Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom

If you enjoy rich worlds, interesting stories and endearing characters, however, I implore you: don't let this pass you by.

Majin is a special game, a fantastic adventure with great "puzzle solving", combat and endearing characters.

It's a cute action-adventure game that will hold your attention and make you smile. I would recommend it to anyone!

For a game that borrows so liberally from other sources, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom stands up pretty well on its own.

Maybe Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom will not win the award for the best visual achievement of the year, but it's a great (and very long) action adventure game, fully focused on environmental puzzles, unfortunately with just a simple combat system and a lot of necessary but annoying backtracking plagued by a strange respawn system.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom may lack the polish required to elevate it to triple-A status but its sense of adventure and exploration remain strong.

It is a lengthy adventure with a wonderful story that will keep you entertained through most of the game.

The beautiful settings, excellent puzzles and killer boss battles easily make up for the game's few shortcomings. If you can get past the cover, you'll find an adventure worth taking – one that might just be the sleeper hit of the year.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is certainly worth playing. The quest is rather lengthy, especially given today's standards of single-player game length, and it remains enjoyable in both combat and exploration despite the occasional instances of backtracking.

The world is laid out on a giant grid, so the environment feels fairly artificial and lacks a certain amount of believability. There is also a fair amount of backtracking, and the game doesn't always point you in the right direction, which is more annoying when you accidentally leave one area for a few seconds only to come back and find that the enemies you just beat have magically returned. If these kind of ancient gaming weaknesses don't bother you, then Majin will deliver an experience that you won't soon forget – even if the rest of the world does.

A fine game with a nice connection between the player and the monster. Together they have to clean up the dark forces that are in the world and that delivers nice combat action, humor and also fine puzzles. A game that does look like ICO in a new fairytale setting.

Set in an enchanted world of monsters and mysticism, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom brings together exotic locations, plenty of puzzles, platforms, and a large chunk of bonding between a boy and his big furry muppet monster.

But it's a decent game that almost feels like a throwback to a time when 3D action/adventure without much in the way of frills dominated. It's fun, engaging, and that co-op emphasis works out extremely well.

Though hampered by some presentation and length issues, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is a decent action adventure game and is worth its current pricetag.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is surely not a perfect game but deserves your attention. If you take good care of your ingame friends, then you will experience a great adventure that will take you about 25 hours to complete.

An interesting setting and some fascinating gameplay mechanics are not enough. From halfway through the campaign, you'll start to feel the repetitiviness of it all, and the flaws in the level design utterly spoil the fun.

The Majin himself is hard work at times. [Jan 2011, p.92]

It's simple, command system, intricate puzzels and solid combat make it an intriguing offering the only area in which it falters is the boss battles which simple don't provide a big enough challenge, despite their size.

The interplay between the A.I. character and the player character for both puzzle solving and combat adds layers to the gameplay, and the story has its moments. But this definitely isn't "Ico 2."

The combat system isn't the best, but it's not really trying to be, and everything is implemented in a way that fits the storyline and character development. It's a rare game that makes players care not just about a character, but about the relationship between the characters, and Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom has achieved just that.

Majin and the Forbidden Kingdom has its fair share of strengths and weakness, but its strong points easily overpower many of its flaws. If you're on the prowl for a budget title that appeals to kids and really anyone else, look no further.

Majin's old-fashioned approach may well wash a wave of nostalgia over you. [Issue#199, p.88]

All too often it feels like you're playing nanny to a thick, elephant-sized child. [Christmas 2010, p.91]

So while you'll be unconvinced by the visuals and voices behind the boy and his beast, when the Majin goes harumphing into battle to save you from the latest onslaught of sinister humanoid ooze, stopping only to breathe his healing gingivitis all over your battered body, you'll find yourself wondering; why this has done for you what the massive production of Enslaved could not. The answer? Heart, baby. Kid's got heart. [January 2011 p72]

An adventure that anyone but the most black-souled gamer will feel compelled to see through to the end credits. [Christmas 2010, p.114]

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is a sweet and charming action-adventure, partially ruined by a shallow level and combat design.

Good action-adventure games for the HD consoles don't grow on trees. Majin will certainly fill a genre gap.

You will end up loving and remembering the character that follows you the entire adventure. It's just a shame that the game presents some visual flaws and a clear problem with pace.

Despite some repetitive combat and unresponsive controls, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom's evocative visuals, epic bosses and neat puzzles provide more than enough reason to witness the relationship between a thief and a giant magical oaf slowly flourish.

Game Republic's effort lacks polish and elegance, but, thanks to charm and the in-built strength of its setup, it is an experience worth partnering with.

Simplistic combat and tedious backtracking don't fully diminish the pleasures of this attractive and festive fable.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom tells a sad but clichéd tale with an endearing giant and his friend at the helm of it.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom is not going to replace your action adventure staples like "Zelda" franchise, but its has its own charm that is unique to this property, making it an excellent alternative to the more known action adventure styled games.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

There's a genuine sense of storybook adventure to proceedings, which a limited budget and uninspired enemies can't quite erode. [Christmas 2010, p.91]

While Majin isn't overtly a kids' game, the translations and voice acting are almost comically silly.

For everyone who ever thought that commanding a beast can only be great, this game demonstrates otherwise. It has good points but they are few and far between.

Some flaws in its gameplay conception make the game frustrating sometimes, and although it offers about fiften hours in its main adventure and some secrets to discover, it doesn't add up much more extras to foster replayability.

A pleasant game with a catchy world and a strong structure […] With more diversity, less speech and a better calibration regarding movements and graphics, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom could have become one of the giants of its class.

The puzzle mechanics are enjoyable and well done, especially the ones requiring you to command around your Majin-buddy. Same thing goes for the Metroid-esque exploration and unlocking of new abilities. The combat is simple and uninspired though, and long travel distances between important areas in the later part of the game means that it can be rather boring at times.

The main emotion evoked by fuzzy beast buddy Teotl is pity. [Christmas 2010]

Frankly, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom might have been better off with no combat at all. In about 15 hours of playtime, the puzzles stay fresh, while the fighting feels stale from the start.

Majin Forsaken and the Kingdom may surprise those who do not mind an uncompromising adventure/tale that doesn't have anything new to offer.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom could have been a great game. Its touching characters and well crafted gameplay make it a good game, blessed with a distinct personality. That's always something, but the concept lacks any sort of innovation. Even though you've most probably already played something very similar, you'll probably cruise through the 15-or-so hours of the game with ease, to discover the end of this friendship story.

I admire the developer's attempt to present a story and puzzles where partnership and collusion are the principle themes and while I was playing it I genuinely enjoyed working through each area and finding the collectible items. By the end, I found that I was more than ready to wrap it up and put its boring combat, snoozer story, and shaky production quality to rest for good.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom doesn't fail because any particular aspect of it is poorly made, it fails because its components don't fit together.

The overall gameplay is on track, at least with a forsaken kingdom filled with a balanced mix of puzzling, platforming, sneaking, and fighting. But stretching the aesthetic elements, the toddler-hand-holding relationship that will grow between you and the Majin, or those damn talking animals will wear extremely thin.