Snippets
Little King's Story is instantly familiar if you've played Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon or that rubbishy thing about wizards I've already forgotten about. The gameworld is cute, cartoony and brightly coloured. Everything in it is rounded at the edges. It's populated by people with improbably large heads and triangles for noses. They all want to talk to you and none of what they say is worth listening to. Everywhere you look there are logs to chop, holes to dig and coins to collect. It never rains.
However, there's more to Little King's Story than that. It's not just a glorious celebration of farming crops, finding treasure, living the pastoral ideal and making friends with cows called Pancho. It's also about monarchy, oligarchy, religious hegemony, the effect of industrial growth on socio-economic power structures, feudalism and genocide. But are the graphics any good?
The gameplay soon settles into a cyclical rhythm. You use cash to build houses which produces more citizens, and give them jobs so they get more cash and defeat more enemies, which increases the number of citizens you can command and the types of job available, and opens up new areas to explore... And so on.
Repetitive? Yes. Dull? Yes, if you're the type of person who thinks all games are dull unless they feature 19 kinds of gun, monsters who look like they're made of genitals and a driving bit. If you prefer pretty, soothing, comforting gaming experiences, Little King's Story will hook you in like a lullaby sung by an angel who breathes morphine. The real world will slip gently away, and nothing will matter to you but hats and cows and lumberjacks, and not until someone comes in and says "It's Tuesday" will you realise anything else exists.
This is an epic game. However, like all the best titles of its kind, LKS is quietly addictive. Just when you reach a point of frustration and think you've had enough, a new job type will become available or a new area will open up, and it's impossible to resist playing on.
It's charming, engrossing and just plain fun. It's proof that Wii games don't have to be mediocre mini-game compilations or first-party Nintendo titles. It's a reason to be glad companies like Rising Star still exist, and that they're still making games like this. And it's got nice graphics. What are you waiting for?
8/10
So awesome. 
EDGE-magazine review
Perhaps the game’s greatest achievement, however, is a constant focus on you, the player, delicately changing the world as your kingdom expands. Every moment feels like it’s been lavished with attention; Little King’s Story is as rich as it is long, and it’s a very lengthy game indeed. Its central mechanic is unique, its world unlike any other, and its completion a Herculean task. It’s a game of rare quality, and exactly what the Wii deserves. It’s a true original.
9/10
NGamer review
"Funny, exciting, intelligent and rewarding. This is what happens when great minds dare to be different. ...the first true essential of 2009, this little king towers above the competition."
92%
Well Eurogamer said:
But it's the best game I've played all year, and that includes Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad.
See Sasuke was right! See? (read from right to left)
GoTY, bitches!
Sounds good. But still one of those games I will buy years down the road on clearance, like I did with Pikmin 2.
well worth a thread though. every member of the vgpress should buy this game now ... no i don't care if you don't have a wii
___
Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
Dvader said:Sounds good. But still one of those games I will buy years down the road on clearance, like I did with Pikmin 2.
And this is the reason 3rd party Wii games don't sell. No matter how good they are.
I label you Hobo Gourmet the third!
Full text at the link above
Look at that title. So unobtrusive. Put it next to the hyperbolically monikered brutes it'll be sharing shelf space with - Madworld, Overkill, Chop Til You Drop - and it may as well be called 'Don't Worry About Me' or 'Sorry. I'm Just Really Sorry'. But that's the little king's secret: smile, look harmless and crush with extreme prejudice. Underestimating this diminutive dictator will be your biggest mistake this year.
There's a feeling you get from some games - mostly very special games - of being in safe hands. It often stems from a strange side detail; if the periphery is sound, the heart must be worthy too. In Little King's Story it happens ten seconds in, just after the remote strap safety warning.
The Little King's story is one of expansion. From quaint hamlet to a sprawling metropolis. From empty grassland to homes overflowing with virtual lives. From a dusty shack to a castle American tourists would wet themselves over.
Whether observing these strange characters or listening to the laugh-out-loud-funny turns of phrase this is one of the funniest games on Wii. But that's just one tiny part of a game with a whole lotta love poured in. It has meaty gameplay that you can tear away in belly-filling chunks. It has a musical score that makes your journey across Alpoko into a literal trip through the works of Beethoven, Strauss and Rossini. It has charm and challenge in equal measure.
