It's that time again for a new episode of Chichuki Plays, the show where I go hands-on with upcoming games and show them off. Usually, it's about an hour or so but I don't want to spoil too much of the game for you. This time we're looking at Kingdom's Return:Time Eating Fruit and the Ancient Monster on the Nintendo Switch 2. This game reminded me a lot of Act Raiser on the Super Nintendo!
I say this all the time when it comes to INTI CREATES games, they have a knack for making modern games feel modern and at the same time have that retro flair. Kingdom's Return is another game that has that feel to it and it works.
At the start of the game, you select your playable character. You have the option to switch them during the game, but this is who you'll start with. You can pick the Imperial, Wizard, Alchemist, and Zipangu. I went with the Imperial because I liked her design the best and she was the most rounded character. She had a sword for attacking as well as a shield for defending. Our journey begins in Almacia where we needed to make a pact with the fairies. We team up with the fairy of Time, Chronos, and try to help her rebuild the kingdom.
This is where things remind me of Act Raiser. You'll be able to rebuild the kingdom by going to levels and finding materials. You'll need these materials, along with money, to rebuild. You'll be able to rebuild the castle, the inn, and all kinds of locations. You'll also be able to take on quests for rewards. Going on missions will help you level up your characters and get more supplies. You'll have to go to different locations to find materials to build. You can also put buildings in certain locations in the town to get buffs for your character as they fight. The fighting is done in a side scrolling environment which is pretty cool. You'll have to defeat a certain number of enemies before moving on to the next area. You'll progress until you get to a certain spot/goal if you have a quest. You'll also have to fight a boss at the end of a location so be prepared. You'll have potions that will come in handy as you fight.
You'll have different skills and attacks to use as you fight. There is a skill tree as you progress. You'll collect skill points as you level up and you'll spend those on attacks/skills to fight. Those new moves could be the difference between winning and losing. During the video, I bought a shield dodge move and used that on a boss. I needed every bit of HP I had to defeat said boss. Going into side scrolling areas did get a little repetitive but you have to go into them for supplies. You can also skip them entirely, but you'll need to level up and collect stuff. I also liked that the controls are on the screen all the time. I wanted to remember how to do moves but the font wasn't super big, so it wasn't in the way. You can also find new locations and treasure in the overworld map so plan accordingly. I felt like I wanted to collect everything I came across in this game because I needed supplies to build. I also felt that way so I could level up and collect more money.
To sum up, Kingdom's Return is a charming game about rebuilding a kingdom. Ther folks at INTI CREATES have another banger on their hands. I'd like to thank the folks at INTI CREATES for the review code. Make sure you check out the hands-on video below!