The next game I will be looking at (in at least two parts) is Knights in the Nightmare, developed by Sting Entertainment and published by the good people at Atlus for the Nintendo DS. The game is an innovative cross between strategy RPGs like Disgaea and a shmup. The resulting hybrid is something unique that one can say has never been done before, which is very unique in this day and age. I was anxious to pop this little gem into my DS. After the first couple hours of gameplay, this is what I found.
Interface
There is a lot to keep your eyes on during this game. The first time I turned it on I was met with New Game, Continue, and Teaching Options at the main menu. Thinking “aw, this should be pretty self-explanatory, I bet they introduce all the rules during the intro gameplay” I started a new game right off the bat.
After a brilliant cutscene intro, I was asked to select my weapons from a vast list containing a flood of statistics, icons, and various unidentified numbers. I picked some random weapons and moved on to the actual gameplay, none of which contained any instructional dialogue whatsoever. As it turns out, the Teaching Options menu contains an hour or so worth of tutorial videos that I advise you to view in order to understand the game fully. After becoming fully schooled, there are still a lot of bars, numbers, and icons to keep your attention on at any given time during a round.
Gameplay
The gameplay here is exceptionally unique and delightfully frantic. It requires the cerebral planning and character/item construction of a tactics RPG, with the fast-paced frenzy of a good shmup. During the setup phase before each round, knights are placed on the field and up to 4 weapons are selected. During the action phase the player controls a wisp, the main character of the game. It is up to the wisp to fly about the field of battle and activate each knight’s attacks against the enemies. Normal attacks can be queued up which will do damage and release crystals. These can be picked up to charge MP, which will in turn be used to activate weapon skills. Only by using weapons, however, is it possible to KILL an enemy with a special combo. The player can alternate the playfield between Chaos and Law phases, which affects the attack ranges of each knight differently. The wisp must also dodge the swarms of projectiles launched by the enemies, or the timer for each round will dwindle each time it’s hit. All of these things combine to create an experience which keeps all of the brain’s pistons firing.
Artwork
In the same vein of masterpieces like Odin Sphere and Disgaea, the game features intricately detailed and vibrant 2D sprites. Each level takes place on an isometric grid, also placed within a masterfully crafted setting. As with most shmups, the attacks thrown at you by the various enemies are all very colorful and well designed.
These are just the things which came to mind right off the top of my head. So far after a little bit of practice and some time in the tutorials, the controls are coming together for me and I’m getting used to it. Depending on what kinds of extended gameplay are involved later, this may be one of my first games from Gamefly that I decide to keep for good. For just under 30 bucks, it seems like a steal for the unique gameplay experience alone.
Looks pretty sweet, I think I might check it out.