But most of all, when everyone else is mucking around in blood and guts, Little King's Story has the tenacity to be an actual game you can play and play and play. The first true essential of 2009, this little king towers above the competition.
92%
gamingeek said:Dvader said:Sounds good. But still one of those games I will buy years down the road on clearance, like I did with Pikmin 2.
And this is the reason 3rd party Wii games don't sell. No matter how good they are.
I label you Hobo Gourmet the third!
Oh be quiet I wouldn't buy this game at launch no matter what console it was on. I dont buy games just cause they are good, they need to interst me.
Dvader said:gamingeek said:Dvader said:Sounds good. But still one of those games I will buy years down the road on clearance, like I did with Pikmin 2.
And this is the reason 3rd party Wii games don't sell. No matter how good they are.
I label you Hobo Gourmet the third!
Oh be quiet I wouldn't buy this game at launch no matter what console it was on. I dont buy games just cause they are good, they need to interst me.
You did not buy Pikmin 2 immediately?! Damn
Iga_Bobovic said:Dvader said:gamingeek said:Dvader said:Sounds good. But still one of those games I will buy years down the road on clearance, like I did with Pikmin 2.
And this is the reason 3rd party Wii games don't sell. No matter how good they are.
I label you Hobo Gourmet the third!
Oh be quiet I wouldn't buy this game at launch no matter what console it was on. I dont buy games just cause they are good, they need to interst me.
You did not buy Pikmin 2 immediately?! Damn
No, like two years later when I got it for like $15. Glad I waited. Liked the game but not really my thing.
Dvader said:Iga_Bobovic said:Dvader said:gamingeek said:Dvader said:Sounds good. But still one of those games I will buy years down the road on clearance, like I did with Pikmin 2.
And this is the reason 3rd party Wii games don't sell. No matter how good they are.
I label you Hobo Gourmet the third!
Oh be quiet I wouldn't buy this game at launch no matter what console it was on. I dont buy games just cause they are good, they need to interst me.
You did not buy Pikmin 2 immediately?! Damn
No, like two years later when I got it for like $15. Glad I waited. Liked the game but not really my thing.
Oh I forgot you hate RTS like games.
Dvader said:gamingeek said:Dvader said:Sounds good. But still one of those games I will buy years down the road on clearance, like I did with Pikmin 2.
And this is the reason 3rd party Wii games don't sell. No matter how good they are.
I label you Hobo Gourmet the third!
Oh be quiet I wouldn't buy this game at launch no matter what console it was on. I dont buy games just cause they are good, they need to interst me.
Out of interest, in all seriousness. What third party Wii games have you bought at launch at full price?
And the Resident Evil games don't count as an answer. Okay they do, sort of.
NOM review
Extracts only:
Beautiful character design; charming narratives; eccentric dialogue; huge, magical worlds to explore; polished, inventive and accessible gameplay; and a hefty challenge that belies a game's cute stylings. It's rare that a game ticks all those boxes in this day and age (especially one not made by Nintendo themselves), but we're happy to report that Little King's Story has come out of nowhere and blown our socks off. A real surprise package, there's a good chance that you won't play a finer videogame this year, first party or otherwise.
For the most part, it's bewitching, magical stuff. The enemy design is absolutely gorgeous - giant snails, killer toadstools, flying cows, psychotic sheep, cake-addicted aristocrats, fire breathing dragons, murderous turnips, pac-men on pogo sticks, obese cockerels, ravenous toads... they're all a joy to meet and you'll almost be reluctant to put them to the sword.
Your subjects are delightfully nuanced too, from your moustachioed, Machiavellian right hand man Howser, to the sheer unadulterated awesomeness of Pancho the barking cow.
We could go on for another four pages about all the genius little touches that Marvelous have crammed into the game. There is just so much to enjoy here. It's so refreshing to see a game that's not afraid to offer gamers a whopping Zelda-length quest wrapped in the sort of charm, wit and inventiveness rarely seen outside of a first party title. MadWorld and GTA might be great games, and are certainly more adult, but Little King's Story will be the one that reminds you why you fell in love with Nintendo gaming.
