There is a prophecy, one that displeases Lord Zetta, the proclaimed ruler of the Netherworld. And when he encounters Raiden, sent by an unknown master serving the prophecy to destroy him, it appears that all Zetta’s fears are about to become a reality. Well … until he destroys Raiden, and thinks his woes are at an end, if for no other reason than he is “one bad-ass freakin’ Overlord.”

But when he looks in the Sacred Tome, the book that displays all that is going to happen, he discovers that all is not well. On the verge of destruction, Zetta binds his soul to the Sacred Tome.

Of course, Zetta is not happy and wants his kingdom back. So he turns to Pram The Oracle, who creates a netherworld for Zetta to gain control of. But since Zetta is a book, he has a long way to go before that world becomes his.

Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome is a PlayStation 2 release from Nippon Ichi and is a turn-based anime-style two-dimensional game that tantalizes with colorful environments, solid character development, but generic gameplay. This really, in many ways, feels like a “been there, done that” type of game.

You really begin the exercise with a brief tutorial and then you have to bind souls to objects to create your first party. Essentially, you stand next to an object in the environment and bind a soul to that, with the created character deriving attributes from the object used to create him or her. For example, stand next to a rock and bind a soul and the created individual will have higher defenses than others, but won’t have the skills to be a mage.

After creating a party (from healer, magician, junk dealer, pickpocket, witch and apprentice templates), you begin the task of regaining a netherworld for Zetta. Using Makai gates, you jump to different areas, which are basically dungeons/stages. Clear the stage, develop/level your team members and move upward to recapture all that Zetta lost.

Where the game departs from the usual fare is in the Invite system. As you move through the world, you will encounter enemies. You counter by moving the cursor onto Zetta, the book, and then inviting pre-created team members to join the battle. You can summon your entire team at once, or a few at a time. Each stage has a numerical value assigned to it. Defeat enemies and meet the point total of the stage and the stage is cleared and you advance. Run out of allies and it is game over – so it is wise to save before entering a stage.

There are several phases to the turn-based combat of the game. You move the cursor over a character and decide whether to move anywhere within the radius of the red movement circle that appears, then you can attack anything within a blue area that appears if that option is selected.

The combat basically comes down to commonsense in terms of equipping your party members, strategy in selecting targets and movement. Consider this a chess match. There is a bit of a learning curve in this game. The controls will seem awkward initially when trying to move from one aspect (the move/attack screen) to the execute/end turn screen. Executing combat ends a party member’s turn, so you must watch how you attack and attack range.

Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome is a colorful game with many graphical elements that are stock for these types of games. The sound, though, could use some work. The game has some really inane ‘dialogue’ moments. For example, when Zetta realizes that beating Raiden solved nothing, according to the Sacred Tome, he mocks the book with such sterling lines as “Sacred Tome? Ha! More like … Sucky … Dumb … thing!”

This is not a bad game, by any means, but aside from the Invite system – having the ability to create and call up party members – this game does not really offer a lot that is new or different. The story is convoluted and driven along by dialogue that is, at times, disjointed. Perhaps it just didn’t translate well. That said, if you are a fan of the genre, this is a game that may not set new standards, but it will certainly present a bit of a cerebral challenge.

Gameplay: 7.0
This is turn-based combat with dialogue that does not flow but you have to advance with the X button on the controller. There are load times, but this is a game that moves slowly. The controls border on the intuitive and then juxtapose into “which button do I push again to execute the combat?” There is a small learning curve here.

Graphics: 7.7
The special effects are nicely rendered for a 2-dimensional game that tries to take on the appearance of three dimensions is an isometric viewpoint. The animation is so-so, and the cutscenes do not really keep the theme intact. The static artwork of the characters bears no resemblance to the game sequences.

Sound: 7.0
The music is lilting and does not add any kind of mood to the game, and the voice acting is over the top.

Difficulty: Medium 

Concept: 7.5
The game does have a new trick, or two, but for the most part, this is the same as most other anime turn-based combat exercises.

Overall: 7.3
Not a bad game, but do not expect to be blown away by the story or innovative gameplay. The Invite system is very nice, but the game moves slowly. A solid turn-based combat title that may have appeal to those who really like this style of game, but there is relatively little here that will pull in new fans. All that said, Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome is an average game with solid graphics but slow-moving gameplay.