Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Bandai
  • Release Date: Feb 11, 2004
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. Play Magazine
    83
    The game contains bits of combat, Tomb Raider-ish puzzle solving, and environmental hazzards. [JPN Import; Mar 2003, p.63]
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  2. GamePro
    80
    Despite these minor gripes about the camera and the game's A.I., Treasure of the Sorcerer King is a good gaming experience and an exhilarating encounter for any fan of Lupin the Third. [Mar 2004, p.64]
  3. GameSpy
    75
    Primitive and unpolished, but its relentless goofiness, perfect use of the license, and twists on the stealth-action genre make it worth playing anyway.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. calvinlink
    Sep 19, 2017
    8
    I think overall Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King is well made. It captures the heart of the anime and its movies very well. InI think overall Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King is well made. It captures the heart of the anime and its movies very well. In terms of the story, music, and art styling, this could be made into a very good Lupin movie.

    I thought the graphics of this game were very good, especially the characters. The designs of the levels were great. Many of the locations seemed believable and were fun to explore. Chapter 1, which involved working your way through a train, was my favorite in terms of level design. While working your way up the train, there are times when backtracking by a cart is necessary. I found the placement of clues good in most of the chapters.

    One fault I find with the game, which critics have noted, is that the AI is not as good as it could have been. When being chased by police, it is easy enough to hide in another room. They will not enter the room and will give up. While this does take you out of the game a bit, I can see the developer's reasons for it. When alerting an officer, it is likely that any officer around will join in the fight. This leads to Lupin getting beat until death unless you can get into one of these rooms. I found myself making use of this for most of the game. If there were more places to hide I would be pickier on this AI flaw.

    Another flaw is with the controls. I found actually trying to shoot to be incredibly difficult, especially in first-person. It is difficult to aim, and I had times where the game was unresponsive to me trying to target enemies. It also becomes annoying having to constantly use the disguise trick to avoid suspicion. After using it, you will have about 6 seconds until the officer starts being suspicious again.

    Unless you are the type who enjoys games where the battles are long and involves fighting, rolling, then fighting again, this game will be incredibly hard. As a person who does not usually like this type of game, I found many of the boss battles to be quite hard. At one point I had stockpiled up enough health so I could just tank the damage while fighting. While not a great tactic, it got me through to the ending.

    Another difficult aspect of the game is the limited respawns. Through the game, you will collect Lupin "dummies" which can be used to respawn you at a checkpoint. If you run out, you have to restart at your last save, which could be far back. I typically restarted my console in the first chapters to stock up on them because I found them necessary in later chapters.

    In the end, I thought this game was good. While the game is hampered by some bad AI and some clunky controls, it is overall very good and is a must play for anybody who enjoys Lupin III.    … Full Review »
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