Every King’s Field Game, Ranked

As of December 16th 2024, the King’s Field series turned 30 years old. Known for its grim, unrelenting dungeon crawling, the somber tone of its world, King’s Field has always been something of a cult favorite franchise. Its reputation has grown tremendously over the last decade or so, as the Souls franchise is something of a spiritual successor. But are these games truly worth playing, or are they just the crude predecessor of a better series?

Well, I hate to answer a rhetorical question, but the King’s Field series, while a little rough around the edges, is still totally rad. Even with the similarities between it and the Souls series, the King’s Field titles still feel unique and are absolutely worthy of your attention. Join me as I walk you through all four games (and the PSP spin-offs) and give you my personal ranking of each title in the series.

The very first King’s Field game was never actually released in the west. If you are furrowing your brow right now, as you are pretty sure you had this one growing up, you’re another unfortunate victim of 90s era game naming. Our version of King’s Field was actually a renamed King’s Field 2. Just another lie we lived during our childhoods… *sigh* Anyway, for the sake of clarity, we’ll be using the Japanese naming scheme for each title in this list.

5

King’s Field Additional 1 And 2

You Spilled Some Wizardy In My King’s Field

I’m going to be completely honest: my initial list didn’t include the Additional games. However, after a little soul-searching, I figured I had to give them their due. Truth be told, both of these King’s Field games are excellent, little PSP RPGs that have a fantastic art style and deliver an engaging gameplay loop. However, at the risk of sounding like a gatekeeper, the Additional games feel more like Wizardry than King’s Field. Not only are the dungeons simpler, but the battles are now turn-based – though they do use an ATB system, which is a cute way of implementing the classic King’s Field stamina bar.

The stage progression is far more linear in the Additional games. Both titles have your descending a labyrinth in pursuit of your goal. In that respect, they are closer to the first King’s Field. The big difference here is that you will be constantly returning to the central town, where you will unlock new pieces of dialogue with the various townspeople (which is more akin to King’s Field 3’s gameplay loop). I love the presentation of both games, and I do think the ATB combat system is fun, but these games really don’t carry much of the King’s Field personality or identity. They lack some of the atmosphere of the mainline games, and exploration is far less rewarding. King’s Field fans should still check them out, but if you are new to the series, I would recommend starting with the mainline entries before playing through the Additional titles.

There are English patches in development for both Additional games, but at the time of writing, neither are complete. However, a Reddit user named Neurot665 did translate the dialogue exchanges for both games and released them on imgur. You can find the script for Additional 1 here, and the script for Additional 2 here. Reference these as you play through these games and you should be able to progress through both of them without issue.

4

King’s Field

The Beginning Of It All

The first King’s Field title has a reputation among those who’ve imported it as being pretty rough around the edges. While I wouldn’t say that claim is strictly untrue, I would say that it is a touch overstated. Despite being a very early PlayStation game, and the first game of its kind, FromSoftware nailed the basics out of the gate.

Is the combat a little clunky, and does it primarily involve you juking enemies then slapping them after they whiff an attack? Yes. But that’s most games in the series. If you are morally opposed to strafing around enemies and poking them after they miss badly, you aren’t going to have a pleasant time with these games. One thing it nails is the impressive sense of loneliness and desolation. You’ll run into a few NPCs, and they generally follow a pattern that Souls fans will find familiar – few of their stories end particularly well.

If you are playing an imported version of the game, and you can’t read Japanese, worry not: none of what is said by the NPCs is required to progress.

As for where the first King’s Field title falls a little short, well, it lacks two components that the other games all have…

• While the dungeon you are exploring is lined with secrets and hidden passages, the design is flat and level-based. It lacks the interconnected, folded world design that the other King’s Field games possess.
• You engage the majority of enemies in the same way. While it is true that in the King’s Field series, the primary way of dealing with enemies is largely the same, the first King’s Field’s gallery of ghouls all feel particularly samey. The later games definitely do a better job of providing enemies with alternate attacks.

However, while it may be the worst mainline King’s Field game on this list, it is still neat. I’d recommend that King’s Field fans who’ve never played it give it a go. It isn’t an expensive import, and it acts as a pretty novel historical relic. Also, beyond all that, it is quite simply a fun adventure in its own right.

