The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a story about many things.
It’s a tale of fear and courage. Of loss and gain. Of life and death. And how the most priceless, precious things often come your way for free.
It’s also the kind of game that acts as a mirror to a player’s soul. What you get from it greatly depends on what kind of person you are — where you are in life, what you value and what experiences you have accumulated as you walk the same mortal path that we all have to go through.
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I guess this is my way of saying that The Cruel King and the Great Hero will not be for everyone.
As a budget title without much buzz, it’s easy for it to get swept away in the undercurrent of the Elden Rings of the world, which, by the way, is a fantastic game, mind you. Its lower budget also means The Cruel King and the Great Hero suffers from some technical hiccups that’s sure to annoy a segment of the gaming community that prizes things like polish and buttery smooth frame rates.
For those who value nuance and heart, however, The Cruel King and the Great Hero becomes so much more. It’s like learning to look past the fancy cars, nice clothes and all the other superficial things on the surface and discovering the true value of someone within.
Only then does the game truly resonate and show its real self. To see that, however, you must be willing to give it a chance.
The story is the star in The Cruel King and the Great Hero
The story of The Cruel King and the Great Hero starts in a mountain kingdom ruled by members of the monster race.
Overseeing this monstrous lot is the powerful Dragon King, an odd and mysterious creature that longs to live in peace with humans despite the historic conflict between both sides. Even odder is the Dragon King’s daughter. Yuu loves to don an old pot on her head and a tree branch in her hands while setting forth on heroic adventures every day. She also adores her dad, often curling up to the towering, four-legged dragon every night to listen to his stories about the exploits of a legendary “Great Hero,” who Yuu aspires to emulate. That, however, is not what makes Yuu odd. Instead, what’s strange is that Yuu is human — the only human, in fact, in a mountain filled with all sorts of beasts and monstrous creatures.
Just how did a human girl end up as the daughter of the Dragon King? It is one of many questions that quickly pop up as players dip their toes into The Cruel King and the Great Hero’s narrative.
And boy what a narrative it is.
Like a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, the game’s story unfolds on the screen in picture book form, complete with beautiful illustrations that boast a unique hand-drawn style. The art is reminiscent of another Nippon Ichi Software game from a few years ago, “The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince,” which I absolutely adored. At the time, I described the game’s art as a cross between Tim Burton and Edvard Munch, and the tradition carries on with The Cruel King and the Great Hero. Even effects like the animated falling snow share the same hand-drawn style, displaying wonderful attention to detail.
The Cruel King and the Great Hero simply exudes charm, the same kind that just melts your heart and makes you go “awwwww” every time you see babies or a basket filled with kittens and puppies. I couldn’t help but smile every time I saw Yuu’s cute mannerisms in the field, whether it be her comical look of surprise every time she gets attacked by a monster or her cheerful face while trotting about.
Adding to the cuteness overload is her doting dragon dad, who hides in the background to watch over Yuu and make sure that she stays safe while she adventures “on her own.” This includes breathing fire on Yuu’s sword and providing all sorts of other assistance to make Yuu think that she’s pulling off all these awesome heroic attacks (shhhh). Then there’s the Dragon King’s worried expression when Yuu’s in a pinch as well as his proud look of joy when Yuu triumphs in battle. The guy is a total protective dad, which is something that anyone who has kids or even little nieces and nephews can totally relate to.
Further bolstering the presentation is the music, which provides a wonderful backdrop to the story of Yuu and the Dragon King. These tunes can be whimsical and, at times, bittersweet and haunting, adding a sense of adventure one moment and pensive thought at other times.
The narrative is further enhanced by the soothing voice of Japanese composer and vocalist Akiko Shikata. Like a person reading a bedtime story, Shikata’s serene and calming narration adds even more life to The Cruel King and the Great Hero’s story, especially if you can understand Japanese. Some players who don’t would probably prefer that the game have English narration as well, which is understandable. At the same time, Shikata’s voice sounds so wonderful that it adds its own splash of color to the game’s palette.
As great as the visuals can be, however, they are not perfect. One issue with the otherwise stellar presentation is that the game can have frame rate issues at times. On the PlayStation 4 version played on a PS5, for example, the frame rate during combat and exploration was fine but would sometimes get choppy during cutscenes, especially those that involve scrolling movement.
All in all, however, the unique visual style, as well as the nice music and voice, combine with the narrative to produce what is easily the game’s biggest strength: storytelling. If you need a reason why you should get this game, the story and presentation alone are worth it.
What is gameplay for The Cruel King and the Great Hero like?
Its storytelling chops aside, The Cruel King and the Great Hero is still a game. As such, gameplay remains a big part of the equation for folks when calculating whether to get it or not.
Unlike the side-scrolling action of The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, which garnered mixed reactions, The Cruel King and the Great Hero opts to go a
different route by adopting classic Japanese role-playing game mechanics. This means classic turn-based combat, where you essentially pick moves for Yuu and, at times, an AI partner, while taking turns with enemies.
