As I am sure many of you out there are aware of by now, the beta for Activision and Bungie’s highly (and I do mean highly) anticipated new shooter, Destiny is available now on PS3 and PS4. Well in typical Playstation style, the launch of the beta was ushered in with a nice little shindig.
Carriageworks in Sydney played host to the launch event and saw Destiny’s moon suspended from the catwalks and glowing angelically for the night. All around the room were banners and props from the game. As well-done as all of the decorations were, they were nothing compared to the piece-de-resistance; the game itself.
After a brief introduction by the heads of Activision and Sony Australia, we got to pick up controllers and head into Destiny’s world for the first time, and If you haven’t, I strongly suggest you check out our in-depth coverage of the beta here. Going into the beta I was a little… shall we say anxious. Destiny is well-hyped at this stage, and so far nothing had made me jump on the hype train, but I went in there ready to give it a go, and hopefully get excited.
When it came to Destiny itself, I was honestly expecting Halo with some additional multiplayer features, and that is basically what I got. This isn’t necessary a bad thing as it is impossible to deny to impact on gaming and culture that Halo has made, and more of it is sure to bode well for the future, but I feel that during my short time with Destiny, that I didn’t really notice anything new being brought to the table. I honestly felt like I was just playing the latest Halo installment, that added some weapon and armor customisation and Peter Dinklage.
Now I am sure that by saying that Destiny feels almost identical to Halo that we will get a tonne of angry messages in the comments below telling me that I don’t have any idea what I am talking about, and that Destiny and Halo are completely different. That’s good! I want to hear from you all! By this stage, you will have had more hands-on time with Destiny than I did and we can discuss the merits of the game.
I was not disappointed in my time with Destiny, but I wasn’t “wowed” by the experience either. I can see why it will be a major hit as it has some solid and downright fun gameplay mechanics and a tonne of content, but I guess it just isn’t for me.
For those of you who don’t own a Sony console, the beta will be come available later this week, so make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the hot Destiny news as it becomes available.
Have you ever wanted to have super powers? You’re lying if you say you have never once imagined it. Well this week sees the release of Titan Comics’ Ordinary #3. The book’s first issue was released in May this year has seen great success and if you love superhero stories with a little taste of the unusual then you don’t want to miss this.
Ordinary #3 Cover. Click to enlarge
Remember that scene in The Incredibles where Syndrome tells Mr. Incredible; “When everybody is special… No one is.” Well that is the general concept of Ordinary. Every single person on Earth has gotten super-powers… except for one man. Check out the official synopsis:
One day divorced plumber Michael Fisher woke up in his crummy one-bedroom apartment in Queens, New York, and discovered that everyone on planet Earth had gained super-powers… apart from him. The most ordinary man alive has now made it into Manhattan, hoping to rescue his estranged son, Josh, from the creature trapping him in his school. Meanwhile, the Vice-President has effectively staged a coup, taking command of an America braced for super-powered war. And he will go to any length to prevent Dr. Tara McDonald, the Scottish genome scientist, finding a cure for this plague.
Ordinary #3 will be available from your local comic book store, and the Titan Comics official page from July 23rd. We also have a trailer for the book that you can check out below, and for all the awesome comic book news as it becomes available, make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
With its recent success in film, Disney and Marvel studios are about to release possibly their most eagerly anticipated film to date; Guardians of the Galaxy. Showcasing a very different aspect of the Marvel universe, and with an ensemble cast that rivals the star power of the Avengers themselves, it is easy to see why the world has their attention focused squarely on Star Lord and his band of outlaws.
In this day and age, it would be impossible to have a hit movie come out without a tie-in game, and Guardians is no exception. Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon takes the Guardians and their allies on an intergalactic adventure to recover the five pieces of The Universal Weapon! Starting off as Star-Lord, players will recruit the rest of the Guardians and additional heroes, and go up against various villains such as; Korath, Nebula, and Ronan the Accuser.
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Ultimate Weapon is available for all smart phone and tablet devices, and will set you back $6.49 on iOS, $5.25 on Android and $4.99 on Windows Phone and PC. That may seem like a lot, but the game will feature over 60 levels at launch, and a wealth of characters for you to play as, so you will have content to last at LEAST until August 7th when the film hits theaters. If you need a little more info about the game, then check out the trailer below and remember to stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the Marvel news as it becomes available.
