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IGN Review of Knights in the Nightmare
Developer Sting has worked itself into a pretty nice little rhythm these days. The company does a lot of niche gaming, focusing on smaller projects like Rondo of Swords and Dokapon Kingdom for Atlus, and then churns out a full-on AAA effort every couple of years. We got Riviera on GBA, later ported over to PSP. Yggdra Union hit after that, and now Knights in the Nightmare, a strategy RPG that blends some of the best art I've seen on DS with a moody, haunting presentation, some great music, and a game design that truly invents its own genre. It has a high barrier of entry, it's hands-down the most complex handheld game I've ever played, but once you understand it all it'll suck you in. Fans of The World Ends With You, Disgaea, and of course any of Sting's previous handhelds efforts should pay close attention; this may be one of the most innovative, beautiful, and imaginative handheld games you've ever played.
Trying to describe everything that makes up Knights in the Nightmare would necessitate a tiny book, so rather than write a novel on what the experience is about I'll simply link you over to my previous hands-on offerings – the initial one can be found right here, and the other here . They go over everything, so if you want a deep understanding of the game's systems and mechanics, check there.
Knights in the Nightmare essentially blends elements from top/down shooters with tactics game such as Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre and then scales it all back a bit into what ends up feeling like an arcade vertical slice of the experience. Rather than playing as a cast of specific players, you control the wisp; a spirit that's traveling through the woods (and then abandoned church) as it relives a mysterious battle one event at a time. Death surrounds the wisp, so with every chapter progression you get new slices of the story, as well as monsters attacking the wisp. For each battle the spirit calls on the dead, using them as temporary soldiers to lay vengeance on the enemy. After the battle the spirit will leave again, but if players take special note as to items found in that level (or previous battles) items from the spirit's former life can be given to them, thus reviving them and making them a permanent member of your squad.
General gameplay is performed by moving the stylus on the bottom screen to control the wisp. Move over a character in your party and you can attack specific spots on the map, adding even more attack power and strategy by equipping items for one-time use during battle via a small belt of icons on the right side. Most characters can't move, so instead it's about selecting specific attacks that cover squares around the battlefield. There's also a huge chaos/order system (similar to Ikaruga) where certain items can only be used at certain times, also affecting enemy power and unit strength. Each level is basically one screen set of enemies and treasure, with enemies following paths in a very "quarter at a time" inspired design. If you fail a round, you send new enemies in for the next battle and move on with the fight. Once done, the story continues, and you're on to the next arena-like event.
The list seems to go on forever, be it the tic-tac-toe enemy spawning system, item merging and upgrading, character skill tweaking and soul fusion (you can actually merge two characters into one… don't ask) and the hundreds of strategies that come with items, characters, and the chaos/order system. I can say with confidence that this is a game that could last players hundreds of hours if they are out to learn everything, collect all characters, power fighters and weapons to their fullest, and truly complete the game. In fact, you can even replay levels with your current squad from the main game menu, so even if you only have time for a quick experience-gaining battle you can boot the game, go into a quickplay fight, whomp on some baddies, and then turn the system off again without dealing with story or progression. It's essentially "play now" or "grind" mode that works very well within the confines of a pocket title.
With that being said, here comes the token this game is for the hardcore warning. This is a complex offering. I personally feel it's tougher to grasp than any turn-based strategy game out there (Disgaea included), and it's also a more complex offering than Riviera. Knights in the Nightmare is a deep game with seemingly never-ending systems to grasp, and just when you think you've got it all there's even more to discover That's also why it's so damn fun though too. For some players (I'm one of them) this is an extremely engaging concept. Every time I sit down with the title I feel like I'm learning even more of what makes it tick, I've shown the game to family and friends and had long, lengthy discussions with them about strategy and concepts in the package, and more than anything else that feeling of discovery and progression is everywhere, which I love. After playing something like Knights in the Nightmare, everything else seems simple and one-dimensional (Disgaea players know what I mean, as does anyone that played Sting's previous masterpiece titles). With it being so deep and somewhat closed off in nature – any game with a list of dozens of mini-tutorials well worth your time isn't messing around – I don't see a lot of people playing it front to end. Those that do, however, will insist that this is something truly special.
So how do you differentiate between a game that's too deep for its own good, and a classic must-play offering that sets standards for in-depth strategy gaming on DS? It's a thin line, and it's one that's up for debate. Some critics are going to pan Knights for being too complex and oversaturated, but in my opinion it's all based on how the game nurtures a player through the complexity. Yeah, if you play Knights in the Nightmare for 10 minutes you may never want to play it again. Take the time to go through the suggested tutorials however, and you'll get what the game is all about at the end of the half hour long session, even going as far as to hit up additional tips menus and learn even more about how the game functions and its deeper levels. Knights in the Nightmare is a deep experience, and a daunting one at that. It also presents that complexity very well though, and that's a testament to the design.
On the audio/visual front, Knights in the Nightmare is rivaled by only a few select titles on DS. The visuals are simply stunning, blending some beautiful hand-drawn art with lots of effects work, lighting, hundreds of on-screen sprites during hectic battles, and an impressive overall style. There's a reason this game comes with an art book for pre-orders; the art direction is simply beautiful. On the audio front, orchestrated music fuses with strong synth pieces to create a soundtrack that holds its own against the best on the system, and there's even room for some select sound bites for each character. Some people may never get very far in the actual game or grasp every concept, but this one is worth a look as a complete package in the same way as PSX's Lunar: Silverstar Story was. It's a game, but it's also a beautiful blending of visuals and sound that will pull gamers into the world. The only real downside here? Each level tends to look similar to the last, and like Riviera text, icons, and art are often intentionally cluttered and overly complex. The gameplay is deep, but it makes sense. At times the game's menus, tables, icons, and layout feel as if they're trying to add to the complexity just to be edgy… sometimes it's beautiful, and other times it just looks overly busy.
