Game #947: Devil Kings

 Look how they massacred my boy....

 Devil Kings is the bastardization of Sengoku Basara. Our Japanese historic figures got renamed with generic names such as 'Frost', 'Venus', 'Scorpio', 'Red Minotaur' or 'Iron Ox', four playable characters were completely removed and they tweaked the gameplay...

 Well, this is a Dynasty Warriors clone through and through, but not without its own unique ideas. For instance, as you level up your character you can unlock moves you can bind to R1+Square and R1+Triangle. On the other hand, you only have your very basic Square attack string and a generic special move you can use with triangle. For this bastard version of Sengoku Basara, they made your triangle attack 'Prime' your enemies, making them more susceptible to damage... and the only way to get energy for your Super energy gauge from them. All in all, the fact that you only have one combo string makes the game even more repetitive than Dynasty Warriors, even though you get a few other special moves. The Prime mechanic is incredibly dumb because it turns every fight into pressing triangle then smashing square, and once the prime status wears off, inflicting it again. The fact that a single attack in your repertoire inflicts prime is just dumb.

 You get a total of six playable characters, at first, and you can unlock another six by finishing the Conquest Mode with each member of the starting roster. It's a decent roster considering how different every character feels from each other, even though in the end you'll be mashing that square button until the cows go home.

 What I'll give the game is that it feels really good. The framerate holds up well and smashing enemies to the ground feels quite satisfying. The fact that you can change your direction as you attack puts it leagues above the first DW games... only to lose that advantage as soon as you start facing off against bosses. Y'see there's no lock-on mechanic, and enemy generals love to jump and move all over the battlefield. It's impossible to keep track of them, which makes fighting them a chore. Fights that could take seconds now take up minutes because they keep running circles around you and there's nothing you can do about it,

 I kinda liked Devil Kings but I kinda disliked it too. I think a couple of runs through the Conquest Mode is fun enough, but as soon as you hit your third playthrough battling through the same stages... it wears a bit out. 

 6.0