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Remembering The Mark of Kri

UltimaKilo

UltimaKilo

Gold Member
I was just looking through the old games I still ahve from last gen. Like many gamers, I played and purchased, every major game across all three platforms. While there were plenty of games I remember fondly, I don't think that The Mark of Kri got the publicity it deserved.

The artwork was unrivaled, the soundtrack and graphics were great and the controls were revolutionary. The settings were beautiful and the combat was always fun. The game was the perfect length, the presentation was great and dare I say it... even the voice acting was pretty good! The sequel was no slouch either.

There have been a few games I wish would get sequels. Among the top from last generation is the Mark of Kri series.

So here's hoping that Sony will bring this franchise back with full force.

Is it just me or do other people share my love for this game and remember it still today?

While I'm at it, where the hell is my Luigi's Mansion 2?
 
The stealth kill animations in this game were amazingly violent. I remember a particularly gruesome one with the spear.
 
Yeah, these are great games. The art style is awesome. I never did learn to love the battle system, though it's an interesting take on the usual formula.

I'd love to see another one.
 
Jason's Ultimatum said:
Bought the game when I was young. For some reason, I lost interest.
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I remember getting stuck in the home village. I think I broke a trigger or something because I couldn't figure out how to make the game go to the next part. Hugely disappointing, because I loved the game.
 
I loved both games. The art style and animations were great. The battle system was unique. Kind of reminds me of Batman Arkham before that game came out.
 
Great artstyle and an original story, but terrible gameplay that got progressively worse towards the end. I would love to see this game remade with better gameplay.
 
Ah, this brings back memories! I remember picking it up used in college dirt cheap and really loving it. The art style was and is pretty awesome. Like other people on the thread, I also lost interest and never finished it.. I forget why. I think I still own it though? Was the sequel any good?

A next-gen version would be rad.
 
Skilletor said:
I loved both games. The art style and animations were great. The battle system was unique. Kind of reminds me of Batman Arkham before that game came out.
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You could argue that AA certainly borrows from this game. I think that's why I loved AA so much. I started it in the afternoon, played if for about 5 hours straight, went out and came back home around 5 a.m. only to play it until the end. The entire time I was thinking how great another Mark of Kri would be with PS3 graphics. :O
 
Really fun game. I don't think I ever finished it. I don't remember exactly why, but I think there was a part with some bad game design that really broke apart the otherwise awesome game.
 
Great game, but like most people in here I never made it all the way to the end. Still have it on my shelf here though so maybe one day I go back to it.
 
Also never beat it for reasons I can't recall, my interest completely fizzled out. I didn't enjoy certain aspects of the combat either, more high-concept than engaging. Unique game though.
 
Yes! This was one of those hidden gems on Ps2. I loved the combat. It took some trying used to but once you got a hang of it, it was a lot of fun.
 
In a running theme, I bought this and loved the art but got bored/frustrated with the game so gave up.

The sequel, Rise of the Kasai, never got released in Europe. Weird.
 
It was easily one of my favorite PS2 games. I loved the art style and the combat, there wasn't anything else like it. It's a shame that I thought it could make a great series and they never really got Rise of the Kasai of fast enough. Once they took out the online co-op of Kasai I knew it was done. All you were left with was a bad ps2-era AI partner.

edit: bad combat really? I thought it was done extremely well. I just blazed through all the level in the first game. Once you properly tagged the mobs it was over. The stealth sections left something to be desired but the combat was ace.
 
I remember Sony deliberately decided to keep marketing at a minimum for this game. They were testing a "word of mouth" theory and it kind of worked, but the game still deserved more exposure.

It was good the first few levels, but the combat seemed to get worse as the game went on.
 
Did anyone else also play Rise of the Kasai? You had an AI partner in that game. The combat system was pretty interesting, but I found it to be more troublesome than it was worth. It did have a unique setting though and looked good for it's time.
 
UltimaKilo said:
I was just looking through the old games I still ahve from last gen. Like many gamers, I played and purchased, every major game across all three platforms. While there were plenty of games I remember fondly, I don't think that The Mark of Kri got the publicity it deserved.

