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PS2 | Adventure | Graffiti Kingdom

There is no Boxart for - Graffiti Kingdom
Graffiti Kingdom 24 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 3.5
  • SOUND: 3.5
  • CONTROL: 4.0
  • FUN FACTOR 4.5
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.5
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.7
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Review: Graffiti Kingdom

Review by GameGirl | 06/13/2005 | 17:41:22 PM PST

Magically fun game from Taito lets you create your own playable characters. The storyline is negligible - the real play is building creatures and testing them out. Modify one of the 220 monsters that you find in the game, or draw your own from scratch and add attributes, like fire-breathing or ice beam or high kick. A tool that enables creative problem-solving and customizable creations - this game could well be the sleeper hit of the summer.

A simply charming game from Taito transforms the PS2 into a bottomless toy box. It's fresh, fun, and innovative, and much better than the predecessor Magic Pengel.

Picture It! Play It!

The storyline of Graffiti Kingdom is sketched from a classic fairy tale: a young prince accidentally unleashes a demon that captures his parents and takes over the palace. His instrument of rescue is not a sword, but a paint brush and palette. With these he can create powerful avatars in which he can transform himself--and the fun begins in earnest.

The title is misleading, as there's no graffiti. The original Japanese title of the game is "Rakugaki Oukoku," which means something more like Scribble Kingdom. And "scribble" describes perfectly the casually childlike simplicity found at the core of the game that adds an element of magic. Stepping into special portals as Prince Pixel activates the "draw" option, enabling you to paint creatures and save them into card packs. Need to be faster for a level? Jump in and patch on some wheels. Blocked by a deep pool of water? Add the "freeze" attack ability and walk over the ice, or draw on some wings and fly across. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

Your Very Own Doodle

Once you've drawn the creature, you can give it a lot of character by choosing from different voice sets (including one amusingly called "dandy") and movement types, like "swingy" and "thumpy." Then, edit fight combos. Fighting other monsters will let Prince Pixel collect their cards and with them, all their attributes, which can then be grafted onto your own critters.

You can't unlock the more powerful drawing features until you've played through several levels, and for that you have to wade through the awkwardly cute voice acting and slightly silly cinematics. The drawing tool is clumsy and takes a while to master. But the rewards are well worth the time and trouble. Graffiti Kingdom will transform any player into a kid in a playroom--and inspire glee in the heart of the most jaded gamers. Dream it, draw it, play it.