Last month, we took a first look at Lost Kingdoms, From Software and Activision's upcoming action RPG for the GameCube. As Princess Katia, you are challenged to save your realm from the dark fog that is enveloping the good people, armed only with the magical abilities of your deck of cards. Being able to bring forth magic from these cards is a special talent in Katia's world, although the rarity of a female wielder of this ability is made clear in the game's early running.

Players may be misled to believe that Lost Kingdoms is a collectible card game, similar to Pokémon, Magic the Gathering, or Digimon, when in actuality, the cards are simply a colorful visual representation of various powers and attacks that become available to the game's protagonist as the game progresses. Four of Katia's cards are drawn at the start of every battle, displayed onscreen in a position relative to the GameCube's four face buttons. Pressing the corresponding button will activate the selected card, which, once depleted, is replaced by the next card in the deck, as displayed in the lower left-hand corner.

Combat in Lost Kingdoms can be fast and furious.

What Lost Kingdoms does borrow from traditional card-battling games are the collection and deck-building aspects. As you venture from stage to stage, you will open chests and be rewarded with new, versatile, and more powerful cards with which you can construct a 30-card deck. This deck is your sole source for offensive and defensive capabilities during encounters with the creatures of Katia's world, so packing a mix of different abilities can be as effective as specializing in a favorite tactic.

There are three different types of creature cards to choose from when constructing decks. They include weapon attacks, summonings, and transformations. Weapon attacks, like those found in the lizardman cards, let you quickly bring forth a specter of a monster, which strikes out in the chosen direction. Among the first cards you receive, an avian creature will act as a strike, swooping forth in a straight line from high above, capable of damaging any enemies in direct line of sight. The aforementioned lizardman cards are more akin to melee attacks, since their brief sword swing has a close range but packs a more powerful punch. Weapon cards are usually good for a couple of attacks, with portions of the card onscreen being burnt away to show how much of the card's charge is left. A fully exhausted card disappears from the deck, returning only at the end of a stage.

Summoning cards bring forth a previously defeated creature to fight on your side. In this way, distractions can be tossed onto the battlefield, and some of them are quite powerful and are legitimate threats on their own. The giant "fly-trap plant" monster is an example of an early summon that swipes at opposing enemies in all directions with its vine tentacles. Skeletons and pigmen can also serve useful in the early going when called forth to fight alongside you.

Completing Katia's collection are the transformation cards, which are generally the most powerful cards in your arsenal. These cards transform Katia into the summoned creature, allowing her to deliver a single powerful strike or spell. These cards are one-shot only but are generally powerful enough to dispose of creatures outright.

Each card is ranked according to strength, type, rarity, and monster statistics.

An alternate method of using these cards exists, and this involves trapping an enemy creature and transforming it into a card you can use. While at any time you can choose to ditch a card, you can instead choose to toss a card at an injured enemy to replace an attack, in hopes of striking the final blow. If this direct card attack succeeds, the enemy is transformed into a card, which can then be added to your decks.

Magical energies are required to power these cards, and this energy is accumulated throughout Katia's travels in the form of mana crystals, which come in both pink and blue shades. These crystals also come in varying sizes, according to how much energy they impart. Damaging or destroying hostile creatures will release a number of these crystals, which Katia must race to snatch up before they wink away. Destructible environments that catch the brunt of a spell or creature's attack may also release crystals-- oftentimes, this is how you can reach secret areas or treasure chests.

Proper deck construction takes into account a number of factors, including element types, the prediction of what sorts of enemies will be encountered, and which cards will need to be saved as reserves if your initial stockpile becomes exhausted. Minor nuisances such as skeletons and lizardmen can be dealt with easily by a weak summoned creature, while you'll have to pull out all the stops to take down challenging boss enemies.