'Legend's' Animal Magnetism
Friday, January 27, 2006; Page WE53
There are a ton of ninja fighting titles out there, but few suitable for kids. "Legend of Kay" has plenty of action, but no blood.
  Plenty of animals and action in "Legend of Kay." (Capcom Entertainment) |
I wasn't expecting much when I popped this one in because I'm 20 years outside the target audience. But don't let the cute, little creatures populating the game fool you, because "Legend" actually offers a rich storyline, plenty of side quests and even a fairly deep fighting system.
The game is set on an island in the South China Sea. Four groups live there in peace, each with their own villages. There are industrious rabbits, regal frogs, disciplined cats and wise pandas. They all used to study "The Way," a method of living in harmony. But over time the animals got lazy, and an army of gorillas and rats invaded and took over.
You play as Kay, an apprentice martial artist cat. The gorillas are never very nice, always calling you names and such, but eventually the gorilla leader closes the dojo and Kay decides he has had enough. He steals a magic sword and escapes the occupation, determined to put things right and revive "The Way." So begins the adventure.
There are a lot of bad guys to fight. At first you are besieged by rat warriors, who are quick but not too tough. You can learn 40 fighting combos to help you defeat your enemies. None of the combos are very difficult to learn. Eventually you have to fight gorillas, which are a lot tougher. There are even quite a few puzzles that will have you pulling levers and jumping from rock to rock over water, since Kay is a typical cat who hates to get wet. You will also find several race-type games. These are a fun diversion and not too difficult to master.
The one caution I would say about Kay is the language some of the creatures use. My cat was called a "pussy boy" by a rat opponent. And the rats are sometimes called "rat bastards" by the various characters, which is hilarious coming from a tiny rabbit but might raise a parent's ire.
-- John Breeden II
Legend of Kay E10+, PlayStation2 ($30) Capcom