The artwork was unrivaled, the soundtrack and graphics were great and the controls were revolutionary. The settings were beautiful and the combat was always fun. The game was the perfect length, the presentation was great and dare I say it... even the voice acting was pretty good! The sequel was no slouch either.

There have been a few games I wish would get sequels. Among the top from last generation is the Mark of Kri series.

So here's hoping that Sony will bring this franchise back with full force.

Is it just me or do other people share my love for this game and remember it still today?

While I'm at it, where the hell is my Luigi's Mansion 2?
Click to expand...

It was an interesting game but I really didn't like the whole control scheme mapping one button to each enemy.

Sony can't really bring it back since they no longer have a team to work with, Namco killed Bottle Rocket when they pulled the rug from right under them by taking them off Splatterhouse. There's no point in bringing it back when the original creators are no longer available, just let the franchise rest in peace, it had a decent run, it wasn't all that popular anyway.
 
Forkball said:
Did anyone else also play Rise of the Kasai? You had an AI partner in that game. The combat system was pretty interesting, but I found it to be more troublesome than it was worth. It did have a unique setting though and looked good for it's time.
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Did they introduce the reconnaissance eagle/hawk in that one, or did the first one have it already?
 
It actually bums me out to think about the Mark of Kri. I bought it once when I was too young to really enjoy it (in 2003 I was 13, I guess, so maybe I was just too much of a noob), and sold it back to Gamestop after a few days of not playing it. It's one of those games that I think back to and know that I would really enjoy were I to go back and play it today.

Hmm. Maybe I should stop at Gamestop on my way home from work. See if they have any used copies.
 
I think about this game every once in a while, but could never remember the name. One of my favorite PS2 games.
 
I am actually started playing it last week. One of my favorite PS2 games. I went and bought the sequel too. Would be amazing if Sony Santa Monica would make a current gen version. Hopefully keeping the stylized look. (coolest load screens ever!) That will never happen, all mainstream games need hyper detail and massive amounts of blood and gore.
 
keltickennedy said:
I am actually started playing it last week. One of my favorite PS2 games. I went and bought the sequel too. Would be amazing if Sony Santa Monica would make a current gen version. Hopefully keeping the stylized look. (coolest load screens ever!) That will never happen, all mainstream games need hyper detail and massive amounts of blood and gore.
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Why would Sony Santa Monica work on an IP already proven to be unsuccessful, one which they had nothing to do with creatively? Mark of Kri wasn't successful commercially, why put one of your best teams on it? You don't treat your best teams like work-for-hire third-party studios, they can hire Ninja Theory for that if they want.
 
I think a modern Mark of Kri game, made by the developers of God of War, could be really successful if they approached it the right way. Beyond that, I think the Sony crowd would be open to cel-shaded graphics (I know I would be).
 
teruterubozu said:
Did they introduce the reconnaissance eagle/hawk in that one, or did the first one have it already?
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No, you already could use it in the first game.

Combichristoffersen said:
Great art style, awful combat. I didn't like it very much.
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If you accustomed to the timing of the attack and defense while moving, keeping a watch of the surroundings to avoid a collision and your sword stuck in an object, the possibility of intimidating the enemies, and coupled it with all of those satisfying animations when you accomplished a good strike, I think it was a pretty rewarding combat system.
 
/XX/ said:
No, you already could use it in the first game.


If you accustomed to the timing of the attack and defense while moving, keeping a watch of the surroundings to avoid a collision and your sword stuck in an object, the possibility of intimidating the enemies, and coupled it with all of those satisfying animations when you accomplished a good strike, I think it was a pretty rewarding combat system.
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The kills were very satisfying. The animations in the game were top-notch.

keltickennedy said:
I am actually started playing it last week. One of my favorite PS2 games. I went and bought the sequel too. Would be amazing if Sony Santa Monica would make a current gen version. Hopefully keeping the stylized look. (coolest load screens ever!) That will never happen, all mainstream games need hyper detail and massive amounts of blood and gore.
Click to expand...

