Why is King's Field fun?

[Anonymous No.9825219]

This game looks terrible, the controls are claustrophobic, the combat is as simplistic as it gets, and there aren't that many items or stuff to interact with. Yet I'm having fun.
I think it's because of the exploration, which is a little bit exhausting because I haven't found a map yet (I got lost in some of the caves already) but it's also interesting and makes me want to keep going. Looking forward to play this whole series.

[Anonymous No.9825264]

Assuming you are speaking of KF1 JP and haven't beat the game so I'll keep things spoiler free

The flaws you mentioned like poor graphics, controls, combat, lack of interactive content, etc. actually service its overall goal of providing an immersive dungeon crawl experience. It's the minimalism in my opinion. Instead of there being hundreds of little doodads, environmental details, there's just a couple. But because there's so few, the ones that are there leave a much larger impact because they contrast with the overall empty and somewhat repetitive rest of the world. Obviously the actual graphical specifications of KF1 could be better but I think the game looks fine as is. Not amazing but it doesn't detract from the experience. Also, whoever did the map design did a good job because every area has a unique feel to it with unique structures so it's very easy to memorize the layout.

This goes for combat too. Combat being simple helps because it is meant to be nothing more than a stress-creating stat check during the dungeon crawl. If the combat was any deeper it'd probably make the game more annoying to explore overall. Combat really isn't the point so there's no point in making encounters deeper or last longer any more than they have to.

I like how the controls make it harder for you to completely destroy the simple enemy AI. Analog stick camera controls wouldn't completely destroy the game so long as you can't adjust the sensitivity of the camera. The game's been balanced around the controls and rarely are you ever forcibly put into encounters where the slow turn speed is the cause of your downfall, it's almost always your fault for allowing enemies to surround you on both sides.

You'll get a map soon OP, good luck and don't give up. It gets much less exhausting the more you play.

[Anonymous No.9825283]

>>9825219
i love the simplicity and arcadey feel of the first KF.

[Anonymous No.9825294]

Hello, this is my wife.

[Anonymous No.9825304]

>>9825264
Yep I saw there was this indie game inspired by KF out recently and I thought I want to play this but there's no way I'm going to let it colour my experience before playing the original series. And when I looked it up I saw this first one is like 1/2 to 1/3 as long as the sequels and it still has 5 floors which is very meaty, that's a lot of comfy exploration.
I'm just getting the layout of the graveyard, I put the dragon cup back and got the key of deceased.
I agree with your points, the simplicity makes it feel surreal. Even the PS1 texture warping or whatever you call it kind of adds to the atmosphere cause it's like the walls are shifting around in the corners of your eyes. I want that golden bardiche from the merchant who sells the priest's cross.

[Anonymous No.9825325]

>>9825219
i love the world visual design of the ps1 kings field games. i also found the simple and admittedly cheesy combat enjoyable.

[Anonymous No.9825407]

>>9825219
yea i had similar feeling when playing armored core 1
looks pretty simple and controls are weird but the missions are funner than they look

[Anonymous No.9825501]

>>9825294
The resident schizos on this board make me wonder if it’s me who’s the crazy one. Why do you post this in every single kf thread

[Anonymous No.9825502]

>>9825501
miria is based. we see her naked in the next game and her boobs are as big as her head.

[Anonymous No.9825521]

>>9825502
No you don’t.
There’s more to games than cumming anyways.

[Anonymous No.9825532]

>>9825521
yes you do. technically. and, yeah, of course there is. this trilogy of games is a grand adventure despite the limitations it faced.

[Anonymous No.9825573]

>>9825501
>why do you post King's Field images in the King's Field imageboard thread
I guess you'd rather the threads be bumped off the board instead.

[Anonymous No.9825602]

>>9825219
holy SHIT look at thos fucking thick ass thighs

[Anonymous No.9825614]

>>9825501
I'd be jealous too, if I were you.

[Anonymous No.9825634]

>>9825614
man when i played these games, i really wasn't expecting the horny childhood friend sluttily dressed dark elf

[Anonymous No.9825640]

ah yes, king's field
my favorite series for japanese salary men.

[Anonymous No.9825770]

>>9825219
For the same reason Zeldafags like 2.

[Anonymous No.9826304]

>>9825770
I mean I was answering my own question, I could have posted "Why King's Field is fun". I'm imagining it from the perspective of someone with a lot less patience.
Fromsoftware's level/world design is the best in the business and the game is centered around exploration which I love. The combat is undemanding so you can focus on navigating. Zelda 2 is much more difficult from what I've played so far.

