A hidden gem? Or a waste of time? Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom was developed in Japan by Game Republic the guys known for lesser known titles such as Folklore and Genji: Days of the Blade.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom tells the tale of paradise lost and friendship overcoming all odds. You play as Tepeu a thief wondering through a once thriving and fruitful kingdom that has been taken over by a mysterious darkness and has left the kingdom in chaos.

In this world Tepeu stumbles across a giant known as Majin who failed to protect the Kingdom long ago. Moved by the giant’s plea to help restore the fallen realm, Tepeu decides to take it upon himself to join forces with Majin with the hope of the world returning to its original form. As you inch further to your goal the dark secrets of the forsaken kingdom come to life and it’s your job to restore tranquillity. The story is touching and there are two different endings depending on what actions you take.

The design of the game mixes a bit of Zelda with platforming. You are constantly provided with puzzles to solve and at the same time having to overcome a great deal of combat. The game also tries to mix it up a bit with a stealthy approach by sneaking behind your enemy and using button sequences to dislodge your foe.

In general the environment of the game is basically one giant dungeon. The game rewards players for exploring dark corners and narrow pathways by providing them with collectables throughout each section of the game. There is also a display on your HUD that provides you with details on your collectables and an in-game map in case you get lost or need to back track somewhere.

The design behind this game is surprisingly varied and it’s paramount that you and the Majin work together to over come any obstacles. In time not only do you grow stronger together but individually too. As you progress through the game your combat attacks skills improve, as levelling up is part of the system. What’s more, you can also earn abilities and skills from items given to you throughout the game, thus giving the player a feeling of reward.

However what the game suffers from is weak AI.  You constantly have enemies doing their own thing and even have Majin stumbling over for no apparent reason.  You can bypass enemies by either using your crafty acrobatics or by even simply running way.

Boss fights are also included and need to be defeated to progress to the next major zone. Using Majin’s clever abilities, boss fights tend not be a great deal of a challenge. In fact they become pushovers once you know their weak spots and, unfortunately, present a minimal threat.

The game does have a unique formula and does more right than wrong, a general play through would take you about 12hrs to complete, however, you can easily double that if you went back to collect and acquire everything.

Gameplay is relatively standard with nothing special or to be amazed about. Providing commands are simple and your partner is responsive. There are a few kinks in the work mechanics where Majin can be overwhelmed with large swarms of enemies.  On the other hand, throughout the game, you do feel relatively in control of the giant’s actions most of the time.

As previously mentioned, there are elements of platforming. Jumping is however imprecise and feels loose making it easy to miss your mark even with simplest jumps. Again the game generally has very simple methods of navigating throughout the kingdom where you’re only really jumping from a few ledges.

Combat is responsive but dull, shallow mechanics undermine the combat making it a bit tedious and mundane.  As mentioned stealth kills are interesting but they come few and far between so you wont use them that much.

Combination battle mechanics use Majin’s eliminating attacks with Tepeu’s moves to create some nice finishers, which are not only effective but attractive to look at.

The game does nail the teamwork aspect of the game however you do sometimes wish if you could control the giant himself.

The main disappointing factors are its visuals. The presentation is weak with nothing notable or stunning to look at.  The designs are generic with ugly textures and poorly drawn environments. However the visual style of the characters are much better but do little to compensate for the overall look of the game.

The sound track does in general sets a good mood for the game but can at times sound a little cheap.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is clearly a budget title, if you can oversee the general flaws this game suffers from and have a few extra pounds to burn then there is time worth investing.

Reviewed by:- David Salman