🚀 go-pugleaf

Okay, I hope I'm objective enough.
Here goes ...

Ok, a few words about KoX...

Well, if you've played something like DragonQuest for the Nintendo,
you're going to see some similarities in game system design.
You can also see the demo, but be careful. The demo features some
cinematic scenes and suggests a story that isn't even close to what
the game really is. I think the game gets pretty good at the end,
despite the very corny intro slideshow.

(What's so good about the game, after the perceived corniness ?
Well, there's a special spoiler section at the end for those wanting
to know! It's one of those things they put in seemingly utter crap
that makes me a proud fan of anime! But then, of course, it could be
just that, an utter parody.)

I especially like the concept of the anti-hero being what he is ...
the closest thing to a generic hero in an RPG story some writer created
probably during a beer session in front of NFL sunday.
Our hero is smelly (born that way), an idiot, a hopeless womanizer,
and everybody still likes him just the same.

I've played the CD-ROM version (haven't finished yet), but if,
like me, you pull your hair out at second-rate dubbed anime,
I suggest you turn the voices off before baldness overcomes you :) :)
As far as I'm concerned, the voices are saturday morning cartoon wannabees,
and maybe distracts rather than attracts. Okay, I do like some of the voices,
but will somebody please at least take the southern accent
from the women !!! These people definitely aren't Texan nor Scottish ! %-P

So, if you like something like Leisure suit Larry with a touch of shapely
graphics style mixed with Nintendo RPG style, you're in for a treat because
this has PLENTY of places Larry's crotch point towards. Nothing blatant,
but all suggestive !

At least the CD-ROM version doesn't have a code wheel copy protection scheme:)
If you vision sat-am cartoon voices reading you the whole story, then probably
the CD-ROM is worth it, otherwise, probably the non-voiced version could
preserve the characterization better. Actually, sometimes the voices
do work and enchance the script, just to show how light the characters
are supposed to be (which is not a bad thing, btw:)

Therefore,
    anime fans : I think it's a good bet, being one of the very few
		 anime style games on the US market. Why even bother ?
		 Check out the spoiler section !
		 The story has a nice touch towards the end.

    rpg fans   :   stay with Ultima. If you like to invent formulas
                   to count the correlation and probability distribution
		   of character attributes and still think it's fun,
		   this game's not for you. 

    Leisure Suit Larry fans:
                  Here's an 'rpg' just for you !

    Disciples of the politically correct:
                  stay away from this one !

    teenage boys in puberty & post puberty :
                   there are very specific messages in the game, for your
                   eyes ONLY >:) Rejoice ! It's a helluva experience !

Summary :
---------

Graphics : Really cool artists bring you the latest anime-style graphics!
           Characters are SD (Super deformed) when on map.
           When not on map, they're better than life. >:-)
           Especially w/ the NR-18 upgrade (although I haven't tried that yet:)
Story    : Grab a beer. You'll be entertained.
Game System : They could've invested more in faster code, better
           transitions & crisper design for the menus etc.
Music    : BGM - cool music. Creates a nintendo afternoon atmosphere :)
           Voice acting - Saturday morning cartoons. Isn't supposed to be
                          like that. Supposed to be more like anime.
                          But then we'd have subtitles to the Japanese :)



<spoilers - includes what to expect of the REAL KoX story ...>
< stop at any point if you like what you see :)>














So, if saving a whole town from monsters while totally naked seems appealing
to you, try out KoX!

What I find pretty amazing is the amount of work put into KoX at
the ending. Now, if you like epilogues, KoX has a REAL epilogue
work, which should be in every book.


Now for the game, the only scene I love follows : 
(<...> means some text deleted)



(*) No! Is hatred and evil preferable to love and happiness ?

(+) Is love necessary? Does a just world mean happiness ?

(+) Dad says the emphasis the gods place on love and happiness
    gives humans unnatural expectations which are impossible to
    fulfill. As a result, people are terminally miserable from
    <...>

(+) Cold reality dealt with honesty is far preferable to crushed
    hopes.

(+) Look at your own life. Every woman you slept with--
    without a clue as to who you are-- what were they hoping
    for? Family, commitment, love. In the sohrt time it takes
    you, you raise and dash their hopes irreversibly.

(*) But, if I give them a taste of the joy that might come with a
    different man? It might cause them to forego their lonely
    existence and seek a better life. And what if they succeed ?

(+) What if? The damning question of the terminally hopeful.
    Why don't you undertstand that your lineage has made you
    utterly immune to the laws of chance and failure which
    plague humans believing in love and hope?

(*) But in spite of your lineage, the powers of love have
    helped you. I've met friends you've made in towns. <...>

(+) Of course it hasn't. There's been knowledge-- a world made
    available to me solely because my instructors did not waste
    time with soft, affectionate emotions.

(*) And what has that knowledge given you ?

    <.....>

----

 
(#) I got you to experience hate, rage, and maybe even jealousy.
    I will not greet my father devoid of any victory.

<super spoiler deleted>

(#) Darkness and Light in one human. That's almost funny.

(#) You're speechless but then appreciation of irony is for those
    blessed with brilliance and cursed with depression.

(#) Are the gods capable of such sick humor ?

(#) Ugh!

($) Hey! Are you all right? <...>

(#) No, my agen't reminding me that if this death scene goes
    much longer than Spock's, I get docked 30%.

($) Well, be reasonable. After all, I am the star of this game.

(#) Next time, maybe. Ugh.
    <...>

($) You can't die now !

(#) Relax, I never touched your mom.

($) Ok, you can die now.

(#) Well, I hope you're all happy. He's dead.



------------------------------------
Unfortunately, the voice acting could use a LOT of improvements
in these scenes.
-- 
Andre Nurwono               | "Ho, haha, guard, turn, dodge, parry, spin, ha,
and...@cs.utexas.edu       |  thrust... (BOINNNG!)"  - Daffy Duck