3

King’s Field 3

The Most Accessible Game In A Famously Unapproachable Franchise

King’s Field 3 has a lot going for it. While all the primary components of the series are present, King’s Field 3 acts as a more streamlined experience. For starters, the world is more segmented than in the second King’s Field title. This helps make navigating the world a little less opaque. Additionally, your map will now track where you have been. There’s even a quick travel system of sorts. All of this makes for a game that doesn’t feel quite as brutal from the onset. But don’t get it twisted, this is still a brutal, brutal experience. Just one that feels like it gives you a little more guidance.

Want proof that this isn’t baby’s first King’s Field? Well, it is in King’s Field 3 where the first poison swap-type area emerges. That starts here, baby!

One of the biggest upgrades comes with the larger, more involved, civilian areas. You’ll interact with more NPCs this time around. Which also means that you’ll engage in more questing. The greater focus on interacting with NPCs makes King’s Field 3 feel a little closer to a classic RPG. This alone will make King’s Field 3 far more approachable for newcomers. But don’t worry, the vibes here are still pretty dour. The people of Verdite may not be as far gone as a Souls NPC, but they are definitely struggling, and you’ll encounter some pretty bleak stories along the way.

So then, if King’s Field 3 is a further refinement of the King’s Field formula, why is it lower on this list? Well, despite all these changes providing welcomed quality-of-life improvements, its more segmented world greatly hurts that sense of place that the second game had. The stage progression feels like a combination of the level-based design found in the first game, and the more open-ended design of the second game. Despite all the benefits that come with the more linear structure, there is no question that it hurts the game’s sense of veracity. That being said, this is easily the most accessible game in the series, and it manages to be accessible while not feeling watered down. That in itself is a monumental achievement.

2

King’s Field 4

The Most Refined Game Entry By A Mile

King’s Field 4 is the sexiest game of the bunch. It looks great, having all the atmosphere of King’s Field 3 and then some. It also has the best soundtrack of the bunch, which helps set the tone brilliantly. Level design-wise, we’ve got something much closer to King’s Field 2’s interconnected labyrinth. However, the areas are also more visually distinct. So, once again, it feels like it is the best of both worlds.

I would say that every element in Kings Field 4 is a refinement of the games that came before it… but there is one notable exception. King’s Field 4 is slow. Now, I think there is a lot to like about the combat, the enemy variety is better, and they have a great variety of attacks. Moreover, King’s Field 4 easily has some of the best bosses in the series. But you quite simply move at a snail’s pace in King’s Field 4, which is odd, as the enemies are more nimble than ever.

I didn’t realize how much slower King’s Field 4 was before sitting down to write this list. I remembered all the games being fairly slow-moving, and thought that they were pretty similar to each other in terms of movement speed. However, when I sat down with each game to jog my memory, the difference from King’s Field 2 and 3 to King’s Field 4 was immediately apparent. The fourth game is dramatically slower than the games that came before it.

If you love the Souls games, and you want to experience the series that inspired them, then King’s Field 4 is the most complete, refined, and polished entry of the bunch. It is a thoughtful evolution from the games that came before it. Additionally, while the first three King’s Field games are linked, King’s Field 4 is set in a whole new world. So, if you want to start with King’s Field 4 and then double back, you won’t miss anything in the process. However, for all it does right, its slower pace of play will not be for everyone.

1

King’s Field 2

The Goldilocks Of The Franchise

King’s Field 2 is not a perfect game. It is tough and provides you with little in the way of guidance. The combat encounters are relatively simple, and you’ll find that nearly all of them are resolved by you strafing around to the enemy’s backside and stabbing them in the keister. However, while the first King’s Field was a solid, hardcore dungeon crawler with an excellent sense of atmosphere, King’s Field 2 is the game that takes all of that and inserts it into a coherent world that is stacked on top of itself. And yes, I am saying what you think I’m saying: King’s Field 2 is the first game that has that FromSoftware folded world style of level design.

It can be a little tricky navigating the island King’s Field 2 is set on, especially since so many of the environments look similar, but gradually you’ll unlock doors, raise bridges, and circle back to the beach from the opening of the game: it is everything you love about the modern FromSoftware level design! It is a great game that set the standard and is still a ton of fun to experience to this day. The unrelenting nature of King Field 2, and the seemingly endless number of secrets and traps makes for a memorable experience. King’s Field 3 feels more like an adventure, and King’s Field 4 is more refined, but King’s Field 2 has a better world than King’s Field 3, while having a faster and more fluid movement than King’s Field 4. Ultimately, I’d say it ends up existing in the sweet spot for those reasons and deserves top billing as a direct result.