[Anonymous No.9826426]

to this day, I have no clue how the whole King's Field series works with the numbering and Japanese title stuff
as in, KF1 is also somehow KF2, but KF2 here is KF3, but 4 is 4 for both us and Japan
anyway OP, you tried the Shadow Tower games yet? here's a link to a guide thing for Abyss, in moonrune but still has some cool art. some cool videos in the 2nd link too

https://archive.org/details/shadow-tower-abyss-official-setting-documents-strategy-guide
https://archive.org/search?query=shadow+tower+abyss

[Anonymous No.9826526]

>>9826426
Eh, it's not complicated. The first one was Japan-only, so the numbering for the PSX NA releases is one behind. Then for KF4 they just dropped the number and subtitled it "Ancient City". I'm playing a fan translation of the first one that is easily obtainable.
I'm going to play them in release order so Shadow Tower will come after KF1/2/3.

[Anonymous No.9826613]

>>9825294
>>9825634
Is this supposed to be the same character? Why is she dark?

[Anonymous No.9826623]

>>9825407
See now Armored Core controls feel like theyre simulating the technical skills needed to pilot the mech. I know that game must be amazing once I get the hang of it.

[Anonymous No.9827225]

>>9826613
>Is this supposed to be the same character?
No

[Anonymous No.9827236]

those legs are making me stond on the verge of becoming a scalie

[Anonymous No.9827550]

>>9825304
>saw there was this indie game inspired by KF
what game?

[Anonymous No.9827598]

>>9827550
Lunacid, most likely. it actually seems really fucking good, some of the atmosphere is fantastic but the dev throws in these weird anime girls like on the left, just a complete tonal whiplash

[Anonymous No.9827626]

>>9826426
>>9826526
Same thing with the Clock Tower series. We never got the real Clock Tower 1 (aka The First Fear when it got ported to PS1), so Japan's Clock Tower 2 is our Clock Tower 1. Then Japan got a third one that is a spinoff, but it was brought here as Clock Tower 2.

[Anonymous No.9827852]

>>9826426
the US version doesn't give 4 its number. it's called the king's field the ancient city. but even more confusing, the euros got the 4, lol. honestly i just use the japanese numbering. it's easier to remember and the correct way anyway.

[Anonymous No.9827902]

[Anonymous No.9827971]

>>9827902
Amazing level design in KF4.
It helps that they had enough textures and the ability to make unique architecture so areas stand out more than in the previous games.

[Anonymous No.9827974]

for me its the KF1 mummies

[Anonymous No.9828013]

>>9825219
fun? it takes 10 fucking seconds to spin the camera 360

[Anonymous No.9828019]

>>9828013
I love games that put zoomers into ritalin withdrawal.

[Anonymous No.9828035]

>>9828019
Ah comeon i dont need action every 5 second (i love shenmue for example) but this is way too masochistic

[Anonymous No.9828041]

>>9828035
Do a U-turn like you're driving a car, it's faster. You can also use the strafe buttons while turning to cover a lot of ground, it's useful depending on how much space you have and what you're trying to do. You move very fast in the four cardinal directions.

[Anonymous No.9828048]

>>9828041
Hmm maybe i will give it a chance on PS1 again
I only played the PC remaster and controls were fucked up on keyboard

[Anonymous No.9828053]

>>9828048
the remake is trash

[Anonymous No.9828097]

>>9827598
thanks anon

[Anonymous No.9828113]

Its kusoge

[Anonymous No.9828435]

>>9828053
>remake is both textured worse and barely even noticeably higher poly
wtf is this shit

[Anonymous No.9828436]

>>9827598
>the dev throws in these weird anime girls
He knows that’s the only way he’ll get dudes like this (>>9825294) to play it

[Anonymous No.9828442]

>>9828435
it's really half assed honestly. worse looking textures, enemy designs were radically changed, and the game balance is totally fucked. i'm sure it was just there to give an example of what you could do with the KF map maker but they definitely did not play test it.

[Anonymous No.9828456]

There's a real earnest feel to it that is pretty appealing, even if it's so obviously a game made a dev team that only made spreadsheet software beforehand.

[Anonymous No.9828459]

>kings field
>fun

[Anonymous No.9828652]

>>9828459
The only thing that's not fun about it so far is the movement is causing pain in my left hand because I'm using a SNES-style controller and my gnarled manchild claws aren't used to the grip.

[Anonymous No.9828731]

>>9828436
I was interested in playing the King's Field and Shadow Tower series before knowing there'd be any girls in it at all. Cute girls are just a bonus on top of a good dungeon game.
The games are worth playing in my opinion, and implying their only appealing aspects is visual treats is a bit of a stretch if you ask me.
I'd sooner remark about any of the other graphics than the character models. Hard to deny early 3D graphical transparent swords don't look cool. But truly it was probably the exploration aspect I enjoyed more than anything else in the games. Spooky dungeon. It was always exciting to see the new areas and their themes.

