King's Field
King's Field is a PlayStation role-playing game released in 1994 developed by FromSoftware. It centers on area and route exploration, area exploration, and combat and party setup, with controls and information arranged around the directional pad, shoulder and face buttons, plus DualShock twin analog sticks and vibration where supported.
- AI score · out of 10
- 7.1 / 10
About this game
King's Field is a PlayStation role-playing game centered on area and route exploration, area exploration, and combat and party setup. Story beats, exploration, and progression resources support a longer campaign, with progress divided into stages, tasks, matches, or growth milestones that make immediate goals understandable. Its value depends on whether these rules continue to create judgment and room for mastery rather than on length, sales, or series recognition. Short campaigns are judged by repeat-challenge value, while longer ones are judged by variety, pacing, and recovery after failure. Characters, world building, environments, and music carry most of the atmosphere, while early 3D graphics, pre-rendered backgrounds, CD audio, and full-motion video need to preserve targets and interface readability on a television. The genre-specific limitation is that dense text, menu layers, repeated battles, loading, or language dependence can slow progress. Platform conditions also include disc loading, Memory Card saves, regional video standards, digital or analog control support, vibration, and dedicated peripherals affect original-hardware use. This description covers only this platform release and does not import features or conveniences from remasters, emulators, or other console editions.
Recommended games
Related game recommendations on this platform
PlayStation
AI review
AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:
Compelling spatial discovery and isolation, accompanied by substantial control and navigation friction.
The Japanese original of King’s Field is strongest when an unfamiliar place gradually becomes understandable. A useful key, a remembered corridor or a supply route can turn vulnerability into confidence. Combat is relatively simple, but preparation gives each venture a reason to feel consequential. Sparse company and enclosed spaces establish isolation, and discovery does more work than dramatic presentation. The same design also has practical costs. Slow turning, similar-looking passages and fixed save locations can combine to make recovering from a mistake unnecessarily laborious. These constraints sometimes create tension, but they also limit comfort and clarity. This is best suited to patient dungeon explorers rather than players seeking immediate action responsiveness. The assessment separates the 1994 Japanese game from its differently numbered overseas successor and does not credit unofficial translation improvements to the original release.
Strengths
- Rewarding spatial familiarity
- Effective isolation
Weaknesses
- Slow turning
- Repetitive landmarks
- Restricted saving
Who it is for: Patient explorers comfortable with early console controls.
Play notes: 1994 Japanese original; overseas namesake sequel and translation quality excluded.
View scoring basis
| Dimension | Review state | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension Discoveries sustain progress, while repeated navigation can slow it excessively. | Reviewed | 7.1 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Simple combat supports exploration, with depth concentrated in preparation and spatial judgment. | Reviewed | 7.4 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Sparse presentation establishes atmosphere, but visual ambiguity is still a limitation. | Reviewed | 7.2 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Slow turning and restricted saving impose substantial practical friction. | Reviewed | 6.2 / 10 | Not provided |
Review sources
Not provided
Core information
- Developer
- FromSoftware
- Publisher
- Sony Interactive
- Release date
- 1994
- Platforms
- PlayStation
- Content kind
- Game
- Release state
- Released
- Region
- Worldwide
- Official website
- Not provided
- Offline minimum players
- Not provided
- Offline maximum players
- Not provided
- Online minimum players
- Not provided
- Online maximum players
- Not provided
- Categories
- Role-Playing · Primary genre
- Tags
- Solo-friendlyThird PersonMain Story 20–50 HoursLong-term ProgressionFantasy3D GraphicsExplorationLevel ProgressionTurn-based CombatStory-driven
- Supported game languages
- Not provided
- Requires base game
- Not provided
- Standalone
- Not provided
- Age ratings
- Not provided
- Play modes
- Single player
- Perspectives
- First person
Release editions
- PlayStationWorldwide1994
Game gallery
Sources
Not provided