Developed by Game Republic
Published by Namco Bandai Games
Released for Xbox 360 (11/23/2010)
Also on PS3
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is a single-player game, developed by Game Republic, in which you must work with a giant computer-controlled ally in order to navigate the various scenarios. You can definitely tell the game was made by Japanese developers, which in my book is a good thing as some variety is always welcome. The characters and story remind me of something you'd see in a Studio Ghibli film. The game appears kind of childish on the surface, with talking animals and some silly character animations, but the puzzles and combat will definitely be too complex for most kids under twelve I'd imagine.
Your sidekick, the Majin, is a big oaf who will constantly stumble around and his voice actor reminds me of the character Special Ed from the Crank Yankers television show. He can become a chore to deal with at times, sometimes falling behind when you're just trying to advance to the next area and he loves walking into sludge puddles even when there is a clear path around them, but overall as long as you have some patience he can be helpful and even enjoyable to have as a partner. You both start out rather weak and a big part of the game is powering up your characters to prepare for tougher battles.
The graphics are quite coloful and the game features a day & night cycle which doesn't really have any impact on the game-play outside of some collectibles that only show up at nighttime. You will need to gather all of those collectibles if you want the true ending, so be prepared to stand around at some points waiting for nightfall (the cycle takes around fifteen minutes). The controls are tad on the floaty side and precision platforming can be a struggle, but luckily the game never really throws anything too terrible at you in regards to that. The combat is interesting, as the majin is the only one with the power to actually vanquish the enemies, you'll have to work with him and coordinate attacks to take enemies down. It's a neat system and some of the tag-team finishers are quite satisfying to pull off.
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom plays much like a 3D Metroidvania, where there's one large map separated out into areas, with new sections locked until you've explored existing regions. Overall it's still mostly linear, but there will be lots of back-tracking once you've gained new abilities. Luckily there are four fast-travel rooms scattered about that can help ease the pain of constant back-tracking, but there still is a lot of it.
The enemy design is interesting as they are all consumed by "shadows" resembling black blobs with various strange appendages and masks attached. I definitely enjoyed pulverizing them with my Majin buddy. Once you've defeated the four guardians (bosses) in the game world, you are granted access to the final castle for the big showdown. The boss battles are all varied and fun, my favorite probably being the shadow worm creature where you had to ignite bombs and throw them down its throat.
Overall I definitely feel like Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom was overlooked when it came out and is still a relatively obscure title. It's not perfect by any means, but it definitely delivers some fun and can provide you with somewhere between 15-20 hours of CPU co-op game-play. If you see this one around for cheap it's worth a look.
Final Verdict: Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is an action/adventure game with an enjoyable single-player campaign. Make sure to bring some extra patience with you as your partner can be a bit dumb at times.
Purchase Links:
Buy Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - eBay
Related Links:
Bandai Namco - Official Site
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - Metacritic
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - GameFAQs
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom - True Achievements