Beautiful presentation Fantastic classical soundtrack Massive quest Wonderfully eccentric
Frustrating back-tracking
92%
gamingeek said:Dvader said:gamingeek said:Dvader said:Sounds good. But still one of those games I will buy years down the road on clearance, like I did with Pikmin 2.
And this is the reason 3rd party Wii games don't sell. No matter how good they are.
I label you Hobo Gourmet the third!
Oh be quiet I wouldn't buy this game at launch no matter what console it was on. I dont buy games just cause they are good, they need to interst me.
Out of interest, in all seriousness. What third party Wii games have you bought at launch at full price?
And the Resident Evil games don't count as an answer. Okay they do, sort of.
Resident Evil 4, UC. 
Sonic and the Secret Rings. I bought Trauma Center at launch. Zack and Wiki was full price but I got it at Christmas. I only have two other third party Wii games, NMH and Boom Blox (which I still need to play)
EDIT: Lets compare to the third party games I bought on the PS3 at full price. MGS4, GTA4, RE5, Orange Box, Fallout3, DMC4, VF4, Sonic Unleashed. Thats why I have no money for Wii games. 
Wait...you paid full price for Sonic Unleashed?!
Foolz said:And only MGS4 is better than LKS.
Wait...you paid full price for Sonic Unleashed?!
Yes and well worth it. I love that game, probably more than I would ever love LKS.
Actually now I am not so sure, I think I got it cheaper through a christmas deal... either way totally worth it. Damn now that I think about it I got Fallout 3 for like $40. Whatever i would pay full price for that one too.
Oh Dvader.... third parties should basically market research YOU and you alone. Here are the questions:
What would entice you into buying a Wii 3rd party game at launch:
a) Use the Resident Evil licence
b) Use the Star Wars licence
c) Use the GTA licence
d) Make it High Definition
e) Use the Sonic licence
f) Use the Zelda licence
g) Make it High Definition (yeah it's in there twice!)
Archies would be shorter, just option d)
More triple AAA reviews for LKS
Little King’s Story is an intelligent, charming and utterly addictive video game. But its crowning achievement is its unerring dedication to its own imagination. CiNG throw ideas at it from every angle and nearly every single one sticks. The result is a delightfully crafted adventure, that will pull you into its magnificent fantasy world and refuse to let go. In an industry sometimes too reliant on following the leader, it’s a game that treads its own path with complete confidence in itself. And that is truly regal.
Closing Comments
For a game that bears gameplay similarities to some proud forebears , Little King's Story is shockingly original in execution. There really isn't another RPG out there quite like it – and in an increasingly stale strategy-RPG market, this is a game that renews the category for us. It's compelling and complex, deep and rewarding, surprising and above all entertaining. There are few other games on the Wii that can really share that much praise in a single sentence, so that's an achievement unto itself. It does have drawbacks – for all the polish, Little King's Story still has occasional gameplay quirks and shortcomings. But my god man – this is fine gaming. Ignore the box art , look past the cutesy presentation – Little King's Story is an enormous tale wholeheartedly worth exploring.
9.1
Yet another AAA review for Kings Story
gamingeek said:Oh Dvader.... third parties should basically market research YOU and you alone. Here are the questions:
What would entice you into buying a Wii 3rd party game at launch:
a) Use the Resident Evil licence
b) Use the Star Wars licence
c) Use the GTA licence
d) Make it High Definition
e) Use the Sonic licence
f) Use the Zelda licence
g) Make it High Definition (yeah it's in there twice!)
Archies would be shorter, just option d)
HD would be nice so it doesnt look like total ass on my TV.
Yes using any of the above licences will get my attention, but the game has to be good (which is why I have not bought a SW game in forever, not that FU wasn't good, I want great). But a game in a franchise I love automatically moves up the list in my most wanted games. I'm loyal as long as they continue to make the games I fell in love with. New IPs have to work to get my attention, if I really enjoy the first one then it can join my favorites list. With so little money I rather stick with what I know I enjoy than experiment.
EDGE mag preview by Aspro
Little King's Story E3 Images
Little King's Story english trailer
So Awesome
Little King�s Story - more screens attack of the cow army