Lost Kingdoms
Encyclopedia
Lost Kingdoms is a fantasy video game developed by From Software
and published by Activision
in North America
and Europe
. The original Japanese
version of this game is simply known as . The game was released in Japan on April 25, 2002; in North America on May 27, 2002; and in Europe on August 9, 2002. Lost Kingdoms is a card-based action role-playing game
where battles are fought in real-time
.
A sequel, Lost Kingdoms II
, was released a year later.
. This fog is known for consuming people, towns, and other signs of civilization
or life, nothing ever to escape from within. In Lost Kingdoms, the fog invades the land of Argwyll, home of the main character Katia, who is also the princess of this kingdom. The fog has been terrorizing the land for a long time, and Katia's father - the king - eventually ventured out to help try and deal with the deadly substance. However, since her father hadn't returned in some time, Katia soon leaves to find him.
Before she leaves, however, she is granted access to the castle's runestone, a key item in this game. With the runestone, Katia is able to use special magic cards to battle for her against the monsters that have spawned inside the black fog. Using this runestone, Katia is granted to leave the castle in the hopes of saving the kingdom, as well as finding and possibly rescuing her father. Unfortunately for her, she later finds that monsters killed her father. Later Katia finds a new enemy in the form of another runestone wielder, a girl named Helena that she repeatedly runs into. Eventually, Katia fights and kills Helena, but before she dies Helena reveals to Katia that she was trying to save her own land from the black fog. Katia eventually discovers that a man named Thalnos is behind the black fog, as well as the existence a malevolent entity known as the God of Destruction. After fighting and killing Thalnos, it turns out that he was just a vessel for the God of Destruction. Katia then fights and defeats the evil god as the final boss of the game.
and one-hit kills are forbidden. Since some cards have the ability to return used cards back to the deck, these types of cards are also prohibited.
. The elements of these cards includes fire
, water
, wood
, earth
, and neutral. Each type has its own advantage over another: Fire is strong against wood, but weak against water. Wood is strong against earth, but weak against fire. Neutral is a special and rare element, as it has no weaknesses against the other elements. Aside from finding new cards, Katia can also buy, sell, transform, and capture new cards.
Katia is capable of purchasing, finding, or getting her foes to submit to becoming new cards. Katia can also sell unwanted cards, and have her old cards transformed into new and/or stronger cards. Only a couple of cards are available after each level is completed, and they are not always completely new. Transforming cards is a part of the games experience point
aspect, since defeating enemies with a card will earn the card experience points. Once cards earn enough experience, the shop will transform them into a different card for a certain amount of experience points. Capturing cards is a special process that allows Katia to transform her foes into cards. By initiating a capture throw, Katia can force weakened enemies into submission and transform them. If a capture throw fails, then the enemy only lose a small part of their life.
will appear, attack, and then disappear. These cards can often be used two or more times, depending on the card.
monsters who are used to distract enemies.
From Software
is a Japanese video game company founded in November 1986 known primarily for being the developers of the Armored Core, Demon's Souls, King's Field, Otogi and Tenchu series.-Games:...
and published by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The original Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
version of this game is simply known as . The game was released in Japan on April 25, 2002; in North America on May 27, 2002; and in Europe on August 9, 2002. Lost Kingdoms is a card-based action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
where battles are fought in real-time
Real-time computer graphics
Real-time computer graphics is the subfield of computer graphics focused on producing and analyzing images in real time. The term is most often used in reference to interactive 3D computer graphics, typically using a GPU, with video games the most noticeable users...
.
A sequel, Lost Kingdoms II
Lost Kingdoms II
Lost Kingdoms II, known as in Japan, is a role-playing video game developed by From Software and published by Activision in North America and Europe. It is the sequel to Lost Kingdoms...
, was released a year later.
Story
The story begins with a substance known in the game as black fogFog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
. This fog is known for consuming people, towns, and other signs of civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
or life, nothing ever to escape from within. In Lost Kingdoms, the fog invades the land of Argwyll, home of the main character Katia, who is also the princess of this kingdom. The fog has been terrorizing the land for a long time, and Katia's father - the king - eventually ventured out to help try and deal with the deadly substance. However, since her father hadn't returned in some time, Katia soon leaves to find him.
Before she leaves, however, she is granted access to the castle's runestone, a key item in this game. With the runestone, Katia is able to use special magic cards to battle for her against the monsters that have spawned inside the black fog. Using this runestone, Katia is granted to leave the castle in the hopes of saving the kingdom, as well as finding and possibly rescuing her father. Unfortunately for her, she later finds that monsters killed her father. Later Katia finds a new enemy in the form of another runestone wielder, a girl named Helena that she repeatedly runs into. Eventually, Katia fights and kills Helena, but before she dies Helena reveals to Katia that she was trying to save her own land from the black fog. Katia eventually discovers that a man named Thalnos is behind the black fog, as well as the existence a malevolent entity known as the God of Destruction. After fighting and killing Thalnos, it turns out that he was just a vessel for the God of Destruction. Katia then fights and defeats the evil god as the final boss of the game.
Gameplay
Lost Kingdoms is best known for its unique system of combat. Battles are played in real-time, where the player has to keep their character moving to avoid enemy attacks and plot tactical points to attack. Katia uses her cards for battle purposes only, as she cannot fight. Lost Kingdoms also has a multiplayer system in which two players can use their own decks to battle one another. When compared to single-player, the multiplayer has various restrictions to make the fight fair. HealingHealing
Physiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
and one-hit kills are forbidden. Since some cards have the ability to return used cards back to the deck, these types of cards are also prohibited.
Cards
There are three special types of cards. Along with the battle types are elementsClassical element
Many philosophies and worldviews have a set of classical elements believed to reflect the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. Most frequently, classical elements refer to ancient beliefs...
. The elements of these cards includes fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
, water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, and neutral. Each type has its own advantage over another: Fire is strong against wood, but weak against water. Wood is strong against earth, but weak against fire. Neutral is a special and rare element, as it has no weaknesses against the other elements. Aside from finding new cards, Katia can also buy, sell, transform, and capture new cards.
Katia is capable of purchasing, finding, or getting her foes to submit to becoming new cards. Katia can also sell unwanted cards, and have her old cards transformed into new and/or stronger cards. Only a couple of cards are available after each level is completed, and they are not always completely new. Transforming cards is a part of the games experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
aspect, since defeating enemies with a card will earn the card experience points. Once cards earn enough experience, the shop will transform them into a different card for a certain amount of experience points. Capturing cards is a special process that allows Katia to transform her foes into cards. By initiating a capture throw, Katia can force weakened enemies into submission and transform them. If a capture throw fails, then the enemy only lose a small part of their life.
Weapon-type
A weapon-type card is a card for quick use. Upon choosing a card of this type, a monsterMonster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
will appear, attack, and then disappear. These cards can often be used two or more times, depending on the card.
Summons-type
A summons-type card is a card that will temporarily replace Katia with the summoned monster. This monster will then attack. While Katia is replaced she can't be damaged. Most summons-type cards can only be used once. Once the monster's attack is complete, it will disappear and Katia will reappear.Independent-type
An independent-type card is a card that will act on its own after being summoned. After which, this monster will stay on the battlefield until either its hit points are depleted, or until the allotted time runs out. Most monsters are given a time limit as to how long they can be on the battlefield, but there are some exceptions. The action an independent-type monster will make varies; some will attack the enemy while others are only there for the sake of either enhancing allies or downgrading enemies, as well as decoyDecoy
A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction, to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.-Duck decoy:The term duck decoy may...
monsters who are used to distract enemies.