I have never been too enthused about the idea of Lost Kingdoms. From Software’s RPGs had been traditionally... well, not so wonderful. So it is a pleasant surprise to say that this game is indeed quite good.

While the graphics are less than awe-inspiring, it runs at a steady framerate and the art direction is simply gorgeous, making up for the lack of technical prowess. The one major disappointment for me is the music, as it is simply uninspired and rather tedious. Translation thus far seems quite decent.

Still, when all is said and done, the most important part to any game is what you actually play. Thankfully, Lost Kingdoms is no disappointment there. You collect cards and use them in battle. They’re shuffled randomly from your chosen deck. Fortunately, you can create customized decks for maximum efficiency. To each deck you can allocate thirty cards of any type. When beginning a mission, you must choose one deck to take with you. When in the area, you cannot edit your deck at all, other than adding cards you found inside the level, and even then it must be at a designated Health/Card point.

Cards can only be used a few times per level, as they must be recharged. So half of the challenge and fun is making sure you have enough cards and use them wisely so that you can finish the level, which usually has a boss of some sort. However there are a few methods to recharge at least part of your deck whilst still in the level. Blue Faeries will either restore a small amount of HP, or recharge a couple of cards. There are some cards in battle that will revive some of your used cards as well.

The fun of the game resides in building your decks and customizing it. The great part is that all cards of the same type have a pool of EXP instead of it being individual cards that gain independent points. Cards can be upgraded with EXP and even copied, if you’ve found a particularly useful combination.

The game shouldn’t be viewed as a traditional RPG, nor should it be considered a “Card” RPG as you do not play against other characters.

What it is, is fun. Be sure to rent this one to see if you like it.