There have been countless video games that have been canceled before their release, but very few that have been canceled three times. Kien, a Game Boy Advance title that was originally slated to be released in 2002, is one of the few. Review copies of Kien went out to contemporary gaming magazines, including Nintendo Power, but the game was pulled before its release. Two subsequent release attempts also fell through. But now, 22 years later, Kien has finally gotten an official release from Incube8 Games.
The digital version of Kien was is now available, and a GBA cartridge release will follow later this year. To mark the the game’s first-ever official release, Incube8 Games has dropped a new trailer for Kien.
Kien is a side-scrolling action platforming game with some light RPG touches that lets players control either a male warrior or a priestess. There are 23 levels in the game, but Kien also lets players pick their own non-linear path through them. In other words, you get to pick the order in which you play the levels.
The story synopsis included with Kien indicates that the warrior and the priestess are young apprentices who are the last hope of a magical world called Malkut. The leaders of Malkut, the 7 Masters of the Absolute, have disappeared and their mystical warriors were killed by evil forces. Now, only the warrior and the priestess can save Malkut and restore it to its natural state.
Incube8 Games’ physical release of Kien was originally announced to be released in the second quarter of this year, but it doesn’t currently have a release date. When it does arrive, Kien will include the cartridge, the cartridge protector, the box, the manual, and some stickers.
