Nordic Games – PSN – Out Now
Legend of Kay, which was previously released on PS2 back in 2004, and now available to download on the Playstation Store via PSN, is the story of four tribes that once lived in harmony, but now living in fear from oppressive invaders. Set in a fictional, Asian land, which is inhabited by animals. The tribes consist of rabbits, pandas, cats and frogs, who all lived peacefully until an invasion force of rats and gorillas, took over the land, forcing their leaders to comply under their rule. This is where we meet Kay, of the cat tribe. He is a trainee martial artist, and under the oppression of these invading forces, is encouraged to pursue his training further, and eventually sets out to overthrow the oppressors.
Legend of Kay, is an action/adventure, with platforming and puzzle solving thrown in for good measure. The gameplay is rather good, with obvious similarities being the likes of Zelda. While it barely holds a candle to the series, there’s some solid adventuring and swordplay. The majority of the gameplay is taking on quests from various characters in the game. Most of these are required to progress but there is the odd side quest thrown in here and there. A lot of the quests involve going from A to B, with some battles in between, with the adversaries, ranging from rats and gorillas, to yes, ninja turtles, becoming trickier to defeat as the game moves on. The main type of combat involves swordplay, where in order to get ahead you need to mix up your moves, with various combos, footwork and defensive manoeuvres required, not too dissimilar from the free-flowing combat of the Arkham, games. As the game progresses, the weapons improve and become more varied. There are also sections where Kay, has to ride an animal from one area to the next, these often come in the form of a level not a far cry from the warthog riding levels from the first Crash Bandicoot game.
I may have mentioned two of the greater game franchises out there in way of comparison, but unfortunately Legend of Kay, does not stand shoulder to shoulder with these, more like waist high, which is apt, given that Kay is only a pint sized kitty anyway. Whereas the combat sections of the game are challenging and sometimes rewarding, the platforming sections aren’t as consistent. A lot of the time it’s fluid and intuitive, but there are moments where it can be frustrating as hell, letting the side down with poor camera angles and terrible scale, with some platforms looking reachable but not and vice versa. The environments are nice, bright and colourful, ranging from forests, swamps and Asian cities. All of which make a great back drop for the action, and while not richly detailed, is still a visual delight. The cut scenes are presented in a comic book style, with voice overs instead of speech bubbles, the camera moving from frame to frame.
On initial release, Legend of Kay seems to have slipped by almost unnoticed, but with it being re released on PSN, it will hopefully find a new audience. Upscaled through the PS3, it looks great for a PS2 game, and with it only being a few quid to download, it’s also a bargain. It won’t worry any of the bigger titles, but in terms of quality, you can do a lot worse. It’s a charming, if occasionally frustrating adventure, but stick with it, and you’ve got yourself an entertaining game, that’s a nice, colourful change to what we’re used to these days.
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