King's Field IV
Japanese cover art
Developer(s)FromSoftware
Publisher(s)
  • JP: FromSoftware
Director(s)Rintaro Yamada
Satoru Yanagi
Producer(s)Shinichiro Nishida
Programmer(s)Takeshi Suzuki
Artist(s)Keiichiro Ogawa
Composer(s)Tsukasa Saitoh
SeriesKing's Field
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: October 4, 2001
  • NA: March 26, 2002[1]
  • PAL: March 28, 2003
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

King's Field IV, released in North America as King's Field: The Ancient City, is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2 in 2001.[2] It is the fourth and final game in the King's Field series. It was released in North America by Agetec in 2002 and in Europe by Metro3D in 2003.

Plot

In the land of Heladin, something is amiss. Their king, smitten by a strange idol that was given to him as a gift, lies dying. The country was enveloped with a strange sorrow, a certain darkness that stains the soul of man. Ever since the idol was brought into the kingdom, the once prosperous nation fell into a state of corruption and decay. Fearing for the life of his king and home, the sword master Septiego took a battalion of his best men to return the idol which was believed to be the source of this tragedy. Alas, the party was neither seen nor heard from again. The idol was presumed lost forever, but the decay of the nation continued.

Meanwhile, in the adjoining kingdom of Azalin, a shrouded figure appears at the doorstep of Prince Devian. From within his cloak, the dark stranger produced the object of Heladin's corruption: The Idol of Sorrow. The idol was originally taken from the ruined depths of the Holy Land, now known as the Land of Disaster, and given to the unsuspecting king of Heladin. If the idol remained outside of the ancient city, Heladin, and possibly Azalin, was doomed to mirror the twisted metropolis that spanned the vast caverns of the Land of Disaster.

With strong resolve, Devian embarked on his quest to return the cursed idol and return prosperity and vitality to his neighboring kingdom. His adventure though the ancient city would lead him to many discoveries long since lost after the collapse of the Holy Land. He would encounter the last vestiges of Septiego's troupe, and eventually discover their master's fate. Prince Devian would learn about the ancient and wise Forest Folk, the neighboring Earth Folk, and their war against the nightmarish Dark Folk. All of these secrets and more would be revealed to the young Prince, but does he have the strength of heart to harbor such monstrous truths?

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "PlayStation 2: King's Field: The Ancient City". web.archive.org. 2002-06-20. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  2. 1 2 3 "プレイステーション2 - KING'S FIELD IV". Famitsu (in Japanese). Vol. 915. Enterbrain. June 30, 2006. p. 89.
  3. 1 2 "King's Field: The Ancient City for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
  4. ↑ House, Matthew. "King's Field: The Ancient City - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  5. ↑ EGM staff (May 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 154. Ziff Davis. p. 107.
  6. ↑ "King's Field: The Ancient City". Game Informer. No. 108. FuncoLand. April 2002. p. 77.
  7. ↑ Star Dingo (March 26, 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  8. ↑ Speer, Justin (April 22, 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City Review [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  9. ↑ Tha Wiz (April 9, 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (March 27, 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  11. ↑ "King's Field: The Ancient City". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Ziff Davis. April 2002. p. 103.
  12. ↑ Drury, Martin (November 11, 2004). "King's Field: The Ancient City - Review". RPGamer. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
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