With all the hype surrounding Destiny it’s hard not to be curious and excited for the games release, even for a gamer that really has no interest or experience in the FPS/MMO genres Destiny largely belongs to. I went into the Destiny Beta with next to no knowledge of the game except knowing that its creators were Bungie, the developers behind the original Halo Trilogy, and while I know that series is held in very high regard I had never taken the time to play any of the Halo series myself. That being said, I went in with an open mind and dived straight into this unique sci-fi world not knowing what to expect. I can now say I was pleasantly satisfied with the time I spent with the game and am now much more interested in the final product than I was before. For the record this impressions article is based on the PS3 version of the Destiny Beta.
Right from the game’s title screen, the first thing that instantly strikes you about Destiny is the quality. This game is the epitome of a big budget, high quality, AAA game. The presentation, graphics, music, sound and even the the user interface are absolutely outstanding. Destiny draws you in to its high quality world and it’s a pleasure to be there.
You start off with an intro detailing how the human race expanded into space but a mysterious Darkness took over and forced a new beginning, which basically leads to present day in Destiny where there a few remaining remnants of that glorious culture. Pretty standard sci-fi narrative here but the story does become more fleshed out and intriguing as you spend more time in the world and start to learn more about its history. Once the history recap is over the game skips to present day where the scene opens with a small ‘Wall-E’ robot like creature scanning through old abandoned cars in Old Russia seemingly searching for your created Guardian who has apparently been dead for a long time. The robot reveals itself to be a ‘Ghost’, specifically your Ghost, and will be accompanying you throughout your journey, guiding you through the world, turning on lights for you and just being good company. Your Ghost is voiced by renowned Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, and while you can hear his voice in their it has been modified quite heavily to sound more robotic but still sounds great, even if his attempts at humor are no where near as strong as they are in Game of Thrones.
One of the big parts of Destiny is creating your Guardian and choosing a class for them. You can choose to make your Guardian one of three races including human, Awoken (humanoid like alien) or Exo (Terminator like robots). You also choose one of three classes that will have a huge impact on your abilities and play style. The choice here are Hunter (focused on long range killing or sneak up attacks), Titan (balanced class of offense and defense) and Warlock (more magically inclined). Each of these comes with their own advantages and disadvantages as well as unique skills that are acquired by leveling up. The character creator is rather well done, allowing you to change gender, skin tone, hair type and colour as well as eye and lip colour, each of which have a decent array of options. The only annoying thing I found about the creator is that you can’t spin the camera around so you don’t know what your character will look like from the back (which annoyed me a bit because when I finally got to see the back of my characters head I wasn’t a fan of the hair style I had chosen and their doesn’t seem to be a way to change it thus far.) I chose to play as a blue skinned Awaken Warlock but it is worth noting you can create different guardians and play as them as well during your campaign, so you aren’t locked into playing as only one race or class your entire adventure.
The controls here all felt intuitive, accurate and responsive. The guns on offer are fun and easy to use and there seem to be many varieties of weapon with even more sub varieties within them. The first story mission provides you with an automatic rifle and a shotgun which proves very powerful at close range. It doesn’t seem like Bungie have reinvented the wheel here when it comes to weapon types, but there may be some new weapon types present within the full game or hidden away in the Beta. As a Warlock you also have a powerful melee shock wave attack that your fire from your hand, but it is worth noting melee attacks are different for each class. This attack feels very powerful early on, one-shotting enemies at a close range that would normally need 5-6 bullets in them from the auto-rifle before they go down but obviously it is harder to get in close range without being bombarded by enemy fire yourself and the move has a rather long cooldown time so can’t be called upon repeatedly in the heat of battle. The only major gripe I have with the controls is holding down L3 to run, which just feels a bit awkward due to the limited amount of movement you can get on the control once you push L3 in and it is also hard to push the button in if the control stick isn’t centered. With more game time this issue will probably become less apparent and you do have to question what other button they could bind run too as all the other button seems to be in use.
