Little King's Story

62%
Game Brain Score Based on 294 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Little King's Story Game Cover
Little King's Story on the Wii is a phenomenal game. This port is anything but.
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In Little King's Story, players become a timid young boy who suddenly becomes king and must build and defend his kingdom. They'll recruit townspeople, assign them jobs, and explore vast lands to fight enemies and uncover treasures. The game features a charming story, strategic gameplay, and a unique art style for a lighthearted, yet engaging adventure.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station Vita
  • Wii
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

62%
Audience ScoreBased on 294 reviews
story22 positive mentions
stability32 negative mentions
  • Charming and unique gameplay that combines elements of Pikmin and kingdom building.
  • The art style and music are delightful, enhancing the overall experience.
  • The game offers a nostalgic trip for those who played it on the Wii, with engaging mechanics and a fun story.
  • The port suffers from significant technical issues, including frequent crashes and frame rate drops.
  • Controls are clunky, especially when using a keyboard, making gameplay frustrating.
  • The 60 fps option can make certain boss fights nearly impossible due to increased enemy speed.
  • story80 mentions

    The story of "Little King's Story" is widely praised for its charm, humor, and depth, blending whimsical elements with more serious themes. Players appreciate the unique characters and engaging narrative that drives the gameplay, despite some criticism regarding the linearity and occasional bugs in the PC port. Overall, the game's narrative is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to its appeal and enjoyment.

    • “The story is what makes this game; every character is unique, the gameplay, the mechanics, everything about this game is just perfect in my eyes.”
    • “I've always thought Little King's Story was an adorable tale, merging childhood imagination with world domination in a normally amusing fashion, and the story hasn't changed one bit in this version, retaining all of its charm.”
    • “This game is fantastic; it makes good use of classical music and is full of heart. It's essentially a boy's perception of his world in a funny and moving story, everything fits well in the context.”
    • “In order to even run the game without it crashing to desktop, you have to disable all in-game cutscenes, so you have to go to YouTube to actually see what is happening in the storyline.”
    • “Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this particular port of Little King's Story, despite the efforts put in previously to bring it up to a workable state.”
    • “When the A button stops randomly working, massive slowdowns still occur, and the game has obvious gameplay issues, making it difficult to warrant a recommendation of any kind.”
  • graphics50 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the charming art style and upgraded visuals from the original Wii version. However, numerous reports of graphical glitches, crashes, and performance issues, especially on lower-end hardware, have marred the experience for some. While the overall aesthetic is considered cute and fitting, the technical execution has left players frustrated at times.

    • “The graphics are delightful, the music is all wonderfully remixed classical music, the story is charming and actually has a good amount of depth, the gameplay is similar to Pikmin with a kingdom building element, and the humor in it still makes me laugh when I play today.”
    • “The art style of the game -- just look at the king -- does shine through though and this elevates the graphics quite a lot.”
    • “The cutesy aesthetic mixes with a bit of dark humor and some silly wordplay.”
    • “Loved this game on the Wii, but the port is full of game-breaking bugs, graphic issues, and random crashes.”
    • “Random crashes occur often even with graphics cranked all the way down and resolution changed to Wii levels.”
    • “Do not buy, I am running on Windows 10, tried to set to every graphical setting and tried every Windows compatibility mode, but it always crashes after the intro movie.”
  • gameplay48 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is characterized by its charming and intuitive mechanics, reminiscent of titles like Pikmin and Animal Crossing, but it suffers from significant issues such as slow response times, confusing controls, and game-breaking bugs, particularly during boss fights. While the core gameplay loop is enjoyable and offers depth, players have reported frustrating experiences due to performance problems and a lack of clear instructions. Overall, the game is seen as a delightful experience marred by technical shortcomings that can hinder enjoyment.

    • “The gameplay loop revolves around you playing as a child king in a kingdom surrounded by umas - unidentified mysterious animals, a Japanese term for cryptozoology.”
    • “The core gameplay is great.”
    • “It's a charming little game with great music and 'pikmin-esque' gameplay, while not being as challenging.”
    • “Boss fight mechanics aren't fun.”
    • “The game is slow (response time is slow even though some of the battles need you to be able to react fast), the controls are difficult, I have encountered a few bugs (one that was almost game breaking) and the game mechanics are not very well explained in the game before you jump in.”
    • “It will often load with no sound, will refuse to load save files and simply freeze, and the mechanics of several boss fights just don't work which makes it incredibly hard to make progress.”
  • music35 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its charming and bright reinterpretations of classical pieces, enhancing the overall atmosphere and nostalgia. Many players appreciate how the soundtrack complements the gameplay, with specific tracks tailored for various moments, though some have noted performance issues that can affect music playback. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “Honestly, just buy it for the soundtrack and the humor.”
    • “The music is great; it's taken from mostly classical western pieces that many people will probably find very familiar.”
    • “The music in this game is great and suits the art style perfectly.”
    • “Cing clearly tried to save some money by using computer-generated voices and classical music instead of a proper original soundtrack, but let me tell you – the guys had style.”
    • “Much of the music and sounds are missing, and the game asked for me to press the 'A' button to start.”
    • “My only gripe is the same one I had playing the original game: I can't find a way to turn off the music!”
  • stability33 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of frequent crashes, graphical glitches, and save file corruption. Players have experienced significant performance issues, including frame rate drops and freezing, even on high-end systems. While some users find the game enjoyable despite these problems, the overall consensus is that the port is plagued by bugs that detract from the experience.

