The Mark of Kri (2002)

I'm not very familiar with Polynesian fantasy, but in 2002 Sony released this game for the Playstation 2. The player controls a swordsman named Rau, marked with a particular birthmark, who after a tutorial mission takes a sketchy job from an old man at a tavern. Before long, you're fighting demons and trying to save the world from a necromancer.

The game's most striking aspect is its graphics. "Get Disney to animate Conan" isn't an idea that I'd ever heard anyone seriously utter, but someone behind this game more or less had that idea and it turned out to be remarkably inspired. The characters and environments are beautifully drawn and animated with clean lines and shapes that help offset the game's age. The game might look like a Disney movie, but it's not rated like one, as the game doesn't skimp on violence and gore. Rau is a suitably brutal fighter who can master combinations that result in enemies skewered on his sword or their skulls and necks crushed against stone walls.

The melee combat system is based on a unique method of using the right stick to lock up to three enemies to a specific attack button, giving the player the ability to smoothly manage crowds of attackers. It takes a short while to get used to it but it's a reasonable enough system for the time. Rau can also use a bow to attack at a distance.

Although Rau is a hulking brute, he's no superman and stealth is often preferable to charging in and alerting entire camps to your presence (unless you're really mastered the melee system and want to show off). Even Conan and Kane liked to sneak and avoid notice most of the time. The stealth system is relatively easy to master and it's forgiving in that if you're detected you'll have a fight on your hands, but you can also win out and then go back to sneaking. It's not a game that demands a perfect lack of detection as some stealth games do. Rau can hide and when an enemy comes within reach, he can yank them out of view and quickly snap their necks.

The game's last major trick is to give Rau a raven companion who can explore areas and give the player a vantage point to scout out which enemies are present and where.

A very good game that really ought to be better known. 

Supplemental viewing: The Beastmaster