Towards the end of the first mission you fight a mini boss that is a bit stronger than the grunts you have been disposing of until now but he still isn’t too hard once you get his shield down. Defeat him, and your Ghost will fire up an old spaceship and transport you to The Tower located in The Last City on Earth. The Tower is overwhelming at first, but the simple on screen prompts will help keep you informed of where you should be heading next and serve as notifications for shop fronts (such as the post office being highlighted green when you have new mail). The Tower serves as your main hub where you will shop, collect your mail, store loot and more. This is also the place where you will meet the most with other players and are able to ask them to join your team, check out their profile or check out their character in more detail.
One of the greatest details about Destiny is just how full of life the world is. ‘The Fallen’ (your main enemies in the Beta) are constantly searching the grounds for material but won’t really bother you unless you bother them first, ships warp in and out of the atmosphere, sometimes bringing along optional missions with them that you can complete for rewards, and perhaps most impressive, is that other players completing their campaign are often found wandering the map, which really gives you the feeling you are not alone in this open world. It’s really cool to be able to join up with someone on a whim and help them out in a firefight against the enemy knowing they probably have similar objectives to you based on their level and location. Likewise it is nice to receive that help if you are in a jam. Of course you can also choose to ignore the other players if you like and just carry on with your own missions if you’re more of a solo player. Another item of note is that the game is not strictly linear and after the first few story missions paths will start opening up for you to take alternate routes in the order you tackle said missions. Another great feature is that enemies scale to your level in most cases, keeping the game challenging.
Not only is the game full of life but it is also full of loot, and it is easy to see this will become one of the major aspects of gameplay as players compete with one another to find and wear the coolest looking and strongest equipment. There are many, many variations of helmets, arm guards, chest plates and leg armor as well as an arm band for Warlocks (each class has something special they can equip and have unique armour as well). All this equipment changes your physical stats (strength, defense and movement) and also affects your appearance. Some gear even come with bonuses such as strength +8 and all have a certain level of rarity. You can obtain loot from treasure chests, mission bonuses and store fronts at the Tower. The constant stream of loot and experience points make Destiny a rewarding experience as well.
As this impression of the Destiny Beta comes to a close I have some feelings I’d like to share on which version of the game players should buy. Those thinking that they need to upgrade to next gen before Destiny comes out should really reconsider their choice if Destiny is their sole reason for doing so. The PlayStation 3 version ran superbly and the graphics were very impressive. While the PS4 screenshots and video I have seen do look better by a small margin mostly in part to increased texture resolution, it isn’t enough for me to justify the PS4/Xbox One version if you don’t already have one of those consoles. With the PS3 version you also won’t be subject to the monthly costs of PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live to play online which is a factor to consider if that is an issue for you.
If I had one word to describe Destiny it would be engrossing. The game lures you in with it’s production values and keeps you around with its explorable, living, rewarding world. Add in a strong narrative, seamless multiplayer integration and solid gameplay and Destiny does indeed look like it will be able to live up to the hype it has created come release. Check back around September 9 when the full game is out for our full review.
And surprise, surprise! Messi is on the cover…yet again.
EA has been dribbling out details (I know, wrong use of the word) on the upcoming FIFA 15‘s improvements and innovations over last year’s entry. After the announcement that Lionel Messi will once again grace the cover of the game, EA Sports gave us a look at its ‘Incredible Visuals’, and now the ‘Emotion & Intensity’ in a second dev diary.
Check out the former directly below, and the latter at the very bottom of this article.FIFA 15 comes out on September in Australia and September 26 in New Zealand for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Quest For Infamy is a comedic, turn-based RPG that provides players an entertaining twist to the RPG genre with its snarky comments, intriguing voice-acting, and overall entertaining content. Developed by Infamous Quests and published by Phoenix Online Publishing, the company who brought to life Moebius: Empire Rising. The game plays similarly to the old-school RPGs of the past, and if you enjoyed that type of gameplay, you will definitely enjoy Quest For Infamy. The point-and-click RPG embraces the darker, badder side of morality, and the game pushes you to slowly seek out your cunning, wily nature and create mayhem and havoc. Gaining infamy is the name of the game, and making stupid jokes and snide remarks will lead you down the road to success in Quest For Infamy.
