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Reviews for KYA: Dark Lineage

Action/Adventure Game - PlayStation 2 - MPN: 742725239630

  • 3
  By member: michaelsarris - May 24, 2005

KYA: Dark Lineage

Strengths: Great graphics, initially engaging story line, different

Weakness: Tedious, cheap, frustrating, and often feels pointless.

"Kya" is a Zelda-like action/adventure game, with a heavy emphasis on puzzles or tasks.

Sometimes, "Kya" is breathtaking and amazing to play. The world of "Kya" is very vertically-oriented, with falls and up and down drafts, and lots of use of the third dimension. You can often fall or jump from one section of the game to another, and it's amazing to watch. There's one part, with a bridge orbited by hundreds of rocks which is visually incredible. There are long paths that you glide down, much like snowboarding, and they can be a rush. The variety of environments and gameplay is very nice.

The game often tries to make you stop and think, introducing elements that fit into the world that must be manipulated in order to solve a puzzle or get past a barrier. The game is frequently inventive, and while there are enemies to bash, you have to use your brain as often as your brawn.

And then, "Kya" can be *extremely* tedious, and boring, and unforgiving. Some of the puzzles or challenges in "Kya" are not fun. Not at all. They require precise jumping and timing, and the game is not easy on you if you make a mistake. The good news is that there's no penalty for dying, except that you have to start the section you were working on over again. The bad news is there are some sections you'll do again, and again, and again.

I put up with some truly obnoxious sections of the game, and finally gave up at one section where you had to kick a small, furry creature around a narrow pathway suspended in mid-air. It was just too much frustration. Your initial mission, to rescue your brother, gets lost among the fetch quests and indistinguishable equipment upgrades and go-here-because-we-say-so mentality.

"Kya" has terrible voice acting. Some characters don't even get the names of other characters right. Character design is good, but limited. There's not much story or characterization -- this seemed to not be a priority of the designers, and feels like it was forgotten along the way. While Kya's world is visually stunning, it never feels like a real place.

I wanted to like "Kya" much more than I did. It is definitely inventive and unique. It has a great imagination, and it's shown me things I've never seen in videogames before. But, it's also filled with lots of tedium and obnoxious parts that I really didn't find enjoyable. "Kya" is amazing, breathtaking, and, at times, truly inspired. But sometimes, it's just not fun.

I would recommend that since it's widely available and cheap, it's worth getting. Just don't feel bad about giving up when you've had enough. Or, get "Beyond Good And Evil" instead.

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  • 5
  By member: shrike424242 - Apr 19, 2005

KYA: Dark Lineage

Strengths: Great graphics, very good level design, diverse action, enjoyable storyline

Weakness: None apparent

Kya: Dark Lineage is a nice fantasy adventure game mixed with a 3D platformer. Great graphics show off a nicely designed world with all types of strange creatures. Kya has to fight, fly, ride and slide her way through all parts of the world she's in. The levels are nicely designed, providing lots of diverse action in the different areas. The character acting and storyline are well done, adding into the enjoyment of the game. For adventure and platform fans, this is one to find.

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  • 5
  By member: shipwreck1 - Oct 31, 2005

Kya

Strengths: Good gameplay, large environments to explore, interesting puzzles, variety in gameplay

Weakness: Nothing major

Kya: Dark Lineage is a very underrated platformer for the Playstation 2. It has a fun storyline and huge beautiful worlds to explore. There's a large variety in missions including standard platforming and vehicle missions and there are a lot of creative puzzles to solve. Kya gains many abilities along the way and there is a pretty in depth combo system that you gradually learn. Graphics are nice and animations are good. The sound is also very good, although there are a couple of characters with very annoying voice work. If you enjoy platforming and adventure games, you owe it to yourself to hunt down this little gem.

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  • 3
  By member: Pookymeister - Aug 23, 2005

Kya

Strengths: *colorful and lush environments* - *fun platformer gameplay elements*

Weakness: *cliche story*

When I saw this game in the bargain bin, it was the front cover that drew me over. The back had screenshots of the game, and it looked like a neat looking environment. That was my selling point. And I got what I was looking for - this game is pretty. The backdrop and characters in the game are well drawn, and fun to look at.
Gameplay wise, it plays out like a typical platformer. You can draw ties to other games, such as Jak and Daxter, or even
the 3d Zelda games. It isn't as strong a game, but it still works.
Lastly, the voice acting leaves a little to be desired. It's not a PS1 Resident Evil fiasco('Jill, the master of unlocking'), but still kinda bad.
Overall, its worth a pickup if you can find it in your bargain bin somewhere.

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  • 4
  By member: Warner1281 - Aug 11, 2005

Good for cheap

Strengths: Graphics, controls

Weakness: very tedious at times

Kya is a fun game. I plyaed it all the way through and enjoyed it for the most part. As most of the other people have said, there are parts where the game gets very tedious as there is absolutely no room for error. However, I feel like this is the case with most platform type games. There's always that one or two levels that really tick you off. Besides that, I think the game was done very well. FOr anyone who enjoys the platform games (Jak and Daxter, Rayman, etc), this game is great for a cheap price (can be found for $5 in many places).

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  • 4
  By member: sabin23 - Jun 30, 2005

KYA: Dark Lineage

Strengths: Good graphics, solid controls, good platforming elements.

Weakness: Fustrating platforming elements, visually unappealing character designs.

