infancy of the platform it's on texture size is absurdly small often barely resembling the material it's meant to represent and the number of polygons on most of these models can be counted on one hand on one hand this makes did I really write the words on one hand twice in a row what are the odds of that from some perspective this makes the game often look pretty rough but it also gives the enemies and characters a certain abstract flavor that would never be recaptured the level design is also the series weakest many of the facets that kingsfield and Shadow Tower would later be known for weren't even a glimmer in their daddy's eye in this first game the combination of more open parlor esque rooms connected to small mazike sub levels is reminiscent of Ultima Underworld the thing is that Ultima underworld was restricted to a horizontal plane whereas kingsfield has a whole other access which could theoretically be used in level geometry but it just never is the verticality really does hurt this game's environmental design especially when you compare it to later games in the series despite its problems there is a lot to love about kingsfield 1 there's a brutalist amateurishness coursing through its veins that you must Embrace if you plan on completing it but it's entirely possible to fall for its charm I absolutely love the music even if it doesn't take full advantage of the ps1's capabilities and there aren't many tracks the dungeon Tunes are so great at enhancing that feeling of delving deeper and exploring the unknown that that I regularly throw them on while I'm writing and I mean that [ __ ] slap base come on from The Vibes to the traps to the slow pace and dark Eerie dungeon crawling kingsfield served as an invaluable foundation on which to build further entries but the thing about pioneers is that they rarely reap the rewards for their own hard work and that's certainly the case here the variety in Exploration and mechanical risk-taking you'll find in later series entries is absent here but the quiet understated dungeon crawling experience that that remains will still be appealing to those most patient of players also I rate the kingsfield 1 skeleton a very solid 7.5 out of 10 it's simple yes but the classic handdrawn form and elegance of it wins me over it also has individually modeled ribs and Toes which is so far beyond the level of detail in most of this game's creatures that I just have to tip my hat to this skeleton immediately following kingsfield 1 is where things become difficult for me every one of these games does some things that I like and some things that I don't so in the words of the great Cam Clark voice acting liquid snake dressed up as kazuhira McDonald Miller I had to simplify my thoughts which games did I have the most fun with and which games did I have the least fun with perhaps a better question is has anyone actually ever had fun playing a kingsfield game with those words in mind in the number five spot I had to choose kingsfield 2 let me get kingsfield 2's good qualities out of the way it is a a quietly foundational game the level design paved the way for Dark Souls arguably most louded of features its interconnected world the interweaving pathways coming and going from the Central Village delivers a sense of cogency that's so far beyond its years that even thinking about it just floors me the complete and total lack of loading screens aside from warping lends the game a feeling of immersion that has scarcely been outdone the use of rare flasks to bottle up different types of water and carry them with you as if Superior healing or Mana restoration method is very smart design not only is it smart but like the world itself it clearly informed aspects of Dark Souls design in this case that game's use of Estus flasks as a healing method another fan favorite feature kingsfield 2's Proto fast travel system through the use of keystones is also an astonishingly clever development for the series it allows you to quickly access far away areas of the world so long as you're prepared to sacrifice another potential warp point to have developed an interconnected open world and solved the problem of making navigation less tedious in one Fell Swoop just speaks to the spirit of Genius that was visiting from in 1995 so much of this game is lightning in a bottle so why is it so close to the bottom of this list because it sucks just kidding that was a joke to be a little more tactful the game just isn't as enjoyable to play as the others localizing the game to an island may have worked to keep a lid on the semiopen world but in terms of delivering variety the game Falls flat so much of this game is Just caves there's also wood caves which I'm a fan of because you know when when do you see wood caves in games but mostly it's just standard Rock caves that we all know and love the problem presents itself what happens when you have an interconnected maze likee game in which 90% of the walls look like this you get lost the game does feature much by way of vertical level design which is appreciated but it also renders many of the in-game maps pretty much useless it's hard to gauge your depth whether you've been somewhere before or where you should go this is also partially due to the lack of Direction which becomes much more prevalent here than in previous games in kingsfield you don't really need to know what the hell is going on you just know that you have to go down if you're not going down or doing something in service of going down then you're not doing it right simple as in kingsfield 2 you can spend an hour going down but like so what good for you you're down now what the game has a much stronger focus on NPC dialogue which even includes some light quests which is really cool but you're never so lucky as to receive clear concise directions you essentially have to wander around find Ambiguously shaped keys and often just assume that they'll be needed later this is what makes the use of fast travel anchor points so critical in kingsfield 2 you'll head off in a New Direction over and over again only to come up against a wall and be