Gameplay
The game is similar to the old-school style RPGs. With a variety of options to utilize, you can control Roehm, the professional “raconteur”, to converse, observe, and attack certain objects and NPCs. Everything in this title is controlled through your mouse, so you can put your keyboard hand to rest. Lots of options allows a player to fully become immersed in each scene, allowing you to completely envelop the dialogue and commentary that is being chucked your way. Players can choose to walk, jog, or run as they progress through the graphically simple levels. You also have the option to converse with the NPCs scattered throughout Quest For Infamy. This is done by selecting the chat bubble icon when you scroll near the top of the screen. Alternatively, you can right-click your mouse until you reach the chat bubble icon. Another option is to interact with certain things, whether they be doors, corpses, or anything else you can think of. This icon is depicted by a hand pointing at something. Observing certain things is also an option by clicking the Eyeball icon, which will provide you with a detailed, if slightly humorous explanation of what your character is looking at. Lastly, you have the option to attack thins, which is seen as a sword for your mouse icon. You can also choose a class after the first few minutes or so of the game, completing quests to earn your certain class, whether it be a brigand, rogue, or sorceror.
Gameplay is pretty basic. You control Roehm and manipulate him into gaining infamy in all the realm. Interacting with NPCs, completing adventures and slaying monstrous foes will slowly increase your infamy. In the beginning of the game, Roehm steps off a wagon and chats a little with the kind heart that drove him all the way to the town of Volksville. It was there that I realized that Roehm has a Scottish accent, and is quite witty himself. The conversations held between the two characters is interesting and sets the story up nicely. One of the main things that I enjoyed about playing Quest Of Infamy was its choice of voice-acting. While I would usually put this under the Graphics & Audio section, I felt that the voice-acting really lent itself to the gameplay overall, even with its flaws. I’m not much of a fan for voice-acting, and generally I tend to avoid listening to the voice-actors as they try to convince themselves and their audience that they’ve been mortally wounded. That was not the case with Quest Of Infamy. If anything, the audio is needed to complement the gameplay. The voices used and the dialogue that they have creates a lighthearted atmosphere that makes the experience all the more enjoyable.
It was a little difficult for me to adjust at first, as I personally like to rush through gameplay. I found it unbearably boring, so I changed my tactic and decided to really read and listen to the dialogue and play through the game slowly. It opened up a completely different side to the game and I easily spent a few hours on the game without even realizing it. The game’s text is hilarious, and sometimes you’re caught off-guard by the witty remarks the developers throw at you when you accidentally press on something. I remember during gameplay when I wanted to walk through a door, I accidentally had the Observe icon activated, so instead, I received a message that said “It’s a door, dumbass” in a sarcastic tone. It was hilarious and I couldn’t help but smirk, even while I was sitting on an airplane filled with people. If you’re looking for comedic relief in an RPG title that also gives you a slight challenge, look no further.
Visuals & Audio
Visually speaking, Quest For Infamy does exactly what it intends to do. It doesn’t aim to be the most graphically advanced title, but it does provide the right amount of spunk needed to entertain players completely. The artwork is a little bit blocky, but it runs smooth enough and is actually kind of pleasing to look at, though I can’t imagine players with larger screens enjoying how pixelated the game looks. The music in the game is nothing extravagant, but it captures the lighthearted mood that the title is supposed to bring. The voice acting was also pretty entertaining, even though there were some slight issues with the voice acting that turned me off a bit. Other than that, I thought the voice acting was pretty necessary in creating a full experience for players as they make their way through the game.