    • “I think if it was just the occasional crashes and odd graphics glitches I'd just accept it, but I keep having saves corrupted, enemies glitch and get stuck to my character, or even get stuck in the castle before the game even starts.”
    • “This port is good, but very buggy.”
    • “Besides the literal game-breaking bug, there are visual glitches, audio glitches, the game will crash on you if you do not have it on the right settings and even then it still will crash on you just not as frequently.”
  • optimization20 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues such as freezing, crashes, and high GPU usage, particularly on the PC port. While some users noted improvements after adjusting settings or applying patches, others still faced persistent bugs and instability, suggesting that potential buyers should carefully consider their hardware capabilities before purchasing. Overall, the optimization remains a major concern, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.

    • “Fun game, basically Pikmin didn't have an issue with performance on this port.”
    • “Thanks to the recent update, this game should have no performance issues even on the lowest specs.”
    • “After having played it for several hours, I can say that up till now, I have not really been plagued by any notable performance issues.”
    • “Bad port, it has performance issues, while my PC can run it, it consumes too much GPU resource.”
    • “The poor optimization causes a rather unfortunate conflict with the fact the game was not meant to run in 60 fps anyways.”
    • “Total lack of optimization (this game is a port from Wii), constant problems with loading saves, black screens, freezes etc. sometimes you have to reload the game twice or thrice to actually play it.”
  • humor16 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its charm and cleverness, blending light-hearted and dark elements reminiscent of titles like Earthbound. Players appreciate the funny dialogue, quirky characters, and a whimsical tone that balances child-like innocence with mature themes. Overall, the humor contributes significantly to the game's delightful experience, making it both entertaining and engaging.

    • “Honestly, just buy it for the soundtrack and the humor.”
    • “It's a delightfully charming game with a fun sense of humor and a whole lot of interesting boss battles.”
    • “The story is admittedly rather simple, but the dialogue is funny and there's lots of humor and parody.”
  • character development5 mentions

    The character development in the game is highly praised, with users highlighting the outstanding relationship between Howser and Liam, as well as the creative character design that complements the game's music. Overall, the character development contributes significantly to the game's charm and enjoyment.

    • “This game is amazing! The character development between Howser and Liam is outstanding!”
    • “Great character design, fun mechanics, great monster design, and the music is really nice. This game oozes charm like you wouldn't believe.”
    • “Creative character design and enjoyable plot.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game; while some find it tedious and mediocre, others appreciate the relaxing elements of exploration and farming that make the time spent grinding enjoyable. The slow camera movement can add to the frustration, but many look forward to investing hours into building their ideal kingdom. Overall, grinding is seen as a necessary part of the experience, with varying levels of enjoyment among players.

    • “The game itself is mediocre at best and tedious at worst.”
    • “Excellent game which I'm looking forward to spending more hours on grinding to have the most beautiful kingdom there is!”
    • “The camera is also a point of mention, it turns so slowly that I end up overshooting and when I simply want to make minor adjustments it can get quite tedious.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The game is characterized by a wholesome tone that contrasts with its underlying sense of mystery, creating a charming and heartwarming experience, despite the presence of darker themes of tyranny.

    • “The tone of the game is far more wholesome, but it retains the sense of mystery of a world that is much more than it seems.”
    • “A charming and heartwarming game.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    Reviewers highlight the game's atmosphere as distinctly unique, complemented by creative elements that enhance the overall experience.

    • “The game has an absolutely unique atmosphere, filled with creative elements that draw you in.”
    • “The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, making you feel like you're part of a living, breathing world.”
    • “Every detail contributes to a rich atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization strategy has been criticized as a cash grab, leading some users to seek refunds and vow not to purchase any future products from the developers.

    • “This seems like a cash grab by the developers. I refunded my purchase and will make sure not to buy anything else from them.”
    • “The monetization model is overly aggressive and feels exploitative.”
    • “I feel like I'm being pressured to spend money just to enjoy the game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

60% average critic score

Buy Little King's Story

Play time

8hMedian play time
6hAverage play time
3-9hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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