Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders is a difficult game to explain. It was first released for the original Xbox in 2004 by the Korean Studio Phantagram, and tries to fuse real-time strategy with action RPG brawling. 

All controlled with a gamepad.  

You take control of two fantastical factions engaged in a religious war, trying to outmatch your opponents with both skilful tactical maneuvers and Dynasty Warriors-esque button mashing across four campaigns.

But just how well do all these separate elements come together?  Does this unique take on the real-time strategy genre have something meaningful to offer? Or is it simply a regression of a classic formula?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Can an RTS be enjoyable to play on a console?  In what ways does Kingdom Under Fire’s control scheme work within the limitations of a gamepad, and is it enough to make the gameplay experience a smooth one?
• How well executed is the Dynasty Warriors-style action brawling?  Is it engaging to play?  Would a more complicated system have detracted from the overall experience?
• Can we draw comparisons to other titles in evaluating Kingdom Under Fire?  Or is it just too unique to criticise through analogy?

We answer these questions and many more on the 44th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders OST: Chuck Mitchell

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Is Kingdom Under Fire worse than the original?  Are there any tactical tricks that we missed that would make this game’s challenges easier to overcome?  Is there more to the story than we give it credit for?  Let us know what you think on our text based community discord server!