Software:King's Field IV

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King's Field IV
Japanese cover art
Developer(s)FromSoftware
Publisher(s)
  • JP: FromSoftware
Director(s)Rintaro Yamada
Satoru Yanagi
Producer(s)Shinichiro Nishida
Programmer(s)Takeshi Suzuki
Artist(s)Keiichiro Ogawa
Composer(s)Tsukasa Saitoh
SeriesKing's Field
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: October 4, 2001
  • NA: March 26, 2002[1]
  • PAL: March 28, 2003
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

King's Field IV, released in North America as King's Field: The Ancient City, is an action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2 in 2001.[2] It is the fourth and final game in the King's Field series. It was released in North America by Agetec in 2002 and in Europe by Metro3D in 2003.

Plot

In the land of Heladin, something is amiss. Their king, smitten by a strange idol that was given to him as a gift, lies dying. The country was enveloped with a strange sorrow, a certain darkness that stains the soul of man. Ever since the idol was brought into the kingdom, the once prosperous nation fell into a state of corruption and decay. Fearing for the life of his king and home, the sword master Septiego took a battalion of his best men to return the idol which was believed to be the source of this tragedy. Alas, the party was neither seen nor heard from again. The idol was presumed lost forever, but the decay of the nation continued.

Meanwhile, in the adjoining kingdom of Azalin, a shrouded figure appears at the doorstep of Prince Devian. From within his cloak, the dark stranger produced the object of Heladin's corruption: The Idol of Sorrow. The idol was originally taken from the ruined depths of the Holy Land, now known as the Land of Disaster, and given to the unsuspecting king of Heladin. If the idol remained outside of the ancient city, Heladin, and possibly Azalin, was doomed to mirror the twisted metropolis that spanned the vast caverns of the Land of Disaster.

With strong resolve, Devian embarked on his quest to return the cursed idol and return prosperity and vitality to his neighboring kingdom. His adventure though the ancient city would lead him to many discoveries long since lost after the collapse of the Holy Land. He would encounter the last vestiges of Septiego's troupe, and eventually discover their master's fate. Prince Devian would learn about the ancient and wise Forest Folk, the neighboring Earth Folk, and their war against the nightmarish Dark Folk. All of these secrets and more would be revealed to the young Prince, but does he have the strength of heart to harbor such monstrous truths?

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic60/100[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStarHalf star[4]
EGM3.33/10[5]
Famitsu30/40[2]
Game Informer6.5/10[6]
GameProStarStarStarStar[7]
GameSpot6.6/10[8]
GameZone8.2/10[9]
IGN6.6/10[10]
OPM (US)StarStar[11]
RPGamer6/10[12]

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "PlayStation 2: King's Field: The Ancient City". 2002-06-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20020620095111/http://ps2.ign.com/articles/356/356257p1.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "プレイステーション2 - KING'S FIELD IV" (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain) 915: 89. June 30, 2006. https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=11699&redirect=no. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "King's Field: The Ancient City for PlayStation 2 Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/kings-field-the-ancient-city/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2. 
  4. ↑ House, Matthew. "King's Field: The Ancient City - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=37589&tab=review. 
  5. ↑ EGM staff (May 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (154): 107. 
  6. ↑ "King's Field: The Ancient City". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (108): 77. April 2002. 
  7. ↑ Star Dingo (March 26, 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps2/games/reviews/22004.shtml. Retrieved June 18, 2019. 
  8. ↑ Speer, Justin (April 22, 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City Review [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006""]. CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/kings-field-the-ancient-city-review/1900-2862236/. 
  9. ↑ Tha Wiz (April 9, 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City Review". http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r19881.htm. 
  10. ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (March 27, 2002). "King's Field: The Ancient City". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/03/27/kings-field-the-ancient-city. 
  11. ↑ "King's Field: The Ancient City". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis): 103. April 2002. 
  12. ↑ Drury, Martin (November 11, 2004). "King's Field: The Ancient City - Review". https://archive.rpgamer.com/games/kf/kingsfield4/reviews/kf4strev1.html. 
  • Official website
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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