[Anonymous No.9829715]

>>9828459
this.
play dark souls instead

[Anonymous No.9830931]

Is there a copy pasta guide on the best way to play/get into the King's Field series?

[Anonymous No.9830965]

>>9830931
not that i know of. but if you're a real man, you play them in release order. if the ps1 trilogy scares you with its fps, try 4 first. it is a standalone game and not connected to the ps1 trilogy story-wise, so it's a safe starting spot. KF1-4 aside, the shadow tower games are also worth looking into as they're effectively KF games with a different name and with a twist. i didn't like the ps1 shadow tower though. and if you're REALLY curious you could also try eternal ring. it's lame rushed as fuck baby mode KF but it has some nice music and the ring system is pretty cool.

[Anonymous No.9830970]

>>9826304
Once you get the combat down the KF PS1 games become increasingly addictive. So many secrets, so much obscurity. Dungeon crawling at its peak. KF IV on PS2 is also great and of course it led us to Souls games. IMO some of the best games ever produced.

[Anonymous No.9831047]

>>9830965
Thanks anon I will try them when I get some more free time. I like crunchy retro 3d graphics (and my computer is a potato) so I will play the PS1 games first.

[Anonymous No.9831057]

>>9828731
respectfully, your waifu looks like a department store mannequin with elf ears

[Anonymous No.9831208]

Is king's field 1 translated?

Also have you guys played vampire Hunter D?
It's more like dark souls than kings field.
I need to find more hack and slash ps1 games like these.

[Anonymous No.9831240]

>>9831208
>Is king's field 1 translated?
yes

[Anonymous No.9831582]

>>9827598
Sheesh that looks ridiculous. That would've surprised the shit out of me if I didn't know it was coming.

[Anonymous No.9831745]

>>9825219
it isn't
you just listed all the reasons they're dogshit
hell you forgot to add that they run about as well as a fat black stripper, the 2nd one (japan order) in particular is horrendous, literal single digit frame rates.
they're the definition of it's ok when japan does it shit games. you're just seeing things that aren't there.

[Anonymous No.9831772]

>>9831745
Shut up! Its fromsoft hiddengems

[Anonymous No.9831775]

>>9831745
Well no, I listed technical flaws that on paper ought to be barriers to fun, but I think my point is that in practice they aren't and I was musing why.
If I was being as critical about the game as possible, I'd say hands down the worst thing about it is the very early console 3D. (This shit game out the same year as Donkey Kong Country, which is what I was playing). The flat and repetitive textures of the environments, specifically. The models are fine for me.
I don't think the controls are particularly bad at all, like you just turn slow lol whoopdee doo. Those considerations are always dependent upon the context, e.g. do you need to turn fast in this game and the answer is no.
Actually one thing I would like is if the items had descriptions. Like I know blood stones aren't key items cause I've found key items and they don't appear in merchant's sell menus. But I'm used to seeing further indication of what they are, it's just a comfort thing.

[Anonymous No.9831782]

there's a mouse injector mod for KF4, has anyone tried it?

[Anonymous No.9831804]

Yeah it's the exploration for me. I just want to see the next area, find the next piece of equipment and spell and fight the next enemy. Combat being simple and a possibly uninteresting story are easy to look past. It ain't /vr/ but as other anons have said look into Lunacid. It gave me the same feelings I got from King's Field/Shadow Tower. Or wait cause it's not done yet but even in it's current state I played it for some thirteen hours in mostly one sitting.

[Anonymous No.9831823]

>>9831804
I second Lunacid.

[Anonymous No.9831935]

>>9825219
I've seen you all drool over this series since forever and I finally burned KF1 to a cd yesterday. Holy fuck, it's undoubtely masochistic but yeah, it's damn fun. I liked a lot the graphics and its simplicity/fluidity: go around, fuck up some dudes in the clunkiest possible way, die and quickly start all over. Was it the best 3D adventure available in 1994?

[Anonymous No.9832880]

>>9831935
Your goal should be to get to the church nearby, the gold crosses you can sometimes find on walls in NPC's buildings are save points.
I suspect that the occult symbol you spawn from at the start is a checkpoint because I've seen another one but I can't get to it yet. I guess respawning at level 1 if you die without a save gives you the option of simply grinding the enemies over again but I don't see the point. There's probably some weird mechanics going on.

[Anonymous No.9832884]

when does it get fun?

