Welcome to Modojo, 
The Fighting System
Written by KingdomParadise on Monday, November 7, 2005
Combat in Kingdom of Paradise is heavily influenced by various martial arts as well as traditional Japanese sword fighting. There are also other forms of combat available in the form of magic spells. These can be collected throughout the various worlds. The combat system itself is very unique. We decided to implement the concept of Kenpu and Bugei Scrolls, two items that are used to help shape a player’s fighting arsenal. How it works is that players receive Kenpu as they defeat enemies and proceed through story events.
In the game, Kenpu is part of a scroll that focuses on specific sword technique and style. Basically Kenpu is a specific fighting move. By aligning multiple Kenpu, players can create what is known as a Bugei Scroll, or, a set combination of Kenpu moves. By equipping various Bugei Scrolls, players can begin to implement fighting combos in their attacks. The Bugei Scroll is a “continuous attack” which can be freely customized, allowing players to decide which Kenpu to use and its order. The reason why this Bugei Scroll system is unique is because of its variation on fighting mechanics and that we’re utilizing this as a feature on the PSP. Since there are more than 150 kinds of Kenpu throughout the game, the total number of combos is almost limitless! Each Bugei Scroll is inevitably your own personal combo. In a typical action-RPG, you fight by changing weapons in accordance with the enemy. In Kingdom of Paradise, however, you are able to switch Bugei Scrolls on the fly instead of the weapons.
You can equip up to six Bugei Scrolls at the same time, and you can also switch them to more effective Bugei Scrolls depending on the enemy. Using the right trigger, exchanging Bugei Scrolls can be done very quickly during battles so it is possible to switch Bugei Scrolls every time an enemy appears. When multiple enemies surround you, pick the Bugei Scroll that lets you attack enemies around you. When you fight against one enemy, you can pick the Bugei Scroll that makes you get close to the enemy right away. Depending on each situation, the Bugei Scrolls can be switched just like you switch your weapons.
After players beat the game, they can play through again to try and collect additional Kenpu (specific moves) that they may not have acquired during the first play through. Players can take these additional Kenpu and add to their Bugei scrolls, creating even more sword fighting combos.
Similar to classic RPGs, players will level up their character by defeating enemies and earning experience points, up to a maximum level of 20. Players will also need to talk to people along the way, gaining information and clues necessary to move the story forward. Kingdom of Paradise is definitely considered more of an action game that contains RPG elements. There are many RPG-like moments, such as event scenes and talking to people in town, but there are way more action elements to this game than the typical RPG.
posted November 8, 2005