The battling itself is your standard, old-school JRPG fare with basic attacks as well as more powerful special attacks that call upon the Dragon King’s powers in exchange for using skill points. Another wrinkle to the combat are enemy weaknesses, which you can learn by observing them through a special skill. These weaknesses make enemies more vulnerable, so you’ll want to take advantage of them. One enemy, for example, enters a weakened state if you decide not to attack and just block when it’s curled up in a defensive mode. Others can be more susceptible to elemental attacks such as fire.
One reason it’s important to know these weaknesses is that the game can be surprisingly challenging at times. Don’t let the cartoony graphics fool you. Poor Yuu and her partners can find themselves face down on the ground if you underestimate foes and just attack blindly, especially early on in the game when you’re low on items and not quite geared up optimally just yet. You’ll definitely want to be mindful of enemy attack types as well as who moves first to make sure you pick the most optimal move available.
While the combat itself can be fun once you get the hang of it, one thing that isn’t as enjoyable is the use of random encounters for triggering battles. The encounter rate can be pretty unforgiving, especially when you travel to a place for the first time. These consecutive battles can be tiring and a bit annoying to deal with, particularly when you’re low on healing items.
On the plus side, you automatically fill up your life and skill points every time you level up, which helps when going through a long dungeon. Once Yuu is stronger than the enemies that populate a certain area, she can also run instead of walk, which lowers the encounter rate. Personally, though, I prefer being able to see enemies on the field and triggering battles by choice as it encourages exploration. I’m the type who loves to explore maps but walking into foes after a few steps makes me just want to press forward and not look around as much.
Speaking of exploration, the game also adds side quests called Yuu’s “Acts of Kindness” to further flesh out your adventure in addition to the main campaign. These can be triggered by talking to non-playable characters or NPCs who need Yuu’s help and reward you with things like items when you clear them. As with other games that use this mechanic, some acts can feel like fetch quests or errands at times. Overall, though, I like their implementation, especially when they involve characters who have a lot of personality as they make these side quests more interesting.
Overall, the gameplay in The Cruel King and the Great Hero doesn’t exactly break new ground. If you prefer the more modern action-based JRPGs or even hybrid turn-based action such as Final Fantasy 7 Remake or Tales of Arise, the combat in this game will admittedly feel dated. If you’re a fan of old-school JRPGs, though, the gameplay in The Cruel King and the Great Hero is quite solid and actually fun once you get the hang of it.
Is The Cruel King and the Great Hero for you?
Of course, the question ultimately boils down to whether or not you should get this game.
Just like I mentioned earlier, the answer depends.
I can see younger kids liking this game, for example — though the difficulty could be an issue early on — because they’re still at a point in life where fairy tales would be of interest. Teens and youth, on the other hand, tend to be more eager to try “non-kiddie” fare as sort of a rite of passage away from their childhood phase.
I can also see older gamers who maybe have kids or even young folks who have a different perspective in life enjoying this as well. In my case, I’m old enough where seeing The Cruel King and the Great Hero’s storybook style takes me back to my younger days. It’s like how hearing an old song makes me remember a simpler time where the world seemed less complicated and all my loved ones were still alive. In that sense, it almost seems like comfort food in video game form.
As someone who also struggled with the impact of divorce on my family as a child — in a religious country where divorce was rare, no less — the game’s focus on themes like being different from others as well as parenthood really moved me on a personal level. It reminded me of things I’ve thought I’ve long forgotten, except now I can see them from the eyes of a grown man with perspective as opposed to a young child with a lot of fears and insecurities. It was a great reminder of my own personal growth as a human being and why it’s also important for me to be empathetic with my younger relatives who might be going through the same self-doubts and concerns that I did at their age. It’s a reminder of what’s truly important and the need to treasure and be grateful for the precious things we are lucky to enjoy right now.
Ultimately, The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a story about relationships and growth and how the bonds between parent and child can go beyond shared genetics. Family isn’t just about having the same blood. In reality, it’s all about the love you give and the love you get, which is what defines what family truly is. That’s why I say that life experiences will determine whether or not The Cruel King and the Great Hero is a good game for you. It essentially gives back as much as you put into it.
If your main focus is a highly polished, big-budget arrangement with lots of action — and there’s nothing wrong with that — this game will likely be underwhelming for you. But if your priorities lie in story, a more nuanced perspective and an experience beyond just the game within a game, then The Cruel King and the Great Hero is worth picking up.
It might make you laugh. It might make you cry. But most important of all, it might make you realize you actually already have what you’ve been searching for in life all this time.
Jason Hidalgo covers business and technology for the Reno Gazette Journal, and also reviews the latest video games. Follow him on Twitter @jasonhidalgo. Like this content? Support local journalism with an RGJ digital subscription.
