Not every game that was being produced for the Game Boy Advance made it. Some titles like Shantae Advance were developed but never completed. Publisher Incube8 specilaizes in tracking down, polishing and releasing lost games, and their latest discovery is Kien, an action platformer that would’ve come out in the early 2000s.
Discover the Secret of Kien! For 7,000 years, the planet of Malkut has been wisely ruled by the 7 Masters of the Absolute. But chaos has been reborn as evil corrupts the Land of Harmony. The 7 Masters have vanished, mystical warriors have been slaughtered, and the temples are doomed in blood. The only hope that remains is imprisoned in the hearts and wills of two young apprentices. Their fate is to fight evil, reveal the truth, and discover the secret of Kien.
Controlling one of two playable characters (the warrior or the priestess), you dive into a sidescrolling fantasy world stuffed with adversaries and huge monstrous bosses to save your planet. It’s a lengthy game at 23 levels, non-linear with the ability to play areas in any order, and also, we hear, pretty challenging.
“Kien is a very demanding game, in a way it’s a pre-souls game,” says Fabio Belsanti, lead game designer. “The battles are always very intense and difficult. The missions and paths between the different levels and worlds are really twisty and have to be discovered by playing, making mistakes, and dying. Many gamers will love this game, but others definitely won’t.”
Kien is being published physically and you can get a full boxed copy of the game for $59.99. Inside are a fully functional GBA cartridge, a cartridge protector (yes, for a GBA game, they’re that thoughtful), an instruction booklet and a sticker sheet. Copies are for sale now at Incube8’s website.