forced to reset in this sense the world design works against the game's enjoyability there are some minor improvements to combat but the inclusion of bosses undo most of that Goodwill these bosses are terrible they're either too big to attack you at all or so big that you can't avoid their attacks yet you're forced to rely on mainly the same strategies that carry you through the rest of the game where boss design is insufficient to provide fun and fair challenge the game spawns a bunch of [ __ ] turnips to n wait turn turnips Termites Termites is what I'm trying to say they didn't start bringing turnips into the picture until Shadow Tower anyway the bosses are terrible the world is often frustrating to navigate and the performance in the North American release of this game is brutal but it did so much not only for its own series but every subsequent series that from would go on to develop that I just have to kneel and of course the atmosphere is on point as usual and it's worth suffering just for that the game deserves respect for Paving the way for demons souls and Beyond and its good qualities shine so brightly that they almost make me forget about the desperate confusion I felt for much of the game's run time I give kingsfield 2 skeletons a 6 out of 10 unfortunately in an effort to add textures as opposed to solid color they've muddied the simple beauty of the bones I'd also liken its change of posture to the change between Cloud's original ff7 ART versus nura's interpretation of him in both cases they go from Bold and determined to slumped over and helpless I trust this skeleton with my life this one looks like it's about to jump in front of a subway train number four Shadow Tower in many ways Shadow Tower is a more refined version of kingsfield 1 in both cases you're tasked with navigating large but still perfectly comprehensible environments moving through them one by one in an effort to reach the lowest level there are only a handful of friendly NPCs and the lack of fresh air really feels like in both cases these games just want to crush your spirit thanks to a massive increase in visual Fidelity and significant rebalances Shadow Tower succeeds in many areas where kingsfield 1 did not first of all in a singular Tower you wouldn't expect level variety to be particularly high but that's one of Shadow Tower's greatest strength each level of the tower represents a different theme from Elemental zones like fir world to the more conceptual like illusion World though each World shares basic horror themes they differenti themselves via the use of color the architecture of the level itself and most impressively the enemy variety I wouldn't blame you if the sole reason you kept playing Shadow Tower was just to see what was lurking around the next corner to this day many of these enemy designs are among the most creative bizarre and unsettling that from software have ever cooked up from robots to Demons from the living dead to the giant head this game is packed with surreal and memorable designs unfortunately the behavior of these enemies rarely does much to set them apart from one another they often act in similar and predictable ways while the combat initially places you on the back foot as you acclimatize to the game's design and stumble across tons of worthwhile loot you'll find yourself in a position of power against the inhabitants of the tower I appreciate the game's attempt to incorporate some survival horrores resource management and making it multifaceted at that now it's not just currency but precious equipment and even your own life that can be Bartered but between your increased abilities the surplus of Loot and the enemy's fairly standard rules of engagement the anxiety built up by Shadow Towers incredible atmosphere is inevitably undermined before too long it's a good thing then that the core gameplay itself has undergone a number of improvements the active use of shields in combat and the enemy's ability to Parry your strikes spices up the average battle the forced roll indexing of weapons as their durability runs to zero also pushes you out of your comfort zone compelling you to your options constantly in probably the single most devilish early game in any from software game it's just such a shame that they were so committed to aing music altogether because that component is sorely missed you've got a constant stream of new areas new enemies and new equipment but where are the tunes I don't even need a slot base just some dark Ambience would do the trick here I love the kingsfield soundtracks and the absence of music is felt through this entire game not helped one bit by the near complete lack of of Ambient sound design Shadow Tower takes very few risks and the few times it does such as the lack of Music it ends up not really working in the game's favor but that's fine the game refines the basic kingsfield formula that had been established up till that point it understood what really didn't work and very safely expanded on the things that did in terms of enjoyment it's a pretty front-loaded experience but those initial six or seven hours where you feel like a lamb trying to avoid the slaughter are so damn effective that it makes up for the latter game's deficiencies a rock solid entry in the shadow Feld franchise with no catastrophic missteps but neither any meaningful risks the skeletons in this game get a great score of8 out of 10 the level of detail in both model quality and their stumbling animations is so far beyond any skeletons we've seen so far they're old and they're crumbling but they still have swag you kids still say that swag number three kingsfield 4 I know for a lot of people kingsfield 4 is going to be number one let me tell you when it comes down to these last three they're almost interchangeable for me that's how much I enjoyed these games if I was basing this list purely off of which game had the juiciest atmosphere kingsfield 4 would take the crown and it wouldn't even be close this game retains and amplifies everything good about kingsfield 2 the healing method the teleportation stones and most importantly