©2009-06-01, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Trying to describe everything that makes up Knights in the Nightmare would necessitate a tiny book, so rather than write a novel on what the experience is about I'll simply link you over to my previous hands-on offerings – the initial one can be found right here, and the other here . They go over everything, so if you want a deep understanding of the game's systems and mechanics, check there.
Knights in the Nightmare essentially blends elements from top/down shooters with tactics game such as Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre and then scales it all back a bit into what ends up feeling like an arcade vertical slice of the experience. Rather than playing as a cast of specific players, you control the wisp; a spirit that's traveling through the woods (and then abandoned church) as it relives a mysterious battle one event at a time. Death surrounds the wisp, so with every chapter progression you get new slices of the story, as well as monsters attacking the wisp. For each battle the spirit calls on the dead, using them as temporary soldiers to lay vengeance on the enemy. After the battle the spirit will leave again, but if players take special note as to items found in that level (or previous battles) items from the spirit's former life can be given to them, thus reviving them and making them a permanent member of your squad.
General gameplay is performed by moving the stylus on the bottom screen to control the wisp. Move over a character in your party and you can attack specific spots on the map, adding even more attack power and strategy by equipping items for one-time use during battle via a small belt of icons on the right side. Most characters can't move, so instead it's about selecting specific attacks that cover squares around the battlefield. There's also a huge chaos/order system (similar to Ikaruga) where certain items can only be used at certain times, also affecting enemy power and unit strength. Each level is basically one screen set of enemies and treasure, with enemies following paths in a very "quarter at a time" inspired design. If you fail a round, you send new enemies in for the next battle and move on with the fight. Once done, the story continues, and you're on to the next arena-like event.
The list seems to go on forever, be it the tic-tac-toe enemy spawning system, item merging and upgrading, character skill tweaking and soul fusion (you can actually merge two characters into one… don't ask) and the hundreds of strategies that come with items, characters, and the chaos/order system. I can say with confidence that this is a game that could last players hundreds of hours if they are out to learn everything, collect all characters, power fighters and weapons to their fullest, and truly complete the game. In fact, you can even replay levels with your current squad from the main game menu, so even if you only have time for a quick experience-gaining battle you can boot the game, go into a quickplay fight, whomp on some baddies, and then turn the system off again without dealing with story or progression. It's essentially "play now" or "grind" mode that works very well within the confines of a pocket title.
With that being said, here comes the token this game is for the hardcore warning. This is a complex offering. I personally feel it's tougher to grasp than any turn-based strategy game out there (Disgaea included), and it's also a more complex offering than Riviera. Knights in the Nightmare is a deep game with seemingly never-ending systems to grasp, and just when you think you've got it all there's even more to discover That's also why it's so damn fun though too. For some players (I'm one of them) this is an extremely engaging concept. Every time I sit down with the title I feel like I'm learning even more of what makes it tick, I've shown the game to family and friends and had long, lengthy discussions with them about strategy and concepts in the package, and more than anything else that feeling of discovery and progression is everywhere, which I love. After playing something like Knights in the Nightmare, everything else seems simple and one-dimensional (Disgaea players know what I mean, as does anyone that played Sting's previous masterpiece titles). With it being so deep and somewhat closed off in nature – any game with a list of dozens of mini-tutorials well worth your time isn't messing around – I don't see a lot of people playing it front to end. Those that do, however, will insist that this is something truly special.
So how do you differentiate between a game that's too deep for its own good, and a classic must-play offering that sets standards for in-depth strategy gaming on DS? It's a thin line, and it's one that's up for debate. Some critics are going to pan Knights for being too complex and oversaturated, but in my opinion it's all based on how the game nurtures a player through the complexity. Yeah, if you play Knights in the Nightmare for 10 minutes you may never want to play it again. Take the time to go through the suggested tutorials however, and you'll get what the game is all about at the end of the half hour long session, even going as far as to hit up additional tips menus and learn even more about how the game functions and its deeper levels. Knights in the Nightmare is a deep experience, and a daunting one at that. It also presents that complexity very well though, and that's a testament to the design.
On the audio/visual front, Knights in the Nightmare is rivaled by only a few select titles on DS. The visuals are simply stunning, blending some beautiful hand-drawn art with lots of effects work, lighting, hundreds of on-screen sprites during hectic battles, and an impressive overall style. There's a reason this game comes with an art book for pre-orders; the art direction is simply beautiful. On the audio front, orchestrated music fuses with strong synth pieces to create a soundtrack that holds its own against the best on the system, and there's even room for some select sound bites for each character. Some people may never get very far in the actual game or grasp every concept, but this one is worth a look as a complete package in the same way as PSX's Lunar: Silverstar Story was. It's a game, but it's also a beautiful blending of visuals and sound that will pull gamers into the world. The only real downside here? Each level tends to look similar to the last, and like Riviera text, icons, and art are often intentionally cluttered and overly complex. The gameplay is deep, but it makes sense. At times the game's menus, tables, icons, and layout feel as if they're trying to add to the complexity just to be edgy… sometimes it's beautiful, and other times it just looks overly busy.
©2009-06-01, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved