Playthrough Status: Beat the game on Easy difficulty. I explored every inch of the map, beat up everything I found, and did every quest I came across
Approx. Length: 110+ hours
Language: English
Played on: PC
Type of Game: Turn-based tactical adventure, RPG
Overall Impression: A very addictive time sink if you enjoy games like these (which I do)
NOTE ON SPOILERS!!
Just like with my past reviews, I'll keep a non-spoiler section (the section you're at right now), and a "Spoiler Talk" section at the end to go into more detail on certain things and to let loose with any extra thoughts.INTRO: A LITTLE STORY
So... I started playing King's Bounty: The Legend (which I'll refer to as King's Bounty for the rest of this review) wayyyyy back in April 2013. After playing it for several days I had to force myself to take a break. It was not because of the usual "I got distracted by another game" or "Life got busy" reason. It was because I realized that the game was way -- too -- addictive! Sure -- there have been many times where I'd intentionally set aside a whole day to play a video game. There have also been times when I'd look at the clock and say, "I'll play this for a bit longer." It's rare for me to play a video game and completely lose track of time... When I would think, 'Okay, I'll play this game for just a couple hours', and then half the day is already gone.
King's Bounty had that power over me... so I forced myself to take a break. Fast forward to this year where I have no New Year's resolutions to worry about. If there was a time to lose myself to a video game, this would be it. So... during one of my vacations this year, I continued King's Bounty... got lost every single day... until I finally finished it. :)
WHAT IS KING'S BOUNTY?
In a nutshell, King's Bounty is a turn-based tactical adventure RPG. You control a character who rides around on a horse and you do various quests for your king and for other characters. You also recruit troops and do turn-based strategy battles. You also gain experience and level up your character and learn spells and skills.I guess it sounds generic so far, but... if it could draw me in the way that it does, there's a bit more to it. I haven't mentioned the intricacies like troop / item morale, troop variety, spell variety, multiple skill trees. Not all of these were drawing factors, but it does tell me King's Bounty has some complexity. And I like a fair amount of complexity.
I also haven't mentioned that gold, some recruitable troops, and other resources are finite. If you aren't careful with your spending and troop management, you could end up in a situation where you have insufficient troops and gold to progress the game. I don't know about you -- but that kind of challenge is thrilling for me.
My character going around the town on his horse.
You can have your own opinion on the graphics.
I think they are decent for being a 2008 game.
You can have your own opinion on the graphics.
I think they are decent for being a 2008 game.
The profile screen for my character. The female portrait at the top is my character's wife and their kids. Yes, you can get married in King's Bounty -- and have kids!
WHAT DREW ME IN
I don't even know myself all the factors that got me so addicted to King's Bounty, but here are some:Exploration: This is probably one of my favourite things to do in a video game, provided that the environment is really nice and... purposeful. I love exploring and making discoveries, and King's Bounty has a lot of that. Strewn all over the world are gold piles, buried treasure chests, and skill runes. Whenever I reach a new area, all I want to do is grab everything in sight.
Choices: I like that King's Bounty often gives you choices and they usually have some impact, whether it's affecting the outcome or rewards of a sidequest or changing what you do in a sidequest (I don't remember if choices affect the main story).
I recall one time making a choice which failed one of my sidequests (I reloaded soon after). I also recall another time defeating some NPCs who would have given me a sidequest if they were alive (I reloaded soon after that as well). I can definitely respect a game that offers varying outcomes like that. To me, it makes the experience more personal to each player.
The Battles: Something that I really enjoy in games is devising a strategy / plan, and trying to pull it off successfully. The battles in King's Bounty give me that chance. While some battles can be as quick as maybe five minutes, other battles really require thinking and could take much longer. Fighting against dragons always made me a little nervous for my troops.
The Battles: Something that I really enjoy in games is devising a strategy / plan, and trying to pull it off successfully. The battles in King's Bounty give me that chance. While some battles can be as quick as maybe five minutes, other battles really require thinking and could take much longer. Fighting against dragons always made me a little nervous for my troops.
To summarize the battle system, it's turn-based combat that involves moving your troops across a field to attack. During your turn, you are also able to cast spells or summon a spirit. While sometimes it could feel repetitive, the different enemy troop compositions will usually call for different strategies. Changing up your own troops from time to time can also change your strategy.
Witty Writing: King's Bounty has a lot of lore. Almost every NPC has some off-topic thing you can ask about. If it was written as a massive one-note story / information dump, it'd be very boring. Thankfully, the writing has flavour and a good amount of sarcastic humour. I would often choose those off-topic things just to see how the dialogue would go. Kudos to the writers. *tips my hat*
Fetching Sidequests: A lot of the sidequests (not all of them) were fetch quests (i.e. go collect something from point B, then return), which aren't the most exciting things. To me, they feel like tasks to just pad your game time if you've already explored those areas.
-Some of the female troops are skimpily dressed. That's all I can think of.
If this sounds like a game you'd enjoy, go for it! It's decently priced on Steam, at least in Canada. Just be careful of losing track of your time like I did. :)
Rating: 85 / 100
Thanks for reading!
If you have any questions / comments about anything, leave a comment or send via the Contact Form.
So I'll do the scrolly thing and the "Spoiler Talk" section will appear after that. Then I'll add some more scrolly things after the "Spoiler Talk" section in case anybody wants to comment, but not see the spoilers.
I just want to mention here that I beat that super hard challenge where you're battling a mirror of yourself with lots more units. It took me over an hour and I cheesed it by having dryads, peasants, and other low ranked troops (a strategy I found online), but I beat it... I beat it, lol.
If you read this section, thank for reading! Now to finish with more scrolly things. Feel free to comment if you wish :D
How the battlefield is generally laid out. My troops are on the left (yes, I have unicorns).
The layout would be slightly different if I was battling at a castle entrance.
The layout would be slightly different if I was battling at a castle entrance.
Witty Writing: King's Bounty has a lot of lore. Almost every NPC has some off-topic thing you can ask about. If it was written as a massive one-note story / information dump, it'd be very boring. Thankfully, the writing has flavour and a good amount of sarcastic humour. I would often choose those off-topic things just to see how the dialogue would go. Kudos to the writers. *tips my hat*
Beautiful Music: I think the music fits very well. There are a couple main tracks used for exploration, but they are so fitting that I don't mind it looping endlessly. It sounds epic. That's the kind of music I'd like to have playing if I was ever exploring a place on horseback or on boat (yes, you can sail around in this game).
Below is one of my favourite tracks.
Story: While the writing has personality, the main story itself didn't grab me as much as the desire to explore, interact with objects, talk to NPCs, and loot. Often I would advance the main story if I ran out of other things to do.
"Under the Shadow of the Oak".
I wish I knew what the lyrics meant.
It sounds very beautiful.
WHAT DIDN'T DRAW ME IN
Here are some things that could have used some improvements.Story: While the writing has personality, the main story itself didn't grab me as much as the desire to explore, interact with objects, talk to NPCs, and loot. Often I would advance the main story if I ran out of other things to do.
Fetching Sidequests: A lot of the sidequests (not all of them) were fetch quests (i.e. go collect something from point B, then return), which aren't the most exciting things. To me, they feel like tasks to just pad your game time if you've already explored those areas.
THE DISCLAIMERS (IF ANY)
This is where I list any things that could make you think twice about trying the game out with family or friends (depends on what they are okay with, I guess). They're not exactly bad per se, but more for your own awareness of it (and so you don't blame me for not saying anything!). I can experience these elements in a video game and get through more or less unscathed, but your mileage may vary, so I figure I should mention them.-Some of the female troops are skimpily dressed. That's all I can think of.
MY RATING
I almost want to say that King's Bounty is a guilty pleasure game for me. But -- I feel no guilt over any pleasure I get. I just have to admit that I am powerless to its time-sucking capabilities and keep my schedule open the next time I want to delve into this game, or its sequels (which I intend to do in the future).If this sounds like a game you'd enjoy, go for it! It's decently priced on Steam, at least in Canada. Just be careful of losing track of your time like I did. :)
Rating: 85 / 100
Thanks for reading!
If you have any questions / comments about anything, leave a comment or send via the Contact Form.
So I'll do the scrolly thing and the "Spoiler Talk" section will appear after that. Then I'll add some more scrolly things after the "Spoiler Talk" section in case anybody wants to comment, but not see the spoilers.
Take care and until next time! :)
So this is a section for me to unload any extra thoughts about King's Bounty that I consider possibly spoiler-ish.
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SPOILER TALK
MY PLAYTHROUGH OF KING'S BOUNTY
I went in blind (as usual). I chose the mage class, and loaded myself up with troops from the starting castle. When I got thorn hunters, I switched the peasants out. To me, my ranged troops were most important so I always tried to keep them well stocked. As I found other interesting troops, all my starting troops (except my archers) got swapped out. Through most of my playthrough, my main troops were:
-Archers (ranged troop)
-Thorn Hunters (also ranged troop)
-Royal Snakes
-Hyenas
-Ancient Bears
When I reached Ellinia and had access to elvish troops, I made the tough choice to use only elvish troops (it was hard saying good bye to my archers and thorn hunters, lol). For endgame, my troops were:
-Unicorns
-Black Unicorns
-Dryads
-Elves (ranged troop)
-Hunters (also ranged troop)
When it came to casting spells, I would usually either do blizzard or fireball (forgive me if I'm messing up the spell names). Before I had those spells, I would often cast traps to make the enemy troops lose their turn.
When I got Reaper and unlocked the Time Back ability, I abused it with the sacrifice spell (a tip I found online). It was my way of building up a very healthy reserve of black unicorns and dryads. For those unsure of what I'm talking about, I would cast the sacrifice spell that would sacrifice a percentage of a low-ranking troop to add numbers to another troops. Then I would cast the Time Back ability to restore that sacrificed troop back to its previous state (before I casted sacrifice).
For my wife, I didn't really choose Leonara... if I recall correctly, the option to marry was there and I was curious what would happen if I chose it. I didn't have the heart to divorce so I just kept her. Luckily her boosts were beneficial for my class. As for the kids, I just said yes whenever she asked if I wanted one.
I just want to mention here that I beat that super hard challenge where you're battling a mirror of yourself with lots more units. It took me over an hour and I cheesed it by having dryads, peasants, and other low ranked troops (a strategy I found online), but I beat it... I beat it, lol.
MISCELLANEOUS SCREENSHOTS
Here are a few screenshots I couldn't fit in the main review.
There is a Records section which seems to list the top scores.
Somehow, I am in Rank 4, for a game that's been out for almost 14 years.
Somehow, I am in Rank 4, for a game that's been out for almost 14 years.
I will check back in about a year and see where I am then. XD
My combat statistics. I went through a lot of black unicorns and thorn hunters.
I am bullying this orc, hahaha.
If you read this section, thank for reading! Now to finish with more scrolly things. Feel free to comment if you wish :D
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