Kya is definitely one of those games that fell under the radar. I myself never knew this game existed until I saw it in a baragain bin. Not to knock it or anything but it plays and feels like a poor man's version of Jak or Ratchet and Clank. There are a lot of great action and platforming elements. The graphics are actually quite good but the character designs are not visually appealing. The story is nothing spectacular but it keeps things interesting. The game itself can be quite fun and challenging but like most platformers, there will be areas where you will die and have to repeat a lot in order to move on. Kya is not a great game but it definitely deserves to be considered way above average. It certainly deserved to have more publicity then it did during its release. I think you have to go in with the mindset that Kya is not the greatest platformer of all time and then you will definitely enjoy it.

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  • 3
  By member: chickenhawkCAG - Jun 20, 2005

KYA: Dark Lineage

Strengths: cool graphics, detailed environments, moderately interesting story, kid friendly, budget price

Weakness: not as good as the top platformers, fun factor has the potential to die quickly for more advanced gamers

This isn't a bad platformer for the price, but it does not quite reach the level of Jak & Daxter and Ratchet and Clank. The formula is basically similar, but the execution just isn't as solid as wth other platformers on the PS2. It's worth a purchase though if you can find it cheap as it's a nice game for kids and has some nice elements to it like detailed areas to explore and cool attacks.

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  • 4
  By member: jngx80 - Jun 15, 2005

KYA: Dark Lineage

Strengths: + great graphics, detailed "world" + lots of variety in terms of gameplay - hover and glide on wind currents, "boarding" through jungles, a good fighting system.

Weakness: - areas where you can easily get stuck on and repeat over and over - the voices are pleasant but the acting is bad

Kya is a good platformer, opening with a great intro chase scene, and is almost comparable to the classic Jak and Daxter.

It's a mix review in terms of graphics. The environments and levels are nicely detailed, bright and colorful. But the character models and designs are mediocre. Take for example the bad guys in the game, they're called Wolfens, because they look similar to wolves and they resemble every other wolf creature in video games or cartoons.

Visually, riding on the wind currents is awe inspiring and boarding down halfpipes like trees and streams is exhilirating.

It was mentioned before in another review but there are parts of the game that are kind of hard and requires a lot of retrial. I actually got stuck at one part early in the game, trying to learn how to control the character while riding a wind current. I had to repeat it several times before I knew what I had to do. Another weakness was the voice acting. While the voices themselves sounded like a typical Saturday morning cartoon, the acting was bad. It felt like some of the casts were just reading the lines rather than putting it into the context of the story or scene. While it's not horrible like the voice acting in Capcom games or the Dynasty Warriors series, it's definitely noticeable.

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  • 2.6
  productwiki.com - Jul 20, 2009

Kya Dark Lineage

Kya: Dark Lineage (also known as Kya: Fury of Brazul in some countries) The game tells the story of Kya, a young woman who lives on earth in a house with her half brother, Frank. One day Frank, and later Kya, find a secret room. In the room, Frank finds an object and places it on a pedestal; a vortex appears and sucks Kya and Frank in. Kya finds herself looking at strange creatures that tell her...

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  • 3.0
  testseek.com - Mar 9, 2009

Kya: Dark Lineage

Testseek.com has collected 2 expert reviews for Kya: Dark Lineage and the average expert rating is 61 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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  • 3.6
  TopTenREVIEWS.com - Mar 17, 2008

Kya: Dark Lineage

Kya: Dark Lineage receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS rating of 2.92 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #3,076 game of all time, #107 game of 2003 for the PlayStation 2 and #626 PlayStation 2 game of all time. The rating and ranking is based on an average of 40 critic scores, awards and other criteria. To see a breakdown of the game ranking, read individual critic reviews, or see how other games ranked,...

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  • 3.9
  GameZone - Dec 3, 2003

KYA: Dark Lineage

A car moves down a darkened street, outside a house in which a blue-haired girl follows a bouncing basketball down the stairs. Her half-brother, Frank, has found a secret room – one that her father had sealed. Frank inadvertently sets in motion some strange device that opens a portal to another world. Both Frank and the girl are swept into the vortex. When the girl, Kya, comes to, a strange...

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  • 3.8
  IGN.com - Nov 20, 2003

Kya: Dark Lineage (ps2)

Known for its respectable work on the V-Rally series, Eden Studios' first action-adventure title, Kya: Dark Lineage, is no doubt a major break from powerslides, finely tuned engines and rugged Grecian terrain. Modeled on Nintendo's long-lasting action-adventure series, The Legend of Zelda, Kya brings PS2 gamers a hybrid experience featuring equal amounts of platforming, combat, exploration and...

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  • 3.0
  GameSpy - Nov 19, 2003

Kya: Dark Lineage (ps2)

It's depressingly difficult for a decent, under-hyped product to stand out amid the glut of today's video-game market, particularly during the insane holiday rush. I can think of no better game to symbolize this than Atari's Kya: Dark Lineage. Developed by Eden Studios in France, Kya is an unusual hybrid of adventure and platforming with some fun, unique ideas. Its execution is far from perfect,...

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  • 3.2
  games.net - Jan 1, 2000

Kya: Dark Lineage

Published by Eden Studios and developed by Atari, Kya: Dark Lineage is a action game for the PS2. It has an ESRB rating of TEEN.

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