Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The DS version of Staff of Kings immediately puts its own stamp on the Indiana Jones formula. You navigate, investigate, solve puzzles, fight, and work the whip through stylus input, rather than simply receiving a cut-down set of console controls. That makes the game feel purpose-built for the system, and there is a certain satisfaction in tracing out an action yourself instead of just tapping through it.

Exploration and puzzle solving are where that approach has the best chance to click. Indy is at his most convincing when you are poking around an area for a way forward, then using the stylus to interact with the problem in front of you. The whip also belongs naturally in that mix. It is a better fit for a touch screen than it would be if the game asked you to imitate every little movie gesture.

Combat is the more divisive piece. Stylus-controlled brawling can make a scuffle feel immediate, but it also means the game depends on you being comfortable with rapid touch-screen actions when pressure is on. The microphone use in both single-player and multiplayer cipher labyrinths is memorable and appropriately odd for a DS adventure, though it is the kind of feature that will either amuse you or briefly pull you out of the action. Give this one a chance if you enjoy handheld games that lean into their hardware rather than hiding it.

Graphics

Staff of Kings uses the DS to stage Indiana Jones’s 1939 hunt for a biblical artifact across its adventure-focused action and puzzle sequences. The handheld scale keeps the emphasis on following Indy through the next obstacle rather than lingering on elaborate scenery.

Story

This is a classic Indy setup: it is 1939, and Indiana Jones is racing Magnus Voller to find the Staff of Moses. That is a sturdy foundation for the kind of globe-trotting, artifact-chasing danger the character does best. You know the shape of the ride early, but the premise does not need to be revolutionary to be effective.

The strength here is the clean sense of pursuit. Voller gives the adventure a clear opposing force, while the Staff of Moses supplies enough mythic weight to make each puzzle and detour feel like part of a larger chase. It is not a story that asks you to untangle a dense mythology before it gets moving.

Do not come in expecting this DS release to mirror the other versions of Staff of Kings beat for beat in play. It shares the same overarching 1939 story, but this is its own handheld game, built around a different way of interacting with Indy’s adventure. That distinction matters, especially if you are coming to it after hearing about features from the Wii, PlayStation 2, or PSP releases.

Overall Experience

The best reason to play Staff of Kings on DS is that it makes a real effort to be a DS Indiana Jones game instead of a smaller imitation of a console release. Its stylus-driven navigation, puzzles, whip work, and fights give it a tactile personality. When you are in the rhythm of exploring and figuring out the next obstacle, that personality carries the adventure.

The tradeoff is that the same hardware focus can create friction. Touch-based combat and microphone-dependent cipher challenges will not land equally well for everybody, and the game asks you to meet it on its terms. A little tolerance for stylus experimentation goes a long way here.

At a 6.1-level recommendation, this is a decent licensed handheld adventure with a specific audience rather than an essential Indiana Jones game. Fans who enjoy the stranger, more experimental corners of the DS library may get more out of it than the score suggests. Everyone else may find its ideas more interesting than consistently satisfying.

Retro Replay Score

6.1/10