the interconnected World design the ancient City's World is an absolute joy to get lost in actually it [ __ ] sucks to get lost in the ancient city but it also rules I don't know I'm not articulate enough you have to play the game but surely you know what I'm talking about here there are movements to this game you'll go from hazy gray melancholic outdoor areas to the intimidating Central structure of the ancient city itself to the therapeutic sanctuary of the Holy Forest into the once Regal and now Sinister Halls of the castle and it does go on there's so many beautifully realized areas in this game that when you inevitably get lost it's not quite as miserable to make the Trek Back Being the first game in the shadow Feld series on PS2 the jump in visual Fidelity is stunning this game's art style is just stupendous from the texture work to the character and enemy designs down to the architecture of the ancient city which is surprisingly multifaceted if you stop and take it all in the game feels very different from the verdite trilogy moving into something more foreign and totally unrecognizable whereas in the first three kingsfield games you play as royalty or a knight taking back your land here you feel like an intruder from the moment you set foot in the ancient city it's clear that you're unwelcome there and there's really no telling what's waiting for you deep inside of its bowels the combat well it's not great there are some UniQue Ideas such as having a Smithy that takes real world time to repair your equipment but just because it's Unique doesn't mean it's good good possibly due to the more detailed animations it feels like enemies and by extension the combat itself moves slower than ever before many of the enemies exhibit novel behaviors which makes things more interesting but you're still likely relying on many of the same strategies that have carries you through the other games a constant stream of new weapons armor and magic spells do provide some novelty though I have to wonder why the use of shields via a block button was removed when the entire combat system is attacking the simple kindness of allowing you to block literally doubles the mechanical complexity it's a weird step back in retrospect but hardly that big of a problem that's because it's not about the combat and it never was it's about the exploration the sense of Discovery and the immaculate Vibes all of which can be chocked up as kingsfield 4's greatest strengths and of course I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the soundtrack I enjoyed it when I first heard it and I love it now I truly think this is one of the best and most bizarre collections of tunes on the PlayStation 2 and the game owes its ambience in large part to the soundtrack much like Shadow Tower the ancient city doesn't do a whole lot that's new and exciting but it refines and it does so well showcasing a wholly unique setting making it a great place to start judging by how many nostalgic fans I've seen in my main Channel comment section I have to assume that's exactly what many people did it's a downright bewitching game and it's one that I'd return to any day perhaps most importantly it's its skeletons receive a 10 out of 10 one may argue that no skeleton is perfect but these are the video game skeletons by which all others are to be measured they start as a collection of bones that form into skeletons they snap their teeth together with teeth snapping sound effects and like a real skeleton army would they only represent a threat when they gang up on you and they will gang up on you there's no sight more iconic more emblematic of kingsfield 4 number two kingsfield 3 now this may confuse many of you kingsfield 4 for all intents and purposes is a better game why is that well kingsfield 3's weaknesses are clear to see the level design once again fails to really take advantage of the verticality that the second game implemented the interconnectedness on a micro scale has been reduced though on a macro scale it's still evident it doesn't look as good it doesn't sound as good it doesn't play as good so why is it above kingsfield 4 to tell you the truth I don't [ __ ] know but I'm going to try to explain anyway this game despite featuring more towns and friendly NPCs than any game I'm talking about today is often brutally somber character arcs invariably end in tragedy and much of verde's most devastating events have occurred long before you've been brought to these lands this makes the kingdom feel like a ghost town populated only by those Duty bound to stay or too afraid to leave their homes behind this feeling of catastrophe long past is what many people strongly associate with from software's games even to this day and it's most prevalent here in kingsfield 3 the game serves as proof that loneliness can still be felt acutely whether or not you're in company and that tragedy isn't a singular moment in time but a blight that seeps into the very ground itself poisoning for Generations in spite of the apocalyptic odds you take up arms and make your way to verdite Castle this Spirit of Adventure and courage in the face of hopelessness is perhaps what makes kingsfield 3 my favorite game in the series all of the others feel downcast sure but you don't quain get the same sense of insurmountable odds part of this is definitely thanks to kingsfield 3's world it's way bigger than either of the two previous games and even if not in surface area it feels bigger than the ancient city you'll go through forests fortresses underground dwellings Dwarven Caverns snowy Plains and ancient ruins just to name a few each area feels so distinct from one another thanks mainly to the visual design and all of the different music tracks which sound great here's the thing I just love the PS1 era of kingsfield in feeling the ancient city rules when it comes to Aesthetics but it loses something when it leaves the PlayStation Oneness behind it's just unavoidable there's something about the atmosphere in the PS1 games that's so unique and kingsfield 3 is right at the crossroads of maintaining that atmosphere while also being