[Anonymous No.9832892]

>>9825264
This is why I played and beat BOTH Evolution Worlds games despite being such shit. It was just bare bones dungeon crawling.

[Anonymous No.9833531]

>>9832892
My dad got me the one on GC when I was a kid, I was totally lost

[Anonymous No.9833889]

>>9831057
>spend a lot of time as a kid in department stores with the family
>height puts my head at the ass level of mannequins
The pieces are all falling into place.

[Anonymous No.9833894]

>>9825219
You never would've known these games exist if it weren't for dark souls, let alone pretending to like them because muh from can do no wrong

[Anonymous No.9833913]

>>9833894
How you find out about a game doesn't change the merits of said game. Neither does who developed it. You're not making any sense, and your comment comes off as just a hipster being mad over the fact other people like the same thing they like. Why be that way.

[Anonymous No.9833926]

>>9833913
Looks like I nailed it, you seething zoomer.

[Anonymous No.9833946]

>>9833926
You're still not making sense, nailed what?
Also aren't you the one who is upset?
I don't understand why you'd be concerned about those meta aspects instead of just the game itself. I'd like yo hear your viewpoint, because it doesn't make sense to me how learning about a game indirectly makes it less fun in your opinion. Or whatever you're trying to say.

[Anonymous No.9833962]

>>9825219
Alright I saw this thread a couple days ago and something about these screenshots really struck me so I decided to give it a shot. Currently in the endgame running around looking for items and doors I missed before getting the magicians key. Was not expecting to have anywhere near this much fun with this game.

[Anonymous No.9834006]

>>9833962
Which one are you playing? I'm thinking about jumping in as well.

[Anonymous No.9834042]

>>9834006
JP Kings Field 1 with the translation patch. I also had to find and apply a second patch to fix a bug that would freeze the game half the time I would try to load or save.

[Anonymous No.9834049]

>>9833894
You're a seething loser with dubious taste who lets /v/ live in your head Rent Free. I'm not forcing myself to play video games I don't enjoy for /vr/ clout.

The fact I wasn't exposed to many great games through my friends, gaming magazines, or GameFAQs doesn't mean they aren't worth playing.
Surely you aren't suggesting that if you didn't play a game as a child or teen, you 'missed your chance' and just have to move on?
Maybe you are stupid enough to think that.

[Anonymous No.9834056]

>>9834049
Heckin chungus, good post upboated :DD

[Anonymous No.9834072]

>>9833962
Bro that's nuts. I haven't had time to play since the first couple hours on Saturday before I made this thread LOL.

[Anonymous No.9834091]

>>9830965
>i didn't like the ps1 shadow tower though
Why not?

[Anonymous No.9834095]

>>9831804
Fireflies are the key to making amazing atmosphere every time. Just add fireflies and people (such as myself) will jizz their pants to how awesome your level looks.

[Anonymous No.9834105]

>>9831935
Would you count Ultima Underworld as a 3D adventure?

[Anonymous No.9834221]

>>9833894
nigger, i have owned these games since the 90s. some of us aren't zoomers.

[Anonymous No.9834390]

>>9834072
It's honestly not too long or difficult, but to be fair I did spend most of my Sunday playing it. Just beat the last boss a little bit ago, had to use a ton of healing items but it wasn't too bad. I didn't really spend any time griding levels aside from getting them while backtracking around but I did have all the best gear. I think I'm gonna give the second one a try now.

[Anonymous No.9834441]

>>9834091
honestly? the thing that filtered me was the load screen that would come with every time you needed to navigate the pause menu for more than a few moments. it's a minor thing but it grated on me after a while. i mean, that aside, i think it's a really cool game, i just couldn't finish it. absolutely love the visuals and enemy designs. i keep telling myself i'm going to go back to it one day and try to finish it. did the same for eternal ring eventually. but i still think that game sucks but it has a charm to it that i really like.

[Anonymous No.9834447]

>>9834221
nice larp

[Anonymous No.9834449]

>this game didn't follow my favourite video essayist's design guidelines; how am i enjoying it?

[Anonymous No.9834523]

>>9831782
Those mouse injector mods for KF kill the balance and stress the enemy encounters have. Especially for KF4 where they deliberately reduce the turn speed. Play with a controller with the right joystick rebound to camera controls if the original controls are really just that painful for you.

[Anonymous No.9834796]

>>9834447
>nooooo you can't just be in your heckin 30s on a retro gaming boarderino!

[Anonymous No.9835152]

>>9834523
>some enemies are designed around attempting to run behind you and fuck you up if you aren't careful
>mouse injector invalidates this enemy type entirely because you can now just make full circles at lightning speed
terrible