Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 2

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1

It’s never uncommon to see a sleeper hit appear on any video game system. While it’s difficult to say exactly what it is that brings about the appeal or why a company will forgo heavy advertising, if the elements are all in place, a game that has little fanfare when it is initially released can become huge virtually overnight. In the past few years, games like Fatal Frame and Katamari Damacy have been perfect examples of this. Another was Sony’s 2002 release of The Mark of Kri, a game that many had no prior knowledge to prior to renting of buying it, and found that it was a fantastic piece of work. It’s been a few years, but our hero, Rau, has returned once again in the follow-up, Rise of the Kasai.

The storyline this time is a little different, and while it still involves getting information concerning the dreaded Mark of Kri, there are some very different elements at play here. The experience this time is through the perspective of Kuzo, Rau’s faithful raven spirit guide that lent great assistance in the first game. As this game begins however, Rau is dead, and things aren’t right in the timeline. The oracles have asked you, Kuzo, to travel back in time and discover what went wrong, and if possible, repair the damages created, or at least try and stop them. This puts you in two different time lines, the first taking place prior to the events in the Mark of Kri. There, we find two new heroes, Baumusu and Griz, but for fans of Rau, fear not. You will also journey to the recent present time of Rau as well as his sister, Tati. As the story begins to unfold, not only will you find out more about the mysterious marks, but also a new threat in the world, the deadly Kasai.

What made Mark of Kri an interesting game and set it above the many other action titles on the market was an inventive fighting system. Instead of simply having to turn and face your opponents, the game allowed you to use your analog stick to select a number of foes, each assigned to one of the buttons on your controller. This would be see later in other games, but Kri was one of the first (that I can recall at least) to use this function. This same fighting style is used in Rise o the Kasai, so if you’re a fan of the original, there isn’t much to fear about major changes in the gameplay.

But, that’s really the problem here.

Rise of the Kasai doesn’t really offer too much in the way of changes to the style that Mark of Kri initially gave fans of the sleeper hit. The fighting really remains the same, but can be fast paced. Again you will have numerous enemies all flocking towards you, and with a simple spin of the stick, you can begin fighting a vast number of them. There will be some that are heavily armored that you may have to work to break down defenses, others, such as bosses, that will require certain weapons to defeat, and this is where the multiple characters can come in handy.

The game goes beyond simply having Rau as your playable character. In his time line, you can select either him or his sister Tati. Rau moves a bit slower, but has the blessing of powerful attacks, something that can be used to finish off battles quickly, but after some time to play through the game, I found that I preferred Tati, especially with her lightning fast attacks. The game is also designed in such a way that you will have multiple weapons to work with, including bows and arrows, to make the fighting a little varied. In the earlier timeline, Baumasu and Griz are more or less the counterparts of Rau and Tati, both having a similar fighting style designed for them.

Another thing that remains the same is the fact that the game allows you to use your guide, Kuzo, as a means to get a better look at your enemies. Through his eyes, you can see what enemies are around, what weapons they have, who has the means to call reinforcements, and so forth. Of course, you do have to find those precious beams to light, but they tend to be in all the right places. You also have stealth at your disposal, and like Mark of Kri, Rise of the Kasai features so brutal, often gruesome (but so lovely) kills when you opt to use stealth to your advantage. The combo system is in place as well, so the game isn’t about mashing one button over and over again such as you might find in a game like Dynasty Warriors. In each stage, you will also find that you have a number of goals to complete, and these will be different for each character. Completing these will open up various features that are found in Rise of Kasai, and luckily if you’re not successful the first time through, you can return to stages and try again.

Having four different characters, two sets depending on which story elements you are currently involved in, means that to an extent, you have the help of your partner. At times, you will be sent off on your own, but many times you will have co-operative play to work with. This can help greatly during major battles, but there are many times when the computer AI for your partner isn’t all that you would hope that it would be. More importantly, one thing that really would have been a great asset and has been seen in other games is the ability to give commands, even simple ones. Instead, your partner simply jumps into battle; often times letting you get swarmed by multiple enemies while he (or she) fights with but one. Hey, thanks for all the help. That can’t necessarily be said for the enemies though, and they do tend to be a little more intelligent, knowing when they need to bring in more of their kind for battle, but they also are lambs to the slaughter. They just keep on coming, even though they can plainly see how their numbers are quickly falling in the heat of battle. Interesting as well is the fact that while you have multiple characters to choose from, there is no 2-player mode included.

One thing that remains unchanged, and I’m very happy about, are the graphics, both in game as well as the cut scenes. The game doesn’t make an attempt to come across as looking “real,” and instead has a cel shaded look, to a certain degree, that have a slight “anime” look to them, for lack of a batter word. More appropriately, if you remember watching cartoons like Batman: The Animated Series of Superman (the one that appeared back in the 0's) that is what you will get with Rise of the Kasai. What I loved in the original game, and that is also used here, are the cut scenes that draw themselves out. By this, what I mean is that the game has an image that may flow into another while actually drawing onscreen the tale it is weaving. Recently, you’ve probably seen this on television, like in the ads running for Jade Empire, but Microsoft wasn’t the first company to think of this type of design, they are simply trying to play on what Mark of Kri and Rise of the Kasai are giving fans.

I really had high hopes for Rise of Kasai, and Sony generally has sequels that come out that are fantastic. There are even some that have minor changes, the Ratchet and Clank series for example, and still remain fun to play through, but Rise of the Kasai doesn’t quite hit the mark (pardon the play on words.) Yes, there are some minor improvement, having multiple characters brings in some new elements, but stealth games have progressed quite a bit in the past few years, and Rise of the Kasai sadly is left back in 2002 instead of being a leap above where it originally was. It’s not a bad game for straight ahead action I suppose, and the stealth elements are always and interesting part of the game itself, but eventually, the game just grows a bit stale and uninventive. If you loved the original and were hoping for a fantastic follow-up, you aren’t going to find it here. Word is that there is supposed to be yet another sequel in the series, and with any luck, it will be leaps and bound above what Rise of the Kasai is, but much like Mark of Kri, there seems to be little fanfare for the game, not only from gamers, but from what I’ve seen online, for reviewers as well.

-mike-