Overall
All in all, Quest For Infamy was an amazingly well done title that kept me hooked for a good amount of time. Quest For Infamy is almost an ode to old school games that certainly does not take itself to seriously, which makes it all the more entertaining to play. The hilarious commentary and interesting gameplay makes it a definite pleaser for old school RPG enthusiasts. While there were some small issues with the game, none of them were horrible enough that I couldn’t overlook them in the general scheme of things. I enjoyed the game immensely and I’d urge anyone interested to get the game and get ready to spend some time laughing and racking up your brain figuring out a solution to the adventures that will be thrown at your face.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Anyone living in Beijing China, the fifth annual Slash Only #5 event took place today! So as always, it was another perfect excuse for the Capsule Computers Crew to attend and cover the event, this time in more ways than one. Slash Only #5 event was open to the public, with tickets being sold online and also a small amount at the door for 50RMB (approx $10USD/AU) per person. So it certainly was a very affordable price if you’re a Dojinshi/comic book fan eager to pick up the latest Dojinshi’s and pop culture merchandise from popular TV shows, movies and games from the US and UK “Only.” Yes you heard that right. Slash Only only focuses on US and UK stuff and absolutely NO Japanese Anime, shows, games or movies were sold at the event.
Slash Only #5 was held at Beijing Workers Stadium on two floors (level 1 and Level 3). A total of 1,000 tickets were made available to the public via online purchasing. As we’ve come to expect from Slash Only events, the organization was fantastic and the staff were very helpful. The event started at 9:00am in the morning, and once the doors opened, the mad rush was on for young and old as the fans, who quickly filled up the event hall, lining up to buy their favourite Slash Only Doujinshi and merchandise.
As always, the Slash Only event organizers offered everyone attending a chance to pick up and collect the Slash Only trading card game cards, which are similar to other card games like Magic The Gathering. These cards were not for sale this year, but were given away to the fans once they purchased merchandise from any of the vendor booths. This has always been certainly a great little incentive cooked up by the organizers (GA EXPO) for the fans who enjoy collecting these cards (myself included).
Today’s event drew an impressive amount of Cos-Play characters dressed up from a variety of US and UK TV shows, movies and hames. I personally took the time this time to plan ahead and prepare and organise my own cos-play outfit and chose to dress up as Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil 4. You can check out my work above and all the event and cos-play images below in the gallery. We also have a link to our full gallery images hosted on Facebook and Weibo. A lot of effort and time was certainly spent into some of these outfits, which I must say were very interesting and well designed and organised. Once again, Slash Only #5 event was a fantastic success and we look forward to covering Slash Only 6 early next year in 2015. Click on the link below to be taken to our Facebook gallery page for Slash Only #5 Event. *note* only 20 images are present below. Full gallery of 150 images can be viewed on our Facebook and Weibo pages. Click on the links below to check them out.
Today NIS America has taken the time to release the first English screenshots we have seen for Fairy Fencer F and these screenshots serve as a way to introduce us to some of the characters players will run into once the game is released on September 23rd in North America and September 26th in Europe.
It is worth noting that some of the characters have had their names modified slightly, and NIS America has provided us with a brief personality description for some of the characters, including the main characters, in the game which you can check out below.
Fang – The main character and a foul-mouthed Fencer. He’s something of a hedonist with a lazy streak, but he always pulls through when he’s needed.
Eryn– Fang’s fairy partner. She thinks Fang is an idiot and is rather condescending to him.
Tiara– A refined Fencer who takes things quite seriously. She might be slightly masochistic, but prepare to be terrified if you get her mad.
Harley– A Fencer and fairyologist, she’s got an unhealthy obsession with all things fairy. She’s rather scatterbrained when it comes to anything outside the realm of her research.
Bahus– Harley’s fairy partner. He looks tough, but he’s actually an accomplished cook and domestic caretaker.
Pippin– A mysterious Fencer full of wisdom. How does his brain operate with a sword stabbed through his head? Who knows?
Soji– Pippin’s dashing, gentlemanly fairy partner. He’s a well-mannered butler who’s often mistaken for a Fencer.
Sherman– A Fencer who desires world peace and wants to keep Furies out of evil hands. He exudes style in his dress and speech. That’s probably why he and Fang don’t get along.
Ryushin– Sherman’s fairy partner. Serious, stern, and robotic in appearance – he can be stubborn and unwavering in his thoughts at times.
I first experienced the Ratchet & Clank series in the shape of Tools of Destruction, the first and (according to Metacritic) best last gen outing for the bot and Lombax duo. That these guys are up there with Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper and the rest of the PlayStation mob is without question, but they have faltered a little of late.