That would be fantastic. If Santa Monica were to take on the series and Sony to push it with an aggressive ad campaign, it could really succeed. Hell, I wouldn't mind Sucker Punch having a go at this IP, albeit there's probably even a less chance of that happening. Still Sucker Punch might be a good idea once they've finished with Sly Cooper 4.
 
Mark of Kri is easily one of my favorite games of all time. It wasn't a perfect game (the last level with the pyramid can go fuck itself) but the art style, music, and yes even the combat just clicked with me. The Rise of the Ksai is nowhere near as good and from what I understand it was supposed to be a two player co-op game but that got scrapped and you got stuck with an AI partner. I would love for a remake collection or even a new game but I'm not going to hold my breath.
 
Mark of Kri was pretty good. One of those games whose design was more interesting than the implementation. I did like the combat, marking enemies with the right stick and how your weapon could get stuck in the environment if you weren't careful.

The sequel (Rise of the Kasai)was originally going to have multiplayer and I can remember being excited for that and extremely disappointed when they dropped it during development. Never did play it.
 
I remember picking this game up along with Tekken 4. I knew nothing of the game and decided to get it because it looked interesting. Had to say I was pleasantly surprised when I played it. The game was very fun and the killing animations were awesome. Sadly I never did finish it. I got stuck at some part where there were a bunch of guys shooting arrows at me and I couldn't get past it. Eventually I gave up on it and sold it. If I ever see it again, I might give it a try.
 
UltimaKilo said:
The kills were very satisfying. The animations in the game were top-notch.



That would be fantastic. If Santa Monica were to take on the series and Sony to push it with an aggressive ad campaign, it could really succeed. Hell, I wouldn't mind Sucker Punch having a go at this IP, albeit there's probably even a less chance of that happening. Still Sucker Punch might be a good idea once they've finished with Sly Cooper 4.
Click to expand...

Sucker Punch has two of their own original IPs and is working on Infamous 2, they're not a work-for-hire studio, they don't need to work on another studio's IP, whoelse are you going to suggest? Naughty Dog? Team ICO?
 
MalboroRed said:
Sucker Punch has two of their own original IPs and is working on Infamous 2, they're not a work-for-hire studio, they don't need to work on another studio's IP.
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That's why I said there was less of a chance of that happening than Santa Monica (which is already low). I wasn't talking about the possibility of happening, I was saying it would be interesting to see what Sucker Punch could do with it.

Oh and plenty of developers have gone ahead and taken over an IP. It wouldn't be a first or a last.
 
Alextended said:
Wasn't there a similar game on the PS1 or do I remember wrong?
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Some of the stealth stuff (kills specifically) was similar to Tenchu in my opinion.

As for the game...I loved the art style but the combat was frustrating at time times to me. I still own my copy, but never did finish the game. Probably made it about 2/3rds through and never had the desire to finish up.
 
UltimaKilo said:
That's why I said there was less of a chance of that happening than Santa Monica (which is already low). I wasn't talking about the possibility of happening, I was saying it would be interesting to see what Sucker Punch could do with it.

Oh and plenty of developers have gone ahead and taken over an IP. It wouldn't be a first or a last.
Click to expand...

Top-tier developers shouldn't have to take over some other studio's IP when they have their own successful IPs, that's why you hire work-for-hire studios like Ninja Theory, throw them a bone, so to speak.
 
Attack You said:
I'm trying hard to think of a Sony original character I like more than Rau and one's not coming to me. Sly is close, though.
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Nathan Drake? Kratos? Ratchet?

NATO commander from SOCOM 4?
 
I liked the game a lot back then.

Anyone played it recently? Is it still holding up? Aged it somewhat gracefully?
 
The game starts out good and gets kind of stupid in the end. IIRC the ending involves
you killing a bunch of bad guy grunts on your way to the big bad final boss, except you don't get to actually fight him, when you get to the boss a cutscene plays in which I think you throw an sharp implement into his face.

The lock beam was cool and I think Sony made a big deal of how it was patented or something, but ultimately it wasn't very engaging. Basically you roll the right stick to mark enemies with face buttons and then each enemy will have a different face button you can attack them with. Ultimately it boils down to -- press square to attack guy 1, X to attack guy 2, triangle to attack guy 3...etc.
 
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