''Graffiti Kingdom'' is an

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...

developed by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...

for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

console in 2004, and is the sequel to '' Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color''. The game's soundtrack was composed by

Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer, musician, and sound producer. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the ''Chrono (series), Chrono'', ''Xeno (series), Xeno'', ''Shadow Hearts'', and ''Inazuma Eleven (series), Inazuma Eleven'' franch ...

, better known for his work on ''

Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square. It was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the first game in the ''Chrono'' series. The game's development team included three designers th ...

'', ''

Chrono Cross is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is set in the same world as ''Chrono Trigger'', which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. ''Chrono C ...

'', and ''

Xenogears ''Xenogears'' is a 1998 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the debut entry in the larger '' Xeno'' franchise. The gameplay of ''Xenogears'' revolves around navigating 3D enviro ...

''.

Gameplay

As in '' Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color'', the player is able to create characters (known as "Graffiti Creatures") by drawing its body parts and assigning a function (such as "leg" or "head") to each part; however, unlike the previous game, its attacks and movement can also be customized. Additional functions are added as the player's level increases, and new attacks can be obtained by "capturing" other creatures. The versatility of this feature has attracted considerable popularity, largely in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

—a number of players have created detailed characters based both on original designs and those from existing video games,

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

and other media. (see links) While combat in ''Magic Pengel'' used a turn-based battle system similar to

rock–paper–scissors Rock paper scissors (also known by other orderings of the three items, with "rock" sometimes being called "stone," or as Rochambeau, roshambo, or ro-sham-bo) is a hand game originating in China, usually played between two people, in which each p ...

, ''Graffiti Kingdom'' is a more action-oriented

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

, although it retains some RPG-style elements such as the ability to level up.

Plot

The player takes the role of Prince Pixel of the Canvas Kingdom. Long ago, the kingdom was besieged by an evil Devil. This Devil was sealed away by a few brave knights bestowed with the power of Graffiti (called Graffiticians). Pixel happens upon the Devil's seal whilst avoiding his studies and takes the graffiti wand, breaking the seal. After an attempt by the seal's guardian, Pastel, to teach Pixel to use the wand results in the Devil's release, Pastel has Pixel face the Devil and restore the kingdom. Along the way, he meets Tablet, the Devil's son, who helps Pixel and challenges him throughout his adventures. He makes his way through the first few worlds, beating their bosses and acquiring their keys. En route to Palette, Tablet's sister, Pastel is kidnapped by Palette's agent. Pixel proceeds to fight his way to Palette's palace, reaffirming the friendship Pixel has with Pastel. Pixel then faces off with Palette, defeating her. However, Tablet is seemingly killed when he takes an attack meant for Pixel. Determined to stop the Devil, Pixel fights through the Devil's palace and beats the Devil, leaving him near defeat. However, Tablet steals Pixel's wand and defeats his father instead before declaring himself the new Devil. Pastel gives Pixel a spare wand (many others of which she keeps inside her). Pixel defeats Tablet and creates a new body for him. Pixel then stops Pastel from re-sealing the Devil, which would also cause Pastel to be sealed in with him. The Devil escapes once more, albeit now weakened severely. Pixel agrees to let the Devil recuperate if he restores the kingdom as best he can. The ending cinematic shows Palette rampaging through the town before being battled offscreen by Pixel and Tablet.

Reception

The game received "average" reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. In Japan, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave it a score of one seven, one eight, and two sevens for a total of 29 out of 40. ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' and ''

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ''Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine'' (often abbreviated to ''OPM'') was a monthly video game magazine, published by Ziff Davis Media. It was a sister publication of ''Electronic Gaming Monthly''. The magazine focused exclusively on PlayStation ...

'' gave it a favorable review about two-and-a-half months before the game's U.S. release.

References

External links

Official website
* {{moby game, id=/ps2/graffiti-kingdom 2004 video games 505 Games games Graffiti video games Hot B games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games Taito games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games scored by Yasunori Mitsuda Video games developed in Japan