Five years after the release of the African action RPG platformer Aurion: Legacy of The Kori-Odan, Cameroonian game developers Kiro’o Games have released the mobile game Aurion Kajuta Gem Fighter in English and French on Android devices, with iOS currently in development. Aurion Kajuta Gem Fighter is a match 4 action RPG game that takes place after the events of Legacy of the Kori-Odan. However, you don’t have to play Legacy of The Kori-Odan to enjoy Kajuta Gem Fighter.
Kajuta Gem Fighter’s premise is explained as soon as you start the game for the first time. It is set on the fictional planet of Aurioma, which is in danger of being corrupted by the fragments of an ancient temple called Kajuta Roho. To combat this threat, Enkwo and Ewineh Kori-Odan, the king and queen of the city of Zama, must leave their kingdom, battle the beings corrupted by the gems, and purify the gems to prevent any further harm.
Even if you’ve never played a match 4 game before, the game makes it easy to pick up. The game’s first level has brief tutorials that show you how to swipe your finger across your phone screen to match three or more gems of the same color to use a variety of attacks with the characters you play. Matching more than three gems results in more powerful attacks, and matching gems at a fast pace results in a character performing multiple attacks in a combo. All these attacks are shown in engaging animated graphics featuring miniature chibi versions of Enkwo and Ewineh.
When it comes to the game’s playable characters, you have the option to play as Enkwo or Ewineh for each game you play. Given that Ewineh wasn’t fully playable in Legacy of The Kori-Odan, this is a step-up in terms of the gameplay. Both Enkwo and Ewineh have different playstyles, with Enkwo using mainly close-range melee sword attacks, while Ewineh has long-range elemental magic attacks that channel the Orisha gods and goddesses. Moreover, both characters have special “Ultimate Legacy” attacks that can be activated after matching special gems. There is also an additional character, Ngarba, that can be unlocked after playing and collecting a certain amount of Kajuta gems or by buying an inexpensive in-app purchase.
All the characters can evolve their stats through the in-game currency known as “AP”, which stands for Auronic points. As you play the game, you earn Aurionic points as you match gems. Therefore, the better you match the gems, the more points you can earn. AP is used to not only improve the individual stats of the characters, but also their special abilities unlocked as you gather Kajuta stars. AP can also be used to heal characters in between battles and revive a character if they lose all their health. While AP can be earned by just playing the game, you can also purchase AP with real money for low prices if you want the character to level up faster. The most expensive bonus AP is $1.49 and the cheapest is 0.99.
One possible turn-off of the game is the energy bar, which resembles a lightning bolt and limits your play sessions to five games at a time. Once the energy bar is depleted, you must wait half an hour or so before you can play again, re-load the energy bar by watching an ad, or buy more energy with an in-app purchase. It’s worth noting that the ad watching option can only be used three times for restoring energy and only once when a character is K.O’d. All in all, the energy bar should suit players who prefer brief play sessions rather than longer ones.
Another issue with the game relates to the in-app purchases mentioned earlier. Sometimes, the in-app purchases aren’t processed by the game properly. The first couple of in-app purchases went through fine because I didn’t exit the app afterward, but a third in-app purchase didn’t process when I bought AP, exited the app, and then opened it again. There is also an issue related to creating a Kiro’o account to keep track of your progress through the different Kiro’o games and receive bonuses from the developers. For some reason, I keep having to reset my password every time I try to log in.
Despite these minor issues, this has still been a very enjoyable experience. In fact, I enjoy playing this game even more than Legacy of the Kori-Odan! Not only is the gameplay much easier, but the playable characters and different gameplay objectives keep things fresh and exciting. Not to mention that the game’s tech support team is very responsive to issues and feedback, which should smooth over any bumps you encounter while playing. For those looking for something new to their match three RPG experience, you can’t go wrong with Aurion Kajuta Gem Fighter.
Latonya Pennington is a freelance writer from the southern United States specializing in entertainment and pop culture. In addition to BlackSci-Fi.com, her pop culture work can be found on The Mary Sue, Black Girl Nerds, and Buzzfeed. When she isn’t freelancing, she can be found tweeting, reading, doing creative writing, or streaming music shows and anime online. Find her on Twitter.
