Desert Kingdom – Done!

I’ve now completed 98% of Desert Kingdom (there’s one sub-route that I don’t think I’m interested in), and I think I should take back a lot of the criticism I originally aimed at the game.

Criticism 1: Too short

This isn’t a complete reversal of my first opinion, but more of a change. I still feel that there isn’t much story going on in the gameplay portion of the game, where you choose where to go and build up your power. The power buildup portions are a good length, with you, your target, and Unbara, but the parts where you visit the guys are often abrupt and sometimes no more than a couple sentences long. I still feel that that’s a little too short.

But the rest of the story, once you get into someone’s route, is quite long. I’d estimate at least a couple hours each. This is great if you like visual novels, but for those are bored with long discussions without player interaction, you might be annoyed.

Criticism 2: CGs

Yeah, so I picked the wrong route to start off with. Most of the CGs are excellent and very pretty, there’s only one other fanservicey (to guys) CG, and overall I really like them. Oh, and Vii’s other route (the Good instead of Happy) has a CG that I actually like better than the Happy one. Plus, once you get a certain number of routes (the first four maybe??) you get extra CGs that you only see in the gallery, which are the guys in out-of-character costumes/poses (a very nice extra).

Also, there’s a little extra feature called “With Sera”, where you have a little epilogue for each route, but as if you’re visiting Sera. These are separate from the regular epilogues in the games, though you can choose to see them after each one (I chose to save them up and watch them after, which I think is a good choice as some include spoilers). It’s light and fun, and is a great little addition to the game.

Final Word

After finishing almost all the game, I really love it. Not only are the characters interesting, but the plotline is done well and integrates everyone – and no matter which route you end up in, Kingdom’s ending is pretty much the same.
I also shouldn’t leave out Aspashia – though her visual design is more loli than I’d like, her personality is awesome and realistic as an immortal princess who is used to doing whatever she wants.

Having just finished the final hidden route last night, it leaves you with that feeling, you know, when you’re all happy and gooey inside. It’s so cute, and they don’t make you go through the whole game again, which is fantastic.

So I’m a little biased positively to the game right now, but I’d definitely recommend Desert Kingdom if you like visual novels. If you don’t, and want more gameplay and interaction, I’d say only get it if you really love the setup and Arabian Nights aesthetic, since the dialogue portions will likely bore you.