a much more technically capable product than its predecessors this world feels lived in the product of a bygone time there's different types of furniture Villages filled with houses they desperate inhabitants begging for your help it feels big and while there is some uncertainty in regards to Direction you always have a goal in mind and you always feel like you're moving towards it from also attempted to make each area even more unique with the inclusion of one-off puzzles or certain navigational elements that just aren't found elsewhere this does so much to improve the overall experience of dungeon crawling and it's part of what makes the third game's variety so appealing I said in my review but to reiterate here the kingsfield games are made up of surprisingly few components so having another one such as light puzzle solving can only benefit the experience the same way that I looked forward to finding new creatures and Shadow Tower I was always excited to see what kind of environments will be coming up next in kf3 it's tough to rationalize why I appreciate this game so much but I hope you can kind of see where I'm coming from I don't know if it's the first game I'd recommend to a prospective new kingsfield player as if those even exist but it's the first one that I'd eagerly replay the various unique stages as well as the awesome soundtrack enemy variety and surprisingly compelling pieces of lore drove me forward it also ends with this guy which should be motivation enough as long as you L me Reign you shall be known as the golden King I give these skeletons an eight out of 10 they're a clear iteration on the skeletal Simplicity of kingsfield 1 Having learned a valuable lesson from the second game these ones get an 8.5 just due to the absolute Groove in their step as well as the rib attack which is an original idea that just defies logic finally we're at number one Shadow Tower Abyss is in my opinion the best game came from software made till 2003 when it was released it's also Far and Away the most different being that the developers were looking to take the shadow Tower series somewhere different than kingsfield it almost doesn't really feel like it belongs on this list at all but hey I said I'd rank the shadow Feld games and I'm Dy bound from a gameplay perspective Abyss Towers over its nearest competitor in kingsfield 4 and that's because the game is actually largely just enjoyable to play through it takes some of that survival horror influence from the original Shadow Tower but recontextualizes it over a game that's more alien and bizarre than outright horrifying the level design has never been tighter you do miss some of that interconnectedness but in exchange you have a variety of vastly different levels each one with wholly unique enemies to face and challenges to overcome most surprisingly of all so much of this game's best content is entirely skippable which is a bold and risky move to make and one that I respect all the more there's an excellent EB and flow of downtime and party time that just makes for an intoxicating experience and one that's paste surprisingly well if you know what you're doing the game will likely be about 10 to 15 hours long when all is said and done the constant stream of new areas to explore and variety of items to find made the already not particularly long time with this game feel even more brisk it leaves me wanting more and that's because what's here is quality I won't deny that there are a lot of issues with this game some of the mechanics like repair or health shrines are made completely useless once you know what you're doing some of the fire arms are poorly balanced and the aiming is weird and once again the game is hurt by its lack of Music although the Ambient sound design is about a 100 times better than the first Shadow Tower in spite of that this game is special because it represents from trying something totally different and in large part succeeding there is simply nothing like Shadow Tower Abyss it's a first-person shooter an RPG a horror game and a Dungeon Crawler it's got AR-15s life jackets katas and a full dismemberment system it's dark as Sin at times and bright as hell at others each floor simultaneously feels like it could come out of a totally different game while also perfectly fitting in amongst all of the others that feeling that you're an intruder like I was talking about with kingsfield 4 well let's just say that shadow Tower Abyss makes the ancient city feel like like Thanksgiving at your grandmother's house this game was created in a period of from software's history where they were totally unafraid to experiment during a period in video game history when experimentation was happening all the time it increasingly feels like no large publisher would ever in a million years take a chance on a game like Shadow Tower these days and I mean why would they the president was already set Abyss sold like [ __ ] YouTube comments on videos of this game are filled with people talking about how Goofy and janky it looks well what you call Jank I call soul and Abyss is soul the game there's never been anything like it there probably never will be again it's a relic a black sheep even amongst its own Brethren and it just so happens to be my absolute favorite Shadow Feld game however there are no skeletons in this game so it's actually the worst game from sofware has ever made and a gigantic piece of [ __ ] you shouldn't play it there you have it every single kingsfield and Shadow Tower game ranked from worst to best of course these are just my opinions when it comes to rankings like this I largely fly by Fields I'd like to know your favorite least favorite or even your own personal Power Rankings if you're so inclined I know this is a nostalgic series for a lot of people so feel free to share some thoughts and memories in the comments anyway till I see you next time stay healthy wealthy and wise

Channel: Majuularcade

Views: 19,935

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Id: oXTnxF2wFss

Length: 26min 57sec (1617 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 15 2024