Graffiti Kingdom’s visuals boil down to two types: developer made and user made. The developer created side of the presentation is basic and calls to mind games like Katamari Damacy or, in some respects, Ape Escape. Levels are flat and feature few details. You may come across the random flower or tree every few feet – but there’s really nothing here that will get you overly excited. Instead, it’s the user created visuals that literally draw you into the game.

Fans of Magic Pengel will remember that game’s powerful drawing tool that let you draw a character and then bring it to life. Graffiti Kingdom’s system works the same way, only the tool is much more powerful and allows you to create nearly anything your heart desires and bring that creation into the game. If you’ve always dreamed of a game starring a cyborg monkey-ninja, Graffiti Kingdom will allow you to do just that. The only limitations are your imagination (a little patience doesn’t hurt either).

Sound works in much the same way as the developer created visuals. The background music is simple and the “cute” level may put off a few players. Then again, considering the game’s audience, it may not be as big of a put off. It’s a personal call.

Graffiti Kingdom is a follow-up to the cult classic, Magic Pengel. However, where Pengel was more of a monster breeding/fighting game, Graffiti is more of an action RPG. At the start of the game, an ancient civilization, the Graffiti, are released and begin to destroy the Canvas Kingdom. As Prince Pixel, a young boy with the ability to transform himself into various creatures, it’s your mission to rescue your parents and save the kingdom.

This “save everything” story is about as involving as the story gets, but it’s really not why you’re playing the game in the first place. Instead, it’s the drawing element that makes Graffiti such a unique experience. Again, the character creation tool is deep enough that it not only lets you create nearly anything you want, but you can also name it and assign voice samples to it. You can also teach your creation to shoot missiles or lasers, punch and kick, or even fly. If you can dream it, you can do it.

If you’re not the creative type, you can also collect special cards that feature pre-made monsters which can then be edited in the creation studio. Once you’ve found creatures you like, you can then attach them to the Prince, allowing you to transform into them during the game.

Once you’ve blown through the game’s 20 or so levels, you can also take your creations into a battle mode. As is the case with the main game, the one-on-one battles are fun but the fun doesn’t last.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Graffiti Kingdom isn’t a hard game. The main game is very straightforward and can probably be completed in a matter of hours. The drawing tool itself is user-friendly, but will require some patience. There is a learning curve involved with figuring out how everything works, so don’t expect to jump right in and create a masterpiece on the first try.

Combat is simple, and relies mostly on button mashing and simple combos. The type of combat will depend greatly on what you train your creation to do, but it will all eventually boil down to the same general principal – hit the button as quickly as possible and kill enemies before they kill you.

As much fun as the character creation is, it doesn’t help to extend the game’s replay value that much. While it’s true that you can create nearly anything you want, there isn’t much to the game itself. Still, the more creative types will probably enjoy tinkering away with the drawing tool to see how far they can push it. If this sounds like you, then by all means pick up Graffiti Kingdom. If not, it’s still a great rental (or two).