Happily the series is in for some serious attention in the coming year, with Insomniac prepping a Ratchet & Clank movie and a PS4 reimagining of the original game.
Tiding us over until then is this HD remaster of the first three games, appearing on the Vita for the first time two years after the release of the PS3 version (review here). I had never played the Ratchet & Clank originals before so there is still a fresh audience left for the handheld release, but the main drive is doubtlessley to give fans who’ve already played the games the option to take things on the go.
Story
It’s a given that the games are high quality doses of zany fun. The titular duo avoid the perils of being irritating loudmouths, and some of the jokes have a surprising bent toward cynical social commentary (“why are you not escaping on a fancy ship?” Ratchet asks a maintenance worker robot, “socio-economic disparity” is the deadpan reply). The plot throughout the trilogy is your standard save the galaxy from evil fare, but the characters and the humor surpass that basic framework to create a joyful universe full of strange creatures and memorable weirdos. The humour is goofy with the odd drop of the satirical, and the characters get a decent bit of development throughout the trilogy.
Gameplay
This is a classic set of games and the vast majority of players will know what to expect; planet hopping, Bolt collecting, and enemy bashing are the name of the day, with a few other mechanics thrown in every now and again to mix things up. What has always sold Ratchet & Clank to me however is the weapons, which start off wacky and develop from there. The shooting mechanics blend well with the platforming, and although the first game feels a bit off due to the lack of strafing, it’s still a blast to play.
Ratchet has his OmniWrench to give things a decent smack around the head, but why use such a mundane weapon when you can turn your enemies into explosive black sheep? That particular gem only appears in game two, but there is plenty of fun to be had with the selection of flame throwing, exploding, zapping, missile launching mayhem causers throughout the trilogy. Collecting Bolts is a breeze when you know they’ll get you that next weapon, and the constant barrage of new stuff keeps the gameplay ticking along.
The platforming is tight and enjoyable, and bar the occasional mishap with the camera and a bit of backtracking in the first game, forms a solid backbone for the action. As you would expect things evolve as the series continues, with more abilities, mini games and RPG elements popping up to add more depth to an already fine experience. Crucially weapons can be leveled up from the second game, Going Commando, expanding their firepower or tweaking their effects. The upgrades are limited to a single step, but the whole thing blossoms in Up Your Arsenal to allow for multiple upgrade levels.
The games are fantastic examples of their time and still hold up well in terms of gameplay, with sessions easily sapping hours at a time. Players used to more recent releases may stumble a little on the more basic move set of the first game, but it’s still great fun to explore the roots of the franchise and watch everything grow.
Audio & Visual
One of the first things to do when booting up the game is to jump into the options menu and tweak the volume levels of the music and sound effects. For some reason the effects dominate the soundscape at the default settings, making the chinking collection of Bolts about the only thing you’ll hear if you don’t give the sliders a push. That easily fixable grumble aside, the game is otherwise a solid HD remaster that impresses with its vibrant colours, world and character design rather than its resolution.
It looks good, and the cartoon art style on even the first game survives well, but there are a few rough edges to the presentation that make it far from a perfect port. The music and effects can be a bit glitchy at times, and the input lag in the first game, although slight, is a bit of a kick in the head when trying to get in to the trilogy.
Overall
The Vita version of this collection is a bit of a non event given that the PS3 version showed off the games in HD two years ago, and the fact that the whole lot are cross buy but not cross save makes the Vita version a tough sell unless you’re dead set on playing Ratchet & Clank on the go. If that does happen to be your greatest desire then you’re in luck- The Ratchet & Clank Trilogy delivers great gameplay with a shiny if imperfect coat.
Playing through these three games will be a joy for anyone who has missed out on them, and the combination of comedy, character and over the top weaponry makes for a lot of breezy fun. Ratchet & Clank emerged in a generation of numerous classics of the same pedigree, but for me they have the jump on Jak & Daxter any day.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview There are many times that a movie of an anime series, especially one that aired less than two years before the film debuted, is relegated to being a simple recap that tries to tell a story in a condensed form and try to bring in new fans. Thankfully K: Missing Kings is not one of those types of movies and actually moves beyond the events that happened in K. The question is, does this movie do a decent enough job continuing from where the series ended in season one?
Story It is worth noting that for those who have yet to see K that there will be spoilers for the first season in this review as this movie takes place after the major events that occurred at the end of the K season. That being said, K: Missing Kings picks up almost a year after the events that occurred near Ashinaka High School where the movie’s name gets its meaning as not only was the Red King slain in this battle but the Colorless King was also killed only for the Silver King to vanish.
K: Missing Kings begins with the Blue King’s Scepter 4 clan being alerted to the fact that the Gold King’s base of operations is under attack from JUNGLE, the name of the Green King’s clansmen. With the Gold King being a man that holds insane amounts of influence in the world, the Blue King is surprised by the fact that JUNGLE is capable of infiltrating and dealing such heavy damage to the Gold King’s home.
Since the end of the first season, Kuroh and Neko have continued searching for the Silver King, Yashiro Isana, who they call Shiro. Unfortunately for them they have had little luck in tracking down their master’s whereabouts but they do see that Anna and Rikio of the disbanded HOMRA clan of the Red King are being attacked by an extremely skilled member of JUNGLE and Kuroh jumps to their rescue despite having to face off against one of his former allies with the Colorless King, Yukari Mishakuji.
Despite their best efforts, Anna is kidnapped by the Green King’s forces as she is said to be a threat to their plans and also a tool to try and find the missing Silver King who appears to be the biggest threat to whatever the group is planning. With Anna being the only clue the two have, Kuroh and Neko must work together with what remains of HOMRA in order to infiltrate JUNGLE’s base and rescue the girl.
Thanks to the numerous questions that are left with viewers at the end of K, K: Missing Kings feels like a bit of a disappointment as very few of these questions are actually answered in any substantial form and even more questions are raised about what will be happening in the future. Some questions are answered of course, but it is pretty clear that the writers of the story are leaving most of the major revelations for what they are hoping will be another season. Especially since Nagara Hisui, the Green King, is never actually shown and how Scepter 4 and the Blue King play a very small role in the events that take place in the film.
Instead this movie offers a ton of action packed fighting scenes with Kuroh, Neko, and Homra’s Yata battling against JUNGLE’s fighters with Anna providing some minor emotional impact alongside Yata. Of course at the same time one of the missing members of HOMRA returns from a research trip to also assist in the battle in what culminates in a step forward for the series. This all leaves off with a cliffhanger ending dropping more hints on the future and making it quite obvious that more K will be on the way if the movie turns out to be successful.
Visuals One of the best things about K was how amazing the series looked and that same style has been replicated to great effect in K: Missing Kings. The stunning color palette from the original series is transferred perfectly into this movie and as mentioned earlier, there are a number of battles that take place between members of the old cast and the Green King’s clan and each of these battles are fluidly animated without a single noticeable drop in animation quality.
That is nothing compared to how much detail has been put into the world of K. Everything in the background and foreground is usually moving or very detailed looking making every scene a delight for the eyes. It is worth noting that Neko again plays the fan-service role often in K: Missing Kings, though not as much as the series itself as the most viewers will see is a panty shot or two.
Audio The Japanese voice cast from the original K anime have reprised their roles for K: Missing Kings and alongside the newly introduced characters each of the voice actors fit their roles quite nicely. There is some very nice sounding background music used throughout the film, especially during some of the more important battles. There is also a very striking piece of background music containing vocals that is used during one of the few emotional moments of the movie.
Overall K: Missing Kings does very little to try and make itself appealing to newcomers as the story and the aspect of Kings and clansmen battling one another is a high barrier to overcome. This is a case where that is for the best however as this 73 minute movie instead tries to answer some minor questions while also taking a step forward and bring with it a number of new questions.
That being said, there is a feeling that not enough was really done to move the story forward in this film as what we are presented with feels like the writers’ hopes for making a second season while throwing a decent amount of action at viewers without revealing anything really important. As such, K: Missing Kings has a lot of what made the original series great, but is limited by the fact that it appears to be intended as